February, 2025
Europe’s leaders warn against ‘appeasement’ with Russia, ceasefire talks without Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday Ukraine would not accept any bilateral agreements on its fate reached by Moscow and Washington in its absence, and called for Europe to have a seat at the negotiating table at the end of the war. “Today it’s important that everything does not go according to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s plan, in which he wants to do everything to make his negotiations bilateral [with the U.S.],” Zelenskyy told reporters. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha echoed the president’s comments, in an interview with Le MondeRead more
Trump’s trade pick gets an earful on Canada tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 25 per cent on virtually all Canadian and Mexican products, then paused them for 30 days, pending a new border deal. At the Capitol Hill confirmation hearing for Trump’s trade rep pick Jamieson Greer, Democrats denounced the tariff idea, while Republicans voiced unease. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) There’s an old cliché that if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. Alliances here shift with the political winds. The good news for Canada is there’s fresh evidence that, right now, it has allies onRead more
Ukraine must get to front of line with Trump ahead of Putin, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — seen speaking to Reuters in Kyiv on Friday — wants to get in front of U.S. President Donald Trump before his Washington counterpart arranges to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to get in front of U.S. President Donald Trump before his Washington counterpart arranges to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “It is very important, otherwise it will look like a dialogue about Ukraine without Ukraine. It is still important for partners to discuss their issues first, and thenRead more
America alone: What the U.S. is exiting on the global stage
President Donald Trump, in his first three weeks in office, has made a number of moves to reduce the U.S. footprint on a number of multilateral efforts around the globe and its presence in international organizations and alliances. The Trump administration appears focused on severe, immediate workforce reductions to Washington’s primary humanitarian aid agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), according to multiple reports. Meanwhile, while the U.S. is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the White House’s decision to apply some sanctions to some ICC staffRead more
Trump is starting a trade war. If he wants to absorb Canada, what comes next will be worse
The first shots of the trade war between the United States and Canada have been fired. Whether it escalates beyond the planned 25 per cent tariff into a wider economic war depends upon how genuinely serious President Donald Trump is about annexation, experts say. Tariffs are one thing. While painful and destructive, experts agree duties alone would not crush the Canadian economy, nor the political establishment, into submission. Prior to his inauguration, Trump threatened to use “economic force” to compel Canada to become the 51st state in the union. ThatRead more
The fracking frenzy in B.C and Texas is leading to record-breaking earthquakes
Standing in his living room, Richard Kabzems brandishes a thick binder stuffed with letters and notes of his two-year fight to stop fracking wells near his home in Farmington, B.C. Ovintiv, a multinational oil and gas company, announced two years ago that it would expand fracking for gas at a new site built on a hill about a kilometre from Kabzems’s home in the rural Lebell subdivision. The B.C. Energy Regulator (BCER) approved the permit. Over the last 24 months, Kabzems and his wife, Sandy Burton, have written six detailedRead more
Trump orders U.S. bombing of ISIS targets in Somalia
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he ordered military airstrikes on a senior Islamic State attack planner and others from the organization in Somalia. “These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians.” Saturday’s strikes were carried out in the Golis Mountains, said Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, who added that an initial assessment indicated multiple operativesRead more