U.S., Chinese officials to meet in London next week for new round of trade talks
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the Fraternal Order of Police in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. administration officials will meet with a Chinese delegation on Monday in London for the next round of trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday.
The meeting comes after a phone call between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, which the U.S. president described as a 'very positive' conversation as the two countries attempt to break an impasse over tariffs and global supplies of rare earth minerals.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the U.S. side in the trade talks.
'The meeting should go very well,' Trump wrote on his social media platform Friday afternoon.
The conversation between Trump and Xi, who lead the world's two biggest economies, lasted about an hour and a half, according to the U.S. president. The Chinese foreign ministry has said Trump initiated the call.
The ministry said Xi asked Trump to 'remove the negative measures' that the U.S. has taken against China. It also said that Trump said 'the U.S. loves to have Chinese students coming to study in America,' although his administration has vowed to revoke some of their visas.
Article by Seung Min Kim.
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CTV News
36 minutes ago
- CTV News
Pentagon says U.S. doesn't want to pursue war with Iran after bombing 3 of its nuclear sites
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, Sunday, June 22, 2025, after the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to destroy the country's nuclear program. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that America 'does not seek war' with Iran in the aftermath of a surprise attack overnight on three of that country's nuclear sites while U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the strikes have given Tehran a renewed chance of negotiating with Washington. The mission, called 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance, Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference. 'This mission was not and has not been about regime change,' Hegseth added. Caine said the goal of the operation — destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — had been achieved. 'Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,' Caine said. Vance said in a television interview that while he would not discuss 'sensitive intelligence about what we've seen on the ground,' he felt 'very confident that we've substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon.' Pressed further, he told NBC's 'Meet the Press' that 'I think that we have really pushed their program back by a very long time. I think that it's going to be many many years before the Iranians are able to develop a nuclear weapon.' The vice president said the U.S. had 'negotiated aggressively' with Iran to try to find a peaceful settlement and that Trump made his decision after assessing the Iranians were not acting 'in good faith.' 'I actually think it provides an opportunity to reset this relationship, reset these negotiations and get us in a place where Iran can decide not to be a threat to its neighbors, not to a threat to the United States and if they're willing to do that, the United States is all ears,' Vance said. He said it would make sense for Iran to come to the negotiating table and give up their nuclear weapons program over the long term. 'If they're willing to do that, they're going to find a willing partner in the United States of America,' he said, describing a possible chance of a 'reset' for Tehran. Much of the world is absorbing the consequences of the strikes and the risk that they could lead to more fighting across the Middle East after the United States inserted itself into the war between Israel and Iran. Airstrikes starting on June 12 by Israel that targeted Iran's nuclear facilities and generals prompted retaliation from Iran. While U.S. officials urged for caution and stressed that only nuclear sites were targeted by Washington, Iran criticized the actions as a violation of its sovereignty and international law. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Sunday that Washington was 'fully responsible' for whatever actions Tehran may take in response. 'They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities,' he said at a news conference in Turkey. 'I don't know how much room is left for diplomacy.' Both Russia and China condemned the U.S. attack. Araghchi said he would travel to Moscow later Sunday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement warned about the risk of the conflict spreading beyond the Middle East to 'a global level.' The Pentagon briefing did not provide any new details about Iran's nuclear capabilities. Hegseth said the timeline was the result of a schedule set by U.S. President Donald Trump for talks with Iran about its nuclear ambitions. 'Iran found out' that when Trump 'says 60 days that he seeks peace and negotiation, he means 60 days of peace and negotiation,' Hegseth said. 'Otherwise, that nuclear program, that new nuclear capability will not exist. He meant it.' That statement was complicated as the White House had suggested last Thursday that Trump could take as much as two weeks to determine whether to strike Iran or continue to pursue negotiations. But the U.S. benefited from Iran's weakened air defenses as it was able to conduct the attacks without resistance from Iran. 'Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface to air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission,' Caine said. Hegseth said that a choice to move a number of B-2 bombers from their base in Missouri earlier Saturday was meant to be a decoy to throw off Iranians. He added that the U.S. used other methods of deception as well, deploying fighters to protect the B-2 bombers that dropped 14 bunker-buster bombs on Iran's site at Fordo. The strikes occurred Saturday between 6:40 pm and 7:05 pm in Washington, or roughly 2:10 am on Sunday in Iran. Mike Pesoli and Josh Boak, The Associated Press
Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
What to know about bunker-buster bombs unleashed on Iran's Fordo nuclear facility
Published Jun 22, 2025 • 4 minute read In this photo released by the U.S. Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri.(U.S. Air Force via AP, File) AP BANGKOK (AP) — In inserting itself into Israel's war against Iran, Washington unleashed its massive 'bunker-buster' bombs on Iran's Fordo fuel enrichment plant. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Those bombs were widely seen as the best chance of damaging or destroying Fordo, built deep into a mountain and untouched during Israel's weeklong offensive. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said 14 of the bombs were used in Sunday's attack on Fordo and a second target. The U.S. is the only military capable of dropping the weapons, and the movement of B-2 stealth bombers toward Asia on Saturday had signaled possible activity by the U.S. Israeli leaders had made no secret of their hopes that President Donald Trump would join their week-old war against Iran, though they had also suggested they had backup plans for destroying the site. In all, the U.S. hit three nuclear sites and Caine told reporters Sunday that 'initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.' The mission could have wide-ranging ramifications, including jeopardizing any chance of Iran engaging in Trump's desired talks on its nuclear program and dragging the U.S. into another Mideast war. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Here's a closer look. What is the bunker-buster bomb? 'Bunker buster' is a broad term used to describe bombs that are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding. In this case, it refers to the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb in the American arsenal. The roughly 30,000-pound (13,600-kilogram) precision-guided bomb is designed to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels, according to the U.S. Air Force. It's believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. It was not immediately known how many were used in the Sunday morning strike. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, but the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, which had raised the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Initial assessments by the IAEA, however, were that this had not happened. How tough a target is Fordo? Fordo is Iran's second nuclear enrichment facility after Natanz, its main facility, which already has been targeted by Israeli airstrikes and was also hit by the U.S. on Sunday, along with Isfahan. The IAEA says it believes those earlier strikes have had 'direct impacts' on the facility's underground centrifuge halls. Fordo is smaller than Natanz, and is built into the side of a mountain near the city of Qom, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) southwest of Tehran. Construction is believed to have started around 2006 and it became first operational in 2009 — the same year Tehran publicly acknowledged its existence. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In addition to being an estimated 80 meters (260 feet) under rock and soil, the site is reportedly protected by Iranian and Russian surface-to-air missile systems. Those air defences, however, likely have already been struck in the Israeli campaign, which claims to have knocked out most of Iran's air defences and the U.S. bombers were not fired upon during their mission. Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the goal of attacking Iran was to eliminate its missile and nuclear program, which he described as an existential threat to Israel, and officials have said Fordo was part of that plan. 'This entire operation … really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordo,' Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., told Fox News. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In theory, the GBU-57 A/B could be dropped by any bomber capable of carrying the weight, but at the moment the U.S. has only configured and programed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the Air Force. The B-2 is only flown by the Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman. According to the manufacturer, the B-2 can carry a payload of 40,000 pounds (18,000 kilograms) but the U.S. Air Force has said it has successfully tested the B-2 loaded with two GBU-57 A/B bunker busters — a total weight of some 60,000 pounds (27,200 kilograms). In the attack on Fordo, Caine said the first B-2 dropped two of the bunker busters on the facility. The strategic long-range heavy bomber has a range of about 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometres) without refuelling and 11,500 miles (18,500 kilometres) with one refueling, and can reach any point in the world within hours, according to Northrop Grumman. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The mission against Iran was flown from its home base in Missouri. Trump was noncommittal Whether the U.S. would get involved had been unclear in recent days. At the G7 meeting in Canada, Trump was asked what it would take for Washington to become involved militarily and he said: 'I don't want to talk about that.' Then on Thursday, Trump said he would decide within two weeks whether to get involved, to give another chance to the possibility of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. In the end, it took just two days to decide. Sunday's attack was specifically restricted to the three nuclear sites, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said. 'The scope of this was intentionally limited, that's the message that we're sending, with the capabilities of the American military nearly unlimited,' he told reporters. 'So Iran, in that sense, has a choice.' Sports Sunshine Girls World Columnists Editorial Cartoons
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
A limit on foreign steel imports, Canada's slowed population growth and DHL suspends operations: Business and investing stories for the week of June 22
Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here's your weekly digest of The Globe's most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more. Canada plans to adjust countertariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports on July 21 to new levels that will depend on how trade talks are going, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday. This is the first major trade announcement from Mr. Carney's government since this week's G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta, where his office said he and U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to work toward a comprehensive trade and security deal within 30 days. Ottawa also announced that it will attempt to limit steel imports from countries that don't have free-trade agreements with Canada to 2024 levels. As Niall McGee reports, that includes China, India, Taiwan, Turkey and Russia – and they have been accused of selling the metal at an artificially low price to gain market share (a practice known as dumping). If this group of countries exceeds 2024 steel shipment volumes, a 50-per-cent tariff will apply. But Algoma Steel Group Inc. chief executive Michael Garcia says the federal government's quotas still fall far short of what is needed during the vicious trade war. Canada Post said it has reached a contract deal with its second-largest union after 18 months of negotiations. The agreement with Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association covers about 8,500 employees, who mostly manage post offices in rural Canada, and includes an 11 per cent wage increase over the next three years. Canada Post still hasn't reached a deal with the primary union representing about 55,000 postal workers, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Given the impasse, the federal government intervened last week to force unionized Canada Post workers to vote directly on the latest offers from the postal service, though no date has been set. Meanwhile, DHL Express suspended operations across Canada on Friday after a heated labour dispute and the implementation of a new federal law that bans the use of replacement workers during strikes. The U.S. trade war is affecting Canada much worse than Mexico, especially looking at data about commercial trucks and overall trade flow. According to new data on border traffic released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the number of commercial trucks entering the U.S. from Canada fell 10.5 per cent in May from the year before. By comparison, the number of U.S.-bound trucks from Mexico declined by a more modest 2.8 per cent last month. A similar pattern has played out in trade flows. In April, U.S. imports from Canada fell 14.4 per cent from the same month in 2024, compared with a 2.7-per-cent decline in imports from Mexico. Jason Kirby takes a closer look at the numbers in this week's Decoder series. Canada's population barely grew in the first quarter of this year as tighter immigration policies slowed the number of new arrivals, according to data from Statistics Canada. Between Jan. 1 and April 1, 2025, the overall population grew by just 20,107 people to roughly 41.55 million, Vanmala Subramaniam reports. By comparison, the population jumped by an average of 217,000 people a quarter from 2021 to 2024 – raising widespread concerns about access to housing and health care and forcing the federal government to implement new restrictions on migration, particularly for temporary residents. The Statscan data also showed that the number of temporary residents fell for a second consecutive quarter. As of April 1, there were 61,111 fewer temporary residents in Canada, compared with the start of the year. The largest decrease in temporary residents came from those holding study permits. There were about 53,000 fewer international student visa holders in the first quarter of this year, compared with the previous quarter. A Bay Street veteran and financial commentator is speaking out after finding himself at the centre of an alleged online 'pump and dump' scam that used his identity to defraud some investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. David Rosenberg, an economist and founder of Rosenberg Research, said ads appearing on Facebook and Instagram as early as March have promoted a fake investment program falsely listing him as its administrator. Since then, he's heard from several individuals who lost money to the scheme, a sum Mr. Rosenberg said he believes exceeds $1-million, though the total amount is unknown. Mariya Postelnyak shares his story. Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz here, and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe's investing calendar.
