Your World Tonight - Ukraine's independence day, Retaliatory tariffs, Oasis comes to Canada, and more

Episode Date: August 23, 2025

The blue and yellow Ukrainian flag is flying across the country today. Today is flag day, which marks the eve of Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union. Now, 21 years after the first official flag day, Ukrainians are again fighting for sovereignty from Moscow. And weary Ukrainians are desperate for the war with Russia to end - but are struggling to imagine how a peace deal can be secured. Also: There's more reaction to Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to drop retaliatory tariffs against most U.S. goods. Losing some levies is being welcomed by some businesses. But others worry it's a sign of a losing battle.And: British superstar band Oasis will be playing two sold out shows in Toronto this weekend for their reunion tour - their first time performing in Canada 17 years. You'll hear how fans are preparing and what they are hoping to see for the long anticipated concerts.Plus: Monsoon season in India and Pakistan, EV planes, the challenges of moving to Canada, and more.

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Hi, I'm Ennis Hidari. This is your world tonight. We mustn't give our territories to Russia. But I don't know how it will be possible to stop the war. This weekend marks Ukraine's Independence Day. And celebrations come at the same time as Donald Trump adds it. a deadline for Moscow, and a threat, more sanctions unless there's a peace deal. Also on the podcast, Ottawa lowers its elbows when it comes to retaliatory tariffs.

Losing some levies is welcomed by some businesses and criticized by other politicians. And, I was just a big fan since I was 13, so I never thought I would get the chance to see him, but now I do, so I'm pretty happy about it. Fans from around the world head to Canada this weekend to see 1990s Superstarch. our band Oasis. The blue and yellow Ukrainian flag is flying across that country today. Saturday is Flag Day, marking the eve of Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union. And now 21 years after the first official flag day, Ukrainians are again fighting for sovereignty from Moscow. As Breyer Stewart reports, many are desperate for the war with

Russia to end, but are also struggling to imagine how a peace deal can happen. A unit of honor guard stood for a moment of silence in Kiev this morning, a tribute to those killed in a war which keeps grinding on. It was part of a ceremony commemorating Ukraine's flag day. In a short address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the flag is deeply symbolic for those living in areas now occupied by Russia. They know that we will not gift our land to an occupier, said Zelensky. It's a message designed to halt any discussion about Ukraine giving up land to Russia as part of a peace negotiation. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a meeting between Zelensky and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

It's hard to imagine both leaders sitting down to work out a deal. Russia says it hasn't abandoned its goals, which includes controlling four regions in eastern Ukraine. In the city of Irpene, which lies on the northern outskirts of Kiev, dozens gather around tables for a lunchtime meal. Most of them have harrowing stories of fleeing Russia's advance, and they're now displaced from their communities in the east. I want to be there, but I don't want to be there.

But I don't want to live with Russia. Zoya Borek escaped from the ruins of Mariupil in April 2022. The city, which lies 50 kilometers from the Russian border, remains fully under Moscow's control. We mustn't give our territories, our territories to Russia. But I don't know how it will be possible to stop the war. She thinks that Zelensky and Putin need to be directly involved in the talks and that it can't just be led by Trump, who warned that if there wasn't progress in the next two weeks,

he could decide to roll out more sanctions against Moscow. But it's a threat he's made many times before, and Putin remains undeterred. I don't think he is the kind of person who will accept defeat, said Olga Labadeva. The 62-year-old who left the city of Zaporizia three weeks ago grows emotional when she talks about the prospect of the war dragging on. It would be better for it to end peacefully, because Russia has the same children as we do, she said.

We don't need to be fighting each other. We need to be kinder. A hopeful plea that comes after she decided to leave her home. Because the frequent air attacks had left her windows shattered, and nerve shaken. Breyer Stewart, CBC News, Erpene. Prime Minister Mark Carney will discuss deepening economic and security ties on a diplomatic mission to Europe.

Carney will meet with his counterparts in Warsaw, Berlin, and Riga. It is his fourth visit to Europe since becoming Prime Minister earlier this year. At least 30 Palestinians were killed Saturday as Israeli forces prepare for a huge offensive on Gaza City. Israeli government officials are again, calling for Hamas to disarm and release all remaining hostages. And this is happening as an international group that measures the severity of food and hunger issues, says. One quarter of the people in Gaza are experiencing famine.

While Israel says that report is not true. Philip Lishanak has more. Palestinians sift through the rubble of their homes in Gaza City. They say the Israeli military issued an evacuation order before the airstrike. Yusif Midwali says, like many here, he is left with nothing. No homes, no buildings, no food, no drink. We only have our breath, he says. Minwali says Israeli airstrikes have increased lately,

and tanks and ground troops have been seen on the outskirts of Gaza City, as a large-scale military operation is expected within days. Israel says the region is a Hamas stronghold where militants have built a network of tunnels. Dr. Hamis El-eisi says the remaining hospitals in Gaza City have been told to plan for an evacuation, which he says is impossible. So many patients coming to our hospitals, when they come, they're barely able to walk because they are sharp. On Friday, the Integrated Food Security Phase classification, which is made up of dozens of United Nations and other international aid agencies, determined that famine is occurring in Gaza City. Dan Stewart is with Save the Children.

He says if more aid doesn't arrive soon, there will be wide-ranging impacts. It creates a cycle of malnutrition. The babies that are born are smaller and they're already struggling before they're even born. So it's vital that we do everything we can to offend this famine now at full costs. But the Israeli government denounce the claims of famine as lies. Fleur Hassan Nahoon is a special envoy with Israel's foreign minister. This is just the new blood libel this week, based on Hamas sources, biased sources, and incomplete information. No, there is no farming in Gaza.

There is, of course, food insecurity, as there would be in any war. And there's hundreds of trucks going in with food supplies every single day. We have an ocean of need, and the volume of trucks is a drip, drip, drip. Tess Ingram is with the UN's Children's Agency, UNICEF in southern Gaza. She says she's seen severe malnutrition and children with her own eyes. A famine is unfolding in Gaza City. We have the evidence from this group of global experts, all of the testimonies from frontline workers,

these desperate parents, and the videos they've been live streamed onto people's phones around the world. And she says aid agencies have been warning for months about the risk of famine, but the international community was unable to put enough pressure on Israel, which is now poised to start its complete take. Takeover of the Gaza Strip. Philip Lichanach, CBC News, Toronto.

Back in this country, both policy experts and politicians are still reacting to yet another change to tariffs, after the Prime Minister decided on Friday to drop retaliatory charges on many U.S. imports. As Sam Samson reports, while some are cheering the move, others say it could be a sign of a losing battle. If this were a game of chess, some say Prime Minister Mark, Mark, Carney's decision to scrap tariffs was a pro-move under pressure. Against a tough opponent, U.S. President Donald Trump. We've removed a couple of pieces from the board so that we can play the bigger game. Fenn Osler-Hampson is a professor of international affairs at Carleton University.

It's always hard to read the tea leaves with Mr. Trump. It could mean that there's now some room to negotiate on a sector-by-sector basis. While industry-specific tariffs on U.S. autos, steel and aluminum will stay put, Starting September 1st, Canada will lift its 25% retaliatory tariffs on most goods coming from the U.S. That means Kuzma-compliant goods won't have that extra levy, including items like alcohol, orange juice, cooking oils, towels, it's a long list. Meaning, Hampton says, consumers could see some relief. Families should see a bit of relief on their grocery bills, on household items, small retailers who are importing American goods. the costs come down. So from a household affordability perspective, that's a significant.

Alberta Premier Daniel Smith also applauds the decision for a different reason. Frequently criticized for her meetings with U.S. officials, Smith said on her Saturday radio show, Ottawa is coming around to her tactics. I have said from the beginning that we have to have a diplomatic approach with the United States. Hasn't always been popular for me to say that. But I think what you're seeing is everyone else is coming to the same conclusion. You know, I got a lot of time for Mark Carney, but I'm not a fan of this move. Is this elbows down? The removal of these tariffs on U.S. goods now empowers the prairie premiers, including Manitoba Premier Wab Canoe, on a different goal.

If we're in the business of removing tariffs, it's removed the tariffs on Chinese EVs so that we can get the canola tariffs taken off our egg products. Since Canada is the world's largest canola exporter, prairie farmers have struggled against China's 100% tariff on the seat. The levy is in response to Canada's 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. All three Prairie Premiers have pushed Ottawa to scrap it, as it has now done with the U.S. tariffs. I just wonder if there's going to be that attention. If, you know, that's not the step that the federal government's willing to take, then what is the off-ramp here to help the Western Canadian economy and canola producers in particular? Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is taking it one step further,

setting up meetings with Chinese officials to try and end the canola tariffs and even invited the prime minister along on the trip. Sam Sampson, CBC News, Edmonton. Still ahead, politics have led many Americans to speak of moving to this country. Sometimes a joke, sometimes not. Later on your world tonight, how a reverend and a minister from the states are trying to permanently swap 50 stars for the Maple Leaf. The leaders of Japan and South Korea have agreed to create stronger security and economic ties between their countries.

South Korean President Li Jiameng made his first official visit to Japan on Saturday to meet with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishaba. The leaders put aside historical tensions between the two nations to discuss cooperation on defense, economic security, and artificial. intelligence. They also agreed to uphold a trilateral security pact, along with the United States, to counter growing influence from China. A summit between Lee and President Donald Trump will be held on Monday in Washington. Every summer, monsoons sweep across the Indian subcontinent. The heavy rains bring relief from the heat and provide water for crops. But as the climate warms, the monsoons are becoming increasingly erratic and are bringing deadly floods and landslides. Freelance reporter Rebecca Bundin has more.

The rains were till up the waste. The schools were closed. The colleges were closed. The shops were folded water. Mumbai resident Palavigura describes the torrential rain that wreaked havoc on India's financial capital this week. People were stranded as roads were flooded and trains cancelled. And across the wider state of Maharashtra, more than 20 people died due to the bad weather.

At the same time, more than 2,000 kilometres to the north in the mountainous area of Bunair, Pakistan. Verocious floods and landslides reduced homes to rubble and destroyed entire villages. Hundreds of people have been killed in the extreme weather in Pakistan in the past week, and many are still missing. People, they lost their life, they lost their animals, they lost their houses. Abide or Raymond Safar is an executive director at CDRS, an organisation carrying out humanitarian efforts in flood-affected areas. Still, people, they need the medical aids and groceries, mosquito nets and clean drinking water. In the south of Pakistan, heavy rains also brought Karachi to a near standstill. And earlier this month, there were deadly flash floods in India's Himalayan state of Uttrakhand.

These floods were triggered by what is known as a cloudburst, which India's meteorological department defines as a sudden, intense downpour of more than 100 millimetres per hour. We have found quite dramatic changes that have happened in the last 10 years, especially in terms of increase in heavy rainfall and extreme heavy rainfall events. Heavy rains are common during the region's ongoing monsoon season. But climate scientist Fishwash Chitali explains the research shows storms are getting stronger. And he says climate change is playing a role. So basically when we talk about, say, warming of oceans

and then that warming is going to lead to formation of, heavier and denser clouds, which are going to have much more water holding capacity than previously the clouds used to have. For India in Pakistan, the monsoon rains have traditionally been seen as a lifeline, replenishing water reserves and nourishing crops. But increasingly, people are feeling the fury of the rains, which are taking lives and bringing destruction. Rebecca Bundin for CBC News, Mumbai.

First there were electric cars and buses, then e-bikes, and now the world of electric is sliding to the skies. Jamie Strassan has more on the people betting on a newer way to power a plane. At Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport, a small electric plane, lands on the runway. The airport recently installed a charger to power the planes of the future. Nicholas Papalardo is CEO of Stolport, which operates Billy Bishop. This charger enables us to be on the map on the charging network to provide the electricity for those aircraft. This plane required a special exemption. So far, Transport Canada has only allowed

three electric planes to fly full time, one in BC and two at the University of Waterloo. We're really just at the beginning, but it's an exciting stage. Professor Paul Parker was a long-time professor at Waterloo's Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics. Electric aviation is really starting with the small tasks, a short training flight, a short scenic flight. This is what our batteries can handle. The small planes have a range of about 100 to 200 kilometers. And like early electric cars, much of the space on board taken up by batteries, which at this point aren't universal and have different charging requirements. The big investment in battery technology for the automotive industry is going to be very beneficial of creating new battery technology for the aviation industry.

The hope of those working to make these planes more practical is that they could initially act as a courier service for rural communities. Dr. Ibrahim Yimmer is with the National Research Council. Our geography averages, our country really needs aviation. Most of that are smaller communities. So you're going to have to connecting smaller communities on cargo in rebroad. most areas, it's very, very practical. The biggest other practical application right now, training new pilots. Down the road, it could help alleviate Canada's pilot shortage,

says Mike Andrews, one of the few in Canada, permitted to train pilots in an electric plane. It's much cheaper to operate, much cheaper to maintain, because of less moving parts, less replacement, so it's cheaper for students to use. The bigger question, when could fully electric or hybrid planes operate larger commuter flights? It may be a few years, Parker says, but some of the biggest manufacturers in aerospace are heavily invested. Next will be the small regional local markets, and then a decade from now you'll have Airbus move in and say, now we can give you a bigger machine to lower the emissions from aviation. Air Canada has already ordered 30 hybrid electric planes capable of carrying 30 passengers

with plans to have them in service by 2028. Jamie Strash and CBC News, Toronto. I'm moving to Canada, has been uttered by many liberal Americans for years now, though relatively few actually go through with the move. Two American pastors, though, have managed to successfully relocate to this country. But as Andreanne Williams found out, their path to a Canadian dream still has obstacles. How did it feel when you crossed the border? Surreal.

Reverend Robert Abgar Taylor and his husband Rubb moved to London, Ontario a little over two years ago. They had been watching tensions grow in their country since Donald Trump took office for the first time in 2017. But the final straw came when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in 2022. Following this decision, Justice Clarence Thomas said other rights should be challenged, including gay marriage. That's when the couple knew it was time to leave. The moment we heard that, I would say 20 seconds, it might even be an exaggeration to say 20 seconds, and he said, I'm out. now works as a minister for the United Church of Canada in London, and he's not alone. There have been moments where I have felt unsafe.

Four years ago, Reverend Joshua Lawrence moved to Ontario from Texas, concerned by what he describes as growing racism and hate emboldened by Donald Trump. When you have a leader that encourages and emboldened the very worst of a nation and of a people, then you end up in a situation that is frightening, it's unsafe, and it's not a place. wanted to be. He says preaching tolerance and inclusion became difficult. It's often been my calculation. Can we do this without running the risk of a violent attack or a threat? The United Church of Canada says it has received approximately 20 inquiries from American ministers wishing to move since the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January. Before, it only received

three to five requests every year. As for Robert Abgar Taylor, he says he's received messages from Americans asking about Canada since the re-election of Donald Trump. And my response is, you know, love to have you. It's hard. But immigrating to Canada is far from guaranteed, even for Americans, warns Robert Abgar-Taylor, especially since Ottawa lowered immigration targets. The two families don't know if they'll ever obtain permanent residency, which complicates buying a home and makes it harder for the pastor's partners to find jobs. Four years into their journey, Joshua Lawrence's wife still isn't allowed to work as a

wife in Canada and travels multiple times a month to the United States to find work. It has definitely taken a toll and there have been moments where we have, I think, wondered together did we do the right thing. Greg Willoughby is an immigration lawyer out of London. When Trump was first elected, we got some calls, mainly just inquiries saying, are there options, are there specific pathways for Americans? And the answer is no. Despite it all, the two pastors remain hopeful. We still believe that our investment will yield a great quality of life. You don't realize how much you're holding your breath until you don't have to hold your breath any longer.

He says they're praying every day their Canadian dream will turn into a forever reality. Andrea Williams, CBC News in London, Ontario. The last time Oasis played in Toronto, 17 years ago, it was chaos. A drunken fan snuck on stage and shoved Noel Gallagher into the speakers. It left the guitarist and singer with three broken ribs. Despite a trip to hospital after that, the band decided to come back to the city. Oasis is playing two sold-out shows in Toronto as part of their reunion tour. Ali Ciasso now on fan.

Anticipation for the only Canadian shows. Oasis, live in 2025, fans never thought they'd see the day. Sure enough. Oasis is set to play two sold-out shows in Toronto. Oasis fans? Well, they were buying all the merch they could find at a pop-up shop in downtown Toronto. Anything, mainly T-shirts.

I never thought I would get the chance to see him. Noel and Liam Gallagher have a famously fraught relationship. At any given point, they could get in a big fight and the tour could be over. So every ticket is potentially the last one, which I think is kind of beautiful. Beautiful and maybe a little messy, as music and culture critic Nico Stratus points out. Oasis also has a funny history with Toronto, notably the time that a guy got drunk and snuck on stage and shoved Noel from behind. They're playing Roger Stadium, where last month, Chris Martin from Coldplay called it a...

We had stadium in the middle of nowhere. There's always issues when 50,000 people are leaving a venue at the same time. City planner Mattie Simia Tiki says when fans let out at venues downtown, some hit to bars or restaurants, which thins the herd trying to get home. But at Downsview Park, a suburban area about 40 minutes from the city center. Everyone is trying to get to public transit or to get to their parking and get out of there all at the same. same time. And that's also creating what we would call a peak load. That's much

harder for transit and the road network to handle. As the song goes, And so Sally can wait. And they will. People were waiting for hours in the lineup just to get dressed for the gig. The line to buy merchandise

wrapped around the block. How long have you been waiting so far? Four hours? I mean, I was hoping to get some Adidas stuff, like the jerseys, but apparently they're all sold out. But more than the merch. It's about the music. There was this thing of like, oh, they're a Beatles rip off. I'm like, well, what are the Beatles really good at? Writing songs that everyone loves forever.

Champagne's seeping over from, my favorite from back in the day. Probably wonderful. That's a really good one. That would be really fun to sing along too, right? Yes, definitely. Ali Chieson, CBC News, Toronto. Large bag of popcorn. It was coming home for my daughter. There was layered buttery up. Hence the reason the rings came off. Janine Van Isseldike didn't expect her take-home treat from a movie theater would end up with a lost set of wedding rings.

The resident of Mission British Columbia had her jewelry slide off in a bag of popcorn. After she realized it, she and her husband, Steve, had to dig through the... the garbage at a landfill to find them. Janine had accidentally deposited her wedding rings into the compost. Yeah. We did some investigating with home cameras and determined that they ended up in a movie theater popcorn bag and put into our compost bin for curbside pickup. And Thursday morning they were picked up and didn't notice until Thursday night that they were missing.

And I'm like, well, I guess I'm going to the dump in the morning to see if I can find them. Indeed, he did go to the dump, where compost processor Danny Webster was willing to let him look in the trash. Webster ended up surprised. He said he's the popcorn bag and then I looked because it was like right there. I'm like, oh, there is a popcorn bag there. And then he did notice sausages in his, that was his as well. So then I thought, okay, maybe this man is legit. And, well, he's on his hands and knees in the rain,

and it's very stinky, so no one in their right mind would be doing that. And then he found the ring fairly quickly, 15 minutes, I think, after finding the popcorn bag. A ring that's a symbol of an unbreakable bond. Even a pile of compost and garbage can't overcome till death us do part. but maybe stick to a non-compostable snack at the movies next time. This has been Your World Tonight for August 23, 2025. I'm Ennis Hidari.

Have a good night, and thanks for listening.