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The Independent
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Former MI6 chief claims Putin played Trump but now depends on him
Sir Alex Younger, a former head of MI6, stated that Vladimir Putin has previously manipulated Donald Trump. Younger believes that Putin now views Trump as his sole solution, particularly after sustaining significant troop losses. Putin cultivated an image of friendship and equality with Trump, suggesting they could jointly resolve global issues. However, Trump is reportedly realising that Putin's ultimate goal is to subjugate Ukraine, which would undermine Trump's standing. Watch the video in full above.
New York Times
05-07-2025
- General
- New York Times
It Isn't Freedom if It's Not for Everyone
Every year I choose a university student to accompany me on my win-a-trip journey, which is meant to highlight issues that deserve more attention. My 2025 winner is Sofia Barnett, a recent Brown University graduate and a budding journalist. Her first essay was about girls in West Africa challenging the tradition of female genital mutilation. Here's her second, arguing that Western feminism should show more concern for global women's issues. By Sofia Barnett, reporting from Sierra Leone In Makeni, Sierra Leone, girls walk home from school with notebooks tucked under their arms and dust clinging to their socks. Their uniforms are clean but faded. Their routes are long. I met girls who walk five miles through washed-out roads to reach a classroom. Their futures depend on a fragile calculation — not just of effort, but of what they're willing to trade to keep learning. Here, there are girls who drop out because they can't afford a sanitary pad. Girls who sell their bodies for the cost of a notebook. Some are proud of what they earn at night — seven U.S. dollars, maybe — because it helps them stay enrolled. But that's not opportunity. That's extortion under the veil of agency. Another young woman, Tity Sannoh, told me menstruation is often where the trade begins. In the coastal town of Tombo, girls rely on boyfriends just to manage their period, she said. 'If you give them something, they will give you something in return.' Safieyatu Kiadii, a 16-year-old girl from the village of Vonzua in Liberia, told me she dropped out of school after her father died. She now takes care of her mentally ill mother alone and lives with her in a one-room house. She isn't ready to bear a child, she told me, lifting her sleeve to show the birth control implant in her arm. She wants to become a nurse. When I asked how girls learn about their bodies, most said they don't. Mabinty Thoronka, a 19-year-old from Freetown, told me her mother explained menstruation by saying only, 'If you allow a boy to touch you, you are going to get pregnant.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘We cannot waste any time': Anand promises ‘action' and reform in foreign affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand arrives for a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — Faced with escalating conflict in the Middle East, a collapsing global trade system and a department struggling to reform itself, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says she relishes the job of helping Canada navigate a turbulent world. In a wide-ranging interview Thursday with The Canadian Press, Anand said her experiences in both politics and academia can help her streamline Canada's approach to global issues, allowing it to pursue its interests without losing sight of its values. 'How do you ensure, when you have these large departments, that you're actually able to execute? That is the heart of government. It's the hardest thing to do,' Anand said. 'I enjoy difficult responsibilities.' She cited her time as defence minister, when she pushed the Canadian Armed Forces to address sexual misconduct and organized donations of military supplies to Ukraine's front line. Previously, as procurement minister during the COVID-19 pandemic, she pushed one of Ottawa's largest and most unwieldy departments to deliver vaccines across the country within days. Anand spoke of 'how hard it was to say, like, we gotta buy this stuff today.' 'That's kind of the same frame that I'm bringing to foreign affairs and it's super exciting,' she added. Anand said her job involves listening closely to what the foreign service says, even if she doesn't always follow its guidance. 'You have to think independently, taking into account the advice that you receive, but also ensuring that you're discharging your obligations to the Canadian public,' she said. 'I welcome the advice that my officials provide, but at the end of the day, the decisions that I make are based on an independent judgment about what is best for our country in terms of our diplomatic relationships and our foreign policy.' Much of her job, she said, involves supporting Prime Minister Mark Carney's quest to make Canada less dependent on the U.S. for trade and defence. 'We are considering every option to strengthen our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world,' she said. 'My role as foreign minister is to stand up for Canada in that process and to ensure that we are also standing up for peace, the safety of civilians and the respect for international law.' Carney has set the tone for much of Canada's foreign policy and Anand is accompanying the prime minister on a diplomatic trip to Europe next week. Canada will sign an agreement Monday in Brussels with the European Union that largely focuses on defence procurement. Carney and Anand will then head to the NATO summit in the Netherlands, where they hope to use new spending pledges from Canada and allies to keep the United States committed to collective defence. Carney's approach to foreign policy features a major tilt toward Europe and might include more outreach in Asia and Africa ahead of summits he is set to attend this fall on both continents. While his government is heeding allies' calls for a steep increase in defence spending, it's also bucking an international trend by promising not to cut foreign aid. 'We are deeply committed to multilateralism over unilateralism, to global co-operation over increased protectionism,' Anand said. 'We must showcase Canada's values in terms of peace, safety of civilians, and respect for international law. But we're at a time where we also need to strategically advance our economic interests here at home, and to ensure that we have defence and security arrangements in place for the protection of our own country.' She said her ministerial background in defence, procurement, transport and the Treasury Board — which oversees all other departments' spending — gives her a unique perspective on how governments can actually follow through on their promises. At the recent G7 summit in Alberta, she had a front-row seat as Canada's closest peers drafted statements on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to transnational repression. The summit allowed her to meet face-to-face with both representatives of Ottawa's traditional allies and officials from emerging nations with increasing clout — including her Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The Carney government is moving to restore diplomatic relations with India — a controversial move, given the recent history between Ottawa and New Delhi. In 2023 and 2024, former prime minister Justin Trudeau and the RCMP said there was evidence linking agents of the Indian government to the murder of Canadian Sikh separatist activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023. Last October, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said the police force had evidence linking Indian government officials to other crimes in Canada, including extortion, coercion and homicide. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service identified India as one of the main drivers of foreign interference in a report it released this week. Anand said Ottawa is trying to restore parts of 'a long-standing relationship that has been put on hold for the last couple of years,' while respecting the law and institutions like the RCMP. 'The global strategic environment is very volatile and we need to carefully ensure that we are respecting the foundations of our democracy,' she said. Anand was born and raised in Nova Scotia by parents who immigrated from India. As a lawyer and professor in Toronto, she focused on the field of corporate governance — on how companies can reform the way they operate. Global Affairs Canada itself is under heavy pressure to change the way it works. The department launched a reform plan in February 2024 that included an admission that it can be 'slow to react or not focused enough' when major crises erupt, and that its staffing policies aren't keeping up with its growing responsibilities and tighter budgets. Things have only grown more complex since then, with Washington cutting back on foreign aid and moving closer to a revanchist Russia, while China pitches more trade with Canada and other countries. Canada has meanwhile promised to appoint new ambassadors across Africa and to open new embassies in Fiji and Benin, while somehow containing spending across government. Canada's critics have a history of claiming it's all talk when it comes to international relations. Trudeau was frequently criticized for raising human rights issues and inserting environmental policies in trade deals while failing to meet his government's defence spending targets or supply allies with liquefied natural gas. Foreign diplomats and departmental staff describe Anand as cautious, attentive and focused on results. While she's taking some time to get thoroughly briefed, she wants to deliver a lot — and soon. 'We have so much work to do and we cannot waste any time doing it,' she said. 'I am action-oriented myself and the prime minister knows this about me. And that's why we will make a good team on the foreign affairs front.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
CBC
17-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Carney aims to make G7 about more than Trump
With world leaders gathered in Kananaskis, Alta., Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to set the G7 agenda on his terms and focus on the crucial issues — instead of U.S. President Donald Trump.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
G7 summit: Who dey attend and wetin to expect dis year
Di G7 summit dey host leaders of some of di world wealthiest kontris wey don gada for Canada dis year to tok issues. Canada dey chair dis year G7 summit as leaders of Italy, US, France, Germany, UK and Japan go gada for Kananaskis, Alberta wia dia focus go touch around di global economy and security. Di G7 (Group of Seven) na one organisation of di world seven largest so-called "advanced" economies wey dominate global trade and di international financial system. Dis nations na Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and di United States. China no be member, despite dia large economy and say dem be di second-largest population, even India no be part of dem but dem go attend di 2025 summit for Canada. Also, di European Union (EU) no be member of G7, but dem dey attend di annual summit, including dis one for Canada. Howeva, dis na di seventh time wey Canada dey hold di Presidency of di G7 and dis na Mark Carney first major international gathering as Canadian prime minister. Ova di next 2 days, G7 leaders go do dia meeting to address global issues wey dey impact pipo around di world. Some of di issues wey dem wan discuss include peace for Ukraine and oda areas of conflict around di world Canadian, and improving joint responses to wildfires. Make we look some of di tins wey dey di G7 table: Iran issue Dis summit dey plan to strengthen peace and security, and di most recent na di Israel-Iran conflict. Di Israel attacks on Iran, and Iran response, bin cause fear on global financial markets on Friday, 13 June 2025 as di price of oil bin go high, up to 7%. Dis dey make pipo worry say we fit dey face anoda period wey di price of energy go rise, and dat automatically go make di price of evritin from petrol and food to go up. Now, di Iran issue don suddenly find way to di top of di G7 agenda, and to agree on dis subject go dey tricky. Global trade war Di summit dey take place inside a global trade war wey Donald Trump bin start, as e dey use tariffs as a way to rebalance trading relationships. Dis trade war na major concerns to several countries and trade relationship na priority for di G7 summit. Dis summit dey also come as World Bank predict say di global economy go see di slowest decade for growth since di 1960s. For 1 February 2025, US president fulfil im promise by implementing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, plus anoda 10% tax on China. By 12 March 2025, di US begin 25% duty on all steel and aluminium wey dem import enta US and dis affect all of US trade partners including EU, wey react as e sama im own €26bn (£21.9bn, $28.3bn) worth of counter-measures. Dem dey feel di effect of di US tariffs and e dey likely say conversation fit dey some how for dis G7 summit. Forest fires, AI, critical minerals and Ukraine One of di top priorities of dis year 2025 G7 summit na to improve joint responses to wildfires wey dey happun for different kontries. A senior government official say, di summit go put in effort to improve di international joint response to di growing global forest fire threat. Canada worst wildfire season on record na for 2023 and dis year, smoke from di fire blazes from some parts of North America and Europe na visible reminder to delegates for Kananaskis say wildfires na threat. For di summit, building energy security and accelerating di digital transition wey go help mineral supply chains and using artificial intelligence to support economic growth, na part of wetin dey table to tok about. Ukraine na anoda pressing topic on di agenda, wit President Volodomyr Zelensky hoping to discuss support for im kontri. Also, dem go table issues around sanctions against Russia and future financing for reconstruction efforts for wia war don destroy. Canada PM Carney bin also place countering foreign interference and interference for global diaspora communities as high priorities for di summit agenda. Dis discussion go help set up potential ogbonge tok wit some of di leaders wey no be part of di G7, but dey attend di summit. Who dey invited to di G7 summit As di host, Canada also invite leaders wey no dey permanently attached to di seven-member group, and PM Carney don give a number of di leaders invitation to attend-- though some dey more controversial dan odas. All di G7 kontri presidents go dey in attendance for di summit, as well as some invited leaders. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine go attend di summit, and go try meet wit Trump to receive reassurances of di US say military aid for Kyiv go kontinue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India go also be a guest for di summit, wit Carney saying e get more important discussions wey India, as a major economic force, need to dey part of. Mexico President, Claudia Sheinbaum, don also confam say she go dey for di G7 summit for Kananaskis and expect to sit down wit Trump for di first time. Canada PM Carney also invite European and Nato leaders and well as dose from Australia, South Africa, South Korea, Indonesia, and Brazil. President Lee Jae-Myung of South Korea go also dey in attendance as guest to get im kontri back on di world stage afta dia martial-law crisis. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa na di only African president wey dey di invitation list to attend di G7 summit. And e go try to get leaders on board for di G20 meeting wey South Africa go host later dis year.
