US bans red food dye over possible cancer risk: health authorities

TOOK LONG ENOUGH

By AFP
January 15, 2025


Fruit by the Foot, a product that uses Red Dye No 3, can be seen on a shelf at a supermarket in this illustration photograph on December 27, 2024 - Copyright AFP

 ROBERTO SCHMIDT

Outgoing US President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday announced a ban on Red Dye No 3, a controversial food and drug coloring long known to cause cancer in animals.

Decades after scientific evidence first raised alarm, Red 3, as it is also called, is currently used in nearly 3,000 food products in the United States, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.

“FDA is revoking the authorized uses in food and ingested drugs of FD&C Red No 3 in the color additive regulations,” said a document from the Department of Health and Human Services, published in the Federal Register on Wednesday.

The decision follows a petition filed in November 2022 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and other advocacy groups, which cited the “Delaney Clause” — a provision mandating the prohibition of any color additive shown to cause cancer in humans or animals.

Notably, the FDA determined as early as 1990 that Red 3 should be banned in cosmetics because of its link to thyroid cancer in lab rats.

However, the additive continued to be used in foods, largely due to resistance from the food industry. Manufacturers of maraschino cherries, for example, relied on Red 3 to maintain the iconic red hue of their products.

It’s also present in thousands of candies, snacks and fruit products.

The United States is one of the last major economies to take action on the dye. The European Union prohibited its use in 1994, with similar bans implemented in Japan, China, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

CSPI hailed the decision as overdue and expressed hope it would lead to further action against other potentially harmful chemicals in food.

“They don’t add any nutritional value, they don’t preserve the food — they’re just there to make food look pretty,” Thomas Galligan, a scientist with CSPI, told AFP.

“There’s growing discussion across the political spectrum about food additives and chemicals, which reflects ongoing failures by the FDA.”

US removes Cuba from state sponsors of terror list

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE

By AFP
January 14, 2025

Frankie TAGGART

President Joe Biden is removing the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House said Tuesday, in a deal that will see imprisoned protesters released in the communist country.

The move will likely be overturned after the return to office next week of Republican Donald Trump, who reinstated the designation in the last few days of his first term of office in 2021.

“An assessment has been completed, and we do not have information that supports Cuba’s designation as being a state sponsor of terrorism,” a senior adminstration official told reporters.

It was not clear how many prisoners were involved but the official said the release would take place “in relatively short order” and that the total freed would be “significant.”

He said the Catholic Church was “significantly advancing” an agreement with Cuba to allow for the humanitarian release of “political prisoners in Cuba and those who have been detained unjustly.”

Cuba has been dealing with over six decades of US sanctions, which the Cuban government blames for the island nation’s worst economic crisis, with shortages of fuel, food, medicines and electricity.

Blackouts and soaring food prices led to unprecedented anti-government protests around three years ago, with hundreds of people arrested and some given long prison terms, according to rights groups.

Thousands of Cubans took to the streets in July 2021, shouting, “We are hungry” and “Freedom!” in what was then a rare challenge to the government.

One person was killed and dozens were injured in the protests, which Cuba’s government accused Washington of orchestrating.



– ‘Genocidal’ –


Analysts say the Covid-19 pandemic, which tanked tourism, and economic mismanagement by the government have contributed greatly to the state of the economy.

But Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel has described US sanctions as “genocidal” and said his country was prepared for “more difficult circumstances” after Trump’s election.

Cuba was also ready for “dialogue” with the new administration, Diaz-Canel added, speaking weeks after Trump was reelected.

The 78-year-old Republican’s first presidential term from 2017 to 2021 saw a tightening of sanctions that have been in place against Cuba since 1962.

The incoming president’s allies immediately criticized Biden over Tuesday’s terror list announcement, with Ted Cruz, a Cuban-American member of the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, calling it a “rank appeasement of the Cuban regime.”

“They push these policies both because they believe in them and to undermine the incoming Trump administration and Republicans in Congress,” Cruz said in a statement.

“These moves do incredible damage to American national security and send a message to our adversaries that they can rely on outgoing Democrat administrations — and wait out pressure from Republican administrations — to continue engaging in terrorism and other aggression against Americans.”

Trump has nominated Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American highly critical of communism and the left at large, to serve as his secretary of state.

A White House statement said Biden would also be waiving part of the so-called Libertad Act underpinning the US embargo of Cuba, so that nationals with claims to confiscated property in Cuba will no longer be able to file suit in American courts against persons that may be “trafficking” in that property.

It added that Biden is also rescinding a Trump-era policy called “National Security Presidential Memorandum 5” — ending restrictions on financial transactions with certain Cuban entities.

TikTok plans total US shutdown as ban deadline looms: report


By AFP
January 15, 2025


Image: — © AFP

Social media giant TikTok plans to completely shut down its operations in the United States this Sunday if a ban ordered by legislators goes through as planned, a report said.

The platform, which counts over 170 million American users, will implement an immediate blackout rather than allowing existing users continued access as had been expected, according to sources who spoke to The Information.

The apparent shutdown comes as TikTok faces a January 19 legislative deadline to sever ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance or cease US operations.

While the law only requires app stores to remove TikTok and cloud providers to stop hosting US user data, the company will opt for a full suspension of service, The Information said.

Users attempting to open the app after the deadline will encounter a message redirecting them to a statement about the federally mandated ban, along with options to download their personal data, the report said.

TikTok’s reported plan would follow skeptical questioning from Supreme Court justices during oral arguments last Friday, suggesting they would uphold the ban.

The company has challenged the law on First Amendment grounds, which protect freedom of speech.

The shutdown would coincide with the US presidential transition, as Donald Trump, who has expressed opposition to the ban, takes office Monday.

ByteDance has so far refused to sell TikTok’s US operations, though analysts say this position could shift as the reality of a forced market exit looms.

In an internal email obtained by The Verge on Tuesday, TikTok assured its US employees that their “employment, pay, and benefits are secure” and offices will remain open even if the situation remains unresolved by Sunday’s deadline.

The company told staff it was “planning for various scenarios.”

TikTok declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Humanity has opened ‘Pandora’s box of ills,’ UN chief warns


By AFP
January 15, 2025


The return of Donald Trump to the White House could further complicate the agenda of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres - Copyright AFP ANGELA WEISS
Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS, Gregory WALTON

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that humanity had unleashed a “Pandora’s box of ills,” including “out of control technology” that risks upending “our very existence.”

The UN chief was laying out his priorities in a speech to the General Assembly for the year ahead, at a time when the organization faces unprecedented crises and polarization.

“Our actions — or inactions — have unleashed a modern-day Pandora’s box of ills,” Guterres said.

“Four of those ills stand out because they represent, at best, threats that could disrupt every aspect of our agenda and, at worst, upend our very existence: Runaway conflicts. Rampant inequalities. The raging climate crisis. And out-of-control technology.”

Guterres’s organization is facing some of the worst crises in its history.

The organization’s top decision-making body, the Security Council, is paralyzed. The war in Gaza has seen Israel and its allies attack the UN’s neutrality, and blue helmet peacekeepers have been caught in the crossfire in Lebanon and Syria.



– ‘Our tumultuous world’ –



The return of US President-elect Donald Trump to the White House could further complicate Guterres’s agenda, experts have warned.

“Yes, there is progress in our tumultuous world,” Guterres said, pointing to the relative success of the ceasefire in Lebanon and the pace of renewable energy development.

“But let’s have no illusions: This is very much a world in turmoil and grave uncertainty.”

“Conflicts are multiplying, becoming messier and deadlier. Deepening geo-political divisions and mistrust are adding fuel to the fire. The nuclear threat is at its highest in decades,” he said.

As conflict rages in Sudan and Gaza, Guterres said “the spectrum of human rights is under constant attack. Impunity is endemic — with serial violations of international law, international humanitarian law and the UN Charter — and systematic assaults on our very institutions.”

As efforts to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza appear to be closing in on a breakthrough, Guterres reiterated his call for a durable ceasefire.

“I strongly appeal to all parties to finalize a ceasefire and hostage release deal,” he said.

He also expressed concern about the ongoing reorganization of the Middle East — from Iran to Syria — and what it could lead to.

“Across the region, we are seeing a reshaping of the Middle East. What is far less clear is what will emerge,” he said.

The UN boss, who for years has made the fight against global warming one of his priorities, again denounced fossil fuel companies “ravaging and savaging our world.

“Look no further than the hills of Los Angeles. It has gone from the home of disaster movies to a scene of disaster,” he said.

Guterres also announced a new climate change conference, expected to be held ahead of the next COP climate talks in Belem.

“We will convene a special event to take stock of the plans of all countries, push for action to keep 1.5 (degrees Celsius warming over pre-industrial levels) within reach, and deliver climate justice.”

Beijing ‘firmly opposes’ US ban on smart cars with Chinese tech


By AFP
January 15, 2025


BYD electric cars wait to be loaded onto a ship in Suzhou, China. Washington has finalised a rule effectively barring Chinese technology from cars in the US market - Copyright AFP/File -

Beijing on Wednesday said it “firmly opposes” a US move to effectively bar Chinese technology from smart cars in the American market, saying alleged risks to national security were “without any factual basis”.

“Such actions disrupt economic and commercial cooperation between enterprises… and represent typical protectionism and economic coercion,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said, adding: “China firmly opposes this.”

Tuesday’s announcement in the United States, which also pertains to Russian technology, came as outgoing President Joe Biden wrapped up efforts to step up curbs on China, and after a months-long regulatory process.

The rule follows an announcement this month that Washington is mulling new restrictions to address risks posed by drones with tech from adversaries such as China and Russia.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that modern vehicles contain cameras, microphones, GPS tracking and other technologies connected to the internet.

“Cars today aren’t just steel on wheels — they’re computers,” she said.

“This is a targeted approach to ensure we keep PRC and Russian-manufactured technologies off American roads,” she added, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

But Guo slammed the move, telling journalists in Beijing that China would “take necessary measures” to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

“What I want to say is that the US, citing so-called national security, has restricted the use of Chinese connected vehicle software, hardware, and entire vehicles in the United States without any factual basis,” he told a regular press conference.

“China urges the US to stop the erroneous practice of overgeneralising national security and to stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies.”



– ‘Trying to dominate’ –



The final US rule currently applies just to passenger vehicles under 10,001 pounds (about 4.5 tonnes), the Commerce Department said.

It plans, however, to issue separate rulemaking aimed at tech in commercial vehicles like trucks and buses “in the near future”.

For now, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, for example, has a facility in California producing buses and other vehicles.

National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard added that “China is trying to dominate the future of the auto industry”.

But she said connected vehicles containing software and hardware systems linked to foreign rivals could result in misuse of sensitive data or interference.

Under the latest rule, even if a passenger car were US-made, manufacturers with “a sufficient nexus” to China or Russia would not be allowed to sell such new vehicles incorporating hardware and software for external connectivity and autonomous driving.

This prohibition on sales takes effect for model year 2027, and also bans the import of the hardware and software if they are linked to Beijing or Moscow.

US to ban smart cars containing Chinese tech


By AFP
January 14, 2025


BYD electric cars for export wait to be loaded onto a ship at a port in Yantai, in eastern China's Shandong province - Copyright AFP/File -

Beiyi SEOW

The United States finalized a rule Tuesday effectively barring Chinese technology from cars in the American market, taking aim at software and hardware from the world’s second biggest economy over national security risks.

The announcement, which also pertains to Russian technology, comes as outgoing President Joe Biden wraps up efforts to step up curbs on China, and after a months-long regulatory process.

The rule follows an announcement this month that Washington is mulling new restrictions to address risks posed by drones with tech from adversaries like China and Russia.

“Cars today aren’t just steel on wheels — they’re computers,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

She noted that modern vehicles contain cameras, microphones, GPS tracking and other technologies connected to the internet.

“This is a targeted approach to ensure we keep PRC and Russian-manufactured technologies off American roads,” she added, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

The final rule currently applies just to passenger vehicles under 10,001 pounds, said the Commerce Department.

It plans, however, to issue separate rulemaking aimed at tech in commercial vehicles like trucks and buses “in the near future.”

For now, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has a facility in California producing buses and other vehicles.

National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard added that “China is trying to dominate the future of the auto industry.”

But she said connected vehicles containing software and hardware systems linked to foreign rivals could result in misuse of sensitive data or interference.

Under the latest rule Tuesday, even if a passenger car were US-made, manufacturers with “a sufficient nexus” to China or Russia are not allowed to sell such new vehicles incorporating hardware and software for external connectivity and autonomous driving.

This prohibition on sales takes effect for model year 2027.

The restriction also bans the import of the hardware and software if they are linked to Beijing or Moscow.

The software curbs take effect for model year 2027 while the hardware controls come into play for model year 2030.

US efforts to restrict Chinese tech come as officials work to boost domestic industries.

On Tuesday, Biden issued an executive order to accelerate the pace at which infrastructure for artificial intelligence development can be built in the country.

“We will not let America be out-built when it comes to the technology that will define the future,” said Biden in a statement.

But the rollout of many plans will fall to incoming President-elect Donald Trump, whose return to the White House next Monday promises a raft of changes to government policies.

German economy shrinks again amid political crisis


By AFP
January 15, 2025


Volkswagen's woes have come to symbolise the problems facing Germany's economy - Copyright POOL/AFP LUONG THAI LINH

Sam Reeves

Germany’s economy shrank for a second straight year in 2024, official figures showed Wednesday, with little hope of a speedy recovery as Europe’s traditional powerhouse is also mired in political crisis.

Gross domestic product in Europe’s largest economy fell 0.2 percent last year, according to preliminary figures from federal statistics agency Destatis, after a 0.3 percent contraction in 2023.

Germany has faced a perfect storm, with high energy costs battering its manufacturing sector, demand weak in China and other key export markets, and the economy facing deep-rooted structural problems including a shortage of skilled labour.

Destatis president Ruth Brand said the economy suffered under both “cyclical and structural pressures” last year.

“These include increasing competition for the German export industry on key sales markets, high energy costs, an interest rate level that remains high, and an uncertain economic outlook,” she said.

Preliminary data also showed that the economy had contracted 0.1 percent in the final quarter of last year compared to the previous quarter.

Fears are growing that the economy will struggle to get back on its feet this year, due in part to the political crisis at home.

Following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, Germany is heading for early polls on February 23, which is expected to be followed by a period of paralysis before a new coalition emerges.

– Trump tariffs threat –

The data released Wednesday — in line with most forecasts, including from the government — will be further bad news for Scholz, who has been criticised for failing to reboot the economy and already faces an uphill battle to win re-election.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to hit imports into the world’s top economy with tariffs is adding to jitters for German exporters.

In December, the German central bank slashed its growth projection for 2025 to a meagre 0.2 percent from a previous estimate of 1.1 percent.

The Destatis data showed that the manufacturing sector declined markedly in 2024, highlighting the challenges for a traditional pillar of the economy, which has struggled since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sent energy costs soaring.

Brand noted that the country’s exports fell in 2024, even as global trade increased overall, adding that “the international competitiveness of the manufacturing industry faced further pressure”.



– ‘Sick man’ again? –



The last time Germany recorded two straight years in the red was 2002-2003, when the country was still seen as the “sick man” of Europe.

Relative success in the years that followed earned it a reputation as the powerhouse of the eurozone but Germany’s economic motor has stalled since the coronavirus pandemic and outbreak of the Ukraine war.

Germany finds itself in the unusual position of having to bring up the rear in Europe in terms of growth — the European Commission has predicted the overall eurozone economy to have grown by 0.8 percent in 2024, well above Germany’s result.

The country’s economic woes have been reflected in a string of job cuts and poor results at leading companies throughout the year.

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, has come to symbolise the problems facing German industrial titans. Last month, it announced plans to cut 35,000 jobs at home in the coming years as it battles high costs, and fierce competition in key market China.

Clashes between Scholz and his coalition partners over how to get the economy back on its feet were at the heart of the government’s collapse in November.

Some hope a stronger government will emerge after February’s election — where centre-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz is seen as favourite to take over — and be better able to turn the economy around.

Klaus Borger, an economist from public lender KfW, said bold actions were urgently needed.

“Besides containing the numerous global crises and uncertainties, what is needed above all are convincing answers from policymakers and companies to the huge transformative challenges, especially in industry,” he said.

Volkswagen deliveries fall in 2024 as electric push slows


By AFP
January 14, 2025


The launch of new electric models like the ID Buzz failed to help VW overcome a downturn in sales of EVs in Europe - Copyright AFP/File JADE GAO

Louis VAN BOXEL-WOOLF

Volkswagen’s deliveries fell last year, the German carmaker said Tuesday, underlining fierce Chinese competition and faltering demand for electric vehicles.

The 10-brand group, which includes Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini, sold 9.03 million vehicles last year, down 2.3 percent from 2023.

But in China, VW’s second-largest market by volume, deliveries plunged 9.5 percent.

Marco Schubert, responsible for sales operations at the firm, said an uptick in the last three months of the year was promising.

“In the final quarter we again approached the previous year’s volume in China,” Schubert said. “We have created a good starting point for this year.”

However, analyst Pal Skirta from Metzler Bank said Volkswagen’s troubles in the country were unlikely to pass soon.

The carmaker has been outmanoeuvred by local firms such as BYD and Xpeng, who have developed affordable EVs with the kind of entertainment software that Chinese drivers expect, he said.

“Volkswagen was still living in the old world of combustion engines and they neglected how quickly competitors like BYD were developing until recently,” he said.

“Chinese manufacturers, they don’t have this kind of legacy business, the combustion engine business. They could concentrate all their efforts on electric vehicles and software.”

Worldwide, Volkswagen’s EV deliveries fell 3.4 percent in 2024. EV sales in the United States dropped 30.5 percent while in Europe they were down 5.2 percent.

The European Union plans to force the transition to electric cars in an effort to combat climate change. A ban on the production of combustion engine vehicles is planned for 2035.

However, state support for EVs has been patchy. Germany, Volkswagen’s home market, abolished subsidies for electric cars at the end of 2023.

Volkswagen is one of a number of European carmakers struggling in the face of fierce Chinese competition and the switch to EVs.

BMW warned investors in November that its performance for the year would fall short of expectations, citing weak demand for its cars in China.

Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Peugeot and Fiat, likewise said in September that Chinese competition would hit its performance.

In December, Volkswagen reached an agreement with unions to cut 35,000 jobs across Volkswagen’s German locations by 2030.

The company said the drastic cuts should save around four billion euros ($4.1 billion) a year in the medium term and avoid plant closures in Germany, which Volkswagen had previously warned might be required.

The Volkswagen group publishes its full financial results for 2024 on March 11.

Global road transport emissions to peak in 2025: study

WHY WE NEED HYBRIDS & EV

By AFP
January 14, 2025


Vehicle emissions will top out at around nine gigatonnes in 2025, a quarter-century earlier than previously predicted, according to a German think tank - Copyright AFP/File JADE GAO

CO2 emissions from road transport could peak worldwide this year thanks to rapid growth in electric vehicles and stricter new regulations, a German think tank said Tuesday.

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) estimated that vehicle emissions would top out at around nine gigatonnes in 2025, a quarter-century earlier than previously predicted.

The volume of emissions would then decline to 7.1 gigatonnes in 2050, the ICCT calculated in a scenario based on environmental rules as of August 2024.

The organisation’s previous forecast, which used regulatory conditions in 2021, predicted a peak in road transport emissions in 2050.

The quicker turnaround was due to changing regulations in major markets that required a higher share of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), including battery-powered cars, in new sales, the ICCT said.

Progress in the number of cleaner vehicles already on the roads was “underpinned by the falling costs of ZEVs”, the ICCT said.

The think tank, however, warned that a weakening of current environmental standards for road transport could lead to the peak being delayed.

The European Union for example has agreed to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 but criticism of the plan has grown.

The target is increasingly under fire from Europe’s struggling automotive industry and has become a bugbear of many far-right political parties in the bloc.

An increase in global vehicle activity or a slowdown in the sale of ZEVs could also delay the peak, the ICCT said.

While the difference between the two scenarios modelled by the think tank was already significant, yearly emissions would have to fall to 2.3 gigatonnes by 2050 to align with the Paris climate accords.

The climate deal set a target to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — and to 1.5C if possible.

The ICCT included all emissions linked to road transport in its modelling, including vehicle production and fuel use.

MSNBC boss leaves ahead of Trump White House return


By AFP
January 14, 2025


MSNBC chief Rashida Jones said in a memo to colleagues that she would stay on for the next few months - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP Dia Dipasupil

The head of the left-leaning US news channel MSNBC has quit, a source at the network told AFP Tuesday, just days before Donald Trump returns to the White House threatening to silence critical coverage.

Major US media groups are watching Trump’s return with mounting concern as the Republican has called for networks broadcasting unfavorable material to be taken off the air or have their licenses stripped.

A source briefed on the departure insisted that the exit of Rashida Jones, the first Black woman to run a major US cable news operation, was not linked to an expected post-election ratings dip. And Jones was not pushed, the source added.

“(Jones) has made the decision to step down as president of MSNBC after an extraordinary tenure leading the network,” Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, MSNBC’s parent, wrote in a memo to staff seen by AFP.

Jones, in the post since February 2021, said in her own memo to colleagues that she would stay on for the next few months to support her successor Rebecca Kutler, previously the channel’s content strategy supremo.

MSNBC has defined itself in recent years with a highly critical line on Trump, overtaking cable news stalwart CNN to become the second most-watched US channel — but trailing conservative favorite Fox News, a gap that widened in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential campaign.

Jones’s exit comes as MSNBC’s overall parent company Comcast seeks to spin off its cable channels into a company separate from its entertainment division, the jewel in the crown of which is DreamWorks Pictures.



– Media pressure –



As well as threatening action against the media companies themselves, Trump has said he wants to go after journalists personally.

He has also suggested that journalists who refuse to give up the sources of stories damaging to the president-elect and his incoming administration could be jailed, along with their editors and publishers.

His most aggressive threats could be difficult to pursue given constitutionally enshrined media protections, but costly lawsuits could prove a drain on some news organizations.

Some companies have already appeared to take on a deferential posture toward the incoming administration.

In mid-December, the ABC News network, owned by Disney Group, agreed to pay $15 million in damages to resolve defamation lawsuits brought by Trump, linked to its reporting on litigation against the incoming president.

Days later, Trump sued a local newspaper, the Des Moines Register, and a pollster who had predicted ahead of the election that he would lose the state of Iowa.

In a surprise move that drew criticism from viewers and pundits, former Republican Joe Scarborough and his wife Mika Brzezinski, hosts of MSNBC’s flagship “Morning Joe” program, visited the president-elect at his luxurious Mar-a-Lago residence the day after his win.

Panama Canal will ‘remain’ Panamanian: UN maritime chief


By AFP
January 14, 2025


The Panama Canal is a key waterway for the transportation of goods - Copyright AFP Anwar AMRO

The Panama Canal will remain Panamanian, the secretary general of the United Nation’s maritime body told AFP on Tuesday, after Donald Trump refused to rule out using military force to seize the key waterway.

“For me it is very clear and it is not a subject of great discussion, because the treaties were signed in 1977. The canal passed into the hands of Panama, which continues to manage this vital waterway, and will continue to do so,” said Arsenio Dominguez, head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

US president-elect Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, caused shockwaves when asked about the canal last week.

He said he was “not going to commit to that (no military action). It might be that you have to do something.”

The United States built, owned and operated the Central American canal until the late US president Jimmy Carter struck a deal in the 1970s to gradually hand over control of the vital transport route to the Panamanian authorities.

Panama responded to Trump’s comments by saying the sovereignty of its interoceanic canal was non-negotiable.

“The sovereignty of our canal is not negotiable and is part of our history of struggle,” Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha said.

President Jose Raul Mulino has refused to entertain negotiations over its control.

Trump has also ruffled European feathers with similar comments about Greenland.

Denmark — which Greenland is an autonomous territory of — is a US ally and a fellow member of NATO, another target of Trump’s ire as he demanded that nations in the western alliance boost their defence spending.

In addition to its strategic location, Greenland, which is seeking independence from Denmark, holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen later said she had reached out to Trump following his remarks, which Denmark said were being taken seriously.

Trump first claimed that he wanted to buy Greenland in 2019 during his first term as president — an offer swiftly rebuffed by Greenland and Denmark.

psr-pml/har/jkb/rl

‘We may look easy-going, but…’ Canadians veto Trump’s merger plan


By AFP
January 15, 2025

Canadian fans at the Paris Olympics -- A new poll found 90 percent of citizens reject the idea of linking up with the United States. © Firefly Aerospace/AFP/File

Michel COMTE

Different values, different spelling — different country. Donald Trump’s unlikely plan for Canada to become the 51st US state is leading to a surge of national pride north of the border and a pushback against an often imposing neighbor.

“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” reacted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, summing up many Canadians’ sentiments.

A new poll by the Angus Reid Institute found 90 percent of citizens reject the idea of linking up with the United States.

Canadians told AFP and posted on social media that they pronounce Z as “Zed” north of the 49th parallel and not “Zee” like Americans, measure temperatures in Celsius not Fahrenheit, and would never get used to paying for a doctor visit.

They wisecracked about adding a beaver or a maple leaf to the American flag, and whether they could keep saying sorry as a figure of speech if they became American, while fretting about who would inform King Charles that Canada was quitting the Commonwealth.

“Forever neighbours. Never Neighbors,” a Vancouver strip club joked on its signage, focusing on how Canadians don’t follow US spelling.

Even some so-called Trump groupies are cool to a merger.


Could Canada and the US merge? Unlikely. — © AFP

“I’m very proud to be Canadian. I love this country. I enjoy visiting the United States. I enjoy doing business in the United States, but Canada is home,” Paul Koidis, a Trump supporter in Toronto, told AFP.

Some Americans and Canadians sound and look alike, and they watch the same movies, he and others noted, and their economies and security are deeply integrated.

But each has a very different mindset, Koidis insisted.

– ‘American imperialism’ –

Justin Trudeau has made it clear that a merger with the US is not on.

Trump has “unified Canadians more than we have been ever before!” former prime minister Jean Chretien said in an open letter, calling Trump’s remarks insulting and an “unprecedented threat to our very sovereignty.”

“We built a nation across the most rugged, challenging geography imaginable. And we did it against the odds. We may look easy-going. Mild-mannered. But make no mistake, we have spine and toughness,” he said.

Mark Brawley, an American Canadian professor of international relations at McGill University in Montreal, said “there are stark differences” between the two peoples.

“We have different values and they’re incompatible for us to become one country,” he told AFP.

Although Canada-US free trade since 1994 arguably brought the two sides closer together, he said Trump’s trolling is sparking a backlash and “will reinforce Canadian nationalism.”

More and more Canadians have been egging on their political leaders to take a firm stand against Trump’s designs on Canada.

Michael Connolly, a history student from Alberta in western Canada, said Canadians like himself who do not support the US president-elect were angered by Trump’s remarks.

“We are a sovereign nation with a unique identity and culture that deserves respect,” he said, urging Ottawa to “push back against American imperialism.”

The American and Canadian flags fly at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. — © AFP

In the eastern province of Quebec, which twice sought to separate from Canada in failed referendums in 1980 and 1995, Trump’s threat to use “economic force” against Canada in order to achieve his goal has become a serious topic of conversation among Marie-Josee Roussy’s family and friends.

They all agree, she said, “My God, no! We don’t want to be the 51st state. We’re fine as neighbors, we help each other, we cooperate, but no, we don’t want to be American.”

She told AFP she “notices the differences as soon as she crosses the border,” pointing to rampant gun violence, a large wealth gap and structural racial discrimination in the United States.

Talk of merging “is all nonsense. But it’s also starting to scare us,” she said.