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Canada Gets New Prime Minister

Published

9 months ago

March 14, 2025

Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s prime minister on Friday, taking charge of a country rattled by a breakdown in US relations since President Donald Trump’s return to power.

The ruling Liberal Party overwhelmingly backed Carney to replace Justin Trudeau, betting his experience leading two central banks through historic crises will reassure Canadians facing a potentially devastating trade war.

Carney, who turns 60 on Sunday, is a political novice who has never won an elected public office but his campaign skills will be tested soon with Canada likely headed for a general election in weeks.

The threats posed by Trump are expected to dominate the vote.

The US president has sought to bludgeon Canada, imposing sweeping import tariffs and threatening further levies while claiming the country is not “viable” on its own and should be annexed by Washington.

Carney, who was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister at a ceremony in Ottawa, has described Trump’s stance as the most serious challenge Canada has faced in a generation.

“Everything in my life has prepared me for this moment,” Carney said Sunday after winning the Liberal Party leadership race.

He was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before serving as governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and led the Bank of England through the turmoil surrounding the Brexit vote.

He has sought to present himself as purpose-built to lead a country through a trade war with the United States, once Canada’s closest ally but now a country that Carney says Canada can “no longer trust.”

At a Group of Seven meeting in Quebec, Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Carney would bring a “new dynamic” to US diplomacy.

Speaking before Carney was sworn in, Joly said she and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is at the G7, were working on setting up a call between Trump and Carney “in the next couple of days.”

– Tightening race –
Trump’s tariffs and insults have upended Canadian politics.

At the start of the year, the Liberals were trailing the Conservatives by 20 points in the polls.

But in the weeks since Trudeau announced his plans to resign on January 6, the race has tightened to a near draw.

“Carney is arriving at a good time. He has emerged as a figure people seem to trust to take on Donald Trump,” University of Winnipeg politics professor Felix Mathieu told AFP.

On the week Trump’s sweeping 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports came into force, Carney visited a steel plant in Hamilton, an industrial city near the US border in the province of Ontario.

Wearing a hard hat and goggles, Carney said he was ready to work out a trade deal with Trump.

But he insisted there must be “respect for Canadian sovereignty” in any negotiation.

– Distance from Trudeau –
Trudeau posted a goodbye message to Canadians on Thursday after nearly ten years in power, saying he was “proud to have served a country full of people who stand up for what’s right.”

Trudeau’s support had plummeted over the past year, but his standing partially rebounded following a series of resolute speeches in response to Trump.

Carney has made clear efforts to distance himself from Trudeau with moves aimed at attracting more centrist voters.

He has said addressing climate change will be a top priority but he is scrapping Trudeau’s “divisive” carbon tax on individuals and families while advancing market-led solutions.

And he is stopping a tax on capital gains that would have applied to the wealthiest Canadians, which the Trudeau government said was essential to shore up Canada’s finances.

“We think builders should be incentivized for taking risks and rewarded when they succeed,” he said on Sunday.

AFP

Headline

Putin Says Russia Ready For War, Blames Europe For Sabotaging Peace

Published

3 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was “ready” for war if Europe seeks one, accusing the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage a deal on the Ukraine conflict before he met with US envoys.

The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war, which were preceded by days of intense diplomacy.

“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin told reporters in Moscow.

“They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war,” he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine.

He added that European changes to Trump’s latest plan to end the war “aimed solely at one thing — to completely block the entire peace process and put forward demands that are absolutely unacceptable for Russia”.

Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed it as heeding to many of Russia’s maximalist demands.

The plan to end the war is championed by Trump, but European countries fear it risks forcing Kyiv to cave in to Russian demands, notably on territory.

Fearing further Russian aggression, Europe has repeatedly said an unfair peace should not be imposed on Ukraine.

The Trump envoys are now seeking to finalise the plan with the approval of Moscow and Kyiv.
AFP

Headline

US Senator Proposes Bill To End Dual Citizenship

Published

3 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

A United States lawmaker has introduced a bill seeking to abolish dual citizenship for American nationals, a move that could affect thousands of Nigerians who hold both US and Nigerian passports.

Bernie Moreno, a Colombian-born US senator, announced the proposed legislation — titled the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 — arguing that the current system, which allows Americans to hold multiple nationalities, creates “conflicts of interest and divided loyalties.”

“One of the greatest honours of my life was when I became an American citizen at 18, the first opportunity I could do so.

“It was an honour to pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and only to the United States of America! Being an American citizen is an honour and a privilege—and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good,” Moreno said.

Moreno, who has since renounced his Colombian citizenship, maintains that exclusive allegiance is essential to national integrity.

If passed, the bill could have far-reaching implications for prominent figures such as US First Lady Melania Trump, who holds both US and Slovenian citizenship. It would also significantly impact Nigerians with dual citizenship.

According to a July naturalisation flow report by the US Department of Homeland Security, 38,890 Nigerians became naturalised American citizens between 2021 and 2023. Nigeria ranked 13th among countries with the highest number of new US citizens and was the only African nation in the top 20.

Nigerian law allows citizens by birth to hold dual nationality without relinquishing their Nigerian citizenship.

This development comes months after President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at denying automatic US citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants born in the country.

The order was immediately challenged by 18 states and multiple rights groups, who argued it violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship. Ongoing legal battles have prevented the order from taking effect.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

1 day ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP