Canadian PM says talks with Trump constructive despite no tariffs lifting

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday he had wide-ranging and constructive discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House, although the two leaders disagreed on tariffs lifting and the "51st state," according to the live broadcast of CBC News.

Giving a post-meeting news conference in Washington, D.C., Carney said that he and Trump agreed to have further conversations in the coming weeks and meet again in person at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.

Carney said he told Trump it's "not useful" to repeat the 51st state idea, adding that Trump is the president who is going to say whatever he wants. "He understands that we are having a negotiation between sovereign nations," said Carney.

Responding to the question if he is heading back to Ottawa with any tangible progress on ending the trade war, Carney said they had some very specific things to follow up on and build out from that.

"These are the discussions you have when you're looking to find solutions," he said.

India fires missiles at 3 locations in Pakistan

The Pakistan military said early Wednesday that India fired air-to-surface missiles at three different locations in Pakistan, including Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, told the media that the missiles were fired in Bahawalpur district of the country's eastern Punjab province and in Muzaffarabad and Kotli districts of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

The director general said that Pakistan air force jets were airborne and no Indian aircraft was allowed to violate airspace, and the attacks were carried out from within Indian airspace.

"Let me say it unequivocally, Pakistan will respond to this (attack) at a time and place of its choosing. This provocation will not go unanswered," said the spokesperson.

There are reports of casualties in the attacks, but no official confirmation has been received.

Omani FM announces ceasefire deal between Yemen's Houthis, U.S.

Oman has brokered a ceasefire between Yemen's Houthi group and the United States, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi said in a statement on Tuesday.

"In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping," the statement said.

The minister also expressed his country's gratitude to both parties for their "constructive" engagement, stating that it hopes the agreement will pave the way for further progress on regional issues and contribute to achieving justice, peace, and prosperity for all.

Ahead of a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump said the halt would start immediately, after the Houthis approached the administration on Monday night, indicating "they want to stop the fighting."

"The Houthis have announced ... that they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want to fight," said Trump. "We will honor that, and we will stop the bombings ... and they have capitulated."

Friedrich Merz sworn in as Germany's new chancellor

Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was sworn in as Chancellor on Tuesday during a session of the Bundestag, the country's lower house of parliament.

Merz secured 325 votes in the Bundestag, surpassing the required 316-seat majority. In the initial round of voting earlier in the day, he received 310 votes, becoming the first chancellor candidate since World War II to fail to win election in the first round.

Following the unsuccessful first vote, Bundestag President Julia Kloeckner suspended the plenary session. Parliamentary groups of political parties then held several hours of negotiations before proceeding to a second round of voting.

After the final result, Merz was formally appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a ceremony at Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of the Federal President.

As federal chancellor, Merz will head a new coalition government formed by the Union bloc (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The new cabinet members took their oaths of office at the end of the Bundestag session, and the government is expected to hold its first cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening.

Drone strikes on Port Sudan area threaten UN humanitarian hub operations: UN

Intensifying drone attacks in the Port Sudan area -- the UN humanitarian aid hub for Sudan -- are increasing threats to aid delivery, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

"Our humanitarian colleagues said they're deeply concerned by the intensifying drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in Port Sudan, in the east of the country," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. They already forced at least a temporary halt to aid aircraft operations.

Haq said drone attacks on Tuesday reportedly struck the airport area, a fuel storage facility and a power transformer. No UN personnel or facilities were directly affected by the strikes.

Xinhua reported from Khartoum that although no group has officially claimed responsibility for the drone attacks, the Sudanese military has blamed the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for the drone attacks, which started on Sunday.

Haq said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the latest violence poses a growing risk to the safety of humanitarian staff and operations, with flights of the UN Humanitarian Air Service both to and from Port Sudan on hold.

The spokesman said there were prolonged power outages due to drone attacks targeting power stations and facilities elsewhere in Sudan. He said they continue to disrupt civilian life.■