Category: 2. World

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday Canada’s intent to recognize a Palestinian state will make it “very hard” for the two countries to negotiate a trade deal, but also said it may not be a “dealbreaker.”

“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them,” Trump said on Truth Social.

The president made the post on his social media platform early on Thursday, hours after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada intends to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Trump later told reporters at the White House that Canada’s position was “not a dealbreaker” but again voiced his displeasure.

“We’re going to see,” he said at an unrelated event Thursday. “I didn’t like what they said, but you know, that’s their opinion. I didn’t like that.

“We haven’t spoken to Canada today. He’s called, and we’ll see,” he added, without specifying who he was referring to.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is in Washington this week for ongoing negotiations toward a deal. His office declined to share an update on those talks when asked by Global News on Thursday.

Trump on Thursday suggested many of the same grievances he’s long voiced about Canada, including its supply management system for the dairy industry and military spending, remain.

“They have to pay a fair rate,” he said. “They’ve been very, very poorly led, and all we want is fairness for our country.”

Carney said Wednesday evening that recognizing a Palestinian state is conditional.

“This intention is predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to much-needed reforms, including commitments by the Palestinian Authority’s President (Mahmoud) Abbas, to fundamentally reform its governance, to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state,” Carney said.

Israel and the United States, Israel’s closest ally, both rejected Carney’s comments.

The Prime Minister’s Office said Carney “reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to a two-state solution” in a call with Abbas but also informed him of the conditions surrounding Canada recognizing Palestinian statehood.

“Prime Minister Carney welcomed President Abbas’ commitment to these reforms,” the readout says.

In his comments Wednesday, Carney said actions such as increased settlements by Israel and restrictions on aid into Gaza have undermined the hope of achieving a two-state solution through a negotiated process.

He cited the factors as among those weighing on his decision for Canada’s planned recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Those aid restrictions appeared to slightly loosen last week, allowing for food and medicine to reach Gaza. On Thursday, Canadian aid was among the packages airdropped.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Jordan was helping to drop Canadian aid, and posted a photo of pallets with Canadian flags taped to them.

Carney’s decision followed France and Britain also indicating they would recognize a Palestinian state, though French President Emmanuel Macron said the recognition would come without conditions.

Britain, however, said its recognition would come unless Israel takes substantive steps to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza and meets other conditions.

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Trump has previously said recognition of Palestinian statehood would reward the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“You’re rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don’t think they should be rewarded,” he said on board Air Force One on Tuesday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added that recognition of Palestinian statehood could have further impacts on ending the conflict.

“He (Trump) feels as though that’s rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all the hostages,” Leavitt said Thursday.

U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters recognition could “hurt the prospect for peace.”

The U.S. also imposed sanctions on Thursday on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, saying the groups were undermining peace efforts.

Trump’s comments Thursday come just before an Aug. 1 deadline set by him for countries to reach trade deals with the U.S. or face higher tariffs.

Trump is set to impose a 35 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods that are not covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA) if a new trade and security agreement is not reached by the deadline.

The prime minister said “constructive” negotiations with the Americans were ongoing, but cautioned they may not conclude by Aug. 1.

“These are complex, they’re comprehensive, they’re constructive negotiations with the Americans (that) are ongoing,” Carney said. “It’s possible that they may not conclude by the first of August, but we’ll see.”

Canada is the second-largest U.S. trading partner after Mexico, and the largest buyer of U.S. exports. It bought $349.4 billion of U.S. goods last year and exported $412.7 billion to the U.S., according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The U.S. has levied a 50 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum products and 25 per cent on the automotive industry, and plans to implement a 50 per cent on copper imports starting Friday.

Last month, Carney’s government scrapped a planned digital services tax targeting U.S. technology firms after Trump abruptly called off trade talks, saying the tax was a “blatant attack.”

— with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton, Reuters and The Canadian Press

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Millions were placed under tsunami advisories on 30 July 2025 after one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off Russia’s coast, triggering waves that reached Japan, Hawaii, and the US west coast. But as authorities raced to respond, a decades-old prophecy by a mysterious Japanese psychic resurfaced, and stunned readers with its uncanny accuracy.

Ryo Tatsuki, a manga artist often dubbed the ‘new Baba Vanga’, had long predicted a catastrophic underwater disaster in the Pacific. In her cult 1990s book The Future I Saw, Tatsuki described the ocean ‘boiling’ near southern Japan, massive cracks in the seafloor, and tsunami waves three times higher than the ones that devastated Japan in 2011.

Though her original date was 5 July 2025, the powerful 8.8 magnitude quake that hit near the Kuril Islands on 30 July, just 25 days later, has reignited global fascination with her visions. Warnings were issued across Asia and the Americas. While damage was limited, the scale of the event closely mirrored Tatsuki’s predictions, which were based on vivid dreams she reportedly experienced decades ago.

Tatsuki had also famously foreseen the deaths of Freddie Mercury and Princess Diana, and the 1995 Kobe earthquake, each one timed eerily close to her predictions. Her latest warning has already impacted tourism, with flight bookings to Japan plunging amid fears of another seismic catastrophe.

Still, officials urge calm. Japanese authorities have dismissed her prophecies as unscientific, though her growing cult status suggests the public isn’t easily convinced. For many, the question now is whether this was coincidence, or the beginning of more to come.

BANGKOK — Thailand and Cambodia separately planned border visits for foreign diplomats to observe damages from the nearly weeklong clash, as violence that continued after a ceasefire appears to have eased.

The ceasefire reached in Malaysia was supposed to take effect midnight Monday, but it was quickly tested as Thailand and Cambodia continued to accuse each other of violating the truce agreements.

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday it is organizing a trip to the border for military attachés of foreign missions and the media on Friday to show the impact of the clashes on the ground.

Cambodia is also organizing a border visit for foreign diplomats on the same day. It held a similar trip on Wednesday attended by representatives from 13 countries, including the U.S. and China.

Thailand’s government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said Thursday that there had been no new clashes reported overnight Wednesday.

But tensions on other fronts continue to simmer. Officials in Thailand’s border province of Surin, one of the critical locations of the conflict, on Thursday cautioned evacuees against returning home as they were surveying affected areas for any ammunition that might still pose a risk.

A spokesperson for Cambodia’s Defense Ministry Maly Socheata said Thursday that Cambodia has received the body of one of its soldiers from Thailand.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the military is now in contact with its Thai counterparts to facilitate the return of about 20 other soldiers captured by Thai forces.

“I hope that the Thai Army will return all our soldiers who are currently in the custody of the Thai Army to Cambodia as soon as possible,” he said.

Thai foreign minister Maris Sagniampongsa said the Cambodian soldiers were being well taken care of and would be sent back once Thailand is confident they no longer pose a threat. He said security officials would determine when the return would be.

Hun Manet and Thailand’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, agreed Monday to an “unconditional” halt in the fighting which has killed at least 41 people.

The fighting began last week after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers.

The peace talks were hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He called the ceasefire a “vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security.”

The ceasefire was brokered with U.S. pressure as President Donald Trump said he would not move forward with trade agreements if the conflict continued.

But both countries continued to blame at each other and Thailand accused Cambodia of launching new attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday after the agreement took effect.

Cambodia’s Maj. Gen. Chan Sopheaktra of the Preah Vihear province said Wednesday that the Cambodian military has been strictly adhering to the ceasefire agreement and that there had been two ceasefire violations by Thai forces since the agreement took effect. He did not elaborate on the violations.

Cambodia and Thailand have clashed in the past over their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border.

Tensions had been growing since May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand’s domestic politics.

___

Sopheng Cheang reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.