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July 18 (UPI) — Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Saturday shot back at President Donald Trump, saying his comments about Canada’s efforts to control the ongoing wildfire crisis are a “shame” and “totally unacceptable.”

Trump threatened Friday to impose tariffs on Canadian imports and accused the country of “willful negligence” in its management of the blazes.

“I find it a shame, the administration in the U.S. and Congress people, writing these letters and blaming us,” Ford said in a press conference on Saturday. “They have a very short, short memory. We had the water bombers, everyone ready, going over to California — it was last year. We sent hydro linemen down to the Carolinas and Georgia to help out.”

Ford added, “That’s what neighbors do, right? You don’t get on and start threatening and criticizing because, guess what? One day it’s going to be your turn.”

As of Saturday, there were 959 active wildfires burning through Canada, 102 of which started in the past 24 hours, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported.

The blazes have left more than 100 million Americans under air quality alerts, from Minnesota to Virginia.

“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Despite the dispute, Ford said Canadians would stand at the ready should Americans need support in the future.

“We’re going to be down there without hesitation to support our neighbors, which we should be,” he added.

Former Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has apologised after saying that Japan players “all look alike” during their 2-2 draw with the Netherlands.

Van der Vaart, 43, was working as a pundit for Dutch broadcaster NOS TV when he made the remark after Micky van de Ven lost Koki Ogawa’s run for Japan’s late equaliser.

“They all look alike, of course, maybe he thought that,” the former Netherlands international said when analysing Van de Ven’s defending.

Van der Vaart, who was capped 109 times and was part of the Dutch team that lost in the 2010 World Cup final, has apologised for causing any offence.

He said: “It was never my intention to offend, hurt, or discriminate against anyone. I oppose racism in all its forms and have respect for people of every background, ethnicity, and culture.

“I understand that some people may have found my words offensive or hurtful. I sincerely regret that.

“If my comment has caused pain or upset, I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies. That was never my intention.”

Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out criticised Van der Vaart and called for broadcasters to be more careful.

A joint statement from Kick It Out and the Frank Soo Foundation, external, a charity that supports East and South East Asian communities, said: “It’s hugely disappointing to hear former players peddling racist slurs about Japan’s team and then double down by trying to defend the comments as a joke.

“Even if he claims there was no racist intent in what he said, the comments can still have an impact on those involved, and the wider East and South East Asian community, as we have seen with previous examples directed towards players.

“The World Cup attracts massive global TV audiences, so it’s always important that guests are careful with their language and that broadcasters take responsibility for those appearing on their shows, whether that is through additional education or training.”

MICHELLE Heaton has opened up about her surprise feud with a rival noughties pop star.

The Liberty X singer held back tears as she discussed the band’s battle with Hear’Say – the winners of ITV‘s Popstars.

Shortly after finishing as runner-ups on the 2001 reality series, Michelle and her bandmates Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young, were were formed into a new group.

However, despite being friends during filming, Michelle says: “There was a war from the get-go

“We were constantly pitted against each other in a world we were trying to navigate.”

It saw the breakdown of Michelle’s close friendship with Suzanne Shaw.

Opening up to Paul Brunson on his podcast We Need To Talk, Michelle said: “It was evident they wanted us to fail. Not just Hear’Say as a team, but the people around them.

“And so that would have then stirred up the pot with the Hear’Say members in order to add fuel to the fire when they did interviews about how they were bigger and better and we were not so… and that we were running on their coattails.

“It felt really harsh. We didn’t know how to navigate it. It felt like it wasn’t the five people that we met in the audition process.

“And alongside all of this, all I kind of wanted to do was reach out to Suzanne because that’s like one of the people that I got really close to.. and be like, ‘how is it? What’s it like?’

“I really wanted to share that with her. And at no point did I see what we were doing as hanging on their coattails.”

Thankfully, years on from the height of their fame, the pair reconnected.

Proving their bond back in 2016, Michelle wrote in her OK! Magazine column: “Massive congrats to my friend Suzanne who announced her pregnancy in what has to be the sweetest way possible.

“The video she made made me cry and her son Corey’s response was priceless. I loved the video and I love Suzanne. I’m so happy for her little family.”

1 of 2 | Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on February 24. He said Sunday that he was concerned about the depletion of the U.S. military’s weapons stockpile amid the war in Iran. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

May 11 (UPI) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said his department will “review” comments made by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., about the U.S. military’s weapons stockpiles.

Hegseth’s renewed criticism into Kelly came in response to the senator’s appearance Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation. Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, said he received Pentagon briefings and it was “shocking … how deep we have gone into these magazines.”

“We’ve expended a lot of munitions. And that means the American people are less safe. Whether it’s a conflict in the western Pacific with China or somewhere else in the world, the munitions are depleted,” Kelly said.

In a post on X on Sunday evening, Hegseth questioned whether Kelly violated his oath by discussion the matter publicly.

“Now he’s blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received,” Hegseth said in his post, promising to have the Pentagon’s legal counsel review the comments.

Kelly said the information he shared wasn’t classified because Hegseth spoke on the topic during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services last week.

“We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take ‘years’ to replenish some of these stockpiles. That’s not classified, it’s a quote from you.”

Kelly also shared a video of Hegseth’s comments from the hearing in his response on X.

The two leaders have been embroiled in a legal battle after Hegseth tried to censure and demote Kelly from his military rank over comments he made in November telling service members that they have the right and duty to ignore “unlawful orders” made by the Trump administration. Hegseth also sought to reduce Kelly’s retirement pay, calling his remarks “seditious.”