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Even Europe's most Trump-friendly governments are lining up behind Canada in its escalating trade fight with the United States, in a striking snub to a president who's spent months courting the continent's right-wing leaders.European Union ambassadors from all 27 member states met in Brussels Wednesday to discuss deepening ties with Canada, just hours after Washington moved to block a range of Canadian goods, including dairy products, alcohol and motorbikes, from entering the U.S. market, Politico reported. According to two officials granted anonymity to describe the confidential talks, not a single country objected to the plan, despite the obvious risk of appearing to side against Washington.A third diplomat familiar with the preparations said support for the outreach runs deep, even among governments typically wary of provoking Trump's orbit."There's very strong support for [Commission President] von der Leyen making that outreach and for closer cooperation," the diplomat said, naming Italy's Giorgia Meloni, Czech leader Andrej Babiš, and Slovakia's Robert Fico as examples of Trump-aligned leaders backing the move.The European Commission and Council jointly laid out plans for a major summit with Canada set for October 29-30, with both sides eyeing a broader alliance spanning tech innovation, joint research, and access to rare earth minerals, while also working to knock down existing trade obstacles between them. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will personally address the European Parliament next week, part of a broader push to reduce Canada's economic dependence on the U.S. and build a coalition of pro-free-trade democracies.A senior EU official said the trip is meant to send a clear signal that both sides want to upgrade the relationship. Officials are floating ideas ranging from Canadian participation in the EU's Erasmus student exchange program to joint Arctic security initiatives and military-industrial cooperation, though nothing formal has been agreed and talks remain in early stages.The Arctic in particular looks like fertile ground for cooperation, with the Commission preparing an updated Arctic strategy for October and von der Leyen recently signaling Europe wants a bigger presence in the region after a trip to Greenland. One EU official suggested any Canada-related content in von der Leyen's upcoming State of the Union speech would likely center on security."Security and defense is always her happy place," the official said.Officials also pointed to shared interests beyond defense, including critical raw materials, subsea cables, Arctic-capable icebreakers, and cleaner shipping standards — an area where Brussels and Ottawa align but where the U.S. has actively lobbied against decarbonization efforts.Trump has grown more and more belligerent against Canada in recent weeks, passing an order to rename Lake Ontario and posting a cartoon image of himself standing over Carney with a hockey stick.

A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Moldova to Oslo for the funeral of Norway's King Harald V was almost struck by a drone, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Wednesday, though Ukraine's own presidency pushed back on the severity of the moment."His flight was almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova. That is the reality he lives in," Støre told public broadcaster NRK, according to CBS News. He offered no further details.A source in the Ukrainian presidency gave AFP a more measured account, saying, "It was an alert in Moldova when a Russian (drone) entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace." The same source called the suggestion that Zelenskyy was personally at risk "exaggerated."The region has been saturated with such incursions in recent months, with Russian drones repeatedly violating Moldovan airspace and disrupting airports across northern Europe, which complicates any read of what the drone near Zelenskyy's plane was meant to do.Online, the report landed with alarm before those caveats set in. National security journalist Shashank Joshi called it "just one data point, but not encouraging if part of [CIA Director John] Ratcliffe's trip to Moscow was to send a deterrent message to Russia on aggressive and violent actions in Europe." Journalist Christopher Merrill reacted simply: "OMG."Middle East correspondent Amichai Stein reported a sharper claim, writing that a source with knowledge told him the delegation waited out the drone and that "Moldova's authorities think that it was not accidentally." That assessment has not been confirmed by Moldovan officials on the record.Zelenskyy arrived in Oslo on Tuesday evening for talks with Støre on Norwegian military aid, then attended Wednesday's funeral for Harald, who died Aug. 28 at 89, alongside Britain's Prince William, Japan's Crown Prince Akishino and leaders from more than 20 countries.

Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba announces decision to pull out in post on X, citing tensions over ‘Harry-Meghan nonsense’Uganda is withdrawing from the Duke of Sussex’s Invictus Games, the country’s military chief has said, out of respect for King Charles amid division over the “Harry-Meghan nonsense”.Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of the Ugandan president, made the surprise announcement in a post on X on Wednesday. Continue reading...

A year after the first batch of Jeffrey Epstein investigative files was released, law enforcement agencies in at least five countries say the Justice Department still has not responded to their formal requests for help.Officials in Poland, Norway, Latvia, the United Kingdom and Germany told the Washington Post that requests for mutual legal assistance — the formal process that allows foreign investigators to obtain evidence, information and testimony from the U.S. — have gone unanswered.No charges have resulted from the files' release in the United States, but the documents exposed Epstein's relationships with influential figures worldwide, including President Donald Trump, and the revelations have prompted international investigations of the late sex offender's networks.The Justice Department disputed any suggestion it is stonewalling. "The Department of Justice has not refused to assist any jurisdiction investigating potential criminal conduct related to Jeffrey Epstein," a DOJ spokesperson told the Telegraph last month, adding that the department "remains committed to cooperating with all jurisdictions pursuing potential crimes."However, officials from those five European nations say their requests to the Trump administration have been met with silence.Poland's National Prosecutor's Office said the Justice Department has not responded to an April request.In Norway, state prosecutor Marianne Bender said her office remains in communication with DOJ officials but "they have not at this time approved the request." Latvia's state police said they have sent "several requests" and "no responses have yet been received." Britain's formal request followed informal talks that DOJ had already failed to advance, according to the Times of London, and German federal police say they remain in contact with the FBI without resolution.The stakes are highest in Norway, where three prominent figures — former diplomats Terje Rød-Larsen and Mona Juul, and former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland — face corruption charges connected to their relationships with Epstein. All deny wrongdoing. Rød-Larsen's attorney said Norwegian prosecutors have specifically sought additional records from DOJ and investigative steps involving the International Peace Institute in New York, where his client previously served as president. Bender called the lack of a U.S. response "very unfortunate for the Norwegian investigation."The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, which processes such requests, has faced documented operational problems for years.A 2021 inspector general report found it plagued by high staff turnover, outdated technology and oversized caseloads, and a former DOJ attorney who worked in the office said such requests are "inherently complex," particularly when they involve voluminous records or contested redactions.Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers continue pressing DOJ for more transparency domestically, saying Epstein-related documents remain missing or unnecessarily redacted, even after Congress voted overwhelmingly last November to compel their release.

President Donald Trump's social media blitz over the past several days has sparked concern among onlookers, but one post in particular ignited an international episode that led to the summoning of a U.S. ambassador, Reuters reported Tuesday.Among Trump’s countless online posts published over the past few days was one that depicted all of North America — including Cuba, Mexico, Canada, Greenland and Iceland — as being part of the United States. While Trump has actively sought to acquire Greenland for the United States — and joked about acquiring Canada — his inclusion of Iceland in his social media post led Iceland’s foreign minister, Thorgerdur Gunnarsdottir, to summon U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Billy Long, Reuters reported, citing a report from Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), Iceland’s national public service broadcaster.“The position was clearly expressed that the post was completely inappropriate,” Gunnarsdottir told RÚV, according to Reuters.It is unclear whether Trump intended to include Iceland in his doctored map of North America. Trump has appeared to confuse Iceland with Greenland in previous remarks. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Trump said that NATO “loved” him until he “told them about Iceland,” claiming that all he was “asking for is a piece of ice.”Trump has posted several dozen times on his social media platform Truth Social this week, including a post ranking himself as “the greatest” president of all time, seven posts in a row promoting the idea of renaming New Mexico to “New America,” and a number of posts that appear to have been generated with artificial intelligence depicting him in hellish landscapes surrounded by menacing robots.

India’s statistical system once commanded respect, and its data on economic and social indicators was considered rigorous – that appears to have eroded• Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThere isn’t much that we Indians agree on these days. GDP numbers are no exception. Last week, India released glowing GDP numbers for the latest quarter – 7.8% growth – higher than the forecast 7%. It sparked a furore.Subhash Garg, a former finance secretary under Narendra Modi’s government and now a critic, reframed what Modi called a “herculean feat” as mere smoke and mirrors. According to Garg, the government revised last year’s current-price GDP downwards to inflate this year’s number – he believes the real growth is only 2.6%. Continue reading...

Foreign minister Shisir Khanal tells the Guardian the world’s biggest economies need to help Nepal, which contributes less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions Nepal is demanding $20m in climate compensation for the recent devastating floods, as a senior minister called on the world’s most polluting countries to “wake up” and accept shared responsibility for a disaster that led to the death or disappearance of more than 6,000 people.Scientists believe the climate crisis had a role to play in the floods, which were triggered when a melting glacier partially collapsed and set off a deadly landslide and flash flooding through Chinese-controlled Tibet and Nepal in late August. So far, more than 1,300 are confirmed dead and more than 5,500 still missing, with hopes of their survival diminished after 12 days of rescue operations. Continue reading...

Canada's energy minister is relishing the prospect of telling the United States "no" if it comes begging for more electricity.According to an article by Politico, Canadian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said that his government is racing to build mines and electricity projects in response to President Donald Trump's economic aggression. Hodgson said that Canada doesn't plan to share the resources from those projects."Nothing would make me happier than when the United States asks us for more electricity to say, 'You know what, we've got a lot of mines we need to develop in northern British Columbia,'" Hodgson said. "Nothing would make me happier than just saying, 'You know what, we're going to use all our electricity here. We're going to build new mines, new processing facilities.'"The defiance comes as Washington leans on Canadian resources despite Trump's insistence otherwise, Politico reported. Canada supplied more than 80 percent of U.S. electricity imports in 2025, according to the Canada Energy Regulator.Canada just broke ground on the North Coast Transmission Line in Prince George, British Columbia. The line is an expanded grid that would double electricity capacity in British Columbia to power mines near the Alaskan border and liquefied natural gas shipments to Asia, according to Politico.U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told Politico last year that Trump was "very interested" in Canada's energy and critical minerals, despite Trump's current conflict and tariff war with the country. According to Politico, Washington sees Canada's stockpiles as a defense against Chinese dominance of the global market in critical minerals, which are essential to defense, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and almost every piece of technology."The president continues to denigrate and insult the massive contribution that British Columbians and Canadians make to American energy security," British Columbia Premier David Eby said, per Politico.Now, Hodgson is looking for payback, telling Politico, "I don't get mad. I get even."