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Finance ministers and central bank governors from the G20 major economies are meeting for two days in Asheville, North Carolina. With the United States holding the rotating G20 presidency, Washington is trying to rally partners towards greater economic pressure on Iran and find ways to boost growth. But the unexpected attendance of the Russian finance minister drew fierce criticism.
Michael Bociurkiw: Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov walked into the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in North Carolina — his first in-person appearance since Russia’s full-scale invasion — with no advance word to allies. The Trump administration, which holds the G20 presidency this year, simply seated him. Germany’s finance chief, Lars Klingbeil, told his European colleagues he would not stand beside the man; the Europeans held, and the traditional family photo was taken without Siluanov, out of camera range. Then U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posed for a picture with him alone.
KYIV Post: US Treasury Secretary Says Russia’s G20 Presence Did Not Disrupt Talks Despite EU Anger
Canada has become the transatlantic partner of choice as geopolitical uncertainties make trust the most valuable commodity in international relations, Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Tuesday.
“What the world needs and wants today is trust. That’s the most sought-after commodity here, and I think Canada is seen as a trusted partner, I often say the transatlantic partner of choice,” he told Reuters in an interview before meeting U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the sidelines of the G20 gathering of finance ministers and central bankers in Asheville, North Carolina.
Canada was hit last month by U.S. tariffs of 50% on some C$28 billion of Canadian goods after the neighbours did not agree on new trade deal, prompting Ottawa to set dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs that come into effect next a week.
A Group of 20 joint statement reflecting U.S. priorities on reducing global imbalances and sovereign debt restructurings may not be possible, U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Erin Browne told Reuters.
“We’ve been working really hard on a communiqué, but we want to make sure that it reflects U.S. interests and America First priorities, and if we are unable to come to a conclusion, we’re comfortable with that,” Browne said, adding that the alternative would be to issue a chair’s statement on the discussions.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on Tuesday that the U.S. needs to start being serious and ‘stop throwing shade’ before talks on a possible trade deal with Canada can restart.
Globe and Mail: Prime Minister Carney says U.S. should ‘stop throwing shade’ in trade talks
Paul Krugman: So the Venezuela venture had nothing to do with democracy or freedom. It seems safe to say that it had nothing to do with crime or terrorism, which were the other excuses the administration offered. What happened in Venezuela was simply an old-fashioned, 19th-century-style resource grab, a sort of Caribbean version of the Belgian Congo.
In one stroke, Trump has just validated everything the Latin American left has ever said about U.S. imperialism. And we’ll be paying for that, diplomatically and strategically, for decades to come.
Now, it’s highly unlikely that this deal will hold. By all accounts, just about every faction in Venezuelan politics except the current ruling clique hates the deal. Since it will take years, maybe even decades, to realize the putative benefits of oil-company investments in Venezuela, how likely is it that whoever is running that country in the future will want to honor Trump’s terms? What are the odds that Venezuela will eventually expropriate U.S. oil-company investments? Or do we imagine a future in which the U.S. military maintains a permanent occupation of Venezuela, using force to prop up a puppet government the nation’s citizens hate?
The Finnish Defence Forces announced they will participate in the Denmark-led Arctic Endurance 26 -exercise complex in the Arctic region in early autumn. The exercise will be participated by service personnel from the Navy and from the Utti Jaeger Regiment (Special Forces).
Finland maintains an active posture as a NATO member nation, and takes part in strengthening security in the Arctic region together with its Allies.
The Finnish Navy will assign three personnel onboard vessels of the Royal Danish Navy. The personnel will operate onboard the vessels for the duration of two to three weeks.
Vessels of the Royal Danish Navy participate in the exercise complex Arctic Endurance 26 that extensively covers Denmark-led and its relating exercise activity in Greenland, on Faroe Islands, and in their vicinity in 2026.
MapQuest, which was openly dismissive of the president’s 27 August executive order directing federal agencies to refer to the rebranding of “Lake Ontario” amid a trade war with Canada, leapfrogged rivals Google Maps and Apple Maps to top the most-downloaded list, as first reported by TechCrunch.
The app held the No 1 spot on Apple’s App Store as of Tuesday morning, The Guardian confirmed.
Google quickly capitulated to Trump’s demand, showing the rebranded name to US customers, while Apple is reportedly mulling a decision under pressure from the White House to make the same change.
But MapQuest, a 30-year-old company that bills itself as “the OG” (original) of the internet mapping era, appears to have been rewarded for standing firm, writes Richard Luscombe in The Guardian.
Washington Post: Thanks to Lake Ontario, MapQuest is popular all over again / Archived
CBC Power & Politics: The Power Panel discusses the president’s latest comments.
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