First Thing: Trade dispute escalates as new Canadian tariffs on US goods come into effect
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Good morning. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of US imports have come into effect, escalating a trade fight that has been marked by intensifying tensions between Donald Trump and Mark Carney. The tariffs range from 15% to 50% and apply to products covering $20bn in imports from the US. The measures target sectors including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, and electronics.
What tariffs did Trump impose on Canada? Last month the US president announced a new 50% tariff on cars and raw materials from Canada. He accused the country of “ripping off” the US “for years”. The US tariffs hit items such as hockey sticks and cement, affecting about 5.5% of Canadian exports to the US.
Why have the two sides not reached agreement? Negotiations broke down in August, with Carney saying the US terms were unacceptable. The Canadian prime minister accused negotiators of introducing restrictions on Canadian trade deals with other countries at the 11th hour and making unacceptable “threats” to the French language. Carney said American negotiators viewed measures protecting the language as an “irritant”, while “in Quebec, these are rights”.
German chancellor vows to stay in office despite AfD triumph in state election
Germany is still reeling from the biggest far-right victory in a state election since the Nazi period. Voters in Saxony-Anhalt, in the former communist east, gave the anti-immigration, pro-Kremlin Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party a first-place finish of 44%, just short of an absolute majority. Deborah Cole in Berlin explains why it is so significant.
How has Germany’s national government reacted to the result? A “shocked” and chastened chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has vowed to stay in office. Appearing ashen-faced in front of reporters in Berlin on Monday, he said: “We know that Germany carries special responsibility because of its history.”
Will the AfD be able to form a state government? That remains unclear. In the 13 years of its existence, mainstream parties have maintained a “firewall” with the party, refusing any formal cooperation that would allow it to take power. That strategy has appeared to backfire, however, as the permanent “outsider” role appeals to legions of voters fed up with politics as usual.
What are the wider implications for Europe? In this analysis, Jon Henley says Europe’s centrist politicians fear a continent-wide nationalist wave, fuelled by the persistent inability of mainstream governments to deliver for disillusioned voters hit by a spiralling cost of living crisis.
Veteran lawyers lead fightback against Trump’s ‘full-out assault on democracy’
A cluster of advocacy groups that boast veteran lawyers, voting experts and ex-judges have expanded legal challenges to Donald Trump’s authoritarian executive orders on voting and other presidential actions they see as a “war” on the rule of law in the US.
Heavy legal opposition to Trump’s two executive orders on elections to curb voting rights and supplant the authority of states on election matters has come from the Democracy Defenders Fund, the Campaign Legal Center, the American Civil Liberties Union and kindred groups.
Why are campaigners working so hard against Trump’s orders? Stacey Young, a lawyer who left the justice department to found Justice Connection, said: “The constitution makes clear that the president has no authority over the administration of our elections ... We’re taking these threats seriously and leveraging our collective strengths to protect election integrity, which is key to maintaining a functioning democracy.”
What are Trump’s claims about elections? Trump has falsely portrayed the nation’s voting system as riddled with fraud, and has condemned voting by mail. He continues to blame voting fraud for his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, and claimed non-citizen voting poses a “crisis of election security”. Trump’s fixation on noncitizen voting is belied by a database from the rightwing Heritage Foundation that only cites 100 cases over a quarter-century.
US labor unions saw membership gains in 2025, mostly in states with bargaining protections
After years of decline, union membership in the US increased by 411,000 members in 2025, the largest increase since 2008. Most gains were concentrated in states that protect collective bargaining. Union membership rates in those states were nearly triple than the 26 states with so-called “right-to-work” laws that weaken union membership. “Right-to-work” laws allow workers to work under a collectively bargained contract agreement without paying union membership dues.
In other news …
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has said the current incumbent Zohran Mamdani being at 9/11 memorial services “offends me”.
Australia is to force social media platforms to allow users to opt out of algorithms in the latest blow to big tech.
Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham have been stalked, and they are far from alone in the WNBA, as the league becomes more familiar with problem.
Four artworks have been stolen from the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera in a heist.
Argentina’s government said it will file criminal charges against the Israeli energy company Navitas Petroleum and its executives for operating in the Falkland Islands.
Stat of the day: French winemakers forecast 30-year low harvest after severe drought and heat
Culture Pick: Goodbye, Colin from Accounts – how TV’s loveliest comedy stuck the landing
Walter Marsh says the finale of the much-loved series sees Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer steer it home as if rolling comfortably down a familiar road.
Don’t miss this: William Shatner on Star Trek at 60
The actor and others involved with the phenomenon speak about the legacy and progressivism of a much-loved science fiction TV series as it reaches an important milestone.
… or this: Slime moulds and the bitter debate over the nature of intelligence
“It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it,” is a phrase that got associated with Star Trek over the years, thanks to a novelty hit single in the UK, but this fascinating long read from Samanth Subramanian explores how scientists are battling over whether supposedly simple organisms like slime mould should be considered “intelligent” – and what that means for our understanding of life on Earth.
Climate check: Nepal says big polluters must ‘wake up’, as it calls for climate compensation over flood disaster
Scientists believe the climate crisis had a role to play in the floods in Nepal and Tibet, which were triggered when a melting glacier partially collapsed and set off a deadly landslide. Now Nepal’s government is demanding $20m in climate compensation, as a senior minister called on the world’s most polluting countries to “wake up” and accept shared responsibility for the disaster.
Last Thing: Going on a bear hunt in northern Spain
Conservationists have helped Cantabrian brown bears claw their way back from the edge of extinction in the beautiful mountains of Asturias – and carefully controlled nature tourism allows visitors to see them.
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