17/09/2026

THURSDAY | SEPT 17, 2026 9 EU head ropes in Canada BRUSSELS: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday she wanted to open the door to Canada becoming the EU’s first “associate member”, in a significant policy shift alongside plans to forge new links in “an openly hostile world”. EU lawmakers gave her a standing ovation after she made the proposal and then walked over to embrace Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to hear her address. “I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships. So, I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU,” von der Leyen said. The EU and Canada “see the world with the same eyes: from AI to climate change, from the Arctic to geopolitics. And we have stood together: on Ukraine, on defence, on raw materials and on supply chains”, von der Leyen told the assembly. “But above all ... Europe and Canada believe in democracy,” she said. New partnerships were needed “in the cold fragility of today’s world”, she said. The 27-nation bloc faces war at its borders, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On trade and other issues, it is also facing stiff rivalry from the US and from an increasingly assertive China. It will be up to EU member states whether von der Leyen’s proposal goes ahead. The EU has historically resisted such types of flexible alliances that have no legal status. EU members were lukewarm in reacting to Germany’s proposal in May of associate membership for Ukraine as a stepping stone to full accession. One EU diplomat expressed surprise at von der Leyen’s proposal yesterday, saying “nobody really knows what it means”. The diplomat added there were concerns that the European Commission chief “is overpromising and won’t be able to deliver”. And significant obstacles remain to ramping up trade. Mark Manger, a professor of political economy and global affairs at the University of Toronto, said EU officials have been frustrated by Canada’s refusal to open two industries it protects at great expense: telecommunications and dairy. Canada’s Carney was warmly applauded by EU lawmakers as he arrived in parliament. He said earlier this week Canada was seeking a “unique alliance” with the EU but not membership. He will make his own address to the European Parliament today. Carney’s European trip follows a historic breakdown in Canada-US relations after trade talks collapsed last month, sparking a series of tit-for-tat tariff measures. He has pledged to double Canada’s non-US trade in the next decade as the country pivots away from its southern neighbour amid an increasingly acrimonious trade war. Carney said on Tuesday more detailed discussions would begin at the Canada-EU summit in Montreal next month. In her speech, von der Leyen said the EU and Canada will work together across sectors. “We will work on intelligent manufacturing. We will create a tech alliance. We will integrate defence industrial bases. We will make the Arctic a flagship joint project,” she said. – Reuters

Supporters of Thaci react in Pristina after he was found guilty in The Hague yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Former Kosovo president found guilty of war crimes

PRISTINA: former president Hashim Thaci (pic) , sentenced to 25 years in prison yesterday for war crimes, has long been seen within the Balkan country as a guerilla hero and symbol of its bloody independence struggle. Thaci, who was found guilty by a special court in The Hague of war crimes committed by guerilla fighters including murder, arbitrary arrest o Thaci sentenced to 25 years in prison Kosovo’s and detention, cruel treatment and torture, led the pro-independence Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998-1999 war with Serbia. The 58-year-old, who also served more than seven years as prime minister, saw his popularity soar when he helped oversee Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008. But his image was tarnished by a 2010 Council of Europe report alleging links to organised crime and serious abuses committed during and immediately after the war. Critics also accused the former leader and his party of corruption and concentrating

resistance espoused by the late Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova. On his return to Kosovo, he earned the nom de guerre “Snake” as he helped build an underground guerilla army, the KLA, to fight for independence from the forces of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic. The conflict left some 13,000 people dead, mainly ethnic Albanians, and ended after Nato intervened in 1999, pushing Serbian forces out. International courts later convicted several senior Serbian army and police officials for crimes committed during the conflict. As Kosovo continued to push for statehood, Thaci became one of its most prominent political figures. After the death of Rugova, who was widely regarded as the father of the nation, Thaci became prime minister following elections in 2007. Three months later, he read the declaration of independence in parliament, announcing Kosovo’s unilateral split from Serbia – a move Belgrade does not recognise. Despite allegations of corruption, he remained at the heart of politics and was elected president in 2016. He has always denied any wrongdoing during the war, describing it as a “just” rebellion against Serbian repression. “Political mistakes in peace I could have made, but war crimes, never,” he said in 2020. – AFP

power among political allies. But it was the wartime allegations that abruptly ended his presidency and left him detained in The Hague. He was indicted in 2020 on charges of war

crimes and crimes against humanity, accused of bearing responsibility for murder, torture, illegal detention and enforced disappearances during and after the conflict. “These are not easy moments for me and my family, and for those who have supported and believed in me in the past three decades of our struggle for freedom, independence and nation-building,” he said in 2020, when he announced his resignation

and surrender to the court. Many watched the verdict live yesterday on a screen in a square in the capital, Pristina, where a countdown clock had been ticking down to the ruling for days. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people had rallied in Pristina to demand the acquittal of Thaci and other former guerilla leaders. Born in 1968 in the Drenica region of western Kosovo, a hotbed of ethnic Albanian resistance to Serbian rule, Thaci became involved in passive resistance efforts against Belgrade’s rule as a student in the 1990s. While studying history in Switzerland, home to a large Albanian diaspora, he became frustrated with the policy of peaceful

War-damaged Gaza building collapses, killing 16 GAZA: Rescuers yesterday combed through the wreckage of a bombed out apartment building that collapsed overnight, killing at least 16 Palestinians including children and trapping dozens of others beneath the rubble. and 14 others injured when the seven-storey building collapsed. Nearly 100 more people were believed to be under the rubble.

Israel’s restrictions on Gaza for the lack of heavy machinery. Israel says its curbs aim to keep equipment out of the hands of militants. “Today’s tragedy underscores the grave risks faced by families living in these structures and the urgent need for safer alternatives. No one should have to risk their life simply to find a safe place to shelter,” said Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. – Reuters

“The situation, as you see, is tragic because we don’t have the equipment and machinery that is needed. So there are actually people that are digging with their bare hands,” said Mrakic. “There are approximately 400 buildings at risk of collapse. And we know that these buildings will collapse, especially now with the upcoming winter,” he added, referring to the potential impact of rain. Palestinian and UN officials blame

Gaza City’s civil defence service, said at least 10 families lived in the collapsed building and there was still hope of finding survivors. “We are still hearing voices from under the rubble,” said Dahshan. Alessandro Mrakic, head of the UN Development Programme’s Gaza office, said some UN agencies were taking part in the rescue efforts, which he described as difficult due to the lack of proper machinery. Egypt’s relief agency was also helping.

A video obtained by Reuters showed rescue workers trying to pull out two people from under a collapsed wall. Another video on social media showed Gaza’s civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal carrying a little girl, wrapped in a blood-stained scarf. Raed Al-Dahshan, the director of

Tens of thousands of Palestinians live in some 2,000 buildings damaged by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza. Rescue workers from the civil defence said at least 16 people, including five children, were killed