Your World Tonight - Poilievre holds on to Conservative leadership, Flooding in Newfoundland, Math prodigy turned crypto fugitive, and more

Episode Date: January 31, 2026

Episode description: Despite a rocky year for the federal Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre coasted through a vote on his leadership Friday night by a margin of 87 percent. While its clear the party faithful are still pumped up about Poilievre, his next task is to win over the public. Also: In the community of Badger, Newfoundland, ice jams are causing flooding on three major rivers nearby. Its forced nearly a quarter of the population to evacuate - while the rest are on high alert. For many residents, its the second time they've had to leave home in less than a year. And: A young Canadian at the center of an international manhunt continues to evade police. Andean Medjedovic is accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars in crypto currency - and faces several criminal charges. The Fifth Estate has uncovered details about him since he went into hiding, including where he might be now.Plus: Croatia brings back mandatory military service, Making the Olympics more sustainable, K-Pop at the Grammys, and more.

This ascent isn't for everyone. You need grit to climb this high this often. You've got to be an underdog that always overdelivers. You've got to be 6,500 hospital staff, 1,000 doctors all doing so much with so little. You've got to be Scarborough. Defined by our uphill battle and always striving towards new heights. And you can help us keep climbing. Donate at lovescarbro.cairro.ca.

This is a CBC podcast. I think anyone looking at this result will know that this is a party that he will lead into victory in that next election, become the next prime minister. The Conservative Party sends a crystal clear message Pierre Pahliaf can stay. Members voted overwhelmingly to stick with the leader they know, giving him another shot to take on Mark Carney and the liberals in the next election. This is your world tonight. I'm Kate McGilvery. Also on the podcast. Southern U.S. cities without much experience. with snow, ice, and cold find themselves in the teeth of a fierce winter storm.

And? Well, I don't want to say I'm experiencing this, but since six months ago we had the fire, I don't know, I'm starting to get a little bit of experience. It's not nice, not knowing what's happening with your house. Residents of Badger, Newfoundland, have their bags packed again. This time, they're ready to run from flooding as ice jams clog up the place where three rivers meet. The delegates have spoken, despite a rocky year for the federal conservatives, Pierre Pollyev coasted through a leadership vote on Friday night.

While it's clear, the party faithful are still bullish on Pahliav, his next hurdle is to win over the public. Olivia Stefanovic is at the Conservative Party Convention in Calgary and brings us this report. It is a true pleasure to welcome conservatives from across the country to Calgary into the heartland of conservatism in Canada. And also congratulations, of course, to our leader, Pierre Palliyev, who won 87% of the vote.

The day after, Conserv, United behind their federal leader, Alberta Premier Daniel Smith addressed the party's national convention, rallying the base to turn to the challenges ahead. I want to thank all of the delegates here for giving our leaders such a strong mandate, because we are going to need Pierre Strong to fight for our values and reverse the terrible policies of the last 10 years. When you start something, you never give up. Pierre Poliev easily passed his leadership review, after delivering a special.

beach, blaming the liberals for Canada's high cost of living, crime, and division. Here we go again. Liberals are in power, and just as night follows day, separatist movements are in resurgence back in Quebec and here in Alberta. The liberals responded by relaunching an attack ad, featuring Polyev's own words. I would just encourage people to judge me on what I've said for my entire political career. The meaning of the term, merit, ought to be preserved as a union between one man and one woman. They're nervous, I would argue, the liberals, and they should be. Manitoba delegate Lawrence Pinsky voted yes to keep Pollyev as conservative leader

because of Pollyev's focus on improving kitchen table issues like affordability and housing. Concerns he says the liberals largely ignore amidst the trade war with the U.S. But Canadians sometimes can't see that. because the noise for Mr. Trump blocks their thinking. I understand it. I'm nationalistic too. I love Canada. But we have to get beyond the emotion to the facts. And if we do, Mr. Praleev wins. But to be successful, Pauliev's campaign director, Steve Outhouse, says,

changes are in order. You know, we do need to win back some voters who chose to go another direction in the last election, and we need to engage more first-time voters. Outhouse says Pauliev will reach out to more young people. whole town halls across the country and offer his support to end U.S. tariffs. We want to make sure that our country's strong and we've offered the government any help that we can provide. We are with the right man. The Conservative National Convention concludes without any more remarks from Polyev

or an opportunity for journalists to ask the conservative leader questions. Letting his campaign-style speech, a message aimed at acknowledging Canadians who feel left behind, stand. Olivia Estefanovich, CBC News, Calgary. Nearly 170 people in a central Newfoundland town are out of their homes, with no choice but to wait and watch the rivers. Ice jams are causing flooding in the community of Badger, forcing nearly a quarter of its population out

and putting the rest on high alert. The CBC's Peter Cowen has more. Oh, we'll take any deatline that we get. Dennis Butt keeps a close eye on the rivers that flow by his community. He's the mayor of Badger. The water is down, just a few centimeters, barely enough to notice, but enough to give some hope for the people forced from their town. They're still high. It's positive that there's a steady de-line, but the levels are still hovering around the one-and-twenty-year flood mark.

Thursday evening, about 170 people were ordered to leave their homes. Perry Clance was one. His house backs onto the Little Red Indian River. He's back to check on at every chance he has. I'm more worried about my sun pump kicking out while I'm not home, and then water coming into the basement when I'm not aware of. This is his second evacuation in less than a year. Last summer, he fled the wildfires threatening his town. This winter, it's a different threat, but an all too familiar experience. Well, I don't want to say I'm experiencing this,

but since six months ago we had the fire, I don't know. I'm starting to get a little bit of experience in this field, but I mean, it's challenging more than like anything else would be, right? So it's not nice, not knowing what's happening. Even the volunteers are experienced. Sy Thompson was here last summer to help evacuees when it was fires. Now he's back for floods. He's a volunteer with the Red Cross.

He's finding hotel rooms for people who can't go home. Some of the rooms available are almost an hour and a half away, but he says everyone understands. They're familiar with the routine and the displacement of basically. I can't say they're happy with it, but they'll roll with the punches. Flooding has been a problem before. before. In 2003, much of the town was underwater, which then froze into solid ice when a cold snap came through. Everyone's hoping this time will be different. A storm Sunday night into Monday

has the mayor worried it could dump more snow on the rivers making it worse. It's hard on a town where the rivers are usually one of the big attractions. It's a difficult site to see, you know, when you see the ice formation and you see the rivers backing up in different areas of the town. So it's quite a contrast currently than what it is during the spring and summer months. Almost 50 years ago, dynamite was used to blow up ice jams, but concerns over the efficacy and environmental impact means it hasn't been used since. So there's not much officials can do but wait and hope. The ice clears and the water goes down.

Peter Cowan, CBC News, Badger-Newfoundland. For a second straight week, the U.S. is dealing with major winter weather. A powerful storm has been bearing down on the south, where icy conditions and extreme cold have already left at least 85 people dead. North Carolina and neighboring states are the hardest hit as authorities urge people to stay off the roads and away from the coast. Steve Futterman reports. It has been a long, long time since we've seen something like this. In some cases, decades since they've experienced anything this intense.

It's going to be a once-a-lifetime event. Stephen Still is emergency director for Hanover County, North Carolina. Here's what we know with high confidence. Dangerous coal is coming. and significant snow is likely. It's called a bomb cyclone, a blast of Arctic air sweeping across the southeastern U.S., bringing with it rain, snow, below freezing temperatures, and powerful winds. Just a miserable mess. On radio and TV broadcast today, viewers and listeners heard warnings like this.

You can't even see the road anymore. Please stay home if you can. Officials are trying to keep the road safe and keep the power on. We're bringing in extra trucks from northern Virginia, bringing in some outside contract resources. Bill Collier is with Virginia's Department of Transportation. North and South Carolina are dealing with the brunt of the storm. This man in Greensboro says he is prepared. I'm just going to stay indoors, bunker down. I've kind of got my supplies all ready to go and just try to stay out of the cold.

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein is telling residents there could be problems for up to a week. In many places, we don't expect to get above freezing until early next week. So whatever snow falls is going to stick around for a while. In Florida, they are dealing with an additional issue getting fruit like oranges off of trees before freezing temperatures turn them into a total loss. Dan Ritchie is CEO at Riverfront Packing Company. All this fruit is subject to a freeze damage in the event we get the temperatures that they're projecting. So obviously we want to hustle and get as much of this fruit off the tree and into the packing plant that we can. And in areas along the ocean, flooding is also a concern.

Throughout the day, air travel has been severely impacted, more than a thousand flights delayed or canceled. With this back-to-back double whammy, two powerful winter storms in two weeks, some residents are resigning themselves to the possibility that events like this could become the new normal, with climate change affecting weather around the world. Steve Futterman, CBC News, Los Angeles. Still ahead, K-pop music has gone from niche genre to global jobs. dug or not, with nine nominations at tomorrow night's Grammys, this might be the year. K-pop finally brings one home.

That's coming up on Your World Tonight. In Gaza, Israel carried out its heaviest air strikes in the territory in weeks. They hit a Hamas-run police station, apartment buildings, and a tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians. Gaza health officials say at least 30 people were killed, including some children. Israel's military says the strikes were a response to an incident on Friday, where eight gunmen were seen emerging from a tunnel in an area of Gaza controlled by Israeli forces.

It comes as Washington presses Hamas and Israel to begin the second phase of the October ceasefire, which both sides have accused each other of violating. Israel still set to reopen the rafa border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday. In Pakistan, a separatist group is claiming responsibility for killing 33 people in a series of gun attacks. The violence took place across Belouche's, A province in the country's southwest, where they've been fighting for independence for over a decade now.

The separatists targeted civilians, a high-security prison, police stations, and paramilitary installations. In response, Pakistani authorities say at least 108 militants have been killed across Belochistan over the past two days. A young Canadian at the center of an international manhunt continues to evade the police. And Ian Majedovic is accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars. in cryptocurrency. He's facing criminal charges in the Netherlands and the U.S., as well as a civil suit in Ontario. The Fifth Estate has uncovered details about him

since he went into hiding, including where he might be now. Joanna Rumiliotis reports. But let's just check this. Mailboxes. Our investigation took us to an apartment complex in Sarajevo, an address linked to a young Canadian math prodigy turned crypto fugitive.

With the help of investigative journalist based here. We soon realized we were on the right track. Can I ask you? This person? I saw some familiar face, but this seems familiar? Andyan Medvedevich is accused of making off with 65 million US in cryptocurrency in two separate schemes. Investor Tim Noinzik got hit both times and says he lost about 100,000 US dollars. I couldn't really believe it. I was like, wow. It's kind of being obstructed with lightning twice, but that it was the same guy.

I was like, wow, what a coincidence. He's the age of most high school freshmen. But 14-year-old Andy Majedovich will be starting his first year of university in September. I don't really feel any different from the regular high school student. The MathWiz from Hamilton, Ontario, was featured on a local channel after graduating high school when he was just 14. He also took part in the high school's reach for the top quiz team. Coach Luca Oberbach remembers him well. He knew a lot. He was very smart.

Clearly, he went on to, like, be a very evil genius in that way. You see all of the transactions. This is just a small snapshot of those transactions. Kyle Armstrong is a former FBI agent. He now works for a company called TRM Labs that helps police investigate crypto cases. Armstrong shows us a graphic that looks like a spider's web to illustrate a sophisticated series of transatlanticated series of

transactions Majedovich allegedly made to exploit glitches in crypto exchange platforms and siphon investors' funds. These are not victimless crimes. It's people that have their life savings or have a big portion of their nest egg that can be taken out from under them. Majedovich has been in hiding since 2021, and the fifth estate has discovered he's traveled all over the world using fake names and a fake passport. He's also revealed a darker side online, using racist and violent terms in his programming code. Majedovich has also turned down rewards to give back the money he allegedly stole and posted he'd simply done what anyone else could do.

Lawyer Ben Bathgate represents an investor who says they lost 10 million U.S. in one of the alleged exploits. There's these people on one side, and And Ian would be one, who are quite ready to scream from the rooftops, you know, code is law. If the code allows me to do something, then there's nothing wrong with one. what I did. There's another thing to call it, which is market manipulation. Bathgate has filed a civil suit in Ontario on his client's behalf, and Majedovich is also facing criminal charges in the Netherlands and the U.S.

American authorities believe he was recently at large in Bosnia and might be closing in on him. While we were at his last known address in Sarajevo, the building manager told us police had been there recently too. As for Andy and Medioreau, As for Andy and Majedovich, we emailed him multiple times to get his response to the charges against him. We finally heard back a few weeks ago. I have only one defense to the allegations he wrote.

I'm a racist. Please include that. That's all. Thanks. Joana Rumeliotis, CBC News, Toronto. And you can watch the Fifth of States investigation. Canada's crypto fugitive on YouTube, or you can stream it on CBC Gem. In Croatia, the first round of Constrict. Conscription notices are going out this month.

After nearly two decades without it, the country's bringing back mandatory military service for its young men. And as freelance reporter Guy Delane tells us, other countries in that region are on the verge of doing the same. In the days of Yugoslavia, conscription was a right of passage. Young men had to commit to a year of military service. But the independent countries that emerged,

from Yugoslavia did away with the requirement. Now Croatia is the first to bring back a form of conscription to give their young men some basic military grounding. He'll be trained in everything that we consider to be the basic military skills, says Croatian defense ministry official Ivan Usich. But he says there's only so much a fresh recruit can learn in the two months of the modern military service. I won't say they'll be fully trained, he says, but they will be familiar with the Croatian army's modern systems, and everyone will certainly be trained in the basic infantry skills. Polls suggest that seven out of ten Croatians are in favor of mandatory military service,

and when the required legislation went through the country's National Assembly last year, it passed with 84 votes in favor and just 11 against. I don't see any challenges to this conscription. Gordon Akrap is the vice-rector of Kroh. Croatia's Franyo Tudjman Defense and Security University. Some populist groups from far left, they said we need to invest in kindergarten, etc. But the fact is that someone needs to protect the kindergartens and our way of European way of life and democracy.

Croatia isn't the only country in the region considering the reintroduction of conscription. Neighboring Slovenia is holding elections in March and the party currently leading the polls is very much in favour of a return to compulsory military service. The war is now more dangerous that at any time since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Janice Jansha is the leader of the right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party and a three-time former Prime Minister. He says all European countries should bring back the draft. So we must reintroduce universal military conscription and effectively pull research development and production capacities of modern weaponry.

Croatia's other neighbour, Serbia, isn't a member of NATO or the EU, but it's also on the verge of reintroducing military service and it's significantly increased military spending. That's making Kosovo and Bosnia nervous. In turn, Serbia is alarmed by Croatia's new military alliance with Kosovo and Albania. It's all adding up to increased tensions in the Western Balkans. Any sort of military development you see in the Balkans actually just makes the whole region far, far less secure because everyone's reading it as being

aimed against them. Analyst James Kerr-Linsey specialises in international conflict and the Balkans. Serbia is not going to try and take Kosovo by force. It would mean it would mean going to conflict with NATO. That is the last thing that Serbia wants or can afford to have at the moment. The problem, of course, is that Croatia has been arming. And when Croatia buys arms, then Serbia looks at it and thinks we need to as well. The wider implications are probably the last thing on the minds of the first recruits for Croatia's new version of military service.

But the memories of conflict in this region are still fresh, and that could give basic training a little extra meaning. Guy Delaney for CBC News in Lubliana, Slovenia. We're now just six days away from the opening ceremony of the 26 Milano-Cortina Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee says it wants. to steer the games in a more sustainable direction. But as winters get warmer, critics are arguing that the Olympic model itself might have to go. Megan Williams reports. 92% of the sport venues for Milano Cortina 2026 already existed, or they are respecting the new

parameters for organizing important sport events. That's Giovanni Malagos, head of Italy's Olympic organizing committee, pointing to what say is the low environmental impact of the Melano Cortina Winter Games. The IOC has committed to cutting emissions in half by 2030 and requires future winter games to rely mostly on existing or temporary venues. But critics say those promises only go so far, and that the accounting leaves out some of the biggest impacts. University of Toronto Sports and Environment Researcher Madeline Orr says she's heard this argument before.

This is the creative accounting that like Qatar was using with their FIFA World Cup, right, where they say, oh, well, we built all these stadiums, but they're going to be used indefinitely. So really, we're only responsible for two weeks of that stadium's emissions. And it's like, no, actually, like, if you, if this event didn't exist, this Renault wouldn't happen. Milano Cortina organizers say they're building on lessons from past Italian mega events, including the 2006 Turin Olympics and the 2015 Milan-X. Expo, two of the first to attempt carbon accounting. Gloria Zavata, who leads sustainability planning for this winter games, says global competitions can still have value when it comes to changing behavior. We consider that the power of this kind of international events

let the people be more aware of something. And we try to focus the attention that every one of us are producing emissions. But Orr says raising awareness is pretty passe in 2026. I do find it kind of comical that raising awareness among fans is the goal. Like especially when like the plan for 2010 was raise awareness on climate change. Organizers acknowledge they can't control how spectators travel. Of course, we cannot avoid the person to drive his own car from Milan to Cortina. It's not possible from us, but we invite them to use a public transportation system, collective transportation system, and so on.

It's quite surprising. Italian researcher Tiberio Dadi, who studies the environmental footprint of sporting events, says that's a major omission. He's led life cycle assessments for events ranging from ski races to international soccer and says the biggest impacts are almost always travel, transport of equipment, and accommodation. And he says, leaving even an estimation of spectator travel out of the calculations simply doesn't make sense. If I would have been asked to do a calculation of the environmental footprint, for sure you need to estimate spectators. The stakes are rising as the climate warms. A study commissioned by the IOC last year found that only about half of previous Winter Olympic host cities would still be climatically suitable by the 2050s.

Or says the problem isn't just a. how the Olympics are measured. It's the very model itself. Huge international spectacles, she says, are inherently difficult to square with sustainability, no matter how carefully they're planned. Megan Williams, CBC News, Rome. The CBC is Canada's Olympic Network. When the games begin in Milano Cortina, you'll be able to find round-the-clock daily coverage, expert analysis, and highlight reels on the CBC website, and streaming on CBC Gem. For full event schedules, results. athletes, athletes, profiles, and more. Visit cbc.ca.ca slash

Milano Cortina, 2026. With multiple nominations, this could be the moment for K-pop at the Grammys. Despite dominating the charts and filling stadiums for years now, the Marquis Music Awards show has previously given K-pop the cold shoulder. As Griffin-Yager tells us, that could all change on Sunday. K-pop might just be golden at this year's Grammys.

The genre born in South Korea is, coming in hot, with a record-breaking nine nominations, including K-pop's first ever nods in major categories like Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. Leading the charge is the soundtrack to the animated movie K-pop Demon Hunter. Then there's Katzai, a so-called global girl group backed by a K-pop label. And Rosey of Black Pink, with three nominations for her collab with Bruno Mars, Apat-T. She tells the Call Her Daddy podcast the recognition from the Recording Academy was a dream come true. This Grammy nomination, it feels like, oh my gosh, I never thought that would be possible.

While groups like BTS paved the way for future K-pop nominees, no K-pop artist has ever actually won a Grammy. This almost feels like one of the final frontiers is that for K-pop to conquer. Journalist Jeff Benjamin writes about K-pop for outlets. like Billboard and Rolling Stones. In North America, we're seeing artists being able to fill up stadiums, topping the charts. But the Grammys hasn't had that same recognition of K-pop. It's been an emerging kind of journey.

Michelle Cho is an assistant professor of Korean media and pop culture at the University of Toronto. She sees K-pop's recognition by the Grammys as a double-edged sword. They're an American Awards show. The Recording Academy is pretty focused on American. can pop. And so there's a sense that chasing validation from this organization could be counterproductive to the K-pop industry. Cho says some fans fear chasing clout in the West could dilute K-pop's cultural identity and notes many of this year's nominees lean towards English lyrics and a more

Western pop sound. But musicologist Charlie Walls Andrews says the genre's Grammy readiness is a sign of its evolution and global appeal. Because there's choreography, there's fashion, there's an experience that engages fans. People are watching K-pop, dancing to K-pop. Markets of the West are consuming a great degree of music outside of our own market. As for whether K-pop will finally break through and take home some gold, all eyes are on the Grammy Sunday. Griffin Yeager, CBC News, Toronto. And a musician that has finally broken through, nearly three decades after his death. Tomorrow, the Grammys will make Fela Kuti the first African recipient of the legendary.

Lifetime Achievement Award. Born in Nigeria, Kuti is considered the father of Afrobeat, a genre that fuses West African music with American funk and jazz. Afrobeat has in turn inspired genres around the world. It's apparent of Afro beats, modern music coming from Ghana and Nigeria, and it's found its way into hip-hop, R&B, and electronic dance music. We got this song for them. They sing I'm like this.

We go see? Ah-ha-Kooti was also a lifelong activist. Mingled in those hypnotic tracks, some of which stretched to 30 minutes. There are lyrics taking aim at government corruption, brutality, and the colonial legacy in Africa. For that, he was beaten, threatened and imprisoned. His son also amused. musician describes him this way. Music wasn't entertainment to him. It was a mission.

A group of Falakouti's friends and family are in Los Angeles now to pick up that Grammy tomorrow, giving the world of African music something to celebrate. This has been your world tonight for Saturday, January 31st. I'm Kate McIllery. Good night.