Reuters World News - Trump tariffs hit Canada, ballroom reprieve, Stars and Stripes and Somali piracy

Episode Date: August 22, 2026

New U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods take effect as Quebec's separatist movement pauses its independence push amid growing tensions with Washington. The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily cleared the way for work to continue on President Donald Trump's controversial White House ballroom project. The Pentagon has fired the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, raising concerns about the military newspaper's editorial independence. And Somali piracy is resurging, with armed men seizing an Iran-linked oil tanker in one of a growing number of attacks in the region. 📲 Podcasts, breaking news, and video analysis from the source. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the Reuters app here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Peter Devlin in London. It's Saturday, August 22nd. Today, New Trump tariffs hit Canada as Quebec independence push goes on pause. The Supreme Court clears the way for work to continue on Trump's ballroom project. The Pentagon fires military newspapers top editor, and Somali piracy resurges with a seizure of an Iranian-linked oil tanker. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything. you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. Two and five Canadians will hear the words you have cancer. That's why every step and dollar raised matters.

On September 19th, join thousands in Toronto for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation walk. Challenge yourself, friends, and family to walk 21 kilometers in support of life-saving research. Together, we can carry the fire and help create a world free from the fear of cancer. Register today at pmcf walk.ca.ca. As of midnight, US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on an array of Canadian goods has gone into effect after being deferred earlier this week. New 50% import duties will apply to around $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. And that added economic pressure has had a surprising political knock-on effect.

In a post on X, Ontario Premier Doug Ford back Prime Minister Mark Carney's promise to respond tariff for tariff dollar for dollar. And British Columbia Premier David eBay wrote that Canadians would keep fighting for as long as it takes. Meanwhile, Quebec's separatist movement has paused its demands for independence

for the French-speaking province at a provisional elections due by October 5th. Party-Cubequois leader has found no referendum while Trump remains in office. Trump's last round of tariffs hit hard for steel factories in the province, according to David Janotte, operations director of

Steelmaker Savaco. And it's not only the Saras, it's the uncertainty that comes with it. So I think orders went down around 25 to 30 percent in less than a week. Calls for independents are often louder during times of economic slowdown. But polls show that this time around, support for an independent Quebec is at its lowest levels in decades, about 30 percent. As long as Trump will be, you know, in its share, I don't feel I don't feel like we even need to talk about that.

And Trump's threats to make Canada the 51st state have actually stirred patriotism, even in the French-speaking province. Jonathan Calais, Quebec advisor to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump represents everything that Quebec has fought against for the last 60 years in terms of creating a modern, progressive society. A US judge has blocked a Trump administration policy suspending immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries. The court ruled the policy was patently unlawful and exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio's authority.

The State Department did not immediately respond to the ruling. The Supreme Court is letting President Trump continue his massive White House ballroom project for now. Trump said no taxpayer money is being used for the $400 million ballroom project. We're spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the ballroom, and it's all from people like me and great companies that are putting it up. The court issued a temporary stage to give justices more time to weigh the case, but allows for work to continue. The administration tore down the historic east wing of the White House without congressional approval, and it's constructing a 90,000 square foot ballroom and an underground security complex.

Lower courts sided with preservationists, saying the President is a temporary tenant, not the owner of the White House. The Justice Department says the million dollar project is 65% complete and argues it's a national security necessity. The Pentagon has fired the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, a move to remove other senior staff at the US military newspaper. Editor Eric Slavin says he was fired after telling CBS News that censorship of coverage for service members

would be a personal red line. Stars and Stripes is funded by the Defence Department, but has historically operated with editorial independence. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comments. Somali piracy is surging again. Two and five Canadians will hear the words, you have cancer. That's why every step and dollar raised matters. On September 19th, join thousands in Toronto for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation walk.

Challenge yourself, friends, and family to walk 21 kilometers. in support of life-saving research. Together, we can carry the fire and help create a world free from the fear of cancer. Register today at pmcf walk.ca.ca. The latest targets is an oil tanker that the US is accused of helping Iran evade sanctions. Six iron men seized the Eritrea flagged Cebu one

off the coast of Yemen and diverted it towards Somalia. It's one of at least 13 vessels attacked in the region this year. Reuters reporter Aaron Ross has more. There's been a lot of speculation in recent weeks and months about possible connections between the Somali pirates and the Houthi group in Yemen, who are of course allies of Iran. So the fact that an Iranian-linked oil tanker was attacked and diverted towards Somalia really raises a whole host of questions about what's going on and would seem to really call into question the hypothesis that have been put forward by some that there were actually closed

ties between the Houthis and the Somali pirates in recent times. Aaron says the incident is raising fresh concerns that piracy is re-emerging after years of relative containment. Even though it's slipped off the radar as a major security concern, the threat of Somalia piracy has never got away. The root causes of this have always remained in place and those being the economic and security situation really in Somalia. And therefore, any time you see sort of waning of the security presence or certain factors that can encourage people to go out and carry out these attacks, you will see these attacks coming back. So long as those root causes aren't addressed, you know, a lot of analysts would say this will remain a sort of perpetual threat.

Two and five Canadians will hear the words, you have cancer. That's why every step and dollar raised matters. On September 19th, joined thousands in Toronto for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation Walk. Challenge yourself, friends, and family to walk 21 kilometers in support of life-saving research. Together, we can carry the fire and help create a world free from the fear of cancer. Register today at pmcf walk.ca.ca. Ukrainian drones killed at least six civilians overnight in a wave of strikes across Russia

according to Russian officials. The attacks come as Russia continues its air campaign against Ukraine. A Russian drone strike on a shopping centre in Krivi Rhee killed at least 16 people on Friday. And in Kiev, residents are returning to apartment blocks damaged in Russian strikes on Thursday to salvage what remains of their lives. Seventy-year-old Ola Strylkovska and her husband, 85-year-old Kenyanyi Popov, spent the day gathering what they could from their heavily damaged apartments. Strylkovsky says,

that the building is so badly damaged, the residents may not be allowed to move back. Inside, rooms are strewn with debris and damaged possessions. As residents cleared rubble and carried out belongings, rescue workers continued operations outside the building. Strelkovska wants Ukraine's partners in Europe and the United States to provide more air defense to help protect civilians from Russian attacks. The attack has left residents facing an uncertain future,

with many now trying to find somewhere else to live. Days after it was revealed he'll return to Britain, Prince Harry has been ordered to pay potentially millions towards the legal costs of the daily meal. Last month, the judge rejected the case brought by Harry and other prominent figures, dismissing multiple allegations, including phone hacking. The ruling comes after shock news that Harry,

his wife, Megan and their two children would be returning home from California. Royal commentator Afua Hagen says reactions in the royal family are likely to be mixed. Harry and William, their relationship is non-existent. say the least. But I think he, I don't think he'll be very pleased about it. I don't think he'll be very pleased about it at all. But I do think they are going to have to get to a point of reconciliation. That will happen. Perhaps this is the first step on the road to that. You know, we don't know what's

going on behind closed doors. Perhaps they have had a warming of relations. Certainly, we have seen that with Prince Harry and King Charles. But I think there will be surprised, definitely, from the Royals. The king was informed about this over the weekend. They're said to be very, very pleased. But I think other royals will be surprised. I think Eugenie and Beatrice, who are closed to Prince Harry, will certainly be pleased about this also. The couple stepped down from Royal duties in 2020 and will not resume them nor receive public money. According to reports, Megan could be returning to acting in the UK. Over to Japan, where record summer heat is driving some men to get to the roots of the problem.

by getting laser hair removal. With temperatures hitting a record 41.8 degrees Celsius, over 107 degrees Fahrenheit, Japanese men are increasingly resorting to removing lank hair for relief from the brutal heat. Gorilla Clinic director Hirouki Ota says the clinic is seeing so many clients that some aren't able to secure appointments.

The trend is picking up pace as more Japanese opt for shorts, which were once considered to be for children or the beach. Japan's largest beauty booking platform, Hot Pepper Beauty, says that just over a quarter of men it surveyed this year have tried lower leg hair removal in the past 12 months. And finally, the world's oldest living person has turned 117. Ethel Caterham was born in Hampshire, England on the 21st of August 1909, during the reign of King Edward the 7th. She became the Guinness World Records oldest living person in 2025 and said in a statement that this has been a year of friends. from petting a llama to holding hands with the king.

For more on any of the stories from today, as well as more analysis and news shaping our world, check out roiders.com or the Reuters app. There's a link in the description to download it and start getting pure news straight from the source. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just asked for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week.

We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.