Your World Tonight - Iranian retaliation, hot schools, Canadian NBA star and more

Episode Date: June 23, 2025

Iran strikes back — hitting a U.S. base in Qatar, housing thousands of American troops. This in retaliation for the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites this weekend. No casualties are reported in today’s attack, and President Trump thanked Iran for their early warning.And: The kids may not be all right. Extreme heat across Ontario and Quebec raised questions about the condition of our schools and how to keep the students safe.Also: Canadian hoop star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Hamilton makes history. He led his team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to their first NBA championship.Plus: Remembering the Air India disaster, Prime Minister Carney in Brussels, and more.

Hi, I'm Gavin Crawford, the host of Because News, Canada's funniest news quiz. Every week we make jokes out of the headlines with help from a panel of brilliant comedians like Alice Moran. Hi there, I'm a sweet little Alberta dirtbag with very gentle takes. They call me light, sweet, and crude. Half your job is making jokes, but the other half is scoring points. What subjects do you net the most points in? Sports, but also space, because I went to space camp so much as a kid, not to brag.

That's the exact amount of knowledge you need for this show. Stay vaguely informed while in good company. With me. Listen to Because News, available wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. It could be performative. On the other hand, it could be that they have almost nothing left in their missile inventory. It looks like the last gasp before they actually try to reengage key players with the negotiations.

Striking back, Iran fires on the US military in the Middle East after American bombs hit critical nuclear sites. It is the retaliatory move many were fearing in the escalating Israel-Iran war. And US President Donald Trump says, he's hopeful this will end it. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Monday, June 23rd, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern,

also on the podcast. Now we really have two choices. We can nostalgically look back and long for the old order to somehow return or we can build a new one with purpose and partnership. The Prime Minister partnering up in a world heading down an uncertain path with wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the White House changing how it conducts global affairs, a new pact for Canada and Europe in a more dangerous world.

Since the United States attacked multiple Iranian nuclear sites on the weekend, the world has been watching, waiting for a response. Today, Iran retaliated, launching missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar. But after the initial panic, the U.S. is already talking about peace. Paul Hunter begins our coverage tonight from Washington. Paul Hunter begins our coverage tonight from Washington. In the skies over Doha in Qatar, just across the Persian Gulf from Iran, Iran's response to that massive U.S. strike on those Iranian nuclear facilities on the weekend. Iranian missiles targeting the giant U.S. military base in the Qatari desert just outside Doha. None struck their target. All but one of the 14 missiles intercepted midair, said US President Trump on his Truth

Social platform afterward. I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice on this. He called it a very weak response. No Americans were harmed and he wrote hardly any damage was done. Iran by contrast called it a mighty and successful response to the US attack. Iran's permanent representative at the United Nations Riza Najafi today slamming the US strike at a meeting in Vienna. These actions constitute clear violation of international law, pose a serious threat to

international peace and security. But as a number of countries in the Persian Gulf region closed their air spaces today over fears of Iranian missiles, a key question, is that all there is in terms of Iran's response? And this may be essentially the Iranian regime's attempt to regain a tiny bit of face in what looks like a huge defeat for them. That's retired senior lieutenant general

in the Canadian forces and one-time liberal MP Andrew Leslie today on CBC News Network. It could be performative. On the other hand, it could be that they have almost nothing left in their missile inventory. It looks like the last gasp before they actually try to re-engage key players with the negotiations. Wherever it goes from here, it comes on the heels not only of that U.S. strike in Iran, but as well an earlier post by Trump on Truth Social in which, after the U.S. had emphasized its assault was not about regime change in Iran, Trump posting yesterday, why wouldn't there be regime change?

The president was just simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking. This morning, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt clarifying he wasn't posting about military action, but if Iran doesn't reengage in talks to give up its nuclear program... If they refuse to engage in diplomacy moving forward, why shouldn't the Iranian people rise up against this brutal terrorist regime posted Trump late today in all caps? Congratulations world. It's time for peace Susan Paul another threat that Iran had been making shutting down the Strait of Hormuz. Is that realistic?

And what would the impact of that be? You know, we hear a lot about the Strait of Hormuz Susan, but just to place it We're talking about a very narrow stretch of water linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, which in turn leads out and away from the Middle East. At its narrowest point, it's just over 30 kilometers wide, and it's the only way crude oil gets out of the Persian Gulf by ship. Vast amounts pass through it, so it's crucially important to the world's economy. Be it by laying mines,

using missiles, it wouldn't be complicated for Iran on the north side of the strait to close it off, as indeed it is threatened. But the investment betting for the moment seems to be that may not happen after all. The price of oil fell today on global markets after spiking up on word of the U.S. strikes Sunday. As ever, it's on Iran in terms of the future. Will it or won't it act in the straight? Perhaps today's, dare I say it, mild missile strikes toward the US base in Qatar are an indicator indeed. That's it. That's all. We'll see. Thank you, Paul.

You're welcome. The CBC's Paul Hunter in Washington. Iran isn't sharing how much damage was actually done to its nuclear sites, but the United Nations said today it looks significant. This, as Israeli attacks on Iran continued with a shifting focus. Chris Brown reports from Jerusalem. Amid international pleas for de-escalation, Israel carried out some of its heaviest attacks yet on Iran's capital, and most of today's targets were not associated with the country's nuclear program, but rather its regime. The headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran was hit and destroyed, as

was Evin Prison, notorious as a place where political opponents are tortured. David Menser speaks for Israel's government. We will only stop when the goals are fully achieved. While Israeli officials say the primary aim of the war is not to replace Iran's government, destabilizing the country may be. And so Iran released a video of some of its generals, who haven't been assassinated, meeting with the defense minister, who foreshadowed the strikes on Qatar, claiming a decisive

response to the US attacks was coming. Iran also fired more missile salvos again at Israel, including an unusually long alert this morning that used fewer missiles but spread them out over the whole country, perhaps to cause maximum disruption. While Israel claims a 90% success rate at shooting them down, when they do hit the damage can be enormous, but casualties have been relatively low as people have followed instructions to use reinforced shelters. Osnat Steinberger of Tel Aviv got lucky. This morning I'm coming to see what I can collect, pick up from my apartment, which

was totally destroyed yesterday by a missile, landed under my window. The post bombing damage assessment of Iran's three nuclear sites attacked by the US is continuing with the UN's nuclear watchdog holding an emergency meeting in Vienna. While the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, says there are no indications of any radioactive leaks, inspectors have not been able to get access to the deeply buried Fordow enrichment site, which suffered extensive damage. Given the explosive payload utilized and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred. Nor is it clear where Iran's supply of already enriched uranium is.

The IAEA suspects Iran likely moved it, but they don't know where and no one is telling them. Israel has not articulated how much of Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missile capacity it's seeking to destroy before it declares victory. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the weekend, both goals are getting close. Chris Brown, CBC News, Jerusalem. Coming up on the podcast, realigning alliances.

In Brussels, Prime Minister Carney signs a defense deal with Europe and talks about a new posture for NATO. And a heat wave in Ontario and Quebec hits school kids hard, plus remembering the Air India disaster. It is a deal aimed at bringing the European Union and Canada closer together at a time when the world is more divided. The two sides signed a security and defence pact today in Brussels, with Prime Minister Mark Carney and other leaders keeping their eyes on the situation in the Middle East.

Marie Brewster reports from Brussels. NATO has said Iran should not, and this is a consistent position of NATO, Iran should not have its hands on a nuclear weapon. And I would not agree that this is against international law. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, not mincing words and taking tough questions about the U.S. decision to bomb Iranian nuclear sites and take the conflict in the Middle East to a whole new level. He wasn't the only one. Iran has pursued nuclear weapons. Prime Minister Mark Carney also wasn't condemning the escalation, but suggesting you look at

the other side of the ledger. Iran has expressed a desire to eliminate the state of Israel, to eliminate the state of Israel, where the state of Iran has been a sponsor of terrorism, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and beyond. These are violations of international law. Canada has called for de-escalation. Missiles from Iran's retaliatory strikes were quite literally flying as Carney met with European leaders in Belgium.

It's a hard regime to feel sorry for. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever wasn't shy about whether he believes the US action was justified or a violation of international law. And he was even prepared to go a little further. It would be best if there would be a regime change in Iran, but in the world you would prefer that would be a democratic process. De Wever spoke ahead of the signing of a new defense partnership between Canada and the European Union. Closer cooperation, he says, is vital, especially now.

Now we're living in a world where we have an imperialist power in the East who uses military force. And we have a peculiar figure in the White House who is choosing the road of protectionism and even isolationism. So those who like a rules-based world, a multilateral world, should find each other's company now. For weeks, this agreement has been telegraphed by Carney as the answer to Canada's over-reliance on the U.S. defense industrial complex. Defense expert Christian Luprek says it's more of a first step than a solution.

So Europe has the same problem that Canada has. Europe procures about 60% of its weapons systems from the United States. And so this is a way of trying to balance some of that procurement. The agreement signed today is a framework. Eventually, other deals will have to be signed, and it will unlock joint procurements of military equipment with EU partners, something Carney insists will mean savings. It will also eventually allow Canadian defense companies easier access to the European market. Both measures will take time. Marie Brewster, CBC News, Brussels. Mark Carney is also expected to adopt a new NATO defense spending target at this week's summit. The investment would bump Canada's contribution of GDP from 2% to 5.

That would be an additional $50 billion. NATO's Mark Rutte says the commitment will help deter future attacks on European nations, specifically by Russia. But there is great worry in many circles of NATO, it is that between three, five, seven years from now, Russia will be able to successfully attack us. If we do not start investing more today. Ruta also called out the Kremlin's latest attack on Ukraine

that targeted a school and a residential building. and a residential building. Crews in Kiev dig through the rubble of an air strike on an apartment. The entrance to a subway station was also hit. At least 10 people are dead. Russia also targeted a school in Odessa. Two staff were killed. No children were in the building at the time. Manitoba is lifting a state of emergency triggered last month by dangerous wildfires.

Wab Kanu is the province's premier. To be absolutely clear, this is still a very serious situation. We're going to have to keep working together as thousands of our fellow Manitobans make their way home. The wildfires had forced more than 20,000 people from their homes, including roughly 6,000 in Flynn Flawn, which is a nine-hour drive northwest of Winnipeg. They will be able to return Wednesday. Twenty-three fires are still burning across northern Manitoba. Seven of those are out of control. The school year in Ontario and Quebec is ending on a high, uncomfortably high, temperatures.

Many classrooms are sweltering as hot and humid weather blankets the region. Colin Butler has more on the students and teachers sweating out the final days. At a splash pad in Montreal, kids dance in arcs of cold water. Parents linger in patches of shade. Their water bottles half empty before noon. This is what summer's supposed to look like, but it's no ordinary heat. It's a heat dome. Thick and unmoving, the swelter has settled like a heavy blanket over Ontario and Quebec

for the next two days, and city dwellers will feel it most. Well in urban settings what you have is called urban heat island effect. Tanzina Mohsen is a professor of climate sociology at the University of Toronto. She says all that concrete and asphalt absorbs the sun then holds on to it and when the sun goes down radiates it back. It means no break in the city, even when they sleep. For cities, this type of heat alert is just not discomfort. It's actually public health emergency. During the day, temperatures reached up

to 36 degrees in Ontario and Quebec. With the humidex, it felt more like 46. In Quebec, most classes are out ahead of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, but in Ontario classes are in for another week. It's really hot and they don't have any air conditioning inside. Scarlett Rabideaux might only be in grade 2, but she can do the math. Most of the people in my class just go to the fans instead of their desks. One fan and lots of sweaty kids make for one uncomfortable afternoon.

That wilting heat is why Canada's largest school board sent a warning to families. Students were urged to pack water with their lunch. Wear light clothes, hats, sunscreen and take the heat seriously. The key today is common sense I would say and intuition. Jerry Schwartz-Maltz speaks for the Toronto District School Board. Every single TDSB school has a cooling centre and that can take its shape by air condition library or going to the gym wherever kids can find some relief. But relief can be tough to find especially when most classrooms don't have air conditioning.

It's why Jerry Ryan is picking up his granddaughter early. I'm from Montreal and schools ended last Friday. There is a difference between Ontario and Quebec and we're not facing the same situation because all the kids are at home. It's a little late for them to be ending I think. It's one of many families making their own calls trusting instinct over routine because when it's one fan for a whole class of sweaty kids sometimes the most important lesson is knowing when to call it a day. Colin Butler, CBC News London, Ontario. In the U.S. tens of millions of people from the

Midwest to the East are also struggling to stay cool amid the sweltering heat wave. Record high temperatures were set yesterday in parts of Louisiana, Connecticut and Wisconsin. A state of emergency has been declared for 32 New York counties. In New York City, forecasts are calling for dangerously high temperatures tomorrow that could test the electric grid. Mayor Eric Adams urged people to use air conditioning moderately. It's one of the most deadly weather conditions that we could experience in our city. The National Weather Service has issued extreme heat warnings or advisories in at least 26 states. She came words over those, let it be.

Memorials were held in Ireland and across Canada for the victims of Air India Flight 182. A suitcase bomb destroyed the plane 40 years ago today, just off the coast of Ireland. All 329 people on board were killed. Most were Canadians. They included the brother of Tina Patel. She reflected on her sibling at a ceremony in Toronto. Lost way too soon. So many things that he could have achieved. So many things that he could have achieved, so many things that he should have been here for and he wasn't. There's not a day that goes by that we don't remember him and wish and pray that this had never happened. Police allege the disaster was plotted by sick extremists. The federal government

formally apologized to the families of victims in 2010, saying authorities failed to act on information that could have prevented the attack. Families and loved ones of people killed in that attack will never forget. But a new poll finds a majority of Canadians don't know much or anything at all about the Air India bombing. Now there's an effort to change public perception. Angie Seth reports. So this is one of many boxes that you've received. A small room and a few boxes, home to the lasting memories for those who lost loved ones in the 1985

Air India bombing. Forty years later, they finally will have a permanent home, a historical record, at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. So the boxes have a history, a history of memories, history of erased stories, histories of erased grief, but ongoing grief as well. Chandrama Chakraborty is a professor at McMaster, the creator of a memory archive.

Letters, testimonials, pictures, newspaper articles, magazines from victims' families, documenting one of Canada's biggest and yet largely forgotten tragedies. The archive might offer some kind of a memory justice for these families by bringing into public memory this suppressed history. The archives will remain at McMaster University, an actual resource in digital format for anyone to access and learn about what happened 40 years ago. There has been a terrible air crash off the coast of Ireland.

There is a lot of air pollution. But this is not a moment in history that resonates with Canadians, the majority of whom have no idea about it. According to an Angus Reid poll conducted in June of 2023, nine in ten Canadians said they have little or no knowledge of the bombing of Air India Flight 182. There has to be multi-pronged, multi-faceted approaches at all levels, right? At the level of the government, at the level of the community, at the level of individuals.

It should not be just the job of families to keep saying their stories again and again and again. Rob Alexander lost his father that day. Canadians, they need to know that these were people that were in their community, that worked every day in their community, whether it was just going to school, there were so many kids on that flight. The Archive at McMaster, I think, will help all the families that there's just one repository of information, that everything stays there.

The process of putting these documents into a digital archive is slow and expensive. Funding will run out next year. It's an obligation to make sure that of putting these documents into a digital archive is slow and expensive, funding will run out next year. It's an obligation to make sure that those records are preserved for perpetuity. And while the future of the archives isn't clear at this point, for the families, it is their legacy. So when the body was recovered, he had some personal effects that were returned to us. He had his wallet and even his social insurance card was intact.

You know, like I said, we miss him every day. We've learned to talk about him at certain times and we keep his memory alive that way. Angie Seth, CBC News, Toronto. This is Your World Tonight from CBC News. If you want to make sure you stay up to date and 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 a feat that places him in rare company alongside some of basketball's legends.

And he's Canadian. All season long, Shay Gilgis Alexander led his team. Last night, he led them to a championship. Jamie Strachan on why one of the NBA's biggest stars could be just getting started. For the first time, the NBA champion resides in Oklahoma City. The storybook season is complete. Canada's Shay Gilgis Alexander has done it all for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. Add the NBA championship to the list. I wouldn't have rather done it with any other group in the world.

It feels good to be a champion. The man they call SGA led his team to victory in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, putting the finishing touches on one of the greatest single seasons in NBA history. Every kid dreams, but you don't ever really know if it's going to come true. I'm just glad and happy that my dreams have been able to come true. Consider what the Hamilton native has achieved this year. He won the league's MVP, led the league in scoring, and was named MVP of the championship series. It's rare company, something done by only three others,

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, and Michael Jordan. He's good at everything. There's nothing he can't do on a basketball court. His coach, Mark Dagnos, says this is only the beginning for the 26 year old and i is still growing and stil I'm just so impressed by can do on the court. It a

work and hours in the gym and longtime mentor Dwayne how much it goes into it how much they wouldn't be surprised but when you see all folded out in in real time it's something that it's a it's a work of art it's a masterpiece and to be honest. The impact of SGA's accomplishments can be seen on courts across Canada. A generational star says 17 year old Jav Javon Lason, who was working on his game in the 35-degree heat in downtown Toronto.

I feel like it just comes to show that like Canadian basketball came a long way and that we have a bunch of good upcoming athletes so for Americans you guys should keep an eye on Canada. SGA is eligible to sign a contract extension this summer that could be worth nearly $400 million, one of the most lucrative contracts ever. And the core of Oklahoma City's team is young and hungry, the beginning of a potential dynasty with a distinctly Canadian flavour. Jamie Strash in CBC News, Toronto. What a special year it's been. Jamie Strashan, CBC News, Toronto. Finally tonight, a dramatic backcountry rescue that

suffers responders ditching their ambulance for a canoe after dangerous storms ripped through parts of Ontario. The little table we were hitting, hiding under, that would be where the road was. That's some of the aftermath posted on social media in Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park east of Ottawa. Thunderstorms across the region Saturday made it a very rough night for many campers. And at nearby Algonquin Park, the situation became very serious for a family stuck deep in the wilderness. The devastation, especially up through family stuck deep in the wilderness. The devastation, especially up through the Ottawa Valley, the two provincial parks, it

was just unbelievable. And then this mother and son, about 10 o'clock in that area, and a tree fell on them. The son, 13 years old, did suffer some fairly significant injuries. But of course, there's no way for them to get out. It's the middle of the night, it's dark, it's still storming. Ontario Provincial Police Manager Bill Dixon says that's when the mother used an emergency transmitter to send out a distress signal. It was too stormy to airlift anyone out of the park so police paramedics and park rangers took off on ATVs to try to find them, about 20 kilometers as the crow flies, but it wasn't a direct route.

On old logging roads, trails and dense bush, it was muddy, dark and downed trees were everywhere. They were cutting and hacking their way all the way through and then they get to within less than half a kilometer of the site where the mom and son are and they had to put a canoe in the water and paddle out to them so they could start first aid. The boy was treated by paramedics and in the morning the weather was calm enough to land a float plane. He is now recovering in hospital. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Monday June 23rd. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again.