March 21: Saturday's top stories in 10 minutes

0:00A password manager should be the first security purchase you make for your team. Why? Because compromised passwords are the number one way bad actors attack companies, and small businesses are their favorite targets. But unlike a lot of security challenges, passwords actually have a pretty simple solution. One password lets you manage all your businesses credentials, so you can feel confident that your data stays secure as your company grows. Find out more at onepassword.com slash special offer and start securing every login. This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning, I'm Peter Cowan in St. John's. The warn the Middle East has entered its fourth week with a warning that the hammering is about to intensify. That's Israel's defense minister promising to significantly step up strikes against Iran

1:01in the coming days. A key Iranian nuclear facility in Netans was hit overnight, even as Donald Trump sends mixed messages about winding down the conflict. The CPC's Katie Simpson reports from Doha. Sirens over Tel Aviv warn of the dangers above. Iran firing a barrage of missiles at Israel overnight. On Iranian state television, the IRGC says it targeted more than 55 Israeli and American link sites across the Middle East Friday with new reports of interceptions in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. As tensions mount, the US is reportedly sending another 2500 troops to the region along with three more warships. I don't want to do a ceasefire. You know, you don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side. Donald Trump continues to claim the US is winning, though he's delivered mixed messages about America's next moves, saying he's also considering winding down military operations, even though he's sending more resources to the region

2:06and lifting sanctions on Iranian oil. The US and Israel continue to hammer Iran, striking what they say are military targets, while in Lebanon. Israel says it killed four Hezbollah militants during airstrikes and ground operations there, the heavy fighting forcing more than a million people from their homes. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Doha. While the military campaign in the Middle East intensifies, a backlash is emerging elsewhere. Thousands are marching through the streets of London, England this morning to condemn the American and Israeli strikes. Protesters are demanding their government withdraw its support for the mission as the conflict continues to escalate. It follows an Iranian missile attack on a joint U.K. U.S. base in the Indian Ocean. The Strait of Hormuz has been a focal point of the war in the Middle East. Iran is blocking fuel shipments from passing through the Keywater way, choking one-fifth of the world's oil and gas

3:11supply. Now Canada's government says it's ready to contribute to efforts to unblock that narrow strait, but as Catherine Collin, host of CBC Radio's The House tells us, it's not clear what that would actually look like. The Canada will continue to work. Federal ministers like Dominic Leblanc have been tight-lipped, saying the government is still looking at what it can contribute to unblocking the Strait of Hormuz that the details are still being finalized. Earlier this week, Canada signed on to a joint statement with the U.K., France, Germany and others, which says in part we express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. It doesn't strike me as a full-throated commitment to send ships immediately and help ships go through the Strait. Dennis Horak is a former ambassador to several Middle Eastern countries, and he was Canada's last head of mission to Iran before Canada cut ties in 2012. He says this statement is more about sending a message both to the Americans and the international

4:12community. I think it's as much a political statement of, you know, that we are behind the Strait being open. This is an important principle. U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at allies for not doing more to help unblock the Strait. But former National Defense Analyst, Professor Tomasz Yuno, is skeptical much will happen as long as violence continues in the area. It would be a very dangerous mission. It would also be a very ineffective mission. So I think every ally, similarly to Canada, is trying to find a way not to appear to oppose Trump, not to anger him, but not ready to commit something serious. Both say it's possible for Canada to contribute a few staff officers to any eventual effort, but don't expect much more. Catherine Cullen, CBC News, Ottawa. And you can hear more about how Canada is positioning itself with the war in the Middle East on the House, right after the 9 o'clock edition of World Report, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Donald Trump's Board of Peace has reportedly presented Hamas with a written proposal

5:13on how it could lay down its weapons. That's an essential step in the Gaza Peace Plan, Israel and Hamas agreed to in October. In exchange, Israel would start to withdraw troops and reconstruction would begin. U.S. negotiators met with Hamas officials in Cairo this week. Global talks aimed at regulating deep sea mining have ended in a stalemate. The International Seabed Authority is based in Kingston, Jamaica. It regulates the emerging industry, but U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear that he plans to push ahead with or without the ISA. And as Anayat Singh reports, that has many environmental advocates concerned. We are talking about a barely explored ecosystem. Emma Wilson is policy lead at the deep sea conservation coalition. The advocacy group supports a pause on seabed mining until there's more science about the environmental impact. There's a limit to how far they can go in the decisions that they're taking. If they don't have that basic baseline information, right?

6:16New pressure is mounting as the metals company tries to bypass the international process. The major player in the deep sea mining industry is turning to the U.S. Trump administration to get approval for commercial mining. At stake, trillions of dollars worth of metals, like nickel, cobalt, manganese and more. Leticia Carvalho is the secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority. This is a consequential moment, and more than ever we need multilateralism, cooperation and dialogue. So ocean governance today faces the risk of fragmentation. But countries are far from hashing out who will be responsible for the environmental impacts and crucially how the profits from mining international waters will be shared. There's no agreement really yet as to how to even proceed with that. But it's such a central piece of the ISA's mandate and something that is also particularly important to developing states. Along with negotiating new rules, the ISA is also investigating

7:20the metals company's actions and whether there should be any consequences. In IOT Singh, CBC News, Toronto. Of Oahu is dealing with some of its worst flooding in 20 years. Water rushes down a residential street like a river destroying homes and vehicles. The island has been hit with its second significant storm this week. More than 5,000 people are under an evacuation order with more heavy rain on the way. Hundreds of people have had to be rescued during this latest storm, which officials say could cause more than $1 billion in damage. The drummer for Canadian rock band Sloan is being honored by the Halifax University he once dropped out of. Andrew Scott was three credits short of a bachelor fine arts degree when he left to pursue a career in music. Now the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design is giving him a prestigious designation. Richard Woodbury tells us more.

8:25Andrew Scott on the drum! All right! Before he played for a Doring Crowd's worldwide, Halifax native Andrew Scott was a student at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design with a passion for painting. In 1991, Scott was in a promising band called Sloan with a decision to make. School or music? We had such a blank slate in front of us and it just seemed too good an opportunity to turn down. Besides, music was not going to be a long-term thing. Scott is almost 60 now and has put out 14 studio albums with Sloan. At the May Convocation, Scott is being named a Life Fellow by NASCAD, an honor for having had a profound and lasting impact on the university. I was completely, completely blown away, just so honored and humbled. Art remains a big part of Scott's life. He paints and sells his work.

9:27And when he tours with Sloan, he spends his days going to museums and art galleries. Scott's ties to NASCAD are deeply personal. The band played its first show in the school's cafeteria in February 1991. He met his wife while he was a student there. He even has a son who now goes to the school. And what would Scott say if his son dropped out to pursue music? I would say go with your gut and trust your heart. Try it. Try everything. It's a comment that's on brand with Sloan's music. Richard Woodbury, CBC News, Halifax. And that's the latest national and international news from World Report. For news anytime, go to cbcnews.ca. On Peter Cowan, this is CBC News.

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