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In a picturesque town on the US-Canada border, workers under dark clouds were building a new entrance for Canadians into a library to replace one that had long symbolized bilateral closeness.For more than a century, Canadians in Stanstead, Quebec, could walk through a door in the Haskell Free Library into Derby Line, Vermont, without passing through customs.But President Donald Trump’s administration has canceled the arrangement, citing the need to counter “illicit cross-border activities.”Standing on the black line inside the library that demarcates the US-Canada border, Sylvie Boudreau, Haskell’s board of trustees president, said the Trump administration’s announcement caused “a lot of anger on both sides.””It’s the end of something,” she told AFP.As a result of the US action, a new entrance is being constructed on the side of the building to give Canadians access to the library.  Canadian access to the library has been restricted before, including when tighter controls were imposed following the attacks of September 11, 2001, and again during the Covid-19 pandemic.But the Trump administration’s announcement marks the first definitive end to an arrangement that signaled enduring US-Canada unity for many in Stanstead, a town dotted with large Victorian houses about a 90-minute drive from Montreal.– ‘Mistrust’ –The change has stirred emotions on both sides of the border.Derby Line resident Jonas Horsky, a Franco-American who frequents the library for its bilingual catalogue, told AFP he felt “nostalgic” for the days of unencumbered cross-border travel.”We’ve always been united, we’ve always visited each other, but now we carry our passports with us. It wasn’t like this before,” the 41-year-old said.For Canadian Erica Masotto, who works at Stanstead College — a boarding school in the town of 2,824 residents — it’s “strange” to have to enter through what used to be the library’s emergency exit.She said she was troubled by the “symbol” the change represents.”Why this sudden mistrust?”– ‘Never be the same again’ –The shift at the library comes amid a broader breakdown in US-Canada relations.Trump’s musings about annexing Canada — made regularly through the early weeks of his second term — enraged Canadians.His tariffs have forced job losses across several key sectors, and late Thursday, he announced he was ending trade talks over an anti-tariff ad produced by the government of Ontario province.As he laid out his vision for Canada’s upcoming budget, Prime Minister Mark Carney reiterated that the US-Canada relationship would “never be the same again,” stressing that decades of deepening economic ties had been permanently ruptured.Bilateral tension has impacted Canadian travel patterns, with the national statistics agency in June reporting “a marked decrease” in the number of Canadians visiting the United States.Marc Samson, a silver-haired retiree who was picking up his wife from her job at the Haskell library, affirmed what the data shows.”We don’t go to the United States anymore,” despite Stanstead and Derby Line existing side-by-side, Samson told AFP.But, he added, political change could help repair the relationship.”I imagine that if the government changes on the other side of the border, things will go back to normal,” Samson said.Boudreau said the changes in library access marked “a physical end” to an era of unique closeness.But, she insisted, “from the perspective of people, of friendship, of unity, the sense of community, that has been strengthened by what happened.”

The Pentagon on Friday ordered the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to counter drug-trafficking organizations in Latin America, a major escalation of a US military buildup that Venezuela’s leader warned was steered at “fabricating a war.”US President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise of ending foreign military interventions, in early September launched a military campaign targeting boats allegedly used to smuggle narcotics, destroying at least 10 vessels in a series of strikes.But the American military buildup as part of that campaign — including 10 F-35 stealth warplanes and eight US Navy ships — has sparked fears in Venezuela that Washington’s ultimate goal is the overthrow of President Nicolas Maduro, and the decision to send the carrier is certain to add to those concerns.Late Friday, Maduro accused the Trump administration of stoking “a new eternal war.””They promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war that we are going to prevent,” Maduro told state broadcasters.The US-Venezuela standoff has also pulled in Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, a sharp critic of the American strikes who was sanctioned by Washington on Friday for allegedly allowing drug trafficking to flourish.The deployment of the USS Gerald R Ford and accompanying ships “will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, referring to transnational criminal organizations.The carrier announcement came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said an overnight strike on a boat alleged to be operated by Venezuelan drug trafficking gang Tren de Aragua had killed six people in the Caribbean Sea.”If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you,” Hegseth said on X.- ‘Inflame South America’ -The latest military action brings the death toll from the US strikes to at least 43, according to an AFP tally based on US figures, but Washington has yet to release evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics.Regional tensions have flared as a result of the campaign, with Caracas accusing the United States of plotting to overthrow Maduro, who said earlier this week that Venezuela had 5,000 Russian man-portable surface-to-air missiles to counter US forces.On Thursday, at least one US B-1B bomber flew over the Caribbean off Venezuela’s coast, flight tracking data showed, following a show of force by multiple US B-52 bombers that circled off the country’s coast last week.Colombia’s Petro — who has accused Trump of murder over the strikes on the alleged drug boats — was sanctioned by the US Treasury on Friday along with his wife and son.Regional powerhouse Brazil has also weighed in on US actions, with a senior foreign policy advisor telling AFP that the country views a military intervention in Venezuela as unacceptable, fearing it could be damaging for the whole of South America.”We cannot accept an outside intervention because it will trigger immense resentment,” said Celso Amorim, aide to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “It could inflame South America and lead to radicalization of politics on the whole continent.”Trump meanwhile said Thursday that he did not need a declaration of war from US lawmakers to attack Venezuela or other countries he accuses of involvement in the drug trade, warning that strikes on land are coming.”The land is going to be next,” Trump said, likening drug cartels to the brutal Islamic State jihadist group.

The Canadian province of Ontario said on Friday it would pull an anti-tariff ad featuring former US president Ronald Reagan that prompted current leader Donald Trump to scrap trade talks.Trump announced on his Truth Social network on Thursday that he had “terminated” all negotiations with Canada over what he called the “fake” ad campaign that he said misrepresented fellow Republican Reagan.Less than 24 hours later, Ontario premier Doug Ford said he was suspending the ads after talking to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about the spiraling row with Washington.”In speaking with Prime Minister Carney, Ontario will pause its US advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume,” Ford said in a post on X. Ford added however that he had told his team to keep airing the ad during the first two games this weekend of baseball’s World Series — in which a Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, face the Los Angeles Dodgers.The Canadian ad used quotes from a radio address on trade that Reagan delivered in 1987, in which he warned against ramifications that he said high tariffs on foreign imports could have on the US economy.It cited Reagan as saying that “high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library’s website.The Ronald Reagan foundation wrote on X on Thursday that the Ontario government had used “selective audio and video” and that it was reviewing its legal options. Trump did not immediately react to the Ontario premier’s decision to pull the ad. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told reporters that Trump had made his “extreme displeasure” known and was expected to respond later.A senior US official said that Trump would probably encounter Carney at a dinner on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in South Korea on Wednesday.”They will likely see each other,” the official told AFP.- ‘Cheated and got caught’ -Trump had first vented his fury at the ad late on Thursday, saying it was designed to “interfere with the decision of the US Supreme Court,” which is due to rule on his sweeping global tariffs.”CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!” he said in a new post as he doubled down earlier Friday. Carney had earlier sought to calm the situation, saying that his country was ready to resume “progress” on trade talks “when the Americans are ready.”Canada has “to focus on what we can control, and realize what we cannot control,” he added as he headed to Asia.The latest twist in relations between the United States and Canada came just over two weeks after Carney visited Trump at the White House to seek a relaxation of stiff US tariffs.At that meeting, Trump described Carney as a “world-class leader” and said the Canadian would “walk away very happy” from their discussion.Trump’s global sectoral tariffs — particularly on steel, aluminum, and autos — have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses.For now, the United States and Canada adhere to an existing North American trade deal called the USMCA, which ensures that roughly 85 percent of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free.But in a speech on Wednesday, Carney said that the United States has raised “its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.””Our economic strategy needs to change dramatically,” Carney added, saying the process “will take some sacrifices and some time.”White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told reporters earlier that Canada had been “very difficult to negotiate with” and that “frustration has built up over time” for the president.burs-dk/bjt

US President Donald Trump leaves on Friday for Asia and high-stakes talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping — as Washington played down speculation that he could meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.Trump is set to meet Xi in South Korea on the last day of his trip, aiming for a “deal on everything” to end a bitter trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.The 79-year-old will also visit Malaysia and Japan on his first Asian trip since he returned to the White House in January in a blaze of tariffs and geopolitical deal-making.A senior US official said on Friday that Trump would “deliver for the American people in one of the most economically vibrant regions of the world, signing a series of economic agreements.”Talk about a possible meeting with Kim while Trump is in South Korea for a regional summit mounted after Seoul’s reunification minister said there was a “considerable” chance.But the US official said it was “not on the schedule,” despite both leaders having said they would like to rekindle the unlikely relationship they fostered during Trump’s first term.- Peace and trade deals -His first stop will be Malaysia, where he arrives on Sunday, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit — a meeting Trump skipped several times in his first term.Trump is set to ink a trade deal with Malaysia, but more importantly he will oversee the signing of a peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia, as he continues his quest for a Nobel Peace Prize.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may also meet Trump on the sidelines of the summit to improve ties after months of bad blood, officials from both countries told AFP.Trump’s next stop will be Tokyo, where he arrives on Monday. He will meet conservative Sanae Takaichi, named this week as Japan’s first woman prime minister, on Tuesday.Japan has escaped the worst of the tariffs Trump slapped on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “ripping off the United States.” – Trump and Xi -But the highlight of the trip is expected to be South Korea, with Trump due to land in the southern port city of Busan on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.Trump will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, address an APEC lunch with business leaders and meet US tech bosses for dinner, on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the city of Gyeongju.On Thursday, Trump will meet Xi for the first time since his return to office.Global markets will be watching closely to see if the two men can halt the trade war sparked by Trump’s sweeping tariffs earlier this year, especially after a recent dispute over Beijing’s rare earth curbs.Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and imposed fresh tariffs over the critical minerals row, before saying he would go ahead after all.”The president is most interested in discussing the trade and economic relationship,” another senior US official said.Trump himself said on Thursday that the first topic on the agenda would be fentanyl, as he boosts pressure on Beijing to curb drug trafficking and cracks down on Latin American drug cartels.Trump’s former advisor Steve Bannon told Politico the Xi talks were a risky move by the US leader given the huge implications if the talks collapse, calling it a “throw of the iron dice.” But analysts warned not to expect any breakthroughs.”The meeting will be a data point along an existing continuum rather than an inflection point in the relationship,” said Ryan Hass, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Canada’s only Major League Baseball team is looking to take the crown of “America’s pastime” in a World Series matchup that opens Friday with an unusually heavy dose of national pride on the line.The Toronto Blue Jays are hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday for the first game of the championship series, at a time of unprecedented tensions between Canada and the United States.On the eve of the matchup, US President Donald Trump abruptly ended trade talks with his northern neighbor over what he claimed was a deceptive ad criticizing his tariff policies.”CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!” Trump thundered on Truth Social.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made the prediction earlier this month that Canadians would be “coming down for the World Series.”The comment came on October 7, when the Blue Jays were still two weeks away from clinching their first World Series spot in 32 years.They knocked out the New York Yankees — from Trump’s home city — the next day.They then beat the Seattle Mariners to claim the American League pennant, sending them to the World Series against the Dodgers.The Blue Jays occupy a unique place as the only surviving Canadian team in the major leagues.Canada’s first MLB franchise was the Montreal Expos, but they had limited on-field success before ownership challenges and dismal attendance forced a relocation and rebrand as the Washington Nationals.After the Blue Jays beat the Mariners in a do-or-die game seven, manager John Schneider — who was born in New Jersey — was asked if the World Series might become a US-Canada grudge match given lingering bilateral tensions.”We’ll see. I know it will be the Blue Jays versus the Dodgers,” Schneider told reporters. “But I know that these guys in there know that they’re representing the country too.”For Blue Jays fan Chris Kitowski, who has watched several playoff games at a packed Toronto sports bar, Trump’s actions have added energy to the World Series.”There’s a confrontation happening between Canada and the US,” the 60-year-old told AFP, speaking before Trump’s latest threats.Now there’s a “confrontation over the American national sport,” he said, adding that the timing was “perfect.”- National pride -US-Canada sports tensions erupted earlier this year during the Four Nations ice hockey tournament in February.Trump, who had only returned to office in January, was then regularly talking about making Canada the 51st US state and mocking then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, calling him “governor.”When the puck dropped in an opening-round US-Canada game, three fights erupted within the first nine seconds — an extreme rarity that some said highlighted tensions between the two countries.The US national anthem was booed before the contest began.With resentment simmering, Trump called the US team to cheer them on before the final, which Canada won in overtime.Annexation threats have eased, but Trump still mentioned a US-Canada “merger” in his recent Oval Office meeting with Carney, while US protectionism has battered key sectors of the Canadian economy.”There’s obviously the potential for serious political tensions and national pride to be on full display during this series,” University of Toronto political scientist Lewis Krashinsky told AFP.The last World Series game played outside the United States was in October 1993, when the Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies. For Kitowski, the series that opens in Toronto and moves to Los Angeles next week should serve as a reminder of the enduring passion for baseball in Canada.”We play your game and we’re going to win,” he said. “What are you going to do then?”

Brazil fears any US intervention in Venezuela would rile people across South America and trigger upheaval, a foreign policy aide told AFP amid a tense military standoff between Washington and Caracas.US naval forces are stationed in the Caribbean off the coast of socialist-run Venezuela and are destroying boats that Washington says are smuggling drugs toward the United States.On Friday the United States said it was deploying an aircraft carrier and accompanying ships in the military operation that has also spread to Pacific Ocean waters.At least 43 people have been killed in a total of 10 attacks so far.In an interview Thursday with AFP, Celso Amorim, a former foreign minister who now serves as aide to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, expressed concern about the attacks, which he said were carried out without evidence of drug trafficking, and called them “a threat of outside intervention.”Amorim said the attacks could come up at a still-unconfirmed meeting Sunday between Lula and President Donald Trump on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.But such a meeting is expected to focus on the 50 percent tariffs that Trump slapped on imports from Brazil as punishment for its prosecution of his ally, the former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro.Bolsonaro was convicted in September of plotting a coup to stay in power after losing an election to Lula in 2022 and sentenced to 27 years in prison.QUESTION: Will Lula address the US strikes in the Caribbean if the meeting with Trump is confirmed?ANSWER: “That depends on how the conversation develops, if there is receptivity on this issue. Brazil is clearly worried about the threat of the use of force or the threat of covert methods like those of the CIA to topple governments in the region.We do not want upheaval in our region. This could have very serious consequences. There is a threat of outside intervention … people have been killed. I do not know if they were drug traffickers but there is no evidence that they were. It is very dangerous.”Q: What would Brazil’s position be in the event the United States intervenes to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro? A: “Brazil is clearly opposed to outside intervention. The issue of who governs Venezuela is only for the Venezuelan people to decide.”We cannot accept an outside intervention because it will trigger immense resentment. For Brazil and Colombia it could create specific problems involving refugees. It could inflame South America and lead to radicalization of politics on the whole continent.”Q: How can one explain the resumption of dialogue between Brazil and the United States after months of tension surrounding the Bolsonaro trial and tariffs?A: I would say it is a question of common sense on both sides. President Lula is not going to lecture Trump and I hope this goes both ways. There has to be dialogue to seek points of agreement. It is a matter of continuing a positive conversation and above all a good understanding on economic and trade issues.”Q: Do you think Trump has stopped backing the Bolsonaro movement after the former president’s conviction?A: “The word Bolsonaro was not mentioned (when the two presidents spoke by phone on October 6.) In any government there are pragmatic people and ideological people. In this case I think the pragmatists must have spoken with Trump.”

Procter & Gamble on Friday reported higher earnings fueled in part by an improved performance in China as it projected a lower hit from tariffs.The maker of Tide detergent, Pampers diapers and Bounty paper towels scored increased sales in all five product categories, with the biggest gains in beauty and grooming. This came despite what the US-based company termed a “challenging consumer and geopolitical environment” with inflation-stretched consumers and fast-changing tariff policies.Profits in the quarter ending September 30 were $4.8 billion, up 20 percent. Revenues rose three percent to $22.4 billion.The consumer products giant — which announced a downsizing in non-manufacturing employment in June in the wake of the tariff onslaught — now sees a hit of $500 million in fiscal 2026, down from an earlier forecast of $1 billion.Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten said the improved outlook reflected White House moves to exempt fromtariffs “natural materials and ingredients” not grown in the United States, such as eucalyptus pulp and cilium.”What the administration has done is basically grant exemptions, broad exemptions in some of these tariff frameworks for those materials that cannot be grown in the US, which highly appreciated and makes sense,” he said on a conference call with analysts.Schulten said the company’s plan to eliminate 7,000 non-manufacturing jobs over two years was on track. The goal is “smaller teams that are better set up” and capable to exploit digital technologies “to focus on the consumer and brand building,” he said.P&G has made strides in the greater China market, where sales grew five percent. Schulten described the performance as “very strong progress” following a rethink of operations and marketing while characterizing the competitive environment as difficult. “I don’t expect it will be a straight line, but I feel very good about the progress we’ve made,” Schulten said of China.Shares of P&G rose 1.2 percent shortly after midday.

The New York attorney general who successfully prosecuted Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Friday to bank fraud charges and accused the president of using the justice system as a “tool of revenge.”Letitia James, 67, one of three prominent Trump critics to be hit with criminal charges in recent weeks, entered the not guilty plea at an arraignment in a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia.The presiding judge set a trial date of January 26.James faces one count of bank fraud and a second one of making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a property she purchased in Virginia in 2020.Speaking to supporters outside the courtroom following the brief arraignment, James said the Trump administration is using the justice system as a “vehicle of retribution.””This is not about me,” she said. “This is about all of us, and about a justice system which has been weaponized, a justice system which has been been used as a tool of revenge.”A handful of supporters outside the courthouse held up signs saying “Defend Democracy” and “Revenge Is Not Democracy.”The case against James was brought this month, one day after another Trump foe, former FBI director James Comey, pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.John Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security advisor during his first term before becoming an outspoken critic of the Republican president, was indicted last week for allegedly mishandling classified information.He has also pleaded not guilty.The cases against James and Comey were filed by Trump’s handpicked US attorney, Lindsey Halligan, after the previous prosecutor resigned saying there was not enough evidence against them.- Vindictive prosecution -Trump recently publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against James, Comey and others he sees as enemies in an escalation of his campaign against political opponents.After Trump left the White House in 2021, James brought a major civil fraud case against him, alleging he and his real estate company had unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favorable bank loans or insurance terms.A New York state judge ordered Trump to pay $464 million, but a higher court later removed the financial penalty while upholding the underlying judgment. James has appealed the ruling.In addition to James and Comey, Trump has also publicly called for the prosecution of Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who led the first impeachment of the president in the House of Representatives.Comey’s lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, has filed a motion seeking to have the case against the former FBI chief dismissed on the grounds that it is a vindictive prosecution.Appointed to head the FBI by then-president Barack Obama in 2013, Comey was fired by Trump in 2017 amid a probe into whether any members of the Trump presidential campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 vote.Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against perceived enemies, purging government officials he deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.

US President Donald Trump on Friday doubled down on ending trade talks with Canada over an anti-tariff advertising campaign, as Prime Minister Mark Carney sought to downplay the sudden rupture.On his Truth Social network, Trump said he had “terminated” all talks and vented fury at what he called a “fake” ad that he said misquoted former president Ronald Reagan discussing tariff policy.Trump said the campaign — produced by the Canadian province of Ontario for US television — was designed to “interfere with the decision of the US Supreme Court,” which is due to rule on his sweeping global tariffs.”CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!” he posted Friday. “Canada has long cheated on Tariffs, charging our farmers as much as 400%. Now they, and other countries, can’t take advantage of the U.S. any longer.”Carney did not directly respond to Trump’s move, instead only saying recent talks had made progress “and we stand ready to pick up on that progress and build on that progress when the Americans are ready.”Canada has “to focus on what we can control, and realize what we cannot control,” he added.Trump wrote that “the Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs.”He reiterated that in his Friday post, writing that Reagan “LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY.”The foundation wrote on X that the Ontario government had used “selective audio and video” from a radio address on trade that Reagan delivered in 1987.It said the ad misrepresented what the former Republican president said, adding that it was “reviewing its legal options.”The ad used quotes from Reagan’s speech, in which he warned against ramifications that he said high tariffs on foreign imports could have on the US economy.It cited Reagan as saying that “high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library’s website.- Steel, aluminum, autos -The latest twist in relations between the United States and Canada came just over two weeks after Carney visited Trump at the White House to seek a relaxation of stiff US tariffs.At that meeting, Trump described Carney as a “world-class leader” and said the Canadian would “walk away very happy” from their discussion.Trump’s global sectoral tariffs — particularly on steel, aluminum, and autos — have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses.For now, the United States and Canada adhere to an existing North American trade deal called the USMCA, which ensures that roughly 85 percent of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free.In a speech on Wednesday, Carney said that the United States has raised “its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.””Our economic strategy needs to change dramatically,” Carney added, saying the process “will take some sacrifices and some time.”On Friday, Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters that Canada had been “very difficult to negotiate with” and that “frustration has built up over time” for the president.Both Trump and the Canadian prime minister are due to attend gatherings in the coming days — a summit of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) in Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in South Korea.Carney has said his government is focused on preserving the USMCA, which was signed during Trump’s first term and is scheduled for review in 2026.While most cross-border food trade has remained tariff-free, some US tariffs and Canadian countermeasures have forced some suppliers to raise prices. Canadian grocery stores have historically relied heavily on US imports.