Your World Tonight - Four more people rescued from Laos cave, U.S.-Iran ceasefire in limbo, Celebrations for Montreal Victoire's PWHL championship win, and more

Episode Date: May 30, 2026

Rescue crews in Laos have managed to pull four more villagers out of a cave, after the first was brought to the surface yesterday. The group had been trapped inside the crevices of that cave for more than a week. But it's not all good news -- the search continues for two others that are still missing.Also: U.S. President Donald Trump has left the world hanging. He said Friday he would make a "final determination" soon on a cease-fire extension with Iran. But that decision is still forthcoming. And: Canadian NHL fans' Stanley Cup dreams have been dashed yet again. The Carolina Hurricanes swept away the Montreal Canadiens Friday night in game five of the conference finals. But Montreal hockey lovers didn't let that rain on their victory parade. Thousands of cheering fans came out to support the Montreal Victoire - The first Canadian team to win the P-W-H-L championship.Plus: Colombia's presidential election, Using AI for weather forcasting, Ancient graffiti in Pompeii, and more.

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No, not today. Looks like people are starting to know Beneva pretty well. You're stronger with the right partner, Beneva. This is a CBC podcast. Relief, as another four villagers climb out of a cave in Laos, they were stuck for more than a week, but it's not over yet. A complex and dramatic rescue deepens to find two more still missing.

This is Your World Tonight. I'm Tanja, also on the podcast. Ebola is outpacing efforts to contain it. The head of the World Health Organization is in the epicenter of the spread in Central Africa. with another stark warning. Plus, We almost could cry about it sometimes when we think about how lucky the younger generation is.

To have these women as a role model, it's super. Canadian hockey fans do have something to celebrate, and it has nothing to do with the NHL. We begin in Laos, where rescuers have managed to pull four more villagers out of a cave. The first was brought to the surface yesterday. The group had been trapped inside the crevices of that. cave for more than a week. But it's not all good news. Two others are still missing. As our Jennifer

Yun reports, it's proving to be a dangerous and difficult rescue mission. Covered in mud, exhausted, but alive. The first taste of freedom for four Laotians who are trapped in a cave for 10 days. One of the men grins, ear to ear, walking unsteadily outside the cave's entrance. Another weeps as he hugs a relative, while a rescuer asks people to avoid crowding over the man. The four men had to crawl through a series of pitch black, twisting tunnels to escape. The villagers had entered the cave in search for gold, but the cave flooded suddenly, trapping them inside. Rescuers managed to pull one trapped villager out of the cave Friday,

but the big breakthrough came today, when rescue teams pumped enough water out of the cave, that four more people were able to squeeze through previously flooded areas, along with searchers who had gone in to deliver food and water. The rescue mission was complex and grueling, says Kankart Bunkawang, the head of the Thai volunteer rescue team. The cave was very narrow, and we had to crawl several hundred meters. The men had to crawl more than 260 meters in total. roughly the length of two football fields, all after having little food and water for over a week.

Once they got out, they were wrapped in foil blankets, given oxygen masks, then later transferred to hospital. But the rescue mission isn't over yet. Two villagers still remain missing, and rescuers must now go deeper inside the cave. An even more dangerous task which would involve raving heavily flooded areas, with freezing water and near zero visibility to try and find the last of the villagers and bring them home. Jada for Yun, CBC News, Toronto. There are now more than 1,000 suspected cases and close to 250 deaths from the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. But the World Health Organization warns it may get much worse yet, as this rare strain could have a 50% fatality rate.

The head of the WHO is in the region. in this weekend to work on a strategy to contain the outbreak. The CBC's Philip LeShanock has the latest. We're not here to tell people what to do. We're here to listen. Flanked by local health officials, Dr. Tedros at Adam Gavryasas gave a briefing in Bunya, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, near where the first Ebola case was detected. Our role is to support you.

Community ownership is what will bring this outbreak to an end. He says the DRC has had 16 Ebola outbreaks in the past and has contained all of them. But this is the rare Bundibujo strain that has no vaccine or treatment. Gabriasis says there is hope. A potential treatment is being tested on monkeys and will be assessed by researchers at the University of Oxford. Anaeus Lagonde is a WHO technical officer in Geneva, Switzerland. Now we have this candidate therapeutics and vaccine. WHO is working to support the assessment of this candidate medical countermeasure.

Africa Centers for Disease Control says so far there are more than 1,000 suspected cases and 246 deaths. Doctors Without Borders Emergency Coordinator, Florent Ozzini, says the virus was likely circulating long before it was detected, so the actual cases may be much higher. We have very, very little idea of the number, he says. So what we do know is that the figures are certainly underestimated. And as fear spread, countries are putting measures in place to keep any cases from crossing their borders. A judge in Kenya suspended U.S. plans for a facility there to treat Americans exposed to the virus.

Nairobi resident Stephanie Apondo says it's not worth the risk to public health. Well, if there's an outbreak of Ebola, then that's going to be a huge pandemic. Officials in Brazil said Saturday, a man who's suspected to have Ebola is in isolation in Sao Paulo Hospital. Canada recently suspended travelers from Central Africa from coming here, and Canadians returning from the region must quarantine for 21 days. Kelly Lee is a researcher with the Pandemics and Border Project at Simon Fraser University. I think the government has made not a scientific decision, but a political decision that public confidence at this time, when the World Cup is just about to start is the priority.

DRC health officials have rejected reports that the outbreak is out of control and are trying to keep the virus contained to three provinces. Philip Lyshenock, CBC News, Toronto. Still ahead, a Canadian professor, part of a team in Pompeii, digging deep into the historical carvings of the ancient city. We'll tell you what advanced imaging reveals about graffiti marks all the way back from the Roman Empire. That's later on your world tonight.

U.S. President Donald Trump has left the world hanging. He said Friday he'd make a, quote, final determination soon on a ceasefire extension with Iran. But since then, nothing but silence on that decision. For more, let's bring in our Chris Rhea's in New York and Chris, while the world waits for news from the White House. What are representatives from each side saying about these ceasefire talks? Well, Tanya, the big statement.

standout is just how differently the U.S. and Iran are portraying these negotiations. This tells you that it's impossible to know just how far or how close the two sides are from reaching a deal. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the U.S. team has delivered clear expectations to Iran. President Trump has been very clear about his red line, so no nuclear weapons, unrestricted movement through the Strait of Hormuz for all commercial shipping. Hegseth also reissued the threat that if a deal is not reached, the U.S. is ready to restart attacks. So Iran knows very, very clearly what our expectations are. The talks have been productive.

I think they know where it needs to go. And I'm quite confident with our president that ultimately it'll be something he's proud to defend that ensures that Iran, which everyone knows, should not have a nuclear weapon, never does. Meanwhile, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader has come out today saying that Trump, Trump is betraying diplomacy for a third time with its naval blockade. He told Al Jazeera that the U.S. demands are excessive. Sojan Goel is with the Asia Pacific Foundation. He describes this moment in the negotiations as a dangerous diplomatic hinge point

where the outcome can vary widely, depending on whether a peace deal can be agreed on or not. I think what the U.S. wants to do is it wants to present any potential agreement as a form of coercive diplomacy backed by what it wants to present as a credible force. But there are so many caveats as to whether this can even move forward or not. In regarding that naval blockade earlier today, the U.S. said it fired a missile into the engine of a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman. U.S. Central Command says the Gambian-flagged ship was headed to an Iranian port and ignored 20 warnings not to break the U.S. blockade. All right, Chris, thank you. for this update. Thank you. The CBC's Chris Reyes in New York for us tonight. To Columbia now,

where people are heading into a polarized presidential election Sunday. More than a dozen candidates are running, but voters are divided among two different visions for their country's future, one based on economic and social reform, the other focused on security and fighting crime. Freelance reporter Manuel Rueda is in Bogota for us tonight. At a rally for the opposition, and candidate Avelardo Del Esprella, people wave banners and somewhere camouflage. The political outsider who calls himself the tiger, Delesprella is promising to crack down on crime and drug trafficking. His proposals include building 10 mega-prisons and canceling peace talks between Colombia's government and rebel groups.

I'm going to finish with criminals through reason or through force, he says. proposals sound good to Jose Hernandez, a cattle rancher from eastern Colombia. He says that every year he has to pay $700 in protection money to a rebel group that operates in his municipality. Someone has to stop them, he says. Those leeches are sucking the blood out of us. Over the past four years, rebel groups in Colombia have become more powerful, despite efforts by the government and of Gustavo Petro to stage peace talks. Analysts say that the rebels use ceasefires with the government to strengthen their control over rural communities,

where they run criminal enterprises like cocaine labs. The rebel groups have also expanded, says Juan Carlos Ruiz, a professor at Bogotas Rosario University. And now we think that they are located in 500 municipalities in Colombia, half of our municipalities. But many voters continue to have faith in the people. peace talks and say they will support Colombia's left-wing government

because of its economic policies. Under President Gustavo Petro, the minimum wage has almost doubled. The president also overhauled Colombia's labor laws so that workers get paid more for overtime. He's helped improve the quality of life of many people, says seamstress,

Viviana Castaneda. President Petro cannot run for real, election, but he's urging voters to support his party's candidate, Ivan Cepeda. The experienced Senator is currently the frontrunner, with polls suggesting four out of ten voters will support him, says political analyst Jorge Restrepo. The median voter here in this country requires things to change, especially in social services, health, education, and justice. There are 14 candidates on the ballot, but the election has turned into a three-way race

between Sepeda, Del Esprella and Paloma, Valencia, another conservative leader who has promised to tackle the nation's growing deficit. If no one gets more than 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff in June between the top two contenders. Manuel Reda for CBC News, Bogota. Fears of flooding have multiple regions of Western Canada on alert this weekend. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement in parts of Alberta and Southeast BC. Heavy rain is expected to begin this evening and continue into the middle of next week. Calgary and Banff could see up to 60 millimeters of rain. Widespread flooding is not expected there, but people are being urged to stay off of major rivers.

Meanwhile, BC's East Cootney region is under a flood watch. Communities there could see 80 millimeters of rainfall over the next three days. From wind speeds to hail sizes, radar systems help Environment Canada track storm, and warn the public. But the government department has recently disbanded its radar research team and is now leaning on artificial intelligence to help with accurate forecasting. Helena Mahalek has more. We had those powerful winds move into the area yesterday.

Storm chaser Jenny Hagen has spent two decades informing the public about severe weather on the prairies, but says cuts to radar research by Environment Canada will make that job difficult. It really kind of holds us back a lot on. the information that we can gather when we're out in the field in order to keep not only just ourselves safes, but the general public. Radars show everything from wind speeds to hail sizes, data that helps Environment Canada issue warnings to the public. The organization recently disbanded its radar research team, and the technology won't be

further developed. The variety of different options that U.S. ones have. Hagen says Canada's radars are 15 years behind the capabilities of those in the U.S. Prairie farmers near the border, like Lee Stanley from Carrival, Saskatchewan, says he's using that technology instead. I can kind of rely on some American apps and that, but it would be nice to see the Canadian government and the Saskatchewan government invest a little bit more in better radar, better forecasting. Farmers' livelihoods depend on the forecast. A recent windstorm left Stanley with costly property

damage. But he commended Environment Canada for issuing warnings days ahead of the storm. The radar cuts aren't the only big change by the organization. Canada will be the first country to launch a national hybrid AI weather model forecasting system at the end of May, combining physics-based weather data with AI forecasting capabilities to better predict weather days ahead. Jean-Francois, a research scientist who helped develop the models, says the organization wants to lean on AI more going forward. future we hope that with AI we can improve all ranges of forecasts, so not only the medium and long ranges, but also the short ranges. Experts like David Sills with the Northern Tornadoes project says the move is confusing,

and that developing current radars is just as important as improving future forecasts. You know, on the one hand, they're adding capacity for severe weather. On the other hand, they're taking away. So it's hard to see what the logic is there. Sills has started a letter-writing campaign, urging the public to write to elected officials to reverse the radar research cuts. 8,000 letters were sent in the first 48 hours of the campaign launch. Environment Canada would not disclose staffing changes to CBC News. It says changes to radar research have been made, but it will continue to provide expertise in maintaining Canada's radar network. Helena Mahalik's CBC News, Saskatoon.

As the war with Iran exposes the risks of relying on fossil fuels, a small village in Germany is quietly showing a potential path forward. Residents there are producing far more renewable energy than they are using. And as freelance reporter Natalie Carney tells us, instead of seeing their bills go up, many in the village are actually making a profit. In the small Bavarian village of Vilpoldrude Ryd, wind turbines rise above church steeples and solar panels cover rooftops. What was once a quiet farming village

is becoming a global model for renewable energy. Here, resident Thomas Heinde is eagerly awaiting his connection to the village's renewable district heating system. This will allow us to give up oil, he says, and considering current prices will be saving money, as well as doing something for the environment.

Vilport's Ried has been phasing out fossil fuels for years now. In an effort to become more environmentally responsible and energy independent, says Mayor Gunther Mugali. 35 years ago, we made the decision not to connect to the natural gas grid. We don't have enough natural gas in Germany. We would have to import it, and it would make us depending on foreign countries. Therefore, nobody here has natural gas in the house. So residents began investing directly into a mix of local renewable energy. energy projects, creating what they describe as a circular economy.

Thomas Flugel is the village electrical engineer. He tells me how they generate electricity and heat throughout the year using biogas and solar, but wind plays the biggest role. All this generates up to 10 times more energy than the village needs. That excess power is sold back into the grid, generating millions of euros each year for village schools, sports halls and other public projects. residents also profit directly. Marcus Gillinga says it takes just 5,000 euros

for which you get a very good return at the end of every year based on the revenues generated by the energy project. While the revenue goes to the investor, Mayor Mugali says this community ownership has helped build trust and support. We have no foreign investors, no big investors, no big companies. The investors are our inhabitants. It's also working education. Occasionally.

Many visitors are interested in using this model as an example, he says, but it's only an example, as local geography must play a role. As geopolitical tensions make fossil fuels increasingly uncertain, Wilpoldry's renewable energy model is showing how communities can strengthen energy independence in a changing energy landscape. Natalie Carney for CBC News, Wilpoldreid, Germany. Well, the world is much different than it was 2,000 years ago, but as this next story illustrates, some things never change.

Even in the Roman Empire, people loved to scratch jokes, insults, love notes, yes, even crude drawings into walls. Reporter Megan Williams is in Pompeii, where researchers have used advanced imaging to reveal graffiti that was hidden for millennia in the ancient city. The corridor is known. narrow, its walls scarred with faint scratches, names and drawings. Two millennia ago, it ran between Pompey's two main theatres. Feet, body, it was the gladiators. Among the startling new discoveries

here, two gladiators scratched into the wall before Mount Vesuvius buried this port town in 79 AD. This is one of the crowded places in the ancient time. It was a place to pass through, but also to linger, gossip, flirt, and leave a mark. Many of the inscriptions here are just solitary words or fragments, and one, a declaration of love by someone named Erato. We don't know who actually loves Erato. It's unfortunately the name of his or her lover was destroyed by time. Ancient Roman history professor, Marie Adeline Luggené of the University of Quebec

in Montreal, worked on the project with two French colleagues. It's a name that slaves would have because slaves used to be rebaptized by their owners with very stereotypical names. So Erato would be one of them. The team found some graffiti in 2022 and 79 more in 2025. They worked at night lighting the walls from different angles and photographing the same surface again and again. The graffiti also helped scholars study class and gender, how often women were mentioned, and whether they wrote on the walls themselves. Luggenek says that happened, but rarely.

Earlier research also found names written in Sophytic, an ancient script used by nomadic Arab communities. This man points to another drawing on the wall. A boat. Oh, yeah, a sail, a ship sail. Tantissimé, a Pompeii, the assigurations of embarkations, barque or the navies that were seen, arrive from the mar. Pompey archaeologist Giuseppe Iscarpati says, there are many boats and ships here, reflections of what people saw in a busy commercial town

once closer to the sea. Park collector Gabriel Zuchtregel calls the corridor one of Pompey's most important sites. Across Pompeii, there are more than 10,000 graffiti. Artificial intelligence was not used to decipher the corridor, but Scarpati says the site recently used AI to create an image of a man fleeing the eruption, trying to protect his head with a terracotta bowl. Now he wants to see what AI could do with graffiti. With intelligence artificial, we'll have, for what regard the refurations of graffiti.

In June, researchers plan to launch a public digital database with models of the corridor's graffiti. Megan Williams, CBC News, Pompeii. Stanley Cup dreams for hockey fans in Canada have been dashed yet again. The Carolina

hurricane swept away the Montreal Canadians Friday night in game five of the conference finals, but Montreal hockey lovers didn't let that rain on their parade, literally in another league. Thousands of fans cheered on the Montreal Victoire in their victory parade. They're the first Canadian team to win the PWHL championship. The CBC's Alexander Silberman was there. An electric and historic moment in downtown Montreal.

Thousands of cheering fans lining streets and packing into a city square. ecstatic to see the Montreal Victual host the Walter Cup high into the air. Honestly, I woke up today. It felt like Christmas. Katie Mylar was in the middle of the crowd, wearing a team jersey and waving homemade signs. It was so exciting just to get to celebrate the team. The Victual shut out the Ottawa charge for nothing

in game four of the Walter Cup final last week, becoming the first Canadian team to win the professional women's hockey league's championship. The crowd got especially loud as the victuals' captain, Marie-Philippe Poulin, carried the cup onto a stage. Many fans wearing her jersey, chanting the Canadian hockey legend's name. It's been unbelievable. For Poulin, the massive turnout left her emotional.

And people showed up today. It means the world to us. Forward Laura Stacey says she hopes the victual show young girls. There is a future for them in a professional league. There's something to dream about. There's something to play for. And we always dreamed about playing hockey for a living, but you never dreamed about this, a parade with this many fans.

Devout fans, many who traveled several hours to be here, say excitement about the PWHL is growing. Scott Campbell was waving a stop sign with the name of the team's star goalie, Anne René de Bien. The team is fantastic. It's really brought the city together. You know, it's really nice to be able to celebrate a win finally after these three years. Virginia Broomin was in the crowd with her young daughter on her shoulders,

both trying to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars. It's so important for young girls to be able to see these icons of hockey. Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez-Ferada says the turnout speaks for itself. If somebody doubts that women's sport in hockey is just a small thing, look at the crowd. It is a thing. They won the cup and I think it's going to show the future is really bright. As the victual looked to the future, the PWHL is getting ready to add four new teams, including another Canadian franchise in Hamilton,

Montreal's success, generating a big boost to the visibility of women's hockey, and captivating new fans of all ages. Alexander Silverman, CBC News, Montreal. We end tonight with highlights from the first wave of Canadian Screen Award winners, honoring the best in our country's film and television over the past year. You got your A, you B, you C, you D, E, F, and don't forget, G. That song, perhaps using the term rather loosely here, has one best original song. It's called the Alphabet song.

It's featured in the Canadian comedy Nirvana, the band, The Show, The Movie. Actor Matt Johnson, who you just heard, Performing, the winning song in the film, gave a rather shocked acceptance speech. Has anybody in your scene our movie? Like, do you know what this is for? I would say this is a first and last that this will ever happen in this country.

We shouldn't overstay our welcome here. It's a national embarrassment. Johnson took home Best Supporting Actor for his role as well, and the Nirvana film also won Best VFX and Best Sound Mix. also to his surprise. I'm sure there are many of you looking at this being like, I can't believe this is true.

And yet that has been Jay and my and all of my friends' reaction to the world reaction of our film. And I can only say we're extremely grateful. And I won't make a joke about it because this is enough of a joke on its own. Other winners include Will Arnett, taking home Best Voice Performance in Super Team Canada, and Mike Myers with the Academy icon,

The Canadian Screen Awards will air tomorrow night, live from the CBC Broadcast Center in Toronto, hosted by Calgary Born Actor and star of Kin's Convenience, Andrew Fung. He told CBC that people just want someone as a host who's happy to be there. You can watch the CSAs on CBC or stream it live on Gem. This has been your world tonight for Saturday, May 30th. I'm Tanya Fletcher. Thanks for being with us. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC.

cBC.ca slash podcasts.