Your World Tonight - Digital services tax, Protests in Tel Aviv, Jeff Bezos' wedding and more

Episode Date: June 28, 2025

The bill is coming due for U.S. tech firms. Starting Monday, companies like Amazon, Google and Meta will soon owe Canada billions in back taxes. You'll hear more on what Canada's digital services tax does - and why it's upended months of trade talks between Canada and the U.S.Also: Inside Israel, protesters have returned to the centre of Tel Aviv after a two week disruption caused by the war with Iran. Many are hopeful of a possible ceasefire in Gaza and the release of more hostages.And: Billionaire Jeff Bezos is wrapping up three days of lavish celebrations at his wedding extravaganza in Venice - with dozens of celebrities in attendence. But there are hundreds of other guests who added themselves to the invitation. And their message for the Amazon founder was far less celebratory.Plus: France's "Pink Vests", India's push to become a more inclusive travel destination, and more

I'm Joshua Jackson, and I'm returning for the Audible original series, Oracle, Season 3, Murder at the Grandview. Six forty-somethings took a boat out a few days ago. One of them was found dead. The hotel, the island, something wasn't right about it. Psychic agent Nate Russo is back on the case, and you know when Nate's killer instincts are required, anything's possible.

This world's gonna eat you alive. Listen to Oracle Season 3, Murder at the Grandview, now on Audible. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi, I'm Kimberly Gale. This is Your World Tonight. This issue of a digital services tax has been a problem, I'd say a thorn in the side of U.S. administrations for many years. The bill is coming due for U.S. tech firms. Companies like Amazon, Google and Meta will soon owe Canada billions in back taxes.

What exactly is Canada's digital services tax and why is it infuriating Donald Trump so much? Also on the podcast, protesters in Tel Aviv say the time for partial deals is over, pressuring their government to reach an agreement for the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza. And... When a foreigner comes to India, he must be able to see, experience and get in touch with the local Indian gay and lesbian community. A growing number of travel agencies and tour guides are turning India into a more inclusive holiday destination.

For a time, it appeared Canada and the US were on track to announce a trade deal in July. A possibility that today seems far out of reach. Trade talks were derailed after President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled all negotiations. At the center of his latest grievance is Canada's digital services tax. It's set to take effect on Monday. Philip Lee Shanuck has more on what the tax does and why it's upended weeks and months of talks. Economically, we have such power over Canada. From the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald Trump says that Canada has no choice

but to axe the digital services tax to be charged to companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb starting Monday. And we have all the cards. We have every single one. France was one of the first countries to introduce a digital services tax in 2019 and Canada followed suit three years later. Then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was aimed at recouping some of the billions Canadians spend on US-based digital advertising, online marketplaces and social media platforms. Canadians can understand that the largest, most successful internet companies need to

pay their fair share of taxes in Canada. As of Monday, they're going to implement a retroactive tax. US Treasury Secretary Scott Besson Treasury Secret were surprised that the 3 only going ahead, but it to January 2022. This was Trudeau years. So we were of goodwill that the new would at least put a break

trade talks. John Bosca RRial specializes in trade law at Toronto-based McCarthy Tetro. He says last year the US had already filed a challenge to the digital services tax using a mechanism in the Canada-US-Mexico trade deal or CUSMA. So he sees this latest flare-up at a time of heightened trade tensions as a negotiating tactic. They very much think that they could get all kinds of concessions, not just on the tariff side, but in all these other areas, and digital services taxes being thrown into the mix.

Still, many Canadian business groups have opposed the tax as a trade irritant. Moshe Lander teaches economics at Concordia University in Montreal. He's not sure how attached Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is to it. Look, it's a bargaining chip. And so if the Canadian government wants to keep it and wants to apply it retroactively, then they're going to have to sacrifice something else. Carney has not commented on the fate of the digital services tax. And for now, neither has Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Onin. We won't be negotiating in public given the complexity of the negotiations,

given the need to ensure that Canada's position is the strongest possible it can be. One thing she did stress in this latest salvo in the trade war with the US is that it reinforces the need to diversify Canada's international trading partners so the country will never again be 80% dependent on one particular economy. Philipp Lee Shanok, CBC News, Toronto. The federal government has ordered Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision to shut down all operations in Canada. Industry Minister Melanie Jolie made the announcement late Friday. Jolie cited concerns over national security after a review by Canada's intelligence community. A spokesperson for Hikevision says Canada's decision is not based in fact and believes

it comes from a bias against Chinese companies. it comes from a bias against Chinese companies. Still ahead, billionaire Jeff Bezos' nuptials are dividing Venetians. Some see it as a star-studded celebration and a boost to the city's economy. For many others, it's a garish display of wealth in a time of growing inequality. You'll hear more about that later on Your World Tonight. The latest round of Israeli strikes have killed at least 70 people in Gaza and injured hundreds more. One strike hit a popular market near Gaza City, killing several Palestinian children.

Meanwhile, inside Israel, protesters have returned to the center of Tel Aviv after a two-week disruption caused by the war with Iran. And as Tom Perry reports, many are hopeful of a possible ceasefire in Gaza and the release of more hostages. Bring them home now! Bring them home now! Once again, a sea of people, some waving Israeli flags, many carrying pictures of the 50 hostages living and dead still held by Hamas, filling a public square in Tel Aviv demanding an end to the war in Gaza and for the hostages to come home. I hope it's going to be ceasefire and I think that you have to stop everything, the war.

I think that the people dying everywhere, it's enough. It's enough for us, for them, it's enough. Zahava Goldman has been to many rallies like this, but tonight feels more hopeful. Overlooking the square, where this crowd has gathered, a high-rise building stands with a hole blown in its side. A scar of Israel's recent battle with Iran. To Goldman, it was U.S. President Donald Trump who put an end to that conflict, her hope that he now does the same in Gaza.

He is the king now. He's a little cuckoo, but he's the leader. Others here just as convinced the U.S. president for all his flaws could be the unstoppable force that finally brings peace in whatever form that takes. But Yoni Collins, an Israeli-Canadian filmmaker and former IDF soldier, isn't setting his expectations too high. I don't know politics, I don't know governments, I personally have hope. But that being said, I've had hope before at times where they talked about on the news that there may or may not be a ceasefire, there may or may not be a hostage deal. And I do not like to hope for what I can't see. I will not believe anything until I see the 50 Home.

But for families of Israeli hostages, any hope is better than none. Dalia Kusnir Horn is the sister-in-law of Etan Horn, who was kidnapped on October 7th and remains in Hamas captivity. Etan's brother, Yari, was taken as well that day, but released as part of a ceasefire deal in February of this year.

Yari was in Washington DC today along with other former hostages meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. To Kusnir Horn it's a positive sign. We need to seize the moment we need to put all the pressure on all the involved countries and government and to finish this war in Gaza and the suffering of the Gazati people the Israelis and bring all the hostages together all of them all the 50." In the Oval Office on Friday Donald Trump breezily suggested a ceasefire deal in Gaza could come within a week. For people here that would be nothing short

of a miracle and in this war those have been in short supply. Tom Perry, CBC News, Tel Aviv. A suicide bomber killed at least 13 Pakistani soldiers Saturday near the border with Afghanistan. At least two dozen other people were injured, including several civilians. The attacker drove a car full of explosives into a Pakistani military convoy. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Violence in the border regions between the two countries has risen steadily since 2021, when the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan. You might know about France's yellow vests. Now there's another colorful grassroots French movement, this time in pink, founded after the police killing of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk in 2023. The pink vests are a group of concerned mothers who are taking matters into their own hands, Kyle Brown reports. Fatimata Sy and her team call out to the teenage boys gathered outside the tall apartment blocks

of social housing. We're in Corbeil-Essonne, south of Paris, where youth tit-for-tat violence has often turned bloody. The group of mainly West African women known as the gilets roses, or pink vests, patrol the streets to offer support and steer the youth away from confrontation. We're going to talk with them to see if they have any problems and see what we can do to help.

Sometimes they have a criminal record which prevents them from getting a job. We'll try to contact the Deputy Police Chief to see what he can do for these young people. For Naïs and Gilane, both 16, the police are part of the problem. Like teens in other low-income areas, they are frequently stopped and searched by law enforcement. They are too violent. They come for no reason. And then they're surprised when things boil over.

They frisk us, we get angry, and it leads to violence. Which is what happened two years ago in Ontario on the other side of Paris, in an area not unlike this one with a large population of immigrant families on modest incomes. On June 27, 2023, police shot 17-year-old Narel Merzouk at point-blank range as he tried to drive away from a police check. Belying police claims that the teen put them in danger, a video of the scene went viral and triggered riots across the country. Because we saw ourselves in him.

As I continue my tour with the Gilets Roses, we meet two 16-year-olds going by the names DRS and Shark, who admit to taking part in the riots. We were burning the garbage bins and everything. Finally they were paying attention to us. They were going to cover it up and try to say it was the kids fault yet again. You're young and you make a mistake and they'll kill you. No way. That's why we decided to riot. We had to break everything just to be heard. This time though, the officer who killed Nahel was charged with murder last month, a rare event. Also last month, the

French parliament, dominated by conservatives and the far right, passed new legislation with tougher sentences for young offenders. Minors from the age of 16 can be tried as adults. Parents deemed negligent face stiffer fines and prison terms of up to three years. face stiffer fines and prison terms of up to three years. These are often single-parent families, families that are already struggling. Fatemata Sy says the state should be there to support young people, not just to punish them. Everyone, she says, deserves a second chance.

Kyle Brown for CBC News, Paris. Police in Montreal are trying to build relationships in the city's village neighborhood. In recent years, businesses and residents have complained about homelessness and public drug use. So as part of a pilot project, more police officers are patrolling the area on foot. But as Sharon Yonan-Reynolds reports, local advocates question whether more policing is the answer. Two uniformed officers confront a man who they believe is selling drugs. Why do you have your pills out and he's got money in his hand?

Because he wanted to buy. I don't have. It's a site that's become all too common in Montreal's village neighborhood. The area's Citizens Association says that since the COVID-19 pandemic, homelessness and public drug use have intensified in the neighborhood. According to a survey the group carried out last year, about 68 percent of respondents considered the village to be not very safe or not safe at all. It's why the Montreal police have launched a pilot project called Echo.

This is our normal day of work, so we'll head out and patrol the street here on St. Catherine. Officer Matsu Farley says squads from the neighborhood police stations will patrol on foot instead of in cars, getting as close to the community as possible. He says the goal is to intervene before a situation escalates.

That could mean stopping a drug sale or helping someone experiencing a mental health crisis. People see us, they have access to us, so it's easier for us to intervene. The main purpose is to reduce 911 calls, so have more people doing this type of work. Montreal Police Chief Fadi Deguerre says in just a few weeks the squad has already built relationships in the community. When you see the same police officer walking by all the time having coffee with the business people with the neighborhood he's like okay wait a minute he looks cool he looks nice can I talk to him.

But others are hesitant that this is the right approach. Of course the police officers have an image. Jean-Francois Pleuf is with Action Autonomie, which advocates for the rights of people with mental illness. He says that police aren't always the best people to intervene when a vulnerable person needs help. What those people need is time, is a durable relationship with some other people that could help them.

All of those things can be done by street workers. He says officers often don't have the time or the training to build those relationships. Daguerre says while the police will never replace specialized intervention or social workers, they're still part of the solution. With them, with us, with other partners, we have to find a way to build that village. I promise that this area will not be a problem in two or three years. Let's hope it happens. He says he hopes to roll out the pilot project in other neighborhoods in the next few years. Sharon Yonan-Reynolds, CBC News, Montreal.

People around the world are taking part in celebrations for Pride Month this weekend, including one city where this year's Pride Parade was banned. In Budapest, thousands of people filled the streets across the city carrying rainbow flags and mocking the Hungarian Prime Minister. Viktor Orbán's government has gradually curtailed two SLGPTQ Plus rights over the past decade. In March, lawmakers passed legislation allowing a ban on pride events, citing the need to protect children.

Organizers estimate at least 200,000 people from 30 countries took part in the march, including 70 members of the European Parliament. Most people go on vacation to escape stress, but for gay, non-binary or transgender people, taking a trip can come with added challenges. And while countries like Hungary become increasingly hostile, others are making strides to attract more 2SL GPTQ Plus travellers. Freelance reporter Morley Krishna now on how India is becoming one such destination.

India is vast, it's diverse, there's so much that I haven't seen. Alan Morris and his husband David are raring to come back to India. The Australian couple have already done the Golden Triangle connecting the cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and earlier this year they visited Mumbai and Hampi in South India, fame for its temples and palaces. The southern state of Kerala and Indian administrative Kashmir are next on their bucket list. I take great pride in taking my partner David back and exposing him to all the wonders of what India is all about. David agrees. The most important thing for me I enjoy going back to India because I feel safe.

Alan and David are among an emerging market of travelers setting their sights on India. According to the 2025 gay travel index put out by the Berlin-based Spartacus, India now ranks 44th out of 213 countries and territories for travel safety. This is higher than the United States, Italy and Japan. Slowly India is becoming more inclusive. Parth Patnaik is the India membership manager for the International LGBTQ plus travel association or IGLTA. He says more people are visiting India because it is making strides towards greater inclusivity including decriminalizing same-sex relationships and legally recognizing a third gender. But he acknowledges gay and lesbian Indians still face legal hurdles.

The precise number of tourists aren't available because of privacy reasons, but there are clear signs the numbers are going up. Gordon Helberg from the US is visiting with his partner, with some help from a specialized travel agency. We're very glad to be welcomed by a company who specializes in making sure that we're going to be okay. Marvelous. There are many boutique agencies now cashing in on the rise of 2S LBGTQ Plus tourists from couples seeking luxury experiences to budget-conscious backpackers. You can meet local gay men, hopefully make friends with them for a lifetime. Sanjay Malhotra runs India Pink, a travel agency that caters to gay men.

When a foreigner comes to India, he must be able to see, experience and get in touch with the local Indian gay and lesbian community. Still, travellers are warned to be cautious. According to the Spartacus Travel Index, India lost marks because tourists could experience hostility from locals. And on its website, the IGLTA advises same-sex couples to exercise caution with public displays of affection, and says women in particular should be careful. But with pride events growing in number and popularity across India, the country's tourism

sector is hoping to find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Murali Krishnan for CBC News, New Delhi. If ancient Greek tragedy can teach us anything, it's that even the most rich and powerful can fall from grace for tempting fate. And according to contemporary Canadian director Robert Carson, that message is just as urgent now as it was 2500 years ago. That's why he's staging a classic Greek drama at one of the oldest amphitheaters in the Western world, on Sicily.

Megan Williams reports. Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles' final tragedy before he died around 406 BCE. The ancient Greek playwright died before it was staged in Athens, and about a century before it was likely put on here, in this open amphitheatre in Syracusa, Sicily. You know, it's kind of a holy space, that space. I mean, every stage, you know, we talk about in Rookian terms, the theatre being a holy space, but that really is one.

Says legendary Canadian opera director Robert Carson, who's directing Oedipus at Colonus three years after he staged Oedipus Rex here. He sets the play among cypress trees on steep steps. And divides the chorus into male and female, through the pouring of water, through terracotta vases, and chanting chanting evoke ancient ritual. The aim is catharsis for the audience, for the audience to be really deeply moved. Then there has to be an honesty. And I was talking all the time to the actors, every single one of them, that you cannot

hide behind any technique or any artificial process. You have to be engaged. That emotional connection has always been part of the experience here, especially in ancient times, when the theatre had space for some 15,000 spectators. Today it seats about a third of that, and this year for the first time, audiences can follow the plays with real-time AI translation in multiple languages. They still sit enraptured by Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles. But the relationship with theater is more aesthetic now, says head

of the National Institute of Ancient Drama, Marina Valenciese. What was this theater built for? It was used to forge a community. It was used to give a sense of religious union to the citizenship in order to understand that whatever we do we have to learn to do it together and we have to learn to do it respecting each other. Carson says the spiritual and communal aspect of ancient Greek theater is something he longs for. And I love the Greek theater and the way the Greek think about their relationship with their gods because there's something very personal, something very, you don't feel it's a control

for actually for a man-made structure to control other men. You feel that there's a way, it's a rather healthy way of getting you to have a relationship with, and it's to celebrate what we don't understand and what we don't know. Always watching out for hubris, he adds,

the delusion of invincibility. He says today the risk of that delusion has only heightened. The alarm about hubris was for one person, but now it's for everyone. I mean, our whole society, you know, where we want to become the gods and control everything and manipulate everything and destroy everything, which is in fact what we're doing. Here on this ancient stage, the warning still echoes. Megan Williams, CBC News, Siracusa, Sicily. Billionaire Jeff Bezos is wrapping up three days of lavish celebrations at his wedding

extravaganza in Venice. The likes of Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Brady descended upon the popular Italian city for the festivities, but there are hundreds of other guests who added themselves to the invitation and their message for the Amazon founder was far less celebratory. Mandy Sham reports. You might call it a wedding fit for a billionaire. Venice encircled by private jets and super yachts and venues filled with chandeliers and throngs of celebrities.

But getting hitched didn't go off without a hitch for tech magnate Jeff Bezos and his wife journalist Lauren Sanchez. Last minute changes were made to some locations for security purposes after groups of protesters took to the Lagoon City streets and threatened to obstruct the special occasion. I think we should talk about these things, but to be conscious about something that happens in the world, not just be silent. Italian Manuel Rommel supports the protests aimed at drawing awareness to what demonstrators call the exploitation of Venice and its residents.

But there are others who say it's good publicity. Aldo Tassoni admits his city is a bit like Disneyland, but he says he's not against it because Bezos is bringing money to the Venetian economy. Projected costs for the multi-day celebration are set at around 45 million US dollars, a high price to pay to tie the knot. But activists say the price for locals is even higher. The problem is not the wedding, the problem is the system. Simona Abate is an environmental activist with Greenpeace.

She says this wedding is just the latest representation of the rich living in excess while others endure the consequences of a climate emergency she says that they didn't create. Abate says if billionaires can afford to turn one of Europe's most historically influential cities into a theme park they can also pay more taxes. And use this money for reduce the impact of climate change to increase the health care money to reduce the impact of climate change, to increase the health care system, to increase the welfare state. Climate change has put Venice at major risk of flooding. Rising sea levels threaten to fully submerge the city in several decades' time.

And the flood of mass tourism is also a serious concern, as it is across southern Europe. Venice recently introduced a tourist tax to enter the city at peak times, though activists say what's really needed is affordable housing and better essential services. All of us have the same space. We think that one big billionaire can't rent a city for his pleasure. A millionaire can't rent a city for his pleasure. Calls to action which may have to wait as Venice revels in the sound of lavish celebrations across the water. Mandy Sham, CBC News, Toronto. From lavish ceremonies to more humble gatherings, 200,000 common people are at Worthy Farm in southwest England for Glastonbury, the UK's biggest music festival.

Saturday's much anticipated secret slot revealed as Britpop's Pulp. It all started in 1970. How do you think your herd of cows are going to react to the sounds of folk and rhythm and blues? They do like the music very much. We have it in the stores. A BBC reporter with Dairy Farmer and Glastonbury Festival creator Michael Eves, who hosts it all on his land. The first acts included the Kinks, T-Rex and Keith Christmas.

The one pound ticket price included a bottle of milk. These days a ticket runs around 380 pounds, more than 700 Canadian dollars, and no longer comes with milk. It was worth it for the success. We had people from America and from Germany and all over coming in saying, my God, it was fantastic. And now, people from all over the world gather on the farm, almost annually, save for a few fallow years. Glastonbury has always pledged to stick to its counter-culture roots,

championing causes like in 1981 when when Evis donated proceeds to the campaign for nuclear disarmament. I want to say a big thank you to the Evis family of Glossomers. This year, a controversial performance by Northern Irish hip hop group, NiCAP. Despite objections, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after a member was charged with a terrorism offense for displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London show. The Prime Minister of your country, not mine. See how he didn't want us to play?

Necap says it doesn't support the Iran-backed militant group, but it's also been criticized for anti-Israel comments. The lineup over five days is diverse. We're there too, with Canadian artists Alanis Morissette, Caribou and Neil Young. You've been listening to Your World Tonight. I'm Kimberly Gale. Thanks for being with us. Keep on rocking the free world.

Keep on rocking the free world. Keep on rocking the free world. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.