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Canada's PM Carney vows to ‘fight’ Trump’s tariffs, other world leaders weigh impact
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday evening vowed to "fight" the new round of tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, and said he would turn to other international partners to get through the rocky times ahead.
"President Trump has just announced a series of measures that are going to fundamentally change the international trading system," Carney told reporters following Trump’s Rose Garden announcement. "We're in a situation where there's going to be an impact on the U.S. economy, which will build with time.
"In our judgment, it will be negative on the U.S. economy that will have an impact on us," he added, noting millions of Canadians will be impacted.
WHICH COUNTRIES IMPOSE THE HIGHEST TARIFFS ON THE US?
While Trump did not issue any additional tariffs against Canada following the 25% tariffs already in place on all Canadian imports, the 10% tariff on its energy exports and the blanket tariff on all aluminum and steel, he did announce a 25% tariff on all foreign vehicle imports.
He also pointed out that Trump said there could be future targeted tariffs against pharmaceutical companies, lumber and semiconductors — tariffs that will have wide affect on U.S. trading partners beyond Canada and Mexico, but across Europe and Asia.
"In a crisis, it's important to come together," Carney said. "It's essential to act with purpose and with force, and that's what we will do."
Before the tariff announcement, Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said at an election campaign event on Wednesday that he supports "targeted, reciprocal" tariffs on American goods — and if his party wins the general election on April 28 and he becomes prime minister, he would like to sit down with President Donald Trump and create a new trade deal, replacing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which the president signed in 2020.
Poilievre also said that Canada must maintain control of its border and freshwater and protect both its automotive industry and supply-managed farm sectors.
David Adams, president and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada — a national trade association representing the Canadian interests of 16 automakers, including BMW Canada, Inc. and Nissan Canada Inc. — said in a statement, "Tariffs are taxes that hurt consumers by increasing costs, driving up inflation, and unfairly impacting workers on both sides of the border."
"Governments should look to long-term solutions to remove these tariffs, prioritizing the elimination of regulatory barriers to industry competitiveness and providing automakers with flexibilities to respond in these uncertain times."
Reactions from European Union leaders began to emerge following Trump’s announcement that he will hit the EU with 20% tariffs on all imported goods, with disappointment, concern and commitments to continue negotiations with the U.S.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, generally seen as a Trump ally, said Trump's tariffs were "wrong" and warned they would not only harm American and European pocketbooks, but aid Western adversaries.
"We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the goal of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favor of other global players," Meloni said in a statement on Facebook.
"In any case, as always, we will act in the interest of Italy and its economy, also engaging with other European partners," she added.
Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister, Simon Harris, said he "deeply regret[s]" the new tariffs but said he is committed to working with Washington to end this tariff war.
"I must be honest tonight that a 20% blanket tariff on goods from all EU countries could have a significant effect on Irish investment and the wider economy," he said, noting the effects would "likely be felt for some time."
Chairman of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee Bernd Lange called for a united response from countries targeted by Trump.
"While President Trump might call today 'Liberation Day,' from an ordinary citizen's point of view this is 'Inflation Day,' he said, reported Reuters. "Because of this decision, U.S. consumers will be forced to carry the heaviest burden in a trade war."
Lange said the EU will respond through "legal, legitimate, proportionate and decisive" measures.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said her government would work to figure out the next steps.
The U.K., along with the president of Mexico ahead of the announcement, said they would continue to work with the U.S. and would not rush to enforce reciprocal tariffs.
Similarly, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that while Trump's decision was "not the act of a friend," his country would not impose reciprocal tariffs, reported Reuters.
He reportedly condemned the U.S. tariffs as totally unwarranted and said Australia will continue to negotiate to have the tariffs lifted.
Which countries impose the highest tariffs on the US?
President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners throughout the world Wednesday, saying the U.S. would add a 10% minimum baseline tax on all products coming in.
The Trump administration has identified what it has called the "Dirty 15" as the 15 nations with the largest trade deficit with the U.S., meaning the trade partnerships by which Washington imports more from countries than those nations import from the U.S.
But the White House has also flagged what it describes as other "unfair" trading practices, chiefly implemented through tariffs on U.S. goods.
WHAT IS TRUMP'S NEW LIBERATION DAY AND WHAT TO EXPECT APRIL 2?
Washington and Beijing have been in a trade war since the first Trump administration when the first-term president imposed 25% tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods starting in April 2018.
Beijing responded the next day by slapping reciprocal tariffs on 106 U.S. products worth $50 billion, mostly targeting U.S. agricultural products worth some $16.5 billion.
The tariff war would continue with repeated back-and-forth escalating tariffs before some tariff relief was agreed upon beginning in January 2020.
By January 2021, the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) found that the U.S. had lost nearly a quarter of a million jobs.
The Biden administration and China largely maintained the status quo established during Trump’s initial trade war.
But Trump threatened to hit Beijing with 60% tariffs on the campaign trail and, by February 2025, just weeks after his inauguration, he slapped China with a blanket 20% tariff on all Chinese imports.
Beijing again responded with up to 15% tariffs on more than $33 billion in U.S. agricultural products, including U.S.-grown chicken, wheat, corn and cotton.
China’s trade deficit with the U.S. is $295.4 billion.
TEXAS WILL BE AMONG STATES HARDEST HIT IN TRADE WAR, EU AMBASSADOR WARNS
The European Union, which is no stranger to Trump’s tariff war, is bracing for a much bigger battle this time around after enduring metal trade spats during his first term.
Trump has already announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, which directly hits the European Union, the U.S.’s largest trading partner, along with a 25% tariff on imported cars, which will affect nations like Germany.
The EU said it could impose retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. of up to $28 billion.
The U.S. had a trade deficit of $235.6 billion with the European Union in 2024, which Trump has called "an atrocity."
But it is not only the difference in trade agreements that has irked the president.
Last month, the White House said specific levies charged by various trading partners are making it "virtually impossible" for U.S. products to be exported, including a 50% tax on American dairy products sold by EU nations.
But expert Andrew Hale, a senior policy analyst in trade policy with the Heritage Foundation, explained that the dairy industry in particular has massive barriers stopping Europe from being able to lower prices to match American products.
"They have a very, very protected agricultural market," Hale said, highlighting Europe’s strict husbandry practices. "Europeans would not be able to compete."
Hale explained that norms like overcrowding and poor conditions frequently found in the U.S.’s poultry, dairy and pork industries in mass farming are barred in Europe.
Animal spacing regulations and bans related to hormone injections have required a completely different type of farming that favors quality treatment of the animals versus mass production, which makes European meats and dairy products more expensive than American products and makes it unlikely that the EU drops this tax.
The White House has also taken aim at Canada, which is expected to see more tariffs fired at it Wednesday and said it has a 300% tariff on American butter and cheese.
Hale explained that while this is technically true, it is a tariff rate-quota that was negotiated during the first Trump administration under the revised NAFTA agreement, which became the United States Mexico Canada (USMCA), and one which has never been implemented.
The massive tariff would only be used if U.S. exports exceed negotiated tariff rate quotas. Otherwise, daily sales to Canada face no tariffs under the USMCA.
Canada and the U.S. in recent weeks have entered into a tariff war after Trump announced a blanket 25% tariff on 25% on Canadian goods and 10% on its energy.
Ottawa, in return, imposed 25% reciprocal tariffs on $30 billion in U.S. goods, mostly targeting the agriculture sector.
It has threatened to hit the U.S. with tariffs on $95 billion in U.S. imports if Trump imposes more taxes on the country's northern neighbor.
"Everyone needs to do what Israel has just done, bring down zero tariffs against the U.S. And then we can have absolute free trade," Hale said. "That's fair, and we can all have market access.
"When you have stupid tariffs, like tariffing stuff you don't grow and make, that's just basically being unfair."
Leading Canadian conservative says Ottawa should remove all tariffs as 'Liberation Day' arrives
OTTAWA - As Canadians brace themselves for President Donald Trump’s "Liberation Day" of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, one political leader in Canada believes it could spark the start of a new era of Canada-U.S. relations free of cross-border taxes.
Maxime Bernier, who served as foreign affairs minister in former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government and now heads the right-wing People’s Party of Canada (PPC), told Fox News Digital in an interview from Halifax that it is "absolutely" the time for Canada to remove all tariffs against the U.S.
He said the 25% duties the Canadian government, under then-Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, imposed on the U.S. in early February to counter Trump’s 25% tariffs against Canada "won’t hurt the Americans – it is hurting Canadians."
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement following his March 28 call with the president – the first contact between both leaders since Carney was elected Liberal leader by his party nearly three weeks before – that Canada would implement retaliatory tariffs in response to Wednesday's U.S. "trade actions."
TRUMP'S 11TH WEEK IN OFFICE SET TO FOCUS ON TARIFFS AS PRESIDENT TOUTS 'LIBERATION DAY'
The PPC leader said that Trump should be told that "the real reciprocal response" to tariffs is "zero on our side, zero on your side."
Bernier said that instead, Carney and his main rival, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, are being "fake patriots using a dollar-for-dollar trade war against Trump" and telling Canadians: "That’s the best thing to do."
"We cannot impose counter-tariffs," said Bernier, who also served as industry minister in the Harper government.
"The Americans are 10 times bigger than us. We won’t win a trade war," he said, underscoring that retaliation will lead to a recession in Canada.
Former Canadian Conservative politician Tony Clement, who served alongside Bernier in Harper’s Cabinet, told Fox News Digital that "from an economic point of view," removing Canadian tariffs "makes a lot of sense" and "may come to that at some point, but the public isn’t there right now."
"From a point of view of the emotional wounds of Canadians created by Trump and his annexation talk and tariffs, I’m not sure that a political voice would survive if it went down that public-policy route," said Clement, a former Canadian industry minister in the Harper government.
"The mood of the people is outrage. I’ve never seen people in Canada this incandescently mad at the United States," he said, who is campaigning in the Toronto area for Poilievre's Conservative Party ahead of the April 28 general election. "There is complete distrust of whatever Trump says because it can change within 24 hours."
He said that both Poilievre and Carney have highlighted the importance of removing "the specter of tariffs for a long period of time – if you can trust Trump to be a bona fide negotiator."
Eliminating Canadian tariffs, without a quid pro quo from Trump, could "show weakness to a bully," added Clement, who, prior to entering federal politics in 2006, served as a Cabinet minister in former Ontario Premier Mike Harris’ Progressive Conservative government.
MARK CARNEY WINS LIBERAL PARTY NOMINATION TO REPLACE TRUDEAU AS CANADA'S NEXT PM
In the statement released following his recent conversation with Trump, Carney said that both leaders "agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately following the election."
Conservative strategist Yaroslav Baran, who served as communications chief for Harper’s successful Conservative 2004 leadership campaign, and director of war room communications for the Harper-led Tories during the 2004, 2006 and 2008 federal election campaigns, told Fox News Digital that under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), "trade in goods and services ought to be tariff-free" between Canada and the U.S., excluding carveouts on the Canadian side for dairy, eggs, poultry and softwood lumber.
However, Baran added that he "can’t see the removal of all Canadian tariffs on U.S. products as long as the U.S. has tariffs on Canadian products."
Bernier acknowledged that while Trump’s tariffs will hurt Canadian exporters to the U.S., "the solution is to have a more productive economy with real free-market reforms" in Canada through such measures as lowering corporate taxes, promoting internal trade and fostering growth in the country’s oil and gas industry, all of which are featured in the PPC’s election platform that includes the establishment of a "Department of Government Downsizing" to abolish "ideologically motivated programs that promote wokeism," not unlike the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.
The PPC leader also said that Canada should be willing to "put everything on the table" under the USMCA "right now" and before the trilateral trade deal is scheduled for a joint review next year.
According to Bernier, that should include ending the "cartel" of supply management that sets quotas and prices, and protects Canada’s dairy, poultry and eggs sectors from foreign competition, which he described as "a communist system" that finds Canadians paying twice the price of those agricultural products than Americans do in the U.S., and which also imposes duties – ranging from 150% to 300% -- on U.S. imports of the same products beyond limits agreed to but yet to be reached under the USMCA.
During the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2018 that led to the USMCA, the first Trump administration sought to have Canada’s supply management system eliminated.
Canada stares down consequences of Trump tariff war: Job losses, grocery price hikes, possible recession
Canada is bracing for the fallout of President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war, with economists warning of spiking grocery prices, major job losses and even a potential recession if threatened U.S. tariffs take effect.
The United States is Canada’s largest trading partner, accounting for nearly two-thirds of Canadian imports and receiving over 70% of its exports. But under Trump’s new "liberation day" tariffs – 25% on Canadian goods and 10% on energy – Ottawa now faces an economic gut punch that could ripple across key provinces, industries and its national election campaign.
Trump has repeatedly blasted what he calls "unfair" trade practices, citing Canada’s trade imbalance with the U.S. to justify the sweeping tariffs.
"This is the beginning of liberation day in America," Trump said last week. "We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things that they’ve been taking over the years. They’ve taken so much out of our country, friend and foe. And, frankly, friend has been oftentimes much worse than foe."
TRUMP'S 11TH WEEK IN OFFICE SET TO FOCUS ON TARIFFS AS PRESIDENT TOUTS 'LIBERATION DAY'
Increased tariffs could mean that Americans will see higher price tags on everything ranging from fertilizer and oil, vehicles and machinery, to plastic and wood products, which, theoretically, would deter consumers from purchasing those products and result in a loss for Canada’s economy.
Likewise, Canada in mid-March implemented reciprocal tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, which means Canadians will not only feel losses on a macro scale but also in an immediate sense as prices at the grocery store have spiked on things like leafy greens, citrus, orange juice, beef, pork and fish.
Ottawa has yet to announce any tariffs on U.S. imported vehicles due to reported concerns over how it could further hinder Canada’s economy. Though there are some $95 billion worth of U.S. goods that it is reportedly considering putting tariffs on, depending on Trump’s April 2 announcements, according to Canadian outlet Financial Post.
"They're in the midst of a general election campaign," Andrew Hale, a senior policy analyst in trade policy with the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. "I think it's very difficult for them to negotiate and put these measures on during an election campaign.
"Everything they do and say now carries electoral weight," he added, noting that Canadian politicians will need to strike a careful balance: tough enough on Trump to appeal to voters but measured enough to leave room for future negotiations on tariffs.
"If they were to put on reciprocal tariffs, it would damage the Canadian standard of living and have an impact – as all this already is having an impact – in Canada," Hale said, noting that auto tariffs not only affect direct car sales but all businesses that rely on vehicles, creating a trickle-down effect.
CANADIANS CLAIM THEY ARE CANCELING TRIPS TO US FOR REMAINDER OF TRUMP TERM
While Trump has argued that his tariffs protect U.S. manufacturing – especially the auto sector – the fallout could be far more severe for Canada. Immigration Minister Marc Miller has warned that up to 1 million Canadian jobs are at risk.
"Most Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S.-Canadian border, and so they obviously will be heavily impacted," said Hale. "Most Americans don't."
Hale noted that while the tariffs will affect the entire U.S., the hardest-hit areas will be industries closely tied to Canadian imports, such as agriculture. The U.S., for instance, sources 90% of its potash fertilizer from Canada.
"This will have a disproportionate impact on border states," Hale said, but he added that the economic strain on Canadian regions like Ontario will be far greater.
Canadian leaders have already voiced concern that as many as 160,000 jobs could be lost in Quebec, along with another 500,000 jobs in Ontario, depending on how long the tariff dispute lasts.
Both Quebec and Ontario are two of the provinces expected to be among those hardest hit in Canada as they rely heavily on their steel and aluminum and lumber and forestry sectors for exports.
Canada could face a recession this year if it can’t rein in Trump’s tariff offensive, Oxford Economists first warned in a report last November.
Previous tariff wars between trading partners during the first Trump administration resulted in billions of dollars of losses for Americans and their foreign counterparts.
TRUMP HOLDS 'EXTREMELY PRODUCTIVE CALL' WITH CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: 'WE AGREE ON MANY THINGS'
But Trump is banking on the U.S. being less severely affected than nations like Canada.
The full impact of the tariff war with Canada remains uncertain as Washington has also imposed steep tariffs on the European Union, China and Mexico. Trump has pledged to target the "Dirty 15," which are countries he accuses of contributing most to the U.S. trade deficit.
Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam are expected to be among those next targeted in Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement, which he has dubbed "liberation day."
Details on what Trump’s next steps in his tariff war with Canada and dozens of other nations remain unknown ahead of the April 2 deadline, which has created a sense of uncertainty, Hale said.
"Last week's Bureau of Economic Analysis Reports signaled a continued high core personal consumption expenditure PC inflation at 2.8%. So inflation, one could argue, is not coming down, and certainly price levels continue to rise," he said. "Consumer spending has slowed sharply in both Canada and the United States."
"Businesses want certainty. They can't make future investment decisions in this climate," he added, noting that while a recession could be on the horizon in Canada, there are too many variables to make a prediction on the U.S. at this time.
"What I do know is that businesses and banks, people who are investing in projects, want to be able to plan," Hale said. "Hopefully, we'll have a clear idea [on Tuesday] where this is all going to land, and then we can work with it."
Israeli military operation in Gaza expanding to seize 'large areas': 'Expanding to crush and clean the area'
Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip is expanding to "crush" the area of Hamas terrorists and seize "large areas," Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday.
Katz said in a statement that the military operation was "expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel."
Israel's security perimeter, which runs along the border with Israel in northern and eastern Gaza, has been used for decades as a way to protect its citizens residing near the territory.
It is unclear which areas of Gaza will be seized in the expanded operation, which Katz says includes the "extensive evacuation" of people from areas where fighting is happening.
ISRAELI FORCES ORDER EVACUATION FOR MOST OF RAFAH AHEAD OF ATTACK ON THE AREA
The minister called on Gaza's population to "expel Hamas and return all hostages." The terror group still has 59 hostages, including 24 who are believed to still be alive. Most of the other captives were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
"This is the only way to end the war," Katz said.
The Hostage Families Forum, which represents most of the hostages’ families, said it was "horrified to wake up this morning to the Defense Minister's announcement about expanding military operations in Gaza."
The Israeli government "has an obligation to free all 59 hostages from Hamas captivity — to pursue every possible channel to advance a deal for their release," the group said, emphasizing that every passing day puts the captives' lives at increased risk.
"Their lives hang in the balance as more and more disturbing details continue to emerge about the horrific conditions they’re being held in — chained, abused, and in desperate need of medical attention," the group said.
"Our highest priority must be an immediate deal to bring ALL hostages back home — the living for rehabilitation and those killed for proper burial — and end this war," it added.
The forum also called on the Trump administration and other mediators to "continue exerting pressure on Hamas for the immediate release of our loved ones."
"Our highest priority must be an immediate deal to bring ALL hostages back home—the living for rehabilitation and those killed for proper burial—and end this war," the group said.
Israel continued to attack the Gaza Strip, including with overnight airstrikes that killed 17 people in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital officials.
NETANYAHU ACCUSES ISRAELI POLICE OF TRYING TO 'TOPPLE' HIS GOVERNMENT
Officials at the Nasser Hospital said the bodies of 12 people killed in an overnight airstrike were brought to the hospital, including five women — one of whom was pregnant — and two children. Officials at the Gaza European Hospital said five bodies of people killed in two separate airstrikes were taken to the hospital.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, including hundreds killed in airstrikes since a ceasefire ended about two weeks ago, according to the Hamas-run government's Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists. Israel claims, without offering evidence, that it has killed roughly 20,000 terrorists in the war.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Putin conscripts 160K men as Russia eyes Ukraine offensive
Russia has initiated its largest military draft in 14 years as reports indicate Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing a spring assault on Ukraine despite ongoing peace negotiations to end the three-year war.
Putin has called up 160,000 men as part of the country’s bi-annual conscription drive as Russia seeks to beef up its military ranks.
According to the legislation, citizens aged 18 to 30 will be called up for mandatory military service through June 15. The spring draft marks the largest conscription campaign since spring 2011, when 200,000 men were called up for service. Last year, 150,000 men were called, following 134,500 in 2022.
EMMANUEL MACRON CALLS 'EMERGENCY MEETING' FOR EUROPEAN LEADERS TO DISCUSS TRUMP: REPORT
The Kremlin and Defense Ministry insist the latest conscripts are not being sent into combat and that the draft is unrelated to the war in Ukraine. Russian authorities say troops deployed to Ukraine only include volunteers who signed contracts with the military.
Some draftees, however, fought and were taken prisoners when the Ukrainian military launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August.
Putin said late last year that Russia should increase the overall size of its military to almost 2.39 million and its number of active servicemen to 1.5 million.
It comes as a report suggests the Kremlin is preparing a six- to nine-month offensive across the Ukrainian front, potentially stretching over 1,000 kilometers, according to The New Voice of Ukraine. Potential targets include Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya oblasts, as well as the Kursk Oblast, where they’ve seen recent success.
The offensive is also aimed at maximizing pressure on Ukraine and strengthening the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks, Ukrainian government and military analysts said.
Meanwhile, U.S.-led talks attempting to broker a ceasefire deal appear to have stalled. The U.S. has struggled in its efforts to secure an immediate 30-day ceasefire, despite Moscow saying it agreed with a truce "in principle."
TRUMP SAYS INTEL PAUSE ON UKRAINE HAS BEEN ‘JUST ABOUT’ LIFTED; SAYS TARIFFS WILL MAKE AMERICA RICH
Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer who specializes in Russia’s war-fighting strategy and Putin’s thinking, told Fox News Digital that Putin’s goal with his conscription drive is to prolong the fighting.
"There’s no ceasefire and no peace plan between Russia and Ukraine to be had," said Koffler, the author of a best-selling book "Putin’s Playbook." "What President Trump seeks is regretfully, unachievable. Putin's goal is to keep fighting, in order to compel Ukraine to capitulate."
Trump is trying to secure a peace and rare earth minerals deal, while on Sunday the president said he did not think Putin was going to go back on his word for a partial ceasefire.
Koffler, meanwhile, said the latest conscription numbers are intended to ensure that the correlation of forces on the battlefield and in reserves, continues to favor Russia.
"Now that Germany and France are considering to deploy reassurance forces into Ukraine, Putin is factoring in those numbers, so he is increasing his force's posture, to deter such a deployment or failing to prevent it by force."
"Putin has prepared Russia for a long, protracted conflict, in which he wants the Russian forces to be ready to fight till the last Ukrainian and the last missile in the NATO arsenal," Koffler said.
She said Putin is also considering the possibility of having a direct kinetic war with NATO, in the event that NATO decides to deploy forces into the theater in Ukraine.
"So, he intends for these mobilization numbers as a deterrence value and battlefield utility, if it comes to that."
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reporter's Notebook: Aftershock from a political 'earthquake' as Le Pen barred from presidential run in 2027
Aftershocks are still being felt in France from what one political analyst told Fox News was a "political earthquake" there this week. Popular right-wing politician Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement by a French court and barred from running for office for five years.
Speaking to her followers on Tuesday, Le Pen claimed that "the system" had used a "nuclear bomb" to thwart her attempts to become French president.
Le Pen and her National Rally party have been hard on immigration, crime and other hot-button issues. They now have the most seats in the French parliament. She got 11 million votes when she ran (and lost) against Emmanuel Macron last time. Current polls had her winning the top job in a vote set for 2027. For now, she’s blocked. She says she’ll appeal.
"We won’t give in," she declared today.
All of this, according to Le Pen supporters and many others, is due to a left-leaning court system taking away a mandate from the people.
Le Pen’s young party associate and possible replacement presidential candidate, Jordan Bardella, spoke Tuesday on the radio of a "tyranny of judges…everything had been done to keep us from power."
One of the French prosecutors in the case, Remy Heitz, defended the ruling Tuesday, saying "this is not a political decision but a legal one."
Le Pen and her party colleagues were found guilty of misusing European Union money to fund her French party activities. The conviction also carries with it a fine and a period of house arrest.
The hitch is, the odds are against Le Pen winning the appeal and it would take time.
"I’m not too optimistic about the appeal," French political analyst Christian Malard told Fox News, "and if it doesn’t work in the way she would be expecting, politically it would mean she’s ‘dead.'"
Le Pen is a well-known champion of right-wing causes around the world and there was reaction internationally as well.
Last night at a press conference in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump noted, "That’s a very big deal." Adding that questions about the courts’ role in politics "…sounds like this country, it sounds very much like this country."
Protests are being called for this weekend by the National Rally to channel what is thought to be widespread upset about Le Pen being at least temporarily yanked from the political stage.
As analyst Malard noted, "Disenfranchised is the word… we will see if there is reaction in the street."
Or we will see if Le Pen just bides her time. Even if her appeal fails, she’ll be able to run for office again when she’s 61. Young enough, in many countries, to still go for the leadership role!
Netanyahu accuses Israeli police of trying to 'topple' his government
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Israeli police of trying to "topple" his government over what he believes is a "political witch hunt." In a video statement released on Monday, Netanyahu claimed the police had no evidence against the two aides who were arrested.
Netanyahu was summoned on Monday to testify as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged financial ties between his office and Qatar. The prime minister claimed that he was questioned for an hour before he demanded to see evidence. He said there was nothing.
NETANYAHU SEEKS TO FIRE TOP SECURITY OFFICIAL AMID INTERNAL POWER STRUGGLE
Eli Feldstein and Yonatan Urich, the aides Netanyahu named in the video, were allegedly arrested on Monday in connection with the investigation. According to reports, Feldstein – a former member of Netanyahu’s team – is suspected of passing messages to journalists on behalf of Qatar while working in the prime minister’s office.
The messages Feldstein is accused of sending to the media allegedly pertained to Qatar’s role in negotiating the return of Israeli hostages, among other things, Israel HaYom reported.
However, the case remains under a gag order, so charges against Feldstein and Urich have not been officially released. The Washington Post reported, citing Israeli media, that Urich and Feldstein are accused of contact with a foreign agent, bribery and fraud.
NETANYAHU TO TESTIFY IN CORRUPTION TRIAL AMID MULTIPLE CONFLICTS
The Jerusalem Post confirmed on Tuesday that its editor-in-chief, Zivka Klein, was questioned by police in connection with the Qatar probe. Klein has previously denied having a connection with Feldstein after an Israeli outlet reported that the former Netanyahu aide arranged a trip to Qatar for the journalist.
Netanyahu says the probe, often referred to as "Qatargate," is intended to stop him from firing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who heads the Israeli equivalent of the FBI.
Last month, Netanyahu announced that he would seek to oust Bar over alleged "ongoing distrust." However, some suspect that it is related to the Shin Bet’s assessment of Oct. 7, which "pointed to a policy led by the government, and the person who has headed it, for years, with emphasis on the year preceding the massacre," the Times of Israel reported.
Bar slammed Netanyahu’s "expectation of a duty of personal loyalty, the purpose of which contradicts the public interest, is a fundamentally illegitimate expectation," according to the Times of Israel.
Israel's High Court froze Bar’s removal, which was set for April 8, but allowed Netanyahu to interview potential replacements. Netanyahu’s office announced on Monday that he had tapped a former Israeli Navy commander, Vice Adm. Eli Sharvit, to replace Bar.
"Sharvit served in the IDF for 36 years, including five years as commander of the Israel Navy. In that position, he led the force building of the maritime defense of the territorial waters and conducted complex operations against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran," Netanyahu’s office tweeted.
Fox News Digital's Alex Nitzberg and Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
Amsterdam knife attacker who injured 2 Americans suspected of having 'terrorist motive,' prosecutors say
A man who stabbed five people in Amsterdam last week, including two Americans, likely had a "terrorist motive," Dutch prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The suspect, identified by police as a 30-year-old Ukrainian from the Donetsk region, according to Reuters, was taken into custody Thursday after a bystander reportedly overpowered him.
"The man is suspected of five counts of attempted murder or manslaughter with a terrorist motive," the news agency quoted prosecutors as saying Tuesday.
Authorities identified the victims of the shopping district stabbing spree as a 69-year-old man and 67-year-old woman from the U.S.; a 73-year-old woman from Belgium; a 26-year-old man from Poland; and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam.
KNIFE-WIELDING MAN INJURES MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN AMSTERDAM, INCLUDING 2 AMERICANS
"The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to soon get more clarity about the background of this horrible stabbing," Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said last week. "Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and loved ones."
Police said the suspect checked into a hotel in Amsterdam the day before the attack, Reuters reported.
2 PEOPLE KILLED IN KNIFE ATTACK IN GERMANY
The Polish victim has been released from a local hospital. As of Tuesday, the other victims remain in medical care and are in stable condition, Reuters added.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that two U.S. citizens were injured during the incident.
"The U.S. Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas," the spokesperson said. "We are closely following reports of a stabbing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We extend our sympathies to the victims and to the families of those affected. We can confirm that two U.S. citizens were injured."
Fox News’ Greg Wehner, Nick Kalman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Iran mulls preemptive strike on US base after Trump bomb threats
Iranian military commanders are considering a preemptive strike on a joint U.S.-U.K. base on the Chagos Island located in the Indian Ocean in an apparent attempt to deter President Donald Trump from launching a military attack on Iran, a report by the Telegraph first said.
"Like any Iranian military threat, the art is to determine what is bluster and what is real," Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital when asked about the strategy behind the alleged threats against the U.S. base.
"Deception is a propaganda tool used to bolster deterrence and prevent a conventionally weak regime from having to fight," he added. "By threatening everywhere, the regime hopes to have to fight nowhere – meaning its revolutionary foreign policy gets to remain uncontested.
Fox News Digital has not been able to independently confirm the threat of attack on the Diego Garcia base, positioned some 2,400 miles south of Iran, but experts on Iranian security have been sounding the alarm that Tehran likely has, if not direct missile capabilities, options to position its arms that will enable it to hit U.S. strategic interests farther away.
Iran has a "self-imposed" range of roughly 1,200 miles on its ballistic capabilities, though it is suspected that the IRGC has a ballistic strike capability of hitting up to 1,800 miles away using its Khorramshahr-2 medium-range ballistic missile, Ben Taleblu explained in a post on X.
Tehran also has the updated version of the missile known as Khorramshahr-4, also referred to as the Kheibar missile, which is suspected of being able to exceed Iran’s other strike range options, though the extent of its capabilities has not been fully tested.
But even if it is incapable of hitting a U.S. target some 2,400 miles from its most southern border, Iran has proven it is crafty when it comes to expanding its strike range – including through the use of merchant ships and oil tankers converted to warships to expand its long-range strike capabilities.
IRAN'S KHAMENEI WARNS OF 'STRONG BLOW' AS TRUMP THREATENS TO DROP BOMBS, PUTIN SILENT ON US IRE
"There’s always the chance of using a foreign-procured container launched cruise missile from even an unconverted tanker or commercial vessel at sea," Ben Taleblu explained in his post, referring to its use of both Russian and Chinese procured cruise missiles following its war with Iraq in the 1980s.
In addition, Iran could again turn to its close ties to terrorist networks to transfer missile capabilities to war-torn areas like Yemen, which could enable it to strike further south into the Indian Ocean by some 800 miles.
"While all these options would make Iran’s launch platforms, especially at sea, easy targets for a counterstrike, they mean that Tehran does have options to strike further afield than expected," Ben Taleblu said.
Trump in recent days has increased his threats against Iran and warned there could be direct conflict if it doesn’t stop arming the Houthi terrorist group, or halt its nuclear program.
But it remains unclear at what level the U.S. would respond to a direct attack on its military, which could prove catastrophic for Tehran given its revealed defense capabilities when faced with strikes from Israel.
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Iran on Monday also filed a letter of complaint with the United Nations Security Council over Trump’s "reckless and belligerent" threats and described them as "a flagrant violation of international law."
According to a report by Reuters, Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Tehran "strongly warns against any military adventurism and will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime, against its sovereignty, territorial integrity, or national interests."
Survivors still being found from Burma earthquake, but hopes begin to fade as deaths exceed 2,700
Rescue workers saved a 63-year-old woman from the rubble of a building in Burma's capital on Tuesday, but hope was fading of finding many more survivors of the violent earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, compounding a humanitarian crisis caused by a civil war.
The fire department in Naypyitaw said the woman was successfully pulled from the rubble 91 hours after being buried when the building collapsed in the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit midday Friday. Experts say the likelihood of finding survivors drops dramatically after 72 hours.
The head of Burma's military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, told a forum in Naypyitaw, that 2,719 people have now been found dead, with 4,521 others injured and 441 missing, Myanmar's Western News online portal reported.
Those figures are widely expected to rise, but the earthquake hit a wide swath of the country, leaving many areas without power, telephone or cell connections and damaging roads and bridges, leaving the full extent of the devastation hard to assess.
Most of the reports so far have come from Mandalay, Burma's second-largest city, which was near the epicenter of the earthquake, and Naypyitaw.
"The needs are massive, and they are rising by the hour," said Julia Rees, UNICEF's deputy representative for Burma.
"The window for lifesaving response is closing. Across the affected areas, families are facing acute shortages of clean water, food, and medical supplies."
Burma's fire department said that 403 people have been rescued in Mandalay and 259 bodies have been found so far. In one incident alone, 50 Buddhist monks who were taking a religious exam in a monastery were killed when the building collapsed and 150 more are thought to be buried in the rubble.
The World Health Organization said that more than 10,000 buildings overall are known to have collapsed or been severely damaged in central and northwest Burma.
The earthquake also rocked neighboring Thailand, causing a high-rise building under construction to collapse and burying many workers.
Two bodies were pulled from the rubble on Monday and another was recovered Tuesday, but dozens were still missing. Overall, there were 21 people killed and 34 injured in Bangkok, primarily at the construction site.
In Burma, search and rescue efforts across the affected area paused briefly at midday on Tuesday as people stood for a minute in silent tribute to the dead.
Foreign aid workers have been arriving slowly to help in the rescue efforts, but progress was still slow with a lack of heavy machinery in many places.
In one site in Naypyitaw on Tuesday, workers formed a human chain, passing chunks of brick and concrete out hand-by-hand from the ruins of a collapsed building.
The Burma military government's official Global New Light of Burma reported Tuesday that a team of Chinese rescuers saved four people the day before from the ruins of the Sky Villa, a large apartment complex that collapsed during the quake. They included a 5-year-old and a pregnant woman who had been trapped for more than 60 hours.
The same publication also reported two teenagers were able to crawl out of the rubble of the same building to where rescue crews were working, using their cellphone flashlights to help guide them. The rescue workers were then able to use details from what they told them to locate their grandmother and sibling.
International rescue teams from several countries are on the scene, including from Russia, China, India, the United Arab Emirates and several Southeast Asian countries. The U.S. Embassy said an American team had been sent but hadn't yet arrived.
Meantime, multiple countries have pledged millions in aid to assist Burma and humanitarian aid organizations with the monumental task ahead.
Even before the earthquake, more than 3 million people had been displaced from their homes by Burma's brutal civil war, and nearly 20 million were in need, according to the U.N.
Many were already lacking in basic medical care and standard vaccinations, and the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure by the earthquake raises the risk of disease outbreaks, warned the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"The displacement of thousands into overcrowded shelters, coupled with the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, has significantly heightened the risk of communicable disease outbreaks," OCHA said in its latest report.
"Vulnerability to respiratory infections, skin diseases, vector-borne illnesses such as dengue fever, and vaccine-preventable diseases like measles is escalating," it added.
Shelter is also a major problem, especially with the monsoon season looming.
Since the earthquake, many people have been sleeping outside, either because homes were destroyed or out of fear of aftershocks.
Burma's military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into significant armed resistance and a brutal civil war.
Government forces have lost control of much of Burma, and many places were dangerous or impossible for aid groups to reach even before the quake.
Military attacks and those from some anti-military groups have not stopped in the aftermath of the earthquake, though the shadow opposition National Unity Government has called a unilateral ceasefire for its forces.
BURMESE GOVERNMENT DENIES CLAIMS IT KILLED 76 VILLAGERS
The NUG, established by elected lawmakers who were ousted in 2021, called for the international community to ensure humanitarian aid is delivered directly to the earthquake victims, urging "vigilance against any attempts by the military junta to divert or obstruct humanitarian assistance."
"We are in a race against time to save lives," the NUG said in a statement.
"Any obstruction to these efforts will have devastating consequences, not only due to the impact of the earthquake but also because of the junta's continued brutality, which actively hinders the delivery of lifesaving assistance."
It wasn't immediately clear whether the military has been impeding humanitarian aid. In the past, it initially refused to allow in foreign rescue teams or many emergency supplies after Cyclone Nargis in 2008, which resulted in well more than 100,000 deaths. Even once it did allow foreign assistance, it was with severe restrictions.
In this case, however, Min Aung Hlaing, pointedly said on the day of the earthquake that the country would accept outside help.
Tom Andrews, a monitor on rights in Burma commissioned by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, said on X that to facilitate aid, military attacks must stop.
"The focus in Burma must be on saving lives, not taking them," he said.
Germany says US talks on Russia-Ukraine war are 'deadlocked,' but China has different take
Tensions are running high as the U.S. works to broker a deal to end the years-long Ukraine-Russia war. While a German official expressed doubt about the efficacy of the Washington-led talks, a Chinese official gave a more optimistic outlook on the ceasefire efforts.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, warned the U.S. not to "engage with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s stalling tactics." She also urged Europe to back Ukraine, describing the talks between the U.S. and Russia as being in a "deadlock," the Associated Press reported.
However, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi disagreed with Baerbock’s assessment of the U.S.-Russia talks, and insisted that progress was being made. China’s relationship with Russia has grown over the course of the Ukraine war, with Beijing providing Moscow with diplomatic support and a trading partner.
RUSSIA, UKRAINE AGREE TO BLACK SEA CEASEFIRE FOLLOWING US TALKS
Yi was recently quoted as saying that "certain results have been achieved" in the talks, according to the AP. He also said in an interview that China supports the goal of "a fair, long-term, binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties involved," the AP reported.
President Donald Trump showed some agreement with China’s assessment, saying that progress was being made, but still expressed frustration with both sides. The president scolded Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when speaking to reporters on Sunday, saying that there is "tremendous hatred" between the two leaders.
TRUMP SAYS HE IS 'PISSED OFF' WITH PUTIN OVER LACK OF PEACE PROGRESS: REPORT
Trump also said in a weekend interview that he was "pissed off" at Putin for lashing out at Zelenskyy.
"If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia," Trump told NBC News.
The U.S. has struggled in its efforts to secure an immediate 30-day ceasefire deal, despite Moscow saying it agreed with a truce "in principle."
In mid-March, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said "the ball is now in Russia’s court" when it comes to ending the war that has persisted for more than three years.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
China launches large military drills around Taiwan to issue 'severe warning'
China’s military launched large-scale drills around Taiwan Tuesday to send a "severe warning" and a message of "forceful containment against Taiwan independence," Beijing officials said.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said it had tracked 19 Chinese navy vessels in the waters surrounding the island in a 24-hour period from 6 a.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday. The exercises – which involved Chinese navy, air, ground and rocket forces – were unannounced.
"China's blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region, as evidenced by drills near Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the South China Sea," Taiwan's Presidential Office wrote on X. "We strongly condemn China's escalatory behavior."
Taiwan defense officials added that they had been tracking the movement of China's Shandong aircraft carrier since Saturday and that its carrier group had entered into Taiwan's air defense identification zone on Monday. In response, Taiwan dispatched military aircraft and ships and activated land-based missile systems, according to Reuters.
THE US IS NOT READY FOR A NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN WITH CHINA, KEY CONSERVATIVES WARN TRUMP
"I want to say these actions amply reflect (China's) destruction of regional peace and stability," Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo said.
China's Xinhua News Agency said the Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday conducted "multi-subject drills in waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island."
The theater command "organized its vessel and aircraft formations, in coordination with conventional missile troops and long-range rocket launching systems, to conduct drills of air interception, assault on maritime targets, strikes on ground objects, and joint blockade and control," Xinhua quoted the command as saying.
TAIWAN’S VOLUNTEER MILITARY SHRINKS AMID GROWING CHINESE AGGRESSION
The exercises were "aimed at testing the troops’ capabilities of carrying out integrated operations, seizure of operational control and multi-directional precision strikes, the command said.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office also said the exercises were directed at Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's strongly pro-independence president.
"Lai Ching-te stubbornly insists on a ‘Taiwan independence’ stance, brazenly labeling the mainland as a ‘foreign hostile force,’ and has put forward a so-called "17-point strategy ... stirring up anti-China sentiments," China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement. "We will not tolerate or condone this in any way and must resolutely counter and severely punish these actions."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Musk slams Le Pen ruling, says it will 'backfire' like Trump's as some on global right face legal troubles
JERUSALEM — The stunning court conviction of popular right-wing politician Marine Le Pen on Monday for embezzlement sparked outrage from President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency head, Elon Musk, who compared her fate to Trump’s legal troubles.
Musk said after the verdict that, "This will backfire, like the legal attacks against President Trump." Musk pinned the blame on the left for the conviction of Le Pen. He wrote on X, "When the radical left can’t win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents. This is their standard playbook throughout the world."
The conviction of Le Pen, which bans her from running for office for five years, comes amid legal prosecutions of other right-wing politicians, ranging from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Romania’s Călin Georgescu to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Fox News Digital reported last year, after a Manhattan jury convicted then-former President Trump of falsifying business records, that legal experts saw similarities between his case and the ongoing corruption prosecution against Netanyahu.
When asked on Monday about Le Pen's sentence, Trump told reporters it was "a big deal," adding, "But she was banned for running for five years, and she's the leading candidate. That sounds like this country, that sounds very much like this country."
Other cases where world leaders and politicians on the right have been targeted include Netanyahu, who was charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a legal saga that started four years ago and is still unfolding. Netanyahu has flatly denied all the accusations against him.
Romania’s right-wing presidential frontrunner, Georgescu, was barred from the race under criminal charges he compared to those Trump faced.
"We are faced with a communist regime as well," Georgescu told Fox News Digital just before a Romanian electoral bureau barred him from running in a May presidential election rerun. Prosecutors opened a criminal case against him two weeks prior.
Just last week, Brazil’s Supreme Court accepted charges against former President Bolsonaro over an alleged attempt to remain in office after his 2022 election defeat, ordering the former leader to stand trial.
Italy’s Vice Premier Matteo Salvini, who was cleared in December of illegally detaining migrants, called his case "a declaration of war by Brussels."
Eugene Kontorovich, a legal expert and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, told Fox News Digital, "France follows the pattern of political prosecutions in the U.S. and Israel, where criminal prosecutions for obscure victimless offenses are used to knock out popular leaders of right wing parties, and use to courts to stand between the electorate and their preferred candidates. It is unlikely these cases are all happening within a year of each other: Leftists around the world are learning from, and legitimizing, each other’s tactics."
ROMANIA BLOCKS FRONTRUNNER FROM POSTPONED PRESIDENTIAL RACE
The heart of the embezzlement case revolves around accusations against Le Pen and more than 20 other National Rally figures who allegedly used EU funds to hire employees to work for the National Rally instead of matters involving the European Parliament as required by EU regulations in Brussels.
The French court also imposed a four-year prison sentence on Le Pen. The conviction unleashed a political earthquake in France, where the next presidential election is slated for 2027.
Right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of Trump, posted in French on social media a solidarity message, "Je suis Marine!" ("I am Marine"), an apparent reference to the slogan "Je suis Charlie" that was formulated after radical Islamist terrorists murdered journalists in 2015 from the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris.
Le Pen has transformed the anti-immigration party National Rally (formerly called the National Front) into a serious political force that is a legitimate contender to win the 2027 presidential election.
She ousted her father, the late Jean-Marie Le Pen, who founded the National Front, and rejected his antisemitism. He was fined for terming the Holocaust gas chambers a "detail of history".
Marine Le Pen's protégé, the 29-year-old Jordan Bardella, recently spoke last week at an Israeli government conference on combating antisemitism. He is expected to take over the National Rally. He urged a "peaceful mobilization" to protest the verdict.
According to French24, Bardella said the guilty verdict has "killed" French democracy. His party launched a petition that states:"It is no longer the government of judges, but the dictatorship of judges, which wishes to prevent the French people from expressing themselves."
Le Pen's lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, announced that he would appeal the verdict.
"I am shocked by the incredibly tough verdict against Marine Le Pen," said Holland’s right-wing politician, Geert Wilders, who has been dubbed the Dutch version of Trump.
He added,"I support and believe in her 100% and I trust she will win the appeal and become President of France."
Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Finnish president: Trump should give Putin 3 weeks to agree Ukraine ceasefire
The president of Finland is urging President Trump to impose a deadline on Vladimir Putin of April 20 to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Speaking to Fox News in London following a weekend visit with Trump in Florida, Alexander Stubb praised Trump's negotiating efforts, saying Trump is "probably the only person in the world who can mediate the peace."
DAN HOFFMAN: TRUMP HAS TRIED ‘EVERYTHING’ HE COULD TO ‘ENTICE’ RUSSIA TO COME TO BARGAINING TABLE
But he argued the ceasefire negotiation process should not be open ended.
"We need a ceasefire, and we need a date for the ceasefire," Stubb said. "And that date should be the 20th of April."
April 20 would mark three months since Trump's inauguration, and is also Orthodox Easter.
"If President Putin — who is the only one who is not accepting a ceasefire, because the Americans want it, the Europeans want it, the Ukrainians want it — if he doesn't oblige by the ceasefire, then we should go for a colossal set of sanctions coming from the United States and Europe," Stubb said.
Trump has spoken of a "psychological deadline" for Russia to agree to a ceasefire, but has declined to name a date.
TRUMP THREATENS SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA, DEMANDS PEACE AFTER MAJOR HITS IN UKRAINE
Stubb said Putin "respects, and in many ways fears, Donald Trump."
Finland — a neighbor of Russia's, with a shared border running more than 800 miles — upended decades of neutrality two years ago when it joined NATO, alarmed by the war in Ukraine.
Stubb believes Ukraine should also be allowed to join the military alliance "in the long run" — a position that runs counter to the Trump administration's.
Following talks and a round of golf with Trump in Florida, the Finnish leader said European leaders are heeding American complaints that Europe does not spend enough money on defense, relying instead on the United States.
"Europe needs to take more responsibility for its own security, more responsibility for its own defense," Stubb said. "I think we're doing exactly that."
He described the U.S.-European relationship as "in a transition," but insisted: "We're allies.
"Just because ideologically there are differences at times between Europeans and Americans doesn't mean that we're going to sever or divorce."
Hamas terrorists torture protester to death in Gaza, leave his body on family’s doorstep: report
A Palestinian man protesting Hamas, the terror group that rules the Gaza Strip, was fatally tortured, with his body left on his family's doorstep as a warning to others who are thinking of publicly opposing the organization.
Uday Al Rabay, 22, was beaten and died after participating in an anti-Hamas protest in the Palestinian territories last week, said a senior officer affiliated with the opposition Fatah party, The New York Post reported.
IRAN'S KHAMENEI WARNS OF 'STRONG BLOW' AS TRUMP THREATENS TO DROP BOMBS, PUTIN SILENT ON US IRE
"Uday was martyred by the criminals of Hamas. And what’s his crime? He told the truth, because he refused to be silent on injustice, because he did not kneel to Hamas," said Mazen Shat, a police officer linked to Fatah, to the Telegraph.
Rabay was targeted allegedly after pictures purportedly of him were shared on the Telegram messaging app. He was allegedly kidnapped after the protest last week.
"Hamas is oppressing people in a brutal way," Shat said. "Like a puppy [with] a rope around his neck, they dragged [Uday’s body] to the door of his house and told his family that this is the punishment for those who complain about Hamas."
Protests against Hamas happened in Gaza after Israel resumed its bombing of the territory following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire between Hamas and the Jewish state.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since, prompted backlash against Hamas.
"People have been under Israeli bombing since October 2023, they don’t want the war to continue by all means," said Sam Habeeb, a London-based Gazan, to the Telegraph.
Protesters have called for Hamas to be removed from power.
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"The people do not want the rule of Hamas. The rule of Hamas is over," a protester said, according to the Akron Jewish News. "This Hamas rule has destroyed us, killed us and displaced all the people."
After debilitating strikes, Trump tells Houthis: Stop shooting at us and 'we will stop shooting at you'
President Donald Trump on Monday touted the success of the U.S.’s two-week-long offensive against the Houthis in Yemen and issued a clear message: "Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you."
The Trump administration launched its operations earlier this month after the Houthi terrorist group once again renewed its threats against Israeli vessels earlier this month after Jerusalem cut off humanitarian aid headed for the Gaza Strip.
"The Iran-backed Houthi Terrorists have been decimated by the relentless strikes over the past two weeks," Trump said in a post on his social media outlet Truth Social on Monday afternoon. "Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us."
IRAN'S KHAMENEI WARNS OF 'STRONG BLOW' AS TRUMP THREATENS TO DROP BOMBS, PUTIN SILENT ON US IRE
"We hit them every day and night – Harder and harder," he added.
Trump said their capabilities that enable the Houthis to target shipping in the region are "being rapidly destroyed."
The terrorist network, backed by Iran, began escalating its attacks on Western ships in the Red Sea following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Notably, security experts have pointed out the Houthi attacks are not indiscriminate as they do not routinely target Chinese or Saudi Arabian vessels.
Trump also issued a message to Iran on Monday and warned if the attacks do not stop, Washington will come for Tehran next.
"Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation," Trump said. "Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran."
Trump has increased his threats issued against Iran in recent days, warning of direct military repercussions not only if it doesn’t stop arming terrorist networks, but if it continues with its nuclear ambitions.
U.S. Central Command has not released an update about the Houthi leaders allegedly killed in the strikes or the most recent operations.
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According to Houthi representatives, three people were killed in an overnight strike around the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa — which the terrorist network has held its grip on since 2014, reported the Associated Press.
The strike, which apparently carried on into Monday morning, came just three days after the previous attack on Friday, which was reported to have been more "intense" than previous aerial campaigns and was carried out over several locations in and around Sanaa.
Toddler kicked out of nursery school for being transphobic: 'This is totalitarian insanity'
A British toddler was kicked out of a nursery school after being accused of being transphobic or homophobic, according to local media reports.
The child, aged 3 or 4, was kicked out of an unnamed school nursery "for being transphobic," the Telegraph reported Monday.
The name of the school and details of the case were not disclosed by the Department for Education (DfE) of the United Kingdom, the report said.
A DfE spokesman told the newspaper that "all pupils and staff should feel safe and protected at school and should never face violence or abuse."
Statistics revealed that 94 students at state primary schools were suspended or permanently excluded for transphobia and homophobia in 2022-23.
That figure includes 10 students from year one and three from year two, where the maximum age is seven, the report states.
"Every once in a while, the extremes of gender ideology throw up a story that seems too crazy to believe, and a toddler being suspended from nursery for so-called transphobia or homophobia is one such example," Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at Sex Matters, told the newspaper.
MAINE GOV. JANET MILLS RESPONDS TO TRUMP'S DEMAND FOR APOLOGY OVER TRANS-ATHLETE POLICIES
"Teachers and school leaders involved in this insanity should be ashamed of themselves for projecting adult concepts and beliefs onto such young children," she added.
Author J.K. Rowling, who has spoken out on trans issues, took issue with the suspension.
"This is totalitarian insanity. If you think small children should be punished for being able to recognise (sic) sex, you are a dangerous zealot who should be nowhere near kids or in any position of authority over them," she posted on X.
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Lord Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, told the newspaper: "It beggars belief that schools are suspending children as young as five for breaching their ‘transphobia’ policy. I would have thought that if your ideology is so rigid it justifies you punishing toddlers for not complying with it, that’s a powerful argument for discarding it in favor of something less dogmatic."
Iran's Khamenei warns of 'strong blow' as Trump threatens to drop bombs, Putin silent on US ire
Furious comments issued by President Donald Trump over the weekend prompted a swift and aggressive response from Iran, while Russian President Vladimir Putin remains tight-lipped in the face of the U.S. leader’s ire.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, issued a warning on Monday and said it would respond "decisively and immediately" to any threat issued by the U.S. after Trump said there "will be bombing" and likely more tariffs if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal with Washington.
"The enmity from the U.S. and Israel has always been there. They threaten to attack us, which we don’t think is very probable, but if they commit any mischief, they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow," Khamenei said according to a Reuters report.
TRUMP THREATENS TO BOMB IRAN UNLESS THEY END NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM AND BEGIN TALKS ON NEW DEAL
"And if they are thinking of causing sedition inside the country as in past years, the Iranian people themselves will deal with them," he added.
Despite Iran’s refusal and warning directed at both the U.S. and Israel, Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Khamenei’s comments are an attempt to "buy time" while balancing growing external and internal pressures on his regime.
"At once, Khamenei sought to both downplay the chances of President Trump or Israel taking military action while also looking to deter such an eventuality due to the regime’s own policies," he told Fox News Digital. "This is a tightrope Khamenei will increasingly be forced to walk as he plays for time and engages in nuclear escalation.
"U.S. policy should be to keep Khamenei off balance," he added.
While Iran takes an offensive stance against Trump and his ambitions to finally bring Tehran to heel on its nuclear expansion, Russia is taking a different approach as it refuses to bow to Trump’s plans to see an end to the war in Ukraine.
TRUMP SAYS HE IS 'PISSED OFF' WITH PUTIN OVER LACK OF PEACE PROGRESS: REPORT
Over the weekend, Trump said he was "pissed off" over comments made by Putin on Friday when he suggested the work Washington was doing to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia and Ukraine was moot because he believes the government in Kyiv to be illegitimate and therefore cannot sign any deals.
"If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault … I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia," Trump said, noting that tariffs could be as high as 50%.
The president later said his ire could "dissipate quickly" if Putin "does the right thing," and once again noted he has "a very good relationship with [Putin]."
However, the Kremlin chief, who reportedly has another call scheduled with Trump this week, has not responded to Trump’s heated comments.
The chief spokesman for Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday that Russia will continue to work on "restoring" relations with Washington that he said were "damaged by the Biden administration" following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and noted that Putin remains in "open contact" with Trump.
However, Putin’s lack of public response and the toned-down statements from the Kremlin are all part of Putin’s broader strategy, former DIA intelligence officer and Russia expert, Rebekah Koffler, told Fox News Digital.
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"Putin, like Trump, thrives on confrontation," Koffler said. "Except his approach is different. The Kremlin deliberately is projecting that Putin is cool, calm, and collected now, which he is.
"The fact that President Trump reportedly got mad and used those words means to Putin that he finally got to him, the way he got to Biden, Obama, and others who called him a killer and other derogatory words," she continued.
"Putin now feels that not only Russia has an upper hand on the battlefield over Ukraine and in terms of total combat potential over NATO, but he also was able to unbalance Trump," Koffler explained. "That is the whole point - it’s a judo move."
Greenland's prime minister says US will not 'get' island
Greenland's prime minister said Sunday that the U.S. "will not get" the resource-rich island in the Atlantic.
President Donald Trump wants to annex the self-governing territory of Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States, claiming it is needed for national security purposes.
"President Trump says that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else. We decide our own future," Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post.
Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee visited Pituffik Space Base, the Department of Defense’s northernmost military installation, in Greenland on Friday.
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In a Saturday interview with NBC, Trump said that military force wasn’t off the table in regards to acquiring Greenland, according to the Associated Press.
"I think there’s a good possibility that we could do it without military force," Trump said. "This is world peace, this is international security," he said, but added: "I don’t take anything off the table."
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Although the Danish territory has said it is seeking independence from Copenhagen but isn’t interested in becoming part of the U.S., Trump has repeatedly floated, dating back to his first administration, a desire to secure Greenland for the U.S. as Russian and Chinese presence grows in the Arctic.
Polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the United States. Anti-American protesters, some wearing "Make America Go Away" caps and holding "Yankees Go Home" banners, have staged some of the largest demonstrations ever seen in Greenland.
Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan, Diana Stancy and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
