Your World Tonight - Trump deciding on Iran action, missing girl found, pedestrians and cyclist near misses at intersections and more.

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

Fighting between Israel and Iran is in its sixth day. Thousands of people have fled Tehran to get away from Israel’s bombing campaign. They - and the world - are waiting to see what the U.S. President does next. Asked about whether his country would take a more active role in the bombing, Donald Trump said, “I may do it, I may not do it. Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”And: As the world waits to see what is next between Israel, Iran and the U.S., attention has shifted from the war in Gaza. We’ll have an update, and more on what Israelis think of the fighting spreading in the Middle East.Also: 3-year-old girl found safe near a major highway after being missing for days.Plus: The dangers of cycling and walking, kids caring for adults, and more.

Ten years ago, I asked my partner Kelsey if she would marry me. I did that, despite the fact that every living member of my family who had ever been married had also gotten divorced. Forever is a Long Time is a five-part series in which I talk to those relatives about why they got divorced and why they got married. You can listen to it now on CBC's Personally. This is a CBC Podcast. I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. I can tell you this that Iran's got a lot of trouble.

A commander-in-chief commanding the world's attention in a will he or won't he moment that could plunge the United States into all-out war with Iran. If Donald Trump knows what he's going to do next, the US president isn't saying saying with the Middle East on edge and all eyes on him. Welcome to your world tonight I'm Susan Bonner it is Wednesday June 18th coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern also on the podcast and I know you all have a lot of questions how is this possible how she been discovered where has she been I have the same questions myself, but all I can tell you right now is we're happy that she's alive. Fearing the worst, finding her alive, a three-year-old girl from the Montreal area

missing for days is found by police, alone on the side of a highway, relief following a frantic and confusing search with the little girl's mother behind bars and facing charges. Intense fighting between Israel and Iran is about to enter its seventh day. As airstrikes and missile attacks threaten millions of people, the conflict's next stage is up to one man, Donald Trump. Considering direct U.S. involvement that could provoke wider war in the Middle East,

Paul Hunter begins our coverage from Washington. They know what's happening. Maybe you could call it the ultimate, the ultimate, ultimatum, right? U.S. President Donald Trump, first thing this morning outside the White House, as tensions ratchet ever higher on the question, will he or won't he involve U.S. forces in any strike against Iranian nuclear facilities? I may do it, I may not do it, I mean nobody knows what I'm going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble,

and they want to negotiate. And I said, why didn't you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction? This, the day after Trump on his truth social platform demanded Iran surrender without conditions as the fighting between that country and Israel continues. Today, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei countered... By Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Iran will not surrender to anyone, he said, adding, if the U.S. military intervenes, the damage America will suffer will be irreparable.

Iran's deputy foreign minister showed up on CNN. Nobody can threaten Iranians. They should not dare to threaten Iran. We will do whatever necessary. As long as the aggression continues, as long as this brutality continues, we cannot think of engaging. Meanwhile, throughout the region,

multiple signals something seems imminent. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the biggest aircraft carrier in the US Navy, reportedly set to be deployed to the Mediterranean, the US and the European Union now organizing evacuations from Israel. But back in the US, political battling on all of it among Trump's allies. Conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson opposes US involvement, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz supports it, the two in a bizarre podcast back and forth. You don't know anything about Iran.

So actually the country... Okay, I am not the Tucker Carlson expert on Iran who says... You're a senator who's calling for the overthrow of the government and you don't know anything about the country. No, you don't know anything about the country. Back at the White House this afternoon, Trump said Iran has been invited to the White House You're the one who claims... You're the one who claims... You don't know anything about the country. No, you don't know anything about the country. You're the one who claims... Back at the White House this afternoon, Trump said Iran has been invited to the White House for talks, though noting that it'd be complicated before bottom-lining everything again.

There's no way that you can allow, whether you have to fight or not, you can allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon because the entire world will blow up. I'm not going to let that happen. Says Trump the aim is total victory and on whether the U.S. will step in militarily says he hasn't made up his mind. He likes to do that he says one second before it's too late. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. What happens between Israel and Iran is also being closely watched

in Gaza. There's already a devastating war and humanitarian crisis in motion there and many Palestinians worry their struggle for survival will be ignored as Israel's fight expands. Senior International correspondent Margaret Evans is in Jerusalem. Ghostly journeys laced with peril. Large crowds forming in the night as Gazans desperate to feed their families risk increasingly dangerous treks to aid centers like this one along the Netzerim corridor in central Gaza. Chaotic scenes as people scramble for food. Gaza. Chaotic scenes as people scramble for food. I've been here since midnight says Mohammed Abu-Jab. Thank God I got through despite the

danger. That was before Israeli troops reportedly opened fire on the crowds killing at least 11 people. The military says it fired warning shots and wasn't aware of injuries. It also accuses Hamas of trying to loot the sites. The UN is calling on the Israeli military to cease the use of lethal force near aid distribution points. It says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed by gunfire or shelling near those sites since the end of May, when a controversial food aid distribution group was brought in by Israel to replace UN agencies.

Some families waiting for sons or fathers to come home with food eventually find them at a hospital morgue. Firas Abu Al Qas lost his cousin. They tell them, searching about food. At night, Gazans watch Israeli and Iranian missiles engaging in the skies overhead. They look like shooting stars, and they take with them much of the world's attention. Nobody's talking about the war in Gaza. Nobody's talking about hostages.

And nobody's talking about, well, what's going on the ground in Gaza right now. Ksenia Svetlova is an analyst and a former member of the Israeli Knesset. Whether this is the intentional outcome or something that is a byproduct of this war, this is definitely the consequence. Svetlova says it has also boosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's domestic standing in a country where most Israelis see the Iranian regime as a threat to the Jewish state, and potentially amongst Western nations deeply troubled by Israel's actions in Gaza, but which also view Iran as a threat to international security.

Israel's confidence in the success of its war against Iran was evidenced today, when the Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz eased restrictions on civilians and businesses. This decision to gradually reopen the economy and the different regions is a form of victory, he's saying. In Gaza, many will tell you they're already used to their plight being ignored by the outside world. The only thing they have left to hold on to, they say, is their grief. Margaret Evans, CBC News, Jerusalem.

As Canada attempts to normalize diplomatic relations with India there are warnings that groups tied to India are a persistent danger to some communities here and the country remains a foreign interference threat. Rafi Boujikanean has that story. Excellency Prime Minister, it is the great honour to host you at... Canada's Mark Carney welcoming his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, at the G7 this week. I am very grateful to you, sir. Modi extending his thanks, pointing out the two countries of business and investment ties.

Quickly announced after the visit, Canada will restaff its high commission in India. India will do the same here. Last fall, diplomatic ties were largely severed, and they had been rocky since September 2023. Today I'm rising to inform the House of an extremely serious matter. When Carney's predecessor, Justin Tr Trudeau revealed Canadian national security agencies were looking into the killing of a Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijer in Surrey, BC, and believed elements related to Modi's government were involved,

allegations India has repeatedly denied. Sikh groups here protested Modi's presence and there is other pressure on Ottawa too. Gangs in India are operating here in our province and in other provinces. British Columbia Premier David Eby asking the federal government to designate one group, Lawrence Bishnoi, a terrorist organization. That gang has international connections, tied to hundreds of cases of murder and extortion, including Nijer's killing. I note the comments by Premier Ebi asking for the listing. Public safety minister Garian Andesangari says that takes time and talk.

This is an independent process that goes through our public security agencies. The community is upset because still they are getting extortion calls, still they are getting threatening letters, still shootings are happening. Gurpreet Sahoda is a member of the Sikh community and a TV host on Channel Punjabi in Surrey. He welcomes EB's request and hopes Ottawa is listening. It will be helpful to press charges, the bills will be harder. Colin Robertson says it's possible for Ottawa to both fight foreign interference from India and pursue economic opportunity.

He's a former Canadian diplomat and now with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. It's the fifth biggest economy in the world and we want to have an India pillar as part of Indo-Pacific strategy. You've got to look at the relationship in its complexity." All this as the latest look from CSIS still paints India in a damning light. The annual report from Canada's spy agency saying it's one of the potential perpetrators of foreign interference here not only among ethnic groups but in this country's political system.

Rafi Bajikan, YonCBC News, Ottawa. Coming up on the podcast, abandoned and alone for days, a three-year-old toddler is found alive, abandoned oil wells on the prairies spewing more methane than previously known, plus children and teens as family caregivers at a cost to their own health. It was a drone that spotted her, a three-year-old girl, alive, alone, along the side of a highway near the Quebec-Ontario border. Police had been searching for Claire Bell for days, and many had begun to fear the worst. Jayla Bernstein is in Montreal. Jayla, a remarkable survival story for this toddler.

What do we know? Well, I'll start with the good news that she is alive, as you say, and talking. This all came today after a break in the case that happened this afternoon on the fourth day of her being missing. Quebec provincial police have been looking for this missing girl, the three-year-old, and then this afternoon a witness came forward. It was a farmer who police had been looking for. They believe that this

farmer had spoken to the girl's mom before she went missing. We don't know how they got that information but we know that they had been looking for this farmer. The farmer came forward and told police she saw the girl, the three-year-old alive on Sunday afternoon, just about an hour or so before she went missing. That, when they got that information, is when police expanded their search into Ontario. They asked the OPP, the Ontario Provincial Police,

to come in and help. Ontario Provincial Police used a drone, and that's what they were able to use to spot the girl, the toddler, along a highway near the Ontario-Québec border. She was found alone on a farm around three o'clock this afternoon and that's in St. Albert, Ontario, where she was found. Now Quebec provincial police tell us that she was weak but alive, she was talking and police say they gave her first aid, food and water and she was handed over to paramedics to take care of her.

And what is the story of how this little girl came to be missing in the first place? Right. Well, the timeline does have some holes in it. It's vague. But what I can tell you is that Sunday morning, the three-year-old and her mom left their home in Montreal. Later that afternoon, as I've told you,

they were spotted in Ontario. And then an hour or so later, the mom came into a souvenir and firework shop off of a highway in Western Quebec, west of Montreal. She came into this shop and employees said she came in panicked saying she'd lost her daughter and she didn't know what had happened. That's when they called 911 and this vast search

was launched for the missing girl. And since then, police have been canvassing this massive area around Quebec, close to the Ontario border, using ATVs, police on horseback, K9 units, trying to find her looking through forest and farmland. And also I have to say they've been combing through hundreds of tips from the public looking for any information that would give them a clue to this girl's whereabouts. They even at one point in the search found a dog who matched description of a dog who had been with the girl, a Chihuahua. The dog unfortunately was dead, but there was no signs of the girl. And so police had to continue searching, trying to find any, any signs of her whereabouts and then finally

got that break this afternoon. Now, I should also mention that her mother, the girl's mother is 34-year-old Rachel Elitad. She yesterday was charged with child abandonment. Now, we're still waiting for more details on that case and where police are going to go with their investigation. Of course, the good news is the girl did survive. She's alive today and being taken care of. And certainly there is a lot of relief in the community to know that good news.

Thank you, Jayla. My pleasure. The CBC's Jayla Bernstein in Montreal. It is where right of way and risk collide. There are new warnings tonight about Canadian intersections and the life-threatening near-misses being faced every day by cyclists and pedestrians. Jamie Strachan has details. In Toronto, when crossing the street downtown, you have to be aware if you want to stay safe.

I was like crossing the street and a lady was turning and wasn't even paying attention. Staying safe is also top of mind for Regina cyclist Simon Grunofsky-Larson. He's on the road 365 days a year and has had a few close encounters, including one recently with a car. A car didn't stop at their own red light and turned right directly into me so we came at each other. I swerved out of the way. Every year police forces across the country compile the grim data, the occasions when vehicles hit cyclists and pedestrians.

A new CIA study looks at the near misses where quick thinking or pure luck intervene. I think the amount of near misses we were able to collect actually quite surprised me. Over a period of seven months, cameras in seven provinces recorded near misses in 20 intersections. CAA's Christine Darbell says more than 600,000 close calls were recorded. Cars making right turns were the most dangerous scenario.

The pedestrian and a car were really, really close to becoming, you know, to a collision, the AI was basically able to model it and say, all right, if that collision were to have occurred, this is how serious it would be. It's all valuable information says the University of Toronto's Shoshana Sacks. It usually takes years of people getting badly hurt or killed before problems at dangerous intersections are addressed. Generally it takes five years or longer to collect enough data if you're depending on fatalities. SAC says there's a number of easy fixes. As cities build more bike infrastructure, intersections where all types of transport come together need to be better lit,

and more cameras to enforce speed and catch red light runners. All of this is stuff that we could roll it at scale within a couple of years, even within some many improvements we made on order months. We don't have to have accidents and death and injury like this. SAC says with more cars, more bikes, more people fighting for space, they are slowly learning how to coexist, often barely avoiding tragedy. Jamie Strash in CBC News, Toronto. Population growth in Canada slowed in the first quarter of this year.

Statistics Canada says it rose by just over 20,000 people, an increase so small it amounts to 0% growth. The fact that Canada's population didn't decline is due to immigration. Although Ottawa has lowered targets for temporary and permanent immigrants, those levels are still high compared to earlier years. 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.

They stopped pumping oil and gas decades ago, but are still producing emissions. There are hundreds of thousands of inactive wells across Canada, and a new study suggests they're leaking more pollutants than previously thought. And Ayat Singh has more on the long and expensive environmental legacy. We're on Forestry Farm Road adjacent to an erupting, abandoned gas well.

Brian Craig lives near an old gas well in Norfolk County in southwestern Ontario, which stopped operating decades ago but still belches pollutants like hydrogen sulfide and methane into its surroundings. Large warning signs keep people away from approaching the well because large doses of the hydrogen sulfide can be life-threatening. But while the full impacts of exposure to low levels of the gas are not known, neighbours report things like headaches and breathing issues apart from the mental toll of the constant rotten egg smell filling the air. Some days I can't even go outside without getting burning eyes and sore throat. We have this beautiful property weed that we can't use because it's just seeping out of the ground

into the swamp. There are over 400,000 non-producing wells across Canada. Some have been plugged and some are unplugged and abandoned by their owners. Mary Kang at McGill University is one of the world's leading researchers on these wells. So I think non-producing wells have not been a big focus of methane mitigation efforts thus far. They haven't historically been a big focus because active production emissions are substantially higher.

In a new study, Kang's team found that methane emissions from non-producing wells across the country are seven times higher than Canada's official estimates. Hopefully that will lead to more emissions reductions and more development of smart mitigation strategies. Methane from these wells accounts for 13 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's oil and gas sector, according to the new figures. For the people who have to live near these thousands of wells, the hope is that the study will spur governments to act with some more urgency. There are times that hydrogen sulphide is erupting from that abandoned gas well and

you would not be able to stand here. It stinks incredibly. And then of course, it is the gases emanating that you can't see or smell such as methane. They're having an impact on climate change. In response to the new study, Environment and Climate Change Canada says it is reviewing how it calculates its estimates for methane emissions from non-producing wells. In Ayat Singh, CBC News, Norfolk County, Ontario. Some are teenagers still in high school, responsible for looking after ailing loved ones. Young caregivers are the focus of a new push for better mental health supports, with experts

saying it's becoming more important to make sure they get the care they need. Jennifer Yoon reports. I called this camera the day before. I didn't even start chemistry yet. In some ways, Najeeha Rahman is just like any other 17-year-old in high school. But in one important way, she's very different. Boost. Me. Up. Okay, yeah, we're getting to now. Since the age of seven, she's been taking care of her mom,

who is diagnosed with ALS. Sometimes I would try to help her with the wheelchair, but it was a lot bigger than me, so. Roman says she's only just realizing her responsibilities aren't so ordinary. Oh yeah, this isn't like normal. I am doing things that are like a bit beyond what I should be doing and like I should be proud of myself for that."

Caregivers' responsibilities could include helping their loved ones eat, drink water, take medicine, or accompanying them to medical appointments. There are more young people in Canada doing that work than you might think. About 1.5 million people between the ages of 15 and 30, according to Statistics Canada's last count. And researchers now know more about how that can impact a young person's development. They're at higher risk of mental health challenges, social isolation, and falling behind in school. Caregivers might not even realize that they are caregivers until there starts to be detrimental effects to their mental health or their well-being. Lucas Perry knows this firsthand. As a 14-year-old, he cared for his ailing grandfather.

I felt both proud to be looking after someone that I really, really care about, but also I was feeling quite overwhelmed. The experience inspired him to co-author a recent case study in the journal Canadian Family Physician urging family doctors to look out for the young people caring for others. I've seen some young carers just kind of break down and cry and just really share how difficult it is and how no one's really asked them how they were doing. But it's not all up to family doctors as University Health Network Internist Dr. Karen Okrionik. She treats patients with complex and chronic diseases, and she's recognized caregivers sometimes as young as 10 or 11.

I think it's really hard for people to grasp that a child, a teenager, a young adult could take on that kind of responsibility. Okrionik says even small things can help, like writing notes for school absences, talking through anxieties, or connecting them to peer support groups. Aquinic also says Canada could learn from the UK's approach, where young caregivers' rights are protected by the law. Jennifer Yoon, CBC News, Toronto.

We close tonight in Kaukan, New Brunswick, with the story of a pig in the wild and it's no bore. That would be Peekaboo Piggy, Porky Poppins. He's a nine-week-old piglet that we got ten days ago now that decided to go for a wild adventure in our backyard. adventure in our backyard. The great escape happened as Tiffany Demons and her fiance were delivering six new piglets to their small farm. One of them scampered away.

Peekaboo Piggy, AKA Porky Poppins living free range. Look, there he comes. This is the closest I've ever been to him. That's anyone's ever been to him. This is amazing. Yeah, he's like totally sketching out. Porky! Pig pig!

Snacky snacks! Food was clearly a weakness. One the demons tried to exploit. But even as Porky appeared every day for meals left in a bowl, attempts to trap him in a raccoon cage didn't work. Worst of all, as Demons was tormented by the search, Porky seemed to be enjoying it. He's consistently laughing in my face.

He also usually has a black mask of mud on his face. And yeah, you'll definitely be able to identify him by his evil oink. Evil, evasive, but in the end this little piggy came all the way home. Late yesterday we received word porky popped up and finally got fenced in. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Wednesday, June 18th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again.