tough

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the Trump administration Tuesday to “stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough,” as he pushed back against a fresh wave of attacks from Washington.

Carney said U.S.-Canada trade talks could resume if Washington became serious about negotiations, but he also accused the United States of pursuing terms that he said could leave Canadian industries “gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out.”

“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough, and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” Carney said. “It’s not constructive, but that’s their democracy.”

His comments came after a new barrage from Washington since trade talks collapsed Aug. 21, including Trump’s move to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” and social media posts taunting Canada. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said Canada could not go “tit for tat” with a U.S. economy 13 times larger, while U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth mocked female Canadian cadets online.

Hegseth on Monday posted an image from a cadet training center in British Columbia showing two young women in uniform, adding “this is real” alongside a Canadian flag. Carney called the post “beneath their office.”

The Pentagon stood by it Tuesday, with deputy press secretary Jacob Bliss saying, “The X post speaks for itself.”

Carney said the U.S. approach in the talks would have left Canadian industries effectively as subsidiaries of American companies or imposed terms under which they would be “gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out.”

“We’re not going to — of course, we’re not going to accept those terms,” Carney said.

Carney said Washington sought an “uncompetitive” deal for key industries, including autos, while pushing changes affecting French-language and cultural protections. He said any of those issues was enough to block an agreement.

Carney said Washington also sought limits on Canada’s future trade deals. “Canada is a sovereign state. We will strike free trade deals with the countries we wish to strike free trade deals,” he said.

Carney was also buoyed by Monday’s Liberal sweep of three special elections, including a decisive win in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Quebec, where the Conservatives fell to third place.

The victories brought the Liberals to 173 seats in the 343-seat House of Commons and reinforced Carney’s position as he confronts Trump over trade and Canadian sovereignty.

Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, said Trump’s annexation threats carry particular weight in Quebec. “Quebecers have the most to lose in an apocalyptic scenario where the U.S. absorbs Canada, and the status of the French language disappears,” he said.

U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed after the two sides failed to reach a deal, and Trump imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods. Canada responded with plans for tariffs on U.S. products.

Trump has repeatedly talked about making Canada the 51st state.

Gillies writes for the Associated Press.

The Iran war is settling into attrition, with no regime collapse and Gulf economies facing growing uncertainty

Analysts broadly agree the United States and Israel’s war on Iran will not see regime collapse in Tehran or a definite victory for Washington, but rather a dragged-out affair of stagnation and attrition.

The hope among the US leadership at the start of the war, which began after surprise Israeli and US attacks on February 28, was that mounting economic and military pressure on Iran would force a structural shift in Tehran. Six months on, it is clear this vision will not come about, and instead many are preparing for a protracted war and managed fallout.

Oil-dependent economies are still absorbing supply shocks after traffic in the Strait of Hormuz slowed to a trickle of pre-war levels following Iran’s attacks on shipping and a US blockade on Iranian ports.

The US military is still entrenched in a region that remains its most militarised in years. Although the war’s intensity has lessened since a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Washington and Tehran in June, there is no sign it will conclude, leading to continued uncertainty about the future.

Existing tensions, such as those between the Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia in Yemen, look only set to increase as the war drags on. The influence of rival powers, such as those of India and China, remains stalled rather than stopped, with Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative having already established itself within the Middle East and North Africa. All in all, the region remains in flux where formal alliances with outside powers no longer guarantee safety.

The defence agreement between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia recently signed in Mecca will likely be the first of many such military pacts agreed in the region.

“The war has just accelerated trends, but hasn’t really started anything that wasn’t already under way. The Gulf countries were already diversifying their economies,” Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera. “Many were already looking at broadening their defence partnerships beyond existing US security guarantees, as well as increasing their own defence capability.”

Israel, for its part, is still pursuing its regional project of “paramountcy”, HA Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute said, despite its failure to bring Iran to its knees this year.

“There is no chance of the government in Tehran falling in the next six months,” Hellyer told Al Jazeera. “If everything were to theoretically stay the same … with just increased economic pressure, that could eventually cause a ripple effect that could lead to state collapse in Iran. But we’re talking years, not months, and everything is not likely to stay the same.”

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on regional cities have hindered Gulf states’ plans to use oil revenues as an engine to diversify their economies and build on their reputations as a safe haven to encourage investors.

Shipments of oil, derivative products and liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been repeatedly and severely disrupted since the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran in February.

Transit through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which saw attacks on shipping by the Houthis during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, became even more hazardous in July, when the Iran-allied Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.

“The price of oil has increased broadly in line with the Gulf states’ difficulties in exporting it,” John Sfakianakis, chief economist at the Gulf Research Center, told Al Jazeera. “Is this going to go for six months? Is it going to go on for longer?”

Exacerbating the Gulf states’ difficulties is that, although the price of oil has risen, so has inflation. In addition to the economic difficulties the war has created, there is also growing pressure for Gulf states to invest more in defence.

For now, the majority of the states caught in the middle will look at ways of living with the turmoil and managing the consequences.

Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives star Trewley-Precious was left facing a huge dilemma in the series finale after being offered a six-figure deal

Trewley-Precious was forced to turn down a six-figure deal after facing a huge dilemma.

The Channel 4 star was faced with an agonising decision after being offered a huge amount of money to work with a weight-loss brand.

She was left torn between a potentially life-changing sum of money and staying true to the values she has built her public image around.

The emotional dilemma unfolded during the final episode of her reality series Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives as Trewley was approached with the opportunity to work with a major weight-loss company associated with injectable weight-loss treatments.

However, despite the huge financial incentive, Trewley admitted she was uncomfortable with the idea of promoting something she did not personally believe in.

Her manager Andrea explained that the company was a “big brand” which was already working with well-known celebrity names and said the proposed partnership could involve a “transformation process” for anyone considering weight-loss injections.

“There is potentially a lot of money involved in this kind of partnership,” her manager told her. Trewley immediately questioned whether the deal fitted with the image she had created for herself.

“First of all, I just don’t think it’d fit my brand. That’s not who I am,” she said. “If I lose weight, I’ll go to the gym. I wouldn’t get on there for my other drugs, so why would I feel like that? You’re talking about payment, what’s the payment?”

The answer left her stunned. Her manager revealed that the deal could be worth six figures over the course of a year. “What the f***? That’s real?” Trewley exclaimed. Her manager confirmed that it was.

But even with the staggering figure on the table, Trewley knew accepting the deal could come at a cost. “I can’t sell my soul out,” she said.

Her manager reminded her that she was trying to build a long-term career and that she needed to think carefully about the brands she associated herself with.

“I think in this industry, you have to be so mindful of who your audience is,” her manager told her. “And your audience are young women.”

For Trewley, however, the decision was not simply about money. She admitted that part of her was thinking about what the money could do for her family, particularly her mum. “There’s part of me, family wise, that’s like, I can support, I can provide,” she explained.

But she also knew that accepting the deal could mean compromising the message she had been putting out to her followers.

Speaking directly to the camera, Trewley admitted she felt trapped whichever decision she made. “If I take it, I always represent these curvy women and this and that, so it’s just going against what I stand for,” she said. “But then I also have… I’ve got to think about my mum and my family. I’ve got to provide.”

She added: “It’s just disheartening. I feel stupid either way. I feel stupid if I take it, and I feel stupid if I don’t.”

Unable to make the decision alone, Trewley decided to call her mum, Tina, for advice. She explained that she had been offered a controversial brand deal and revealed just how much money was involved. But Tina’s response was immediate. She told her daughter not to take it.

Even when Trewley explained that the deal was worth a huge amount of money, her mum remained firm. Tina questioned whether any amount of money was worth putting her health at risk.

The conversation became an emotional moment for Trewley, who broke down as she considered what turning down the opportunity could mean. The money could have changed their lives. But ultimately, her mum’s advice helped Trewley make her decision.

Trewley revealed that she would turn down the deal, making it clear that no amount of money was going to make her compromise her beliefs.

“My goal in life is to provide for my family and earn money off what I’m doing,” she explained. “But I’m not compromising. I’m not being bought for something I don’t believe in. I don’t care how much it is, I’m not doing it.”

The decision comes as Trewley continues to navigate life in the public eye. Her growing presence on social media and the way she presents herself has not always been welcomed by everyone within the Traveller community, with Trewley facing backlash over her move into the world of influencing and television.

For Trewley, that criticism has highlighted a much bigger question about her future. She has grown up with a traditional Traveller lifestyle, but is now building a public career that brings opportunities far beyond the life she knew growing up.

You can stream Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives on Channel 4