Your World Tonight - Zelenskyy challenges Putin to meet, U.S. and China trade negotiations, Millionaires advocating for higher taxes, and more.

Episode Date: May 11, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's ready to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war - challenging him to meet in-person in Turkey next week. Zelenskyy had demanded a 30-day ceasefire be agreed to first. But it now appears peace talks will go ahead without that guarantee.Also: Top U.S. trade negotiators say talks with China this weekend have been positive and productive. While no specifics will be revealed until tomorrow, President Donald Trump is hailing it as a "total reset" in the trade relationship.And: A group of Canadian millionaires says they want to pay more in taxes - arguing a higher tax burden is good for the country. But opponents warn that when the rich pay more, it could cost everyone.Plus: Pope Leo XIV gives his first Sunday blessing, the unprecedented use of AI in courtrooms, declining numbers of migratory birds, and more.

How did the internet go from this? You could actually find what you were looking for right away, bound to this. I feel like I'm in hell. Spoiler alert, it was not an accident. I'm Cory Doctorow, host of Who Broke the Internet from CBC's Understood. In this four-part series, I'm going to tell you

why the internet sucks now, whose fault it is, and my plan to fix it. Find Who Broke the Internet on whatever terrible app you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi, I'm Stephanie Scanderis and this is your World Tonight. Zelensky has put Ukraine in a very strong position. And the ball is now in Russia's court. Ukraine and its allies are waiting to see if Moscow will stand down with a proposed 30-day ceasefire set to begin tomorrow.

Also on the podcast, the two most influential players of the global economy are advancing on a deal. Talks to ease the US-China tariff dispute are showing signs of promise. Plus... Folks like us who have benefited from these investments disproportionately, we have a responsibility to pick up a bigger piece of the tab. Some millionaires in Canada say they want to give back to their country by paying higher taxes. Ukraine's president says he is ready to talk and end this war. Volodymyr Zelensky is challenging Vladimir Putin to meet him in person this Thursday. Early today, the Russian president offered to restart talks

after Zelensky and Ukraine's allies urged Moscow to agree to a 30-day ceasefire. Philipply Shannok reports. The commander of a Ukrainian drone unit who goes by the call sign Chepa says he didn't notice any signs of a ceasefire. Russia's president Vladimir Putin called a unilateral three-day pause in fighting to mark the 80th anniversary of their

victory in the Second World War. There were continuous attacks by howitzers, rocket launchers, they used it all. We have not experienced any ceasefire, he says. But he was happy to hear that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is open to direct talks with Russia. The way to solve the conflict is to talk one-on-one, face-to-face, not via some other countries, he says. Putin's proposal comes after the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland threatened

to ramp up sanctions and increase military aid if Putin didn't agree to a 30-day ceasefire. In an early morning televised statement from the Kremlin, Putin responded. We are determined to have serious negotiations with Ukraine. We do not exclude that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new truces, a new ceasefire that would be observed not only by the Russian side, but also by the Ukrainian side. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the former prime minister of Ukraine, says Putin's refusal for a ceasefire prior to talks is a stalling tactic. His idea is to drag his feet and to drag all of us into

a never-ending talks while fighting against Ukraine and while getting some kind of incremental games on the battlefield. And on Sunday after a post from US President Donald Trump urging him to meet with Putin, Zelensky dropped his demand for a ceasefire before talks proceed. I will be waiting for Putin in Turkey on Thursday. Personally, I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses," he said. Maria Popova is an associate professor of political science at Montreal's McGill University. Zelensky has put Ukraine in a very strong position.

He is the one who said, I will be waiting for Putin in Istanbul on Thursday. Let's see if Putin shows. But we're not really seeing any signs that Russia is willing to compromise. And she says the world will soon know if a deal is possible or not. And as U.S. President Donald Trump posted, quote, if it is not, European leaders and the U.S. will know where everything stands

and can proceed accordingly. Philip LeChenok, CBC News, Toronto. A ceasefire between India and Pakistan appears to be holding, even after both sides accused each other of violating it with air strikes just hours after it came into effect on Saturday. In Kashmir, people walk through piles of rubble to inspect the damage caused by cross-border shelling attacks overnight. Officials in both countries say strikes targeted military installations and militant infrastructure.

India claims its strikes killed more than 100 militants. This most serious confrontation between the two nations in decades was sparked by an attack last month in the India-controlled portion of Kashmir that killed 26 people. Top US trade negotiators say talks with China this weekend have been positive and productive. No specifics will be revealed until tomorrow tomorrow but President Donald Trump is hailing it as a total reset in the trade relationship. Pressure has been mounting on the Trump administration to ease its trade war as Americans start to feel the pinch of tariffs. Katie Simpson reports from Washington. At the end of two days of closed-door talks with China, the U.S. Treasury Secretary emerged from trade negotiations sounding rather optimistic.

I'm happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks. Scott Besant stood beside U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer, both promising to share specifics on Monday, claiming some kind of deal has been reached with Beijing. It's important to understand how quickly we were able to come to an agreement which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought.

Until the text of any supposed agreement is released, it will remain unclear what, if anything, has been accomplished, though President Donald Trump on social media called it a total reset. The current standoff between Washington and Beijing has been a source of great anxiety for investors, business owners large and small and of course consumers. Right now the US has 145% tariffs on China while China has imposed 125 percent tariffs on American goods, all of it leading to a drop in ships with Chinese products arriving at U.S. ports. We'll be down about 31 percent in volume compared to the same time last year. Gene Sirocco is the director of the Port of Los Angeles. He says fewer ships means less work for

his teams on the docks. And it's a similar situation for truck drivers who have fewer loads to transport. A trucker who last week was hauling about four or five containers a day, this week will likely haul just two or three. Through the uncertainty, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is urging Americans to be patient. His prices are going to stay stable once this policy is done. You got to give the president a chance to run it. But over the next three months, this policy is going to show trade deal after trade deal.

The Trump administration has been promising new deals for weeks. But so far, just one tentative agreement with the UK has been announced. The details are still being negotiated. But one thing the US has made clear, the UK and most other trading partners can't negotiate their way out of the global 10% tariff that is already in effect. So we do expect a 10% baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future.

This coming week could be the first where American shoppers notice broad changes because of the tariffs. Ships that do arrive with Chinese goods on board are all subject to that 145 percent tariff. Price hikes and shortages could follow in the days and weeks ahead. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. Hamas says it'll release the last living American hostage in Gaza. Israeli-American soldier Edon Alexander was abducted from his military base during the

October 7 attacks. In a statement, the militant group says the 21-year-old will be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings, and resume the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has blockaded for two months. The U.S. calls the Hamas decision a quote, jester to the Americans without compensation or conditions. Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 15 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children. Still ahead, the sister of a man murdered in a US road rage incident says she was struggling with how to deliver her victim impact statement to the court. So with the help of artificial intelligence, she had her dead brother do it instead.

It's thought to be a legal first and it's raising a lot of ethical questions. The story is coming up on Your World Tonight. We'll soon get a better idea of what Prime Minister Mark Carney's new cabinet will look like. The members will be sworn in Tuesday at Rideau Hall, and they have a lot going on. The House of Commons resumes May 26th. Canada is hosting the G7 in just a few weeks. And all of that takes place under the continuing trade war with the U.S. JP Tasker sets it all up for us from Ottawa.

We're going to be friends with Canada. After the meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and his US counterpart went well, the Liberal government's point person on tariffs is sounding upbeat. Our hope is to very quickly get to work over the next 10 days. Talks have been ongoing. And international trade minister Dominic de Blanc says there are early signs Canada could reach a deal with President Donald Trump on his punishing tariffs sometime soon. The president is coming to Cananaskis, Alberta for the G7 summit in the middle of June.

We hope to make some progress before then. Negotiations for tariff relief will intensify after Trump gets back from his Middle East trip later this week, LeBlanc says. My hope is that very quickly upon their return we can sit down and map out a short-term work plan that will lead to the lifting of some, ultimately all of these tariffs. At the prime minister's office, work is underway on crafting a new cabinet to be revealed Tuesday, one that will be focused on confronting the terror threat. Carney has been coy about who's staying on to do that work, batting away questions about whether he will keep Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in that role.

Did he ask you to ask that question? Now we know your sources. Look, I committed to an efficient cabinet, a focused cabinet. Sources say there will be new faces on the front bench as the former central banker puts his stamp on government. I think this is about Carney. This is one of the most anticlimactic anticipations of a new cabinet I can remember. Political scientist Laurie Turnbull says Carney himself is taking on the country's most pressing

challenges. Who sits around that cabinet table matters less than it did. I think that the focus is really on him as opposed to who his ministers are. The liberals are just two seats shy of a majority government, which means Carney will have to rely on at least one opposition party to get anything through parliament. The NDP's interim leader, Don Davies, says he may be willing to deliver some votes. Minority parliaments do require parties to work together in a way that they may not in a majority. So, you know, we're going to work constructively and see what we can arrange.

While the election may be over, not all the seats have been decided. The Liberals picked up the riding of Terrebonne in Quebec after a recount this weekend, winning the seat by just one vote over the Black Québécois incumbent. Three other recounts are underway in closed seats. A victory in any one of them could give the Liberals some breathing room. JP Tasker, CBC News, Ottawa. A group of Canadian millionaires says they want to pay more in taxes. They argue a higher tax burden is good for the country.

But the idea does not have unanimous support. Opponents warn that when the rich pay more, it could cost everyone. Anise Hidari tells us why. Our financial situation changed pretty dramatically over the last few years. Emma Davis grew up in what she calls a working-class family. They didn't have a lot of money. But she does now, after her partner sold a tech startup to Twitter more than a decade ago.

It got them thinking about more than just their own finances. I think people tend to think of Canada as a wealthy nation, but we face problems that require massive government spending. Taxing the wealthy is one of the ways that we can fund the changes that we need. Taxing the wealthy, as in taxing herself and anyone in a similarly comfortable financial boat. Davis is helping launch Patriotic Millionaires Canada. It's based on similar lobby groups in the UK and US. They are asking governments to force the wealthy to pay more in income tax, dividend taxes or capital gains taxes.

No one in Canada builds wealth alone. You depend on things like infrastructure, health care, schools, transportation. We have a responsibility to pick up a bigger piece of the tab. If you want to use tax policy, you tax the things that you don't want. John Ruffalo points out if a country taxes wealth it may end up with less wealth. He's a venture capital investor based in Toronto and before that he was a global tax expert at Deloitte. He thinks the patriotic millionaire's push would drive investors and entrepreneurs away from Canada. They look towards particularly the United States when they say I get paid more,

my cost of living is lower. My housing is lower and the tax is lower. Tax policy actually motivates behavior. That motivation is part of why this idea has already seen pushback in this country. A proposed increase in how capital gains are taxed could have mostly affected wealthier people.

It was loudly opposed by many business groups and the conservatives. The liberals backtracked. Of course, if you're a taxed could have mostly affected wealthier people. It was loudly opposed by many business groups and the conservatives. The liberals backtracked. Of course, if you raise taxes, there will be greater incentive to try to avoid. David Duff is the director of the Masters of Tax program at the University of British Columbia's law school. He points out that a backlash is understandable. That's often said. You raise taxes, they'll avoid it anyway, which makes it sound like affluent people are just paying taxes voluntarily.

If they were, they wouldn't get so upset about raising taxes on them. You have a responsibility to vote, to serve on jury duty, and to pay your taxes. Back on BC's Galeano Island, Emma Davis won't be upset if her taxes get raised, like she's lobbying for. To me, the taxation piece of that is the most democratic way to redistribute resources. The patriotic millionaires may be launching their efforts against political trends. In the last election, both the liberals and conservatives promised tax cuts for middle and high-income earners. Calgary. It's a simple message from the new head of the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo is calling for peace, a point he underlined in his first Sunday blessing at St. Peter's Square. The weekly tradition is an opportunity for a pope to weigh in on global events. Juanita Taylor is at the Vatican with more on what he said and the challenges ahead for the new pontiff. Crowds descended in the thousands for another first in Vatican City following a historic week. Pope Leo XIV's first time leading Sunday prayer. His 15-minute address centered on one theme. No more war. The moment drew devout Catholics, including Joseph Saliba from Malta.

The best blessing is for the world to accept peace and accept fraternity and never have any more wars. On Ukraine, Leo said, Let every effort be made to achieve, as soon as possible, an authentic, just and lasting peace. The Pope also said he is profoundly saddened by the war in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire. He added that he hopes a lasting agreement will be reached between India and Pakistan. Mary Finlayson is a Canadian nun living in Rome. I think his call for peace goes way beyond borders

and churches, faiths, religions. It's about human beings working together for the good of all. Just three days into his papacy, Leo is showing some resemblance to Pope Francis, working together for the good of all. Just three days into his papacy, Leo is showing some resemblance to Pope Francis, spending time among the masses just outside of Rome. Paola Yugas is a Peruvian journalist who has known him since 2018, and she says she isn't surprised.

He's very empathic, he's very calm, he always listens to the people. She adds Leo's ties to Peru are still being celebrated in Latin America. All day they are dancing and moving and they are really happy. It's like a Peruvian Pope for us. Still the new Pope has issues to address. He identified artificial intelligence as one of humanity's main challenges. And he himself faces criticism.

An advocacy group, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, accused Pope Leo of mishandling cases of alleged sexual abuse involving priests from his time in Chicago and Peru. So far, the Vatican has not addressed it. Wynita Taylor, CBC News, The Vatican. As the Pope mentions AI, an AI-generated video played inside an Arizona courtroom this month may have just set a new precedent. It was a version of a 37-year-old delivering a victim impact statement from beyond the grave. And as Steve Futterman reports, it's opening up all sorts of ethical questions. Hello, everybody. Thank you so much for being here today.

This is the voice of a dead man, sort of. I am a version of Chris Pelkey recreated through AI that uses my picture and my voice profile. Chris Pelkey was killed in 2021 in Chandler, Arizona, the result of a road rage confrontation. But this month he came to life thanks to AI. During a sentencing hearing, the AI version of Pelkey spoke before the court. It was Pelkey's sister Stacey Wales who came up with the idea. I turned to my husband one night. I said, Tim, I want you to help me have Chris make his own impact statement at sentencing next week." Both she and her husband work in the tech industry. In the video the AI version of

Pelkey generally reminisces about his life. The words were written by his sister. There is no anger. He never asks the judge for a specific sentence. In fact, he talks about forgiveness. To Gabriel Horcacitas, the man who shot me, I believe in forgiveness and in God who forgives, I always have and I still do. The judge in the case, Todd Lang, who allowed the video to be shown, said afterwards he was glad he saw it. I love that AI. Thank you for that. I feel that that was genuine. Laurie Levinson is a former federal prosecutor. It's understandable that people want to bring the person back from beyond to be heard, especially at the time of sentencing.

But she says there are many potential problems. I think it's risky to say that what a machine puts together as to what the victim probably would have said is the type of evidence they should rely on in their sentencing decision. And Levinson says she would be surprised if similar AI testimony would ever be allowed during the testimony phase of the case. Chris Pelkey's brother John says it brought him some closure. To see his face and to hear his voice some closure. The video ends with Pelkey saying goodbye. The convicted killer received a 10 and a half year sentence for manslaughter, even though state lawyers had only asked for 9 and a half. Defense attorneys say the video may be used in future appeals.

Steve Futterman for CBC News, Los Angeles. You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. And if you want to make sure you 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. For birders in Canada, spring is like a whole season of Christmas mornings. Every day new migratory birds from colourful warblers to long-legged shorebirds are touching down. They migrate thousands of kilometres twice every year but dozens

of species are seeing a sharp decline in numbers. Gavin Day tells us why. At the bird banding station in Toronto's Tommy Thompson Park, a dedicated crew regularly bring in birds from their nets outside. Inside, bander Shane Abernethy plucks a yellow warbler from a drawstring bag. The small lemon drop-coloured bird winters as far as South America. This one was banded at the park a previous year. It's weighed, has its fat content checked, and since it already has a band on its leg, is quickly released. I still have images in my mind of a wood thrush singing from high in a tree. Volunteer Ann Purvis got into birding as a teenager on a trip

to Point Pelee National Park near Windsor. Just the warblers I felt like you could pick them off the bushes. But the population declines of dozens of species has been documented for decades. In cities millions of colorful songbirds are killed in window collisions and by domestic cats. It might happen to us that we find a dead bird on our front porch, and it doesn't seem like a big deal. Purvis also works with a group called Bird Friendly Cities Toronto. And you realize that, oh, if everybody had a dead bird on their front porch,

that adds up to a lot of birds. The group advocates for the city to retrofit buildings with a window treatment that breaks up the reflection, often a pattern of small dots. It also tells the public the difference they can make treating windows on their own homes and keeping cats indoors. There's nothing like being out on the prairie at dawn and hearing the dawn chorus with all those birds.

In the prairies, habitat loss to agriculture is a major threat to grassland birds. Nancy Mahoney is a research biologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. She's studied species in Alberta and Saskatchewan, like the endangered Chestnut Collard Longspur. She points to the most recent report on wild bird populations from the federal government. It shows some species that need unspoiled native grassland have seen population declines as high as 90 percent since 1970. The deep-rooted native grasslands they rely on serve as carbon sinks, important to combat climate change. Mahoney says farming and preserving native grasslands can complement each other. Winds for the producers and that it helps them make a living on on that land. When that it helps store carbon in these systems or maybe like reduce the amount of carbon inputs

and then a biodiversity wind. Back in Toronto, Tommy Thompson Park is something of an unexpected success story. It wasn't supposed to be a park. Andrea Creston is with the Toronto and region Conservation Authority. Wilderness that we have here today was accidental back when construction started. She says the 500 hectare park is growing, a rare opportunity she says considering its proximity to downtown Toronto. So being able to share and teach people about birds and the importance of conservation is a really great opportunity here.

A growing wild space to make sure the soundtrack of spring can come back for many more encores. Gavin Day, CBC News, Toronto. We were talking to the sunset, throwing dreams against the wall. So you heard a story about migratory birds. Now here's one about a pair of lovebirds and how they found each other at sea. They are John Perrone from Vancouver and Angie Harsany from Colorado. She's in her 50s, he's in his 60s and they didn't know each other but they had a couple things in common. They both wanted a change from their everyday lives, working in online marketing and owning a beauty salon.

And they both signed up for a cruise. Not just any cruise. A three-year, 425-destination cruise. But nothing went to plan. Last year, their ship, the Villa V Odyssey, needed urgent repairs and instead of Stockholm and Paris, they ended up stuck in Belfast for four months. Here's how they told UTV they spent their time. We ended up becoming friends around the beginning of August. We started walking and talking and fell in love. Cheers!

And if the experience didn't bond them, their engagement would. Gian proposed in September and now they've tied the knot somewhere off the coast of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. On board their floating and now functioning home. We always say we're the only two people that didn't mind how long the delay was. It worked to our favour. It did. As for a honeymoon, well that's sorted. They'll keep sailing round the world

and end up back in Belfast in about three years' time. This is one of the songs from their wedding, Alex Warren with Carry You Home on Your World Tonight. I'm Stephanie Scanderis. Thank you for listening. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.