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This is World Report.

Good morning, I'm John Northcott.

For the first time since the 1980s, Canada has hit its NATO defense spending target,

2% of GDP on defense.

Right, Minister Mark Carney is on a Royal Canadian Navy vessel this morning, marking the achievement.

In 10 months, we have invested over $60 billion in our defense and security.

That's the largest year-on-year increase in defense investment in generations.

Carney also announced a package of infrastructure and property investments

across Atlantic Canada worth $3 billion.

It includes new facilities to support naval and air fleets

and to expand training and operational capacity.

With more, here's the CBC's Janice McGregor.

The Canadian government long insisted that in terms of what it actually contributed militarily,

it was punching above its weight.

But actually meeting this benchmark took cold hard cash, lots of it.

Not only the $80 billion five-year investment in the Carney government's fall budget,

but a frantic scramble to actually get enough billions out the door

to get this year's defense expenditures up to $63 billion before the fiscal year end next week.

And while Mark Carney now has the numbers to say mission accomplished on the 2% target,

the fact is that target has now expired.

In the wake of threats from US President Donald Trump to pull out of the NATO alliance

and stop protecting countries that don't pull their weight,

leaders at last year's NATO summit agreed to a new target of 5%,

and that has to be met by 2035.

So the milestone the Carney government's marking today is really just the beginning.

Janice McGregor, CBC News, Ottawa.

NATO may be celebrating its increased spending,

but US President Donald Trump is not.

He's criticizing the alliance for its lack of support regarding Iran.

I want you to remember that we said this.

They didn't come to our rescue.

Now they all want to help when they're annihilated.

The other side is annihilated.

They said, we'd love to send ships.

They actually made a statement, a couple of them, that we want to get involved when the war's over.

No, it's supposed to get involved with the war's beginning, or even before it begins.

And he's also insisting Iran is eager to reach a peace deal,

not despite the sound of war, echoing through the streets of the region today.

Sasha Petrusik reports.

Warnings echoed through Jerusalem and across Central and Northern Israel this morning,

as a barrage of missiles arrived from Iran.

Mostly intercepted overhead.

A reminder that after almost a month of fighting,

this war won't be negotiated away easily.

Indeed, publicly, the two sides can't even agree whether they are talking,

though US President Donald Trump insists discussions are going well.

And they are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly,

but they're afraid to say it because they figure they'll be killed by their own people.

Trump says Iran has agreed to get rid of its nuclear program,

and other elements of a 15-point U.S. proposal.

On Iranian state TV, Iran's foreign minister,

Tantz Trump, calling the desire for negotiations, a U.S. admission of defeat.

Messages are being conveyed by friendly countries, says Abbas Arakchi.

We respond, but that's not dialogue.

Iran has reportedly insisted on a stop to fighting before negotiations can start,

as well as a demand that its ongoing control of the key state of Hormuz be recognized.

A public war of words over talks of peace, Sasha Petrusek, CBC News, Jerusalem.

The Canada is calling on its G7 allies to help launch a new multilateral defense bank.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nida Anand is in France pitching the plan,

which aims to provide critical capital to small and medium-sized military firms

struggling to find traditional loans.

This bank is going to be a pooling mechanism for capital,

for these small and medium-sized enterprises in particular.

Anand says the goal is to bridge the gap for startups

so that the supply of military equipment can meet global demand.

Then, as well as former President is back in a New York court this morning,

this is Nicolas Maduro's second appearance since his capture in January

when the U.S. military raided his compound in Caracas.

He's charged with conspiring to export cocaine to the United States.

Nick Harper is following developments from Washington.

Nick, this is a pre-trial hearing, so what are we expecting?

Well, John, potentially a lot of dry, perhaps procedural information

will have discussions about Maduro's legal defense, how that'll be funded,

but also looking at the legitimacy of the U.S. prosecution,

considering that Nicolas Maduro is captured and then forcibly brought to the United States.

But I guess really the big draw here is the fact that Nicolas Maduro will be back in court.

So it's a chance to see how he's looking after two and a half months in a Brooklyn jail,

but that also means that we're likely to hear from him more pushback.

Remember, he argues that as a head of state, he should be immune from prosecution in the U.S.

The judge could also set a trial date, perhaps, for later this year, at today's hearing.

Nick Maduro's lawyer is threatening to quit if he doesn't get paid. What's that all about?

That's right, John. This is an extra twist in this already incredibly unusual case.

His attorney says that the Venezuelan government should pay his legal fees,

but of course there are U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, which means that that's not possible.

The lawyer would need a special license from the U.S. government to get payment from Venezuela.

So far, that hasn't happened, and therefore the legal team is pointing out this irony, I guess.

The U.S. has forced Maduro into a U.S. court to face U.S. justice.

Maduro argues that the U.S. is now limiting his ability to that justice,

therefore violating his constitutional right to defend himself,

and therefore he argues limiting his ability to get a fair trial in the U.S.

Nick Harper in Washington, Peggy Nick.

Alberta is fighting to recoup its money in a pharmaceutical deal gone wrong.

Alberta Health Services says it's owed close to $50 million for medication it never received.

The money was paid to a Turkish drug company and an importer in 2022 for children's pain killers.

The purchase agreement, as well as any relationships between the government and the supplier,

are being investigated by the RCMP and the auditor general.

But opposition leader Nihed Nenshi is calling for more than that.

I believe we need a publishing query and it's because of that word public.

You know, the auditor general does have the ability to call witnesses,

but it's all done sort of behind the scenes.

And we will never know kind of what the draft is or what the testimony was.

A previous report by a retired justice found Premier Daniel Smith government

ordered Alberta Health Services to make the initial medication deal

and that AHS did not follow usual contracting procedures.

The commission of the RCMP is responding to a CBC Indigenous investigation.

We brought you earlier this week.

It exposed widespread secret surveillance of Indigenous political groups in the 1970s

and revealed respected leaders were spied on.

The CBCs, Shantel Belreshardt, has more on how the Mounties are responding.

What was going on back then? I can't comment on.

That was RCMP's superintendent D Stewart on Tuesday,

responding to a CBC report about historical spying on Indigenous people.

But late yesterday, RCMP commissioner Mike Duem published an online statement

expressing sincere regret, but did not offer on apology.

Duem said the force intends to host a meeting with elders and Indigenous leaders

to listen and discuss the best way forward.

Talks would include Canada's public safety minister, Gary N. N. Sangerie.

This has to be done as part of a collaborative process

where those who are impacted feel that they're heard and they have the type of resolution

that is important to them.

Grand Chiefs Steward Philip is the president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.

It was one of many organizations targeted by the RCMP security services

native extremism program uncovered by a month's long CBC news investigation.

Philip said he is not interested in meeting with the RCMP.

I can't tell you how many times we've done that in the past.

And I'm talking about going back 20, 30 years.

And those discussions have proven to be empty and meaningless.

Philip calls the commissioner's statement a self-serving exercise in damage control.

Duem said the force remains committed to building trust.

Pshontal Bal Rashard, CBC News, Vancouver.

And finally, the International Olympic Committee is banning transgender women from the Olympic Games.

New eligibility policy limits female category events to biological females

determined by one-time genetic testing.

The move aligns with the U.S. executive order from the Trump administration

ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

The committee says the policy protects, quote, the fairness, safety,

and integrity of women's sports.

That is the latest national and international news from World Report.

I'm John Northcott. This is CBC News.