Liberal Party Retains Power In Canadian Election
Stuart Benson, Press Gallery Reporter for the Hill Times newspaper in Ottawa, discusses the result of the Canadian federal election.
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RTÉ News
5 days ago
- RTÉ News
Trump leaves G7 summit early over Middle East
US President Donald Trump has left the Group of Seven summit in Canada a day early due to the situation in the Middle East, the White House has said. French President Emmanuel Macron said Mr Trump had made an offer for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Mr Trump had earlier urged everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran and reiterated that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States. "Much was accomplished, but because of what's going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with heads of state," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X. The G7 has struggled to find unity over conflicts in Ukraine and between Israel and Iran as Mr Trump overtly expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and has imposed tariffs on many of the allies present. Mr Trump did agree to a group statement calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict. "We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza," the statement said. The G7 expressed support for Israel, saying it has the right to defend itself and labelled its rival Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East. Mr Macron said that Mr Trump's departure was positive, given the objective to get a ceasefire. "There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions," Mr Macron told reporters. "We have to see now whether the sides will follow." G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US, along with the European Union, had convened in the resort area of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies. Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier, Mr Trump said the former Group of Eight had been wrong to kick out Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea. "This was a big mistake," Mr Trump said, adding he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Putin not been ejected. "Putin speaks to me. He doesn't speak to anybody else ... he's not a happy person about it. I can tell you that he basically doesn't even speak to the people that threw him out, and I agree with him," Mr Trump said. Though Mr Trump stopped short of saying Russia should be reinstated in the group, his comments had raised doubts about how much Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can achieve when he is scheduled to meet the leaders later today. "It was a rough start," said Josh Lipsky, a former senior IMF official who now chairs the international economics department at the Atlantic Council. European nations had wanted to persuade Mr Trump to back tougher sanctions on Moscow. A spokesperson for the Ukraine embassy in Canada said that Mr Zelensky was still planning to come to Canada. Canada has abandoned any effort to adopt a comprehensive communique to avert a repeat of the 2018 summit in Quebec, when Trump instructed the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique after leaving. Leaders have prepared several draft documents seen by Reuters, including on migration, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals. None of them have been approved by the United States, however, according to sources briefed on the documents. Without Mr Trump, it is unclear if there will be any declarations, a European diplomat said. Mr Carney invited non-G7 members Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, as well as Ukraine. Tariffs Mr Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they had finalised a trade deal reached between the two allies last month, making Britain the first country to agree to a deal for lower US tariffs. Mr Carney said in a statement he had agreed with Mr Trump that their two nations should try to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days. Mr Trump said a new economic deal with host Canada was possible but stressed tariffs had to play a role, a position the Canadian government strongly opposes. "Our position is that we should have no tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States," said Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to Washington.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Trump to depart G7 early as Israel-Iran conflict shows signs of intensifying
President Donald Trump is abruptly leaving the G7 summit, departing a day early on Monday as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies and the US leader has declared that Tehran should be evacuated 'immediately'. World leaders had gathered in Canada with the specific goal of helping to defuse a series of global pressure points, only to be disrupted by a showdown over Iran's nuclear programme that could escalate in dangerous and uncontrollable ways. Israel launched an aerial bombardment campaign against Iran four days ago. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer participate in a group photo at the G7 Summit (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) At the summit, Mr Trump warned that Tehran needs to curb its nuclear programme before it is 'too late'. He said Iranian leaders would 'like to talk' but they had already had 60 days to reach an agreement on their nuclear ambitions and failed to do so before the Israeli aerial assault began. 'They have to make a deal,' he said. Asked what it would take for the US to get involved in the conflict militarily, Mr Trump said on Monday morning: 'I don't want to talk about that.' But by Monday afternoon, Mr Trump warned ominously on social media, 'Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!' Shortly after that, Mr Trump decided to leave the summit and skip a series of Tuesday meetings that would address the ongoing war in Ukraine and global trade issues. As Mr Trump posed for a picture on Monday evening with the other G7 leaders, he said simply: 'I have to be back, very important.' Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the host, said: 'I am very grateful for the president's presence and I fully understand.'
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- RTÉ News
Trump to leave G7 early after warning of Iran attack
US President Donald Trump was leaving a Group of Seven summit early on Monday as he hinted of greater involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict after issuing an ominous warning for the capital Tehran to evacuate. After a day of speaking with G7 leaders at a Canada summit about the need for a negotiated deal, Mr Trump took to social media to back Israel and issue a warning to Tehran, a city of nearly 10 million people. "Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Shortly afterward, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Mr Trump would return to Washington due to the crisis, a day earlier than planned. Mr Trump will miss a day of meetings in the Rockies resort of Kananaskis that was also expected to include meetings with the leaders of Ukraine and Mexico. The US president has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he says it was not involved in initial strikes. He told reporters before his decision was announced to leave early: "As soon as I leave here, we're going to be doing something. But I have to leave here." Mr Trump, who has praised Israel's strikes despite his stated preference for diplomacy, said Iran would be "foolish" not to agree to a negotiated settlement. "It's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it's too late," Mr Trump told reporters as he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Israel has struck major nuclear and military sites and killed leading commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran, which has responded with its own volley of drones and missiles on Israel. Onus on Iran Canada and European leaders had looked to draft a statement on the crisis, but diplomats said that Mr Trump has not committed the United States to joining it. Leaders of the club of industrialized democracies - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - have mostly backed Israel but concern has mounted as the violence intensifies. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking to reporters, pleaded with Israel to spare civilians in Iran. Any statement would be expected to put the onus on Iran and stop short of calling for an immediate ceasefire. "We'll highlight the legitimate right of the state of Israel to defend itself and we will also discuss potential additional measures to reach a diplomatic solution," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that G7 leaders share concern about Iran's nuclear program but also: "I do think there's a consensus for de-escalation." Unusually, Japan - which has historic relations with Iran and limited domestic pressure related to the Middle East - has broken with its Western allies to condemn Israel's attack, calling it "completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable." Iran, since Mr Trump pulled out of an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has ramped up uranium enrichment but not yet at levels to create an atomic bomb. Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not acknowledge them publicly. Easing tensions with Trump The summit at a wooded lodge under snow-capped mountains comes after months of tumult on the global stage since Mr Trump's return. Seeking to shatter a decades-old US-led global economic order, Mr Trump has vowed sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike although he has postponed implementation until 9 July. However, Mr Trump voiced optimism about a resolution with Canada and signed documents with Mr Starmer to confirm an agreement with Britain. The Republican president has previously mocked host Canada, stating that the vast but less populated neighbor should become the 51st US state. But he has appeared to show more respect to Canada since Mr Carney, a staid former central banker, took over from Justin Trudeau in March. Mr Trump was "very respectful" and spoke of "how much he likes Canada," said the country's ambassador to Washington, Kirsten Hillman. The US leader had taken office seeking diplomacy both on Iran and Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022. Mr Trump has since voiced frustration that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire. He has previously mused about re-admitting Russia to the G8, from which it was expelled in 2014 after invading and annexing Ukraine's region of Crimea, triggering a war which accelerated in 2022 with a full-scale Russian invasion. Mr Trump said that his Russian counterpart was "very insulted" by the G8 expulsion and that if Russia was still a member, "you wouldn't have a war right now."
