Your World Tonight - Russia-Ukraine peace talks, Indigenous opposition to pipeline, Italian actresses demand accountability from their industry, and more

Episode Date: November 30, 2025

U.S. and Ukrainian officials held another round of talks today - in hopes of getting closer to a peace plan to bring Russia's war on Ukraine to an end. Both delegations called the meeting productive, but there are still concerns that a peace deal will be tilted is Russia's favour.Also: Opposition is mounting against the Alberta‑Ottawa pipeline deal - made official this past week by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith. First Nations leaders warn it would devastate their clean, coastal waters. And their pushback could stall, or even halt the project.And: A group of Italian actresses says their country has become a safe haven for men accused and found liable of sexual assault. We'll tell you more on what observers call a culture of silence and impunity, in Italy’s entertainment world.Plus: Refugees from Mali in Mauritania, Funding cuts to HIV-AIDS treatment and prevention, Lobster fishing rights in Nova Scotia, and more.

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This is a CBC podcast. This is delicate, it's complicated. There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there's another party involved here that they'll have to be a part of the equation. Marco Rubio says more work is needed before the war in Ukraine comes to an end. The U.S. Secretary of State met with a Ukrainian delegation

today in Miami, with more peace talks expected this week, in Moscow. This is your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skanderas. Also on the podcast, Canada and Alberta press ahead on a new oil pipeline to the BC coast. But brewing indigenous opposition could stymie that project before shovels even hit the ground. And in Italy, if you denounce someone, often they continue their career and the actresses don't. Italian actresses say the culture of impunity for men who commit sexual sexual assault needs to end. Opposition is mounting

against the Alberta-Otawa pipeline deal made official this past week by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith. First Nations leaders warn it would devastate their clean coastal waters. As J.P. Tasker explains their pushback could stall or even halt

the project. If Canada gets this done, I will be I will be gobsmacked if they can pull this off. In northwest BC, opposition is growing over a new oil pipeline destined for the Pacific. A project coastal First Nations leaders fear could lead to a disastrous spill in pristine waters. Our nation has spoken about this more than 20 years ago. The tone hasn't changed. The opinion hasn't changed. And I think it would be very difficult to sit down and talk about that.

Marine Nice, Chief of the Heisland Nation says there's little. little Ottawa can say or do to get her community on side. It's going to be a very hard sell to British Columbia, to First Nations people. That indigenous opposition could stymie Prime Minister Mark Carney's landmark agreement with Alberta. Carney says he won some indigenous consent before pressing ahead with a Bichmann pipeline to the coast. There's no proponent, there's no route, there's no business plan, there's no possibility. The B.C. government is also doubling down. Adrian Dix is the energy minister. The answer is no, and the reasons are this. They're better alternatives.

But there's little BC can do to stop this proposed pipeline from going ahead. The province's top court, as previously ruled, interprovincial projects like this, are the sole jurisdiction of the federal government, a decision affirmed by the Supreme Court. That coast belongs to all Canadians, and we have the right under our constitution to use that coast to transport our goods to the world. Brian Jean, Alberta's energy minister, is trying to persuade the naysayers, promising money and jobs for First Nations. I don't know if you've been to Northern B.C. recently,

but those folks are not doing as well as other places in Canada. Carney is selling his deal with Alberta as a win for national unity. A standing ovation in Calgary, a promising first sign. We will build big. We will build fast. We will build bold again. Meanwhile, his Environment Minister insists the government hasn't given up on its climate goals, even if hitting them just gotten a little harder. Here's Julie DeBruzen. We always knew that the targets that we had set for 2030 and 2035 were ambitious targets.

Climate activist turned minister Stephen Gilbo resigned from cabinet in protest over the Alberta deal. Other liberal MPs over the weekend were downplaying the possibility of the pipeline ever getting built, citing First Nations opposition as a potential deal breaker. Still, the Prime Minister seems committed to a project that could inject tens of billions of dollars into the tariffed economy. J.P. Tasker, CBC News, Ottawa. Another round of talks between the U.S. and Ukraine has wrapped in Miami.

Both the American and Ukrainian delegations call today's meeting productive. But as Rafi Bujikhanian tells us, there are still concerns that any peace plan will be tilted in Russia's favor. First responders in Kiev, clear residents out of a burning building. The country's state emergency service as a Russian missile strike killed five people and injured one. Just hours apart from Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky saying diplomacy remains active and the American side is being constructive.

And we're thankful for the efforts of the United States and its team to helping us. The head of Zelenskyy's security council, Rustem Umarov, using much the same language at the start of a meeting he and a, The visiting delegation held with the U.S. in Florida today. We are discussing about the future of Ukraine, about the security of Ukraine, about no repetition of aggression of Ukraine. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, says the U.S. and Ukraine are on the same page. We want to see the end of the killing and the death and the suffering. But the peace efforts face headwinds.

Just over a week ago, an initial plan unveiled by the Trump administration was seen as favorable to Russia and would have forced Ukraine to hand over territory. We are not talking about, you know, just square meters, empty or abandoned. Ukrainian MP, Halina Yanchenko, says giving up land is a non-starter. We are talking about Ukrainian territories which are inhabited with cities and villages, with people with families living in their homes in these territories. Observers of the war say Russia has been gaining the upper hand. and Ukraine may not have much leverage.

What we have now is, I think, one of the last opportunities for a negotiated or diplomatic solution to a war as opposed to having the war itself conclude through military force. Andrew Rusoulis is a former Canadian Department of National Defense Official. He says Kiev may want to push for protection from Western allies in case of further aggression. You may have to make some deals on security guarantees. It's not clear what deal-making happened in.

Florida on Sunday. After the meeting, Rubio briefly addressed the media. But there's more work to be done. This is delicate. It's complicated. There are a lot of moving parts. So did Umarov, at pains to again express gratitude to the Americans with the White House under Trump that's accused Ukraine of lacking that more than once. We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine. But neither side took questions from journalists, leaving it unclear where. Trump's special envoy could pick up talks as he sets off to Moscow sometime this coming week to meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Rafi Wudjikhan, on CBC News, Washington. In California, at least four people, including three children, are dead after a shooting at a child's birthday party. Eleven others are injured. It happened in the city of Stockton about 65 kilometers south of Sacramento. The shooting began just before 6 p.m. local time Saturday night at a banquet hall that was hosting. the party of over a hundred people.

Police say the suspect is still at large. The motive remains under investigation. In Tel Aviv. Protesters rally outside of President Isaac Herzog's residence, demanding that he not give in to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial. Netanyahu has long denied any wrongdoing and argues the trial is hindering his ability to govern. My personal interest is to continue the legal process to its end, he says.

But the security, political reality, and national interest demand otherwise. According to Israeli legal analyst Ronit Levine Schnur, such a request by a sitting prime minister is unprecedented. She says Herzog should tread carefully, especially because Israel is heading into an election year. The meaning of such a pardon would be to allow Netany. to succeed in his intention to further leading the state of Israel, and that would provide him with a huge political victory. Opposition leader, Yair Lappet, says Herzog should only pardon Netanyahu if he admits guilt, expresses remorse, and retires from politics.

Still ahead, you'll go to a refugee camp in Mauritania, where thousands of people from Mali have been arriving in New York. need of everything, as violence in their country between an al-Qaeda-backed group and Russian mercenaries grows. The full story is coming up on your world tonight. The floods that have battered several Asian countries are now causing lethal landslides in Indonesia. A video posted to social media captures the moment. A torrent of mud smashes into a village, destroying trees and buildings in its path. Others show raging rivers of mud, taking away houses and vehicles across three hard-hit provinces.

The floods hit Indonesia a week ago and have killed at least 400 people and displaced nearly half a million more. Aid has been slow. Some people have resorted to looting. Tarrantial rain and storms have also devastated parts of Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Just before World AIDS Day, advocates say the fight against HIV and AIDS has entered a new phase. Access to life-saving treatment and preventative medicine have reduced cases in Canada. But as Philip Lee-Shenock reports, some of that treatment is not accessible to all, and major support organizations are facing cuts. Our fundraising is barely covering the cost to raise the funds.

Ryan Lisk is executive director at the AIDS Committee of Toronto. After 42 years, Canada's oldest HIV awareness and prevention organization is closing its doors in the new year. He says, while welcome, recently developed treatments and prevention have changed the public's perception. HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis or prep is a medication that can prevent sexually acquired HIV infection. You hope that there is a cure. You hope that there is a time when your organization is no longer needed. And that's not exactly accurate of this time. The needs for people living with HIV

and the prevention needs around HIV continue. Dr. Daryl Tan is an infectious diseases physician and researcher at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. He says despite the decline in new cases, new tools like PrEP need to be more widely accessible. HIV prevention and treatment programs have suffered major cuts. Our trajectory towards ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030, which was already not on track to happen,

is completely going to be gutted by these cuts. Internationally, UN AIDS projects its funding could fall by 30 to 40% this year. Its head, Winnie Bainima, says that will impact millions. The global response to HIV has suffered its most significant setback in decades. UN AIDS warns that the collapse of HIV prevention services could result in 3.3 million additional new infections by 2030.

While the U.S. is the biggest donor and has cut the most, Canada also announced its first ever funding cut to the Global Fund, a program that fights the spread of infectious diseases like AIDS in the world's poorest countries. Isaac Bogosh is an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital. We don't live in a vacuum. This has to be contextualized with what's happening globally with HIV, which is challenging. There may be an uptick in cases when we've seen literally decades of a downturn in new cases and deaths globally because of the funding that's been pulled. In a statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada's global aid remains significant and targeted for maximum impact, especially in Africa. Fulplishanaw, CBC News, Toronto.

Each month in Mauritania, thousands of refugees cross the border from Mali. Mali has been battling armed groups since 2012 and in recent years has turned to Russian mercenaries for help. Freelance journalist Caitlin Kelly went to a refugee camp in Mauritania and brings us this story. Fatimata weaves together dried straw to help build her makeshift shelter.

The population in this village in the desert of Mauritania has tripled with the recent arrival of refugees. Now hundreds more are fleeing neighboring Mali as violence escalates between the Al-Qaeda back group Janim, the Malian army and its Russian allies. The Russians took what they could and burned the rest, she says. We fled with our children.

She explains how the Russians came to her area and hunted people down. Afraid she would be killed, she ran for her life. We were so thirsty that we felt our hearts might stop, she says. She's only using her first name because she fears for her safety. Chala was also forced to flee her home in neighbouring Mali. She says she was given an ultimatum by Janem to leave in 72 hours or be treated as the enemy. We are all scared.

Our souls are not at peace because we are dying every day, she says. The Sahel region, plains of sand that extend through Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has become a major front for armed groups. Since 2012, violence in the region has displaced three million people. In Mali, a rebellion in the north weakened the country, allowing armed groups like Jainim to fill the vacuum, says regional analyst Henning and Siberia. But eventually over time, Jialis groups, they grew strong, they expanded and spread throughout the regions. In recent weeks, Jainam has started attacking fuel tankers, preventing them from reaching the capital

Bamako, suffocating the economy and daily life. developed very diverse revenue streams to financing and resourcing their military operations, but also adapting a sort of governance agenda in which they try to replace the state. Five years ago, Mali's military staged a coup and cut ties with France, forcing French and UN troops to leave. The country's junta turned to Russian forces. It says, in the name of fighting extremism, deployed as the notorious Wagner group, in 2021. In June this year, Wagner was replaced by a new Russian military unit, Africa Corps. According to the U.S. government, Mali pays roughly $10 million per month for these forces,

now under direct control of Moscow. Military operations by the Malin al forces and Wagner were also accompanied by mass atrocities. Sometimes the civilians were killed in the hundreds. Inside a shaded temp at a UN camp in Embara, Izata describes how her family was targeted by Russian fighters. When they arrived, they burned all of our huts, she says, and killed her father. The Russians claimed he was affiliated with Jainim.

Isata says all they asked was if he had been to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. No one can truly understand the depths of these hardships, she says. someone who has lost their father cannot be happy. At this crossing in Mauritania, more than 3,300 people have arrived in recent weeks. Mohamed Ali with the Mauritania Red Crescent says those arriving are in need of everything, including shelter and food, but the influx is straining the already limited resources. Some arrivals are fleeing their home for the second or even third time over the past decade as the violence worsens. It has intensified, become increasingly brutalized, but also spread across the region,

not only with implications for the central Sahel, but also for the broader West Africa region. As Mali reaches its most critical point since 2012, its civilians are paying the highest price. Caitlin Kelly for CBC News, Fasala, Mauritania. 26 years ago, a landmark Supreme Court ruling was hailed as a victory for MiGMAF fishing, The Marshall decision was seen as a way to allow MiGMA access to the lucrative East Coast lobster fishery. But there are still many outstanding issues. Those are the subject of a new documentary from the Fifth Estate. As Stephen DeSouza tells us, some say the only way to solve them is to go back to the courts.

Just take my picture with this big lobster. Matt Cope feels at home on the water. With the sun shining down, the blue waves of St. Mary's Bay, out in front of him. When you're out here, the rest of the world is almost, almost don't exist for a minute. But these waters aren't always friendly. Five years ago, Fisheries and Oceans Canada officers threatened to take his boat, claiming he was fishing outside the commercial season,

something fisheries officers say is illegal. But Cope says he was exercising his treaty rights to harvest lobster. The very law that they're claiming that I'm breaking is unconstitutional. The right for Mi'emah to fish these waters for a moderate livelihood was affirmed in 1999 by the Supreme Court in a decision in the case of Donald Marshall Jr. And so that was probably one of the most happiest moments because I think we knew all of us in that room that things will never be the same again. Former Senator Dan Christmas was a prominent member of the team supporting the Marshall case.

He says the ruling only raised more questions, what to find a moderate livelihood, and how would it work with the long-established commercial season? What does moderate livelihood mean? We have no idea. It's a legal fiction that really had no meaning. Since that time, the federal government worked to expand First Nations fisheries, spending more than a billion dollars,

but commercial fishers pushed back. I think that a lot of indigenous governments have perverted the Marshall decision into thinking that that Marshall rights mean an open-ended accumulation of fishery access for coastal First Nations. Colin Sproul represents a coalition of commercial fisher's associations. He says they're open to First Nations fishing as long as it's done in the commercial season with the same rules as everyone else. But we will vigorously defend that one set of management measures must apply to all people

who engage in commercial fisheries. Commercial fishers argue that First Nations fishing threatens the health of the lobster stock. But a memo from Fisheries in Oceans, Canada, obtained by the Fifth Estate, disputes that. It says while commercial catches in some key areas are trending down, overall, the lobster stock is in the healthy zone. And the decrease can't be directly linked

to some First Nations treaty fishing. Meanwhile, Matt Cope finds himself far from the shore in court, fighting a number of lobster-related charges. He wants to launch a constitutional challenge to have a definitive ruling on treaty fishing. That's all anybody listens to is the courts. You've got to go to court, you're going to prove yourself. One of the treaties that he says gives MiGmaa the right to fish

was signed in 1752 by Jean-Baptiste Cope, his direct ancestor. I have a right to fish. I have a right to sell that fish. It's protected under the Constitution, and I'm going to fight that to the end. Stephen D'Souza, CBC News, Claire, Nova Scotia. And you can watch the Fifth Estate's full investigation trapped on the water on YouTube or CBC Gem. On North Vancouver Island, commuters are directing a flood of anger at BC ferries. That's because a lone ferry services the area, and as it's out for repairs, it's been replaced with a vessel half its size,

which means longer wait times. Maurice Zidler reports. It's a gray day at the ferry dock in Port McNeil and at least two dozen vehicles are parked waiting. Standing at the dock, youth worker Emily Gariot is exasperated. I've yet again had to turn around on my vehicle when I was on my way to work. Gariot lives in the small town of nearly 2,500 people on North Vancouver. Hoover Island. She works with Youth and Alert Bay, about an hour away by ferry, if she can get on.

I was stuck again, so I had to walk on, but I usually need my vehicle for work. The ferry that Garriot takes also serves the village of Soyantula, an even smaller community another half hour away on Malcolm Island. The three municipalities are closely intertwined. Residents often commute by ferry for work, medical appointments, or social events. But Since mid-October, that has gotten more difficult. That's when BC ferries swap the region's regular ferry for one with half the capacity. It's just inadequate and it's frustrating. And I believe tensions are rising.

Ernest Alfred is an elected counselor with the local Numgeese First Nation. He says passengers are getting in line hours before a sailing to make sure they can board. Unlike larger ferry routes, this one does not take reservations. Alfred and others say BC ferries changed the vessel, without consulting local residents. And now, commuters are paying the price. This time of year is very busy. With potlatch and feast season here,

we are overloading the ferry that was given to us. In a written statement, BC ferries told CBC News, its hands are tied. The refit season means other vessels are being worked on, and this one was needed elsewhere until spring. The news is cold comfort to Port McNeil Mayor James Fernie. The communities of Alert Bay and Swint Two land,

And Port McNeil, we all suffer from this kind of short-sighted decision-making, I think, that comes out of Vancouver, headquarters of BC Ferries. Fernie says local residents and leaders have tried to offer solutions, but he says their feedback just falls on deaf ears. We holler as loud as we can, but we don't really get heard. BC Ferry says the pain is only temporary. It shouldn't happen again. And with new vessels for Vancouver Island coming on board later this year, the new boats will give the region. a dedicated relief vessel. Until then, commuters like Emily Garriott

will have to make due. It's just the clear disrespect to the community and our way of life. A way of life that's going to include a lot more time and lineups for commuters throughout the region. Maurice Seidler, CBC News,

Comox. A group of Italian actresses says their country has become a safe haven for men accused and found liable of sexual assault. Just as they were speaking out, a Canadian director found civilly liable for rape in the U.S. was being celebrated by an Italian film festival. Megan Williams now on what observers call a culture of silence and impunity in Italy's entertainment world. 28-year-old Veronica Stechetti at a podium in Rome recounts her five-year ordeal ensuing a renowned theater director and the Parma Theater, she says, enabled him. Staketi, with fellow actor Federica Ombrata beside her, won a landmark labor court case this fall.

The court believed their accusations. that the director, dubbed by those in the know, as the Harvey Weinstein of Italy, coerced them into sexualized acting, and assaulted them during late-night solo rehearsals in an empty theater. The judge ordered both the director in the theater to pay about $180,000 in damages. Women's rights groups call the ruling historic, the first in Italy to recognize an employer's responsibility to prevent abuse in the performing arts. But then came the part that shocked the women. The judge ruled that nobody in the case can be publicly named, including the director and the theater. Steketti and Ombrato chose to make their names public last week.

But they still can't name the man, they say harmed them. The court decided we can't name the man and the theater. I think this is not a good thing for us. When you say the name of something, you can really fight. against this thing. When you could not say the name, it's something not finished yet. The director continues to mount plays in Italy, and the head of the theatre found responsible just received a lifetime achievement award. Women think it's not worth to denounce, because in Italy, if you denounce someone, often they continue their career and the actresses don't. Meanwhile, Canadian-American director Paul Huggis was appointed artistic director of the Rome Independent Film Festival.

Three years after a New York jury found him liable for rape, with four other women testifying he raped or tried to rape them. When CBC News contacted the festival head and jurors, none objected to Hagus's headlining the festival. Attempts to reach Hagus through his assistant went unanswered. Hagus, who now lives mostly here in Rome, also holds acting classes. where students are not informed about the New York rape judgment or other accusations made against him in Italy. There is zero discussion about men like Paul Huggis who come to Italy. All you hear is how wonderful it is to have the grand Oscar winner here in Italy,

says Cincia Spanon. She's the head of the Italian feminist actors' collective Amleta. She says if these men had been found guilty of mafia collusion, nobody would work with them. But she says they have no problem celebrating. men found guilty of assaulting women. Even Ombrato, while still waiting for the court verdict in her case, took a course with Haguez where organizers praised him for his Oscar with no mention of his rape judgment. She says it took her three years to pull herself out of

depression and return to acting. I don't want to give my career as a gift to them. She's now fighting to break through the resounding silence that continues to protect men accused and found libel of sexual assault in Italy. Megan Williams, CBC News, Rome. Come on, wiggle to this song. Wiggle to this song. It's the Wiggles! Australia's most famous children's entertainers.

So safe, so gentle, so kid-friendly. But right now, the Wiggles are apologizing for a little boo-boo that has landed them in some hot water. Two members of the group, Blue Wiggle, Anthony Field, and a character called The Tree of Wisdom, were featured in a TikTok video dancing with Aussie musician Kelly Holiday to his new song. This one. Sounds fine. So far, they've actually appeared on stage with Holiday before.

But this song, this song is about drugs in a way that is not at all subtle. It's literally called. ecstasy. The post was captioned, The Wiggles Get It. It was viewed 92,000 times. And now what the Wiggles get is a pocketful of problems. Hot potato, hot potato. A Wiggles spokesperson says the group does not condone the use of drugs in any form and says the video and the music were created independently without their knowledge. Maybe they should stick to their own songs for a bit. Here's one that might help right now. It's okay to cry. It's okay to cry on your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. Thanks for listening.

It's okay to cry. It's okay to give. It's okay to try. It's okay to try. It's okay for you to live. For more CBC Podcasts, go to CBC.A.