Your World Tonight - Fragile ceasefire, another floor crossing, dangerous exercise, and more

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

A two-week ceasefire between the U.S., Israel, and Iran is under threat. Iran’s parliamentary speaker says several conditions have been violated. The main dispute: whether Israel agreed to stop its incursion in Lebanon. The Strait of Hormuz is closed to traffic, and reports of renewed strikes keep the region on a knife’s edge.And: The Liberals are one seat closer to a majority government. Ontario Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu has crossed the floor to join the Liberals.Also: “Feel the burn” is a common motivational phrase when you’re working out. But sometimes that pain is a sign that something is seriously wrong. “Exercise-induced rhabdo”, as it’s known, is caused by the sudden breakdown of muscle tissue. Health reporter Christine Birak tells us how likely it is to occur, and how it could be avoided.Plus: Air Canada tests a new way of dealing with complaints, tensions in Potlotek First Nation over a cannabis raid, and more.

Life changes fast. One thing shouldn't. Your storage price. At XYZ storage, lock in your rate for a full year with our industry first locked in pricing promotion. No surprises, no sudden increases. Just secure, affordable storage you can count on. Whether you're storing a little or a lot, now's the time to make your move. Visit XYZ Storage.ca or your nearest location today. This is a CBC podcast. Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming. victory on the battlefield. A capital V military victory. The ceasefire was announced with an exclamation mark, but Donald Trump's two-week truce with Iran may need an asterisk. Less than 24 hours in, it's being tested by new attacks. A key shipping route is still blocked,

and there's confusion over the terms of the deal. I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't. We never made that promise. We never indicated that was going to be the case. The U.S. says Lebanon isn't even in the fine print, and the fighting continues between Israel and Hezbollah, with Israel launching its biggest attack on Lebanon since the conflict began,

keeping the region on edge and the fragile ceasefire at risk. This is Your World Tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. It's Wednesday, April 8th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast. She's going to be a great member of our team, and this all comes at a time when the country as a whole is uniting, uniting to move forward. Another MP crossing the floor in Ottawa,

leaving the conservatives for the liberals. Prime Minister Mark Carney says it's bringing the country closer together as it brings him one seat away from a majority government. In Iran tonight there is relief after weeks of relentless attacks. But bombs are still falling, drones are still being launched, and ships are still being launched. and ships are still being blocked from the Strait of Hormuz.

We have comprehensive coverage of the ceasefire and the challenges it's facing. We start with Katie Nicholson, who is in Washington with our top story. As pro-Iranian social media accounts trolled the U.S. President for backing off his apocalyptic threats to wipe Iran off the map. Regime leadership flexed their post-seas-fire position of strength, on Iranian state television. President Trump made history. So too did the Americans. Pentagon head Pete Hagseth.

Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. A capital V military victory. There may be a ceasefire, but the war of words continues between Iran and the U.S., both sides claiming victory. Amid ongoing confusion about whether the Strait of Hormuz is open, whether Lebanon is included in the agreement, and as projectiles continue to fly overhead in the region, whether a ceasefire is truly in place.

This is a fragile truce. Seas fires are fragile by nature. Even as the White House press secretary, Caroline Levitt, was touting the president's success, there were reports of new bombing in Iran. Were those reports just as of a few minutes ago? Yeah. Okay, so obviously I'll have to go back and check with the national security team.

And then there's the murky question of what's in Iran's 10-point proposal. U.S. President Donald Trump initially called it a workable basis on which to negotiate. The Iranians say it grants them control over the Strait of Hormuz, ends sanctions and forces the U.S. military to withdraw from the Middle East. The Iranians originally put forward a 10-point plan that was fundamentally unsurious, unacceptable, and completely discarded. It was literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump and his negotiating team.

There is, she said, a more reasonable plan on the table now. If, as Trump has called it, this little excursion is coming to an end, Democrats say the U.S. will be left the worse for it. We have a regime in Iran that is more radical, more extreme, more hardline than the one before. And then, Senator Chris Van Hollen says there's the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war. The U.S. says some vessels are now getting through the strait, but Iran says it's closed for business. Now Iran is clearly established that it can control the straight

and is even talking about charging tolls. The fine points of the agreement, including what to do with Iran's stores of enriched uranium, will be hammered out in face-to-face talks this weekend in Islamabad, with Vice President J.D. Vance leading the U.S. team. Frankly, the president has all the cards here. We've got a lot of leverage. We've got a lot of things that we can do. But right now, I think we're in a good spot.

All assuming the British. ceasefire isn't shattered before all parties get to the table. Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Washington. As Katie mentioned, one complication of the temporary truce is Lebanon. Iran claims the in-battle nation is part of the deal. Israel and the U.S. disagree. Today, the IDF struck Beirut in an intense wave of new attacks that it says are on Hezbollah.

Sasha Petrissik is in Jerusalem with the details. One explosion after another hit Lebanon, 100 Israeli airstrikes in 10 minutes. Leaving residential neighborhoods in Beirut, buried. Noam Chebo cleaning up from a blast next door. We are living in nightmare, so I'm afraid today to sleep. Israel calls it the heaviest day of bombardment in years, saying it was going after Hezbollah militants. Residents were expecting a ceasefire.

Over night we had celebrations, and this morning there was a renewed sense of hope. Dr. Tianman Dyn from Doctors Without Borders says the mood quickly changed in her emergency room in southern Lebanon. Lebanese civil defense officials say more than 250 people died today. And the bodies have continued to inundate the hospital. Iran and Pakistani mediators say the ceasefire agreement includes Lebanon. But the U.S. disagrees and Israel flatly rejects it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to continue a ground invasion that's already displaced more than a million people from southern Lebanon.

Needed, he says, to protect northern Israeli communities. He says he supports U.S. President Donald Trump's negotiations with Iran, and if these don't achieve their goals, he says fighting will resume after two weeks. Netanyahu has long pushed for an all-out war against Iran, calling the regime an existential threat to Israel. His political opponents say he's failed to neutralize it. It's a diplomatic disaster, says opposition leader Yeir Lapid, suggesting Netanyahu should have demanded more from Iran for a pause in fighting, that Trump's priorities overshadowed Israel's. Rockets started raining on northern Israel again after the Israeli strikes. Hezbollah saying it wouldn't

stay quiet. Surit Zahavi lives on the border and runs an Israeli think tank focused on the threat from Lebanon. I want to have peace and security for my family. If the only way to do it is to continue to fight Hezbollah and to continue to fight Iran, so be it. Indeed, despite being under attack for six weeks, most Jewish-Israeli support continuing the conflict in Lebanon and in Iran. Sasha Petrosik, CBC News, Jerusalem. Iranians in Canada are reacting cautiously to the ceasefire. For some, there's relief for family and friends back home.

For others, disappointment over the failure to force regime change. Caroline Bargut has more. It was definitely a relief. Puyang Tabasi Najat was at work in Winnipeg and couldn't focus on anything as the hours took closer to U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline to total destruction of Iran. Some of his family back home fled from Tehran amid bombings that were so close. The windows of their home were shattered.

While his family opposes the Iranian regime, they say this war has united citizens. People are gathering in the streets and their homes to kind of defend their homeland and to express support for their homeland and to condemn this what they see as a, you know, really violent foreign aggression against their country. There is no war that brings freedom. Atene Barbaruishi is in Iranian-Canadian living in Montreal.

She desperately wants to see the end of the Islamic Republic's rule, but has never supported this war. I never believe that this war will bring democracy, regime, change, or liberation for my people, as unfortunately it was promoted. She says the U.S. and Israel put on a massive propaganda and manipulation campaign to convince Iranians all over the world that bombing their country would bring regime change. We've seen this pattern before.

Ontario resident, Itak, Saraha-Talib, fears this war will have all been for nothing. We've seen this negotiation for more than 40 years, and they usually go back to the situation that it was before. and without any structural change, it can end up preserving the regime, the system. And I'm really concerned about that. In Vancouver, there's frustration over this war. It's like it's a mixed feeling. Miriam Mizrui says her friends in Iran are happy the fighting has stopped,

but we're hoping the war would have led to regime change. And she was kind of disappointed. And she asked me, is it over now? Like actually, Iranians are more terrified of regime, Islamic regime, than the war. My parents were, my mom was saying goodbye crying. Hassam Deghani is an assistant professor of Persian language and culture at the University of British Columbia. While a lot of civilian infrastructure has already been destroyed, he hopes this latest ceasefire agreement will actually lead to an end to the bombing.

The future is bleak now, but we have managed to change the discourse to discourse of competition. passion and freedom. And we will achieve it at some point. Despite everything, these Iranian Canadians cling to hope their loved ones in Iran survive this war. And one day, their country will have lasting peace and freedom. Caroline Bargut, CBC News, Vancouver. Coming right up, another MP defects to the Liberals, putting Mark Carney just one seat away from a majority government. And with its current system not exactly moving at jet speed, Air Canada tests out a new way to resolve customer complaints.

Later, we'll have this story. I'm health reporter Christine Birak. Officials in St. John say high-intensity exercise classes are landing an unusually high number of young women in hospital with a dangerous muscle condition. I had never felt worse in my entire life. And thinking back, I felt like I was dying. Doctors suspect social media is pushing the trend.

I'll have that story later on your world tonight. Mark Carney's government is now just one seat short of a majority. Another long-time Conservative MP is joining the Liberal Caucus. Marilyn Gladou is the fifth MP and fourth Conservative to cross the floor since last year's federal election. Tom Perry has more from Ottawa. Biennue to the moment. Bienvenue, Maryland. Yet another hastily called announcement, Prime Minister Mark Carney,

introducing the latest addition to his liberal team. Another former conservative, this time Ontario MP. Marilyn Gladu. Marilyn has a tremendous experience in business as an engineer. Gladu is the fifth MP and fourth conservative to jump ship and join the liberals. We need a global leader with a plan to make a more resilient Canada, a stronger Canada, more self-reliant Canada for this critical moment. And that man is our prime minister, Mark Carney.

Gladu is by some measure an odd fit for a government that bills itself as progressive. When she ran for leader of the Conservative Party in 2020, Gladu said she would allow MPs to bring forward private members bills to restrict abortion. Gladu opposed a government bill to ban conversion therapy while saying she personally opposes the practice. And during the pandemic, she was forced to apologize over comments she made questioning the seriousness of COVID-19 and the need for vaccine mandates. We are interested in unity, not uniformity. Gladu made her comments about COVID in an interview with Evan Solomon, who was then a host at CTV News. Solomon is now federal minister of artificial intelligence and helped persuade Gladu to join the government. You're going to see Marilyn has a very pragmatic view of things. She's very aligned with our mission agenda.

Conservative leader Pierre Palliev today posted a message on social media similar to ones he's posted before, accusing the prime minister of trying to seize a majority. after voters denied him one in the last election. The Liberals can take control of the House on Monday when voters cast ballots in three by-elections. Two of those races in the Toronto area are considered safe liberal seats. The third in the Montreal area riding of Therban

is seen as a battle between the Liberals and Block Quebecois. Block leader I Francois Blanchet says Gladu's departure means voters in Terban can now vote more freely. No one can come here. and say, you should give us a majority. They have it. They add it already. Federal liberals will hold their convention this week in Montreal,

buoyed by strong polling numbers and a strong chance at achieving a majority. For federal conservatives, the picture is more cloudy, as they wait to see whether any other members of their party might be considering their future. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. Air Canada is testing a new way to settle compensation claims. The airline is trying to clear a big backlog of passenger complaints. Now a third-party arbitrator will review hundreds of cases. Jamie Strassion explains how it'll work and why some industry experts have doubts.

It's painstaking. It's a waiting game like so many things in life. Like thousands of other Canadian travelers, things don't always go smoothly for Darren Jenkey. Lost bags, delayed and cancelled flights, the joys of air travel. Under the current regulations, when things go wrong, customers can seek compensation through the Canadian Transportation Agency. But like a cancelled flight, Jenkees says the process can be aggravating. Currently, there's a backlog of nearly 100,000 cases. You need a speedy resolution to all of that stuff.

I don't know. An appropriate timeline is not two or three years. Air Canada is proposing a different approach, choosing 500 complainants at random and bringing in a third party arbitrator. This is about obtaining good, faster responses for our clients. Air Canada Executive Vice President Mark Barbos says there is no cost for those who agree to participate. The customer in the airline would make submissions to the arbitrator and a decision would be released in 90 days. Whatever decision emanates from the arbitration, we will be bound by it, Air Canada, but they will not be bound by it.

If they wish to pursue their claim before the CTA after the arbitral decision, they can do that. Barbos says many European countries use a similar process. Air Canada has tapped a company, which is a subsidiary of a UK company specializing in air traffic complaints. The CAA's Ian Jack says there are questions about how a third-party system would work in Canada. Who's going to pay for it? If it's the airline itself, we need some sort of independent oversight to make sure that if the carriers are paying for this, that they're not winning all of the cases. Jack also says in Europe there are multiple companies competing for cases

with customers' interests not always put first. Whether there's 10 or 20 competing ADR companies out there, all making claims, all offering you maybe a discount or will buy your claim from you or whatever. That happens some places in Europe, and we don't want to see that here either. Some long-time industry watchers say any attempt to speed things up should be applauded. McGill University's Carl Moore says, clearly a three-year wait needs attention.

Let's try it. Let's see how it goes. And then in a few months, Air Canada and CTA and others will look at it and go, hey, this actually makes sense. That's the main thing is you're ready to learn. Are you ready to evolve and change? Currently, when CTA cases are resolved, 55% of being in favor of passengers. But in the case of Air Canada, only about a quarter of claims are successful. Jamie Strash in CBC News, Toronto.

In Nova Scotia, debate is heating up over whether selling cannabis is a treaty right for indigenous people. The province says it's not, and late last night, passed legislation to bring in tougher penalties. As Kayla Hounsel reports, this follows police raids in MiGMA communities and heated protests that shut down highways. It is the inflection point after months of tension between the Nova Scotia government and MiGMA communities over the same. of unregulated cannabis. Protesters blocking a Nova Scotia Highway following a police raid on an indigenous cannabis shop in Cape Breton. Rayleigh M Boyce works there. They took everything. They took the refrigerators. They took the shelves, the countertops. The RCMP says officers arrested two people under the Federal Cannabis Act on the Bodle-Dec

First Nation. Around 10 officers then abandoned their vehicles, they say, in consideration. of protester safety. They took their guns and left on foot, with protesters following behind them. The Mounties say they found their vehicles the next day with broken windows, deflated tires, tires removed completely, and urine-soaked interiors.

The Bodladegh ban council has said it does not condone these actions. I practice my treaty rights. Kenny Basque was one of those arrested. He says his son owns the weed shop. I love police. but their approach was wrong, the government and the native government. They need to come to a conclusion.

In December, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Scott Armstrong directed police to crack down on illegal dispensaries. He also wrote to Migmaa chiefs requesting their cooperation. Some called the move racist. But Armstrong says unregulated cannabis is a safety issue and points to a Health Canada report that shows Nova Scotia youth are accessing marijuana at higher rates than anywhere else in the country. Late last night, the Nova Scotia government passed legislation to bring in stiffer penalties and more enforcement. Armstrong says the MiGMA do not have a treaty right to sell cannabis.

There's been no legal precedent for that cannabis is a treaty right, so the position is that it is not a treaty right. He points to a 2024 provincial court decision that, found the foundation has not been established for cannabis sales outside the lawful regime. The decision also notes a lack of evidence that the historic MiGMA community even used cannabis prior to European contact. I don't think that lower court decision is right. Pam Palmitter is the chair in indigenous governance at Toronto Metropolitan University. You cannot freeze them with the products that they used back pre-contact or their methods, that there has to be a modern evolution of the right.

Kenny Bass says the shop in his community has reopened, but the debate around who has a right to profit from the sale of marijuana, maybe just getting started. Kayla Hounsel, CBC News, Halifax. A Los Angeles judge has sentenced the woman who sold ketamine to Canadian actor Matthew Perry to 15 years in prison. The Friends star died of an overdose in 2023. He bought the ketamine that killed him.

from 42-year-old Jasveen Senga. She was known as ketamine queen, selling the drug to high-end clients. Sanga is one of five people who pleaded guilty in connection with Perry's death. You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. And if you want to make sure

you never miss one of our episodes, follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. It's generally agreed. Exercise is. good for you. But sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad. Health officials are warning against extreme workouts and training beyond your limits after a spike in cases of a rare and dangerous

muscle condition. Health reporter Christine Birak explains. In a high-energy spin class like this one, 24-year-old Kira Fancy knew she was pushing her body too hard. I could feel it in my legs that I was definitely getting to a point where I should stop, probably around the 25-minute mark. But she kept going. When it was over, her legs were aching and she collapsed. I personally do take responsibility for not stopping, but I didn't know anything bad could come out of it other than some sore muscles. Days later, she was still in pain. Her urine turned a dark tea color. She was then hospitalized in St. John's with rhabdomiolysis or rhabdo, a rare condition where damaged muscle cells burst. and release proteins into the blood, which can be toxic and cause kidney failure. Fancy, fully recovered.

But health officials in Newfoundland say they're now seeing an unusually high number of rhabdo cases among young women. They describe extreme pain. Dr. Richard Barter is a chief of emergency medicine in the eastern urban zone. It's now seen 20 confirmed cases of rhabdo in six months. That's nearly double the number of cases generally seen in a year. And they all did intense exercise. People aren't easing into it. And I think people are challenging themselves on social media as well.

At this gym in Brockville, Ontario, owner Melissa Denny says she sees it too. There's a lot more social media pressure on getting back to that waif type supermodel look. So people are really training super, super hard. Feeling pressed for time, Denny says some push to optimize their workouts. And some are also taking new weight loss drugs like GLP 1. which strip muscle, meaning people have to work extra hard to maintain their muscle tone. So we keep our class size as really small to make sure that everybody's being watched accordingly. The people who run into more problems are those who exercise, take time off and then go back and try and push

themselves a little too hard. Dr. Mark Tarnapolski, a professor at McMaster University, has experienced Rabdo himself. He says, don't avoid exercise, and offers this advice for those hitting the gym. So staying well hydrated, making sure that your urine's clear. And if you're exercise, you know, don't change things too suddenly, you know, gradually ramp up. He adds, sore muscles are part of getting stronger, but how you recover matters. Instead of reaching for anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil, which can strain the kidneys, make water part of your cool-down routine to rehydrate and repair aching muscles. Christine Beirak, CBC News, Toronto.

Finally tonight, airline disruptions are no joke. But a recent flight from the UK is getting a few. few laughs, or at least the media coverage is. Airline left us on a freezing island for days, read the BBC headline. In People magazine it was British Airways strands hundreds of passengers on freezing Canadian island. So where was this remote winter wasteland? Well, after an emergency on board, the London to Houston flight was diverted to the island of Newfoundland, landing in the capital city. Enduring the harsh conditions in hotels with mere three to five star ratings,

they scrambled for provisions, trying to find any means of food and water and Wi-Fi they could. A parody video from Newfoundlander, Keith Mews, he's racking up thousands of views online and summing up the chuckles residents are having about the dramatic headlines. That to be sure, it was pretty inconvenient for the travelers. They spent two days in St. John's, where, according to the BBC, there were sub-zero temperatures. But it sounded pretty comfortable inside the St. John's Delta, where they stayed. Staff came in early. Some even used their personal vehicles to take passengers shopping for essential items.

I mean, this is a part of Canada so famous for its hospitality. They made a Broadway musical about it. While most residents are just laughing off. headlines as clickbait, there was at least one stern letter to the editor of People magazine from the province's tourism minister. Andrea Barber wrote the frozen island label is unfair, that Newfoundland may have cold weather this time of year, but visitors will always get a warm welcome. This has been your world tonight for Wednesday, April 8th. I'm Stephanie Scandaris. Thank you for being with us. Good night.

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