“The lake change — ‘Lake of America’ — was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” said Trump, who was flanked by two large boards that depicted the label “Lake America.”
 The executive order to renaming Lake Ontario will be “effective immediately.”

President Trump signed the executive order amid the ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada. Trump calls Canada ‘one of the worst countries’ to deal with. Negotiations between the countries broke down over the weekend and a fresh round of 50% U.S. tariffs on some Canadian goods took effect on Saturday, leading Canada to retaliate with a set of its own levies.

“The Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They’re nasty people,” President Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday. “People oftentimes they’ll ask me who’s the worst to deal with on trade, and I said that’s easy, Canada. They are the worst to trade, and they feel entitled, and just we can’t have that.”

When asked by a reporter about what his message is with the name change, the president said he has “no message,” but did criticize Canada.

“No message, as you knows, Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade, very sadly,” Trump said.

Asked why he is focused on doing things like this to America’s allies rather than focusing on other issues, Trump cited his belief that Canada has treated the U.S. “very badly” with regards to trade for many years — an argument he has used as justification for the sweeping tariffs he has imposed upon America’s northern neighbor.

In social media posts over the past few days, Trump has repeatedly suggested he would change the name of the lake on the U.S.-Canada border.

The president can unilaterally change a geographic name for official U.S. federal government use, like his action via executive order in January of 2025 renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” However, he can’t dictate what other countries or international bodies call it.

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The Wall Street Journal was first to report the purpose of the trip.

President Donald Trump confirmed Ratcliffe’s visit earlier Wednesday in an interview with Glenn Beck, but called the visit “semi-routine.” When asked if it had to do with increased Russian aggression against NATO or the increased Iranian economic pressure, Trump claimed it was none of those reasons.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters Ratcliffe was in contact with Russian intelligence agencies but did not meet with Putin.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow earlier this week in part to warn Russia not to attack NATO countries. John Ratcliffe also brought up Iran during the meetings in Moscow, according to the ABC news.

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In June, a federal judge blocked Trump’s bid to impose the six-figure fee, concluding that it was an unlawful “tax” that required congressional approval.

The Department of Homeland Security revived the proposal on Monday, submitting it online in the Federal Register to be officially published on Tuesday, when a 30-day public-comment period will commence. And the administration is now proposing $103,265 for all new H-1B visa petitions.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a DHS department, said  in a statement ,the payments would support “immigration programs that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers,” according to USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler.

According to Monday’s proposal, the fee would help generate revenue to fund immigration activities carried out by federal agencies including Customs and Border Protection and ICE. DHS said there may be “a reduction in the number of H-1B cap registrations and some employers, including small entities, may file fewer petitions as a result of this proposed rule.” But it concluded that the fee was “appropriate.”

President Trump first proposed payments of $100,000 as a presidential proclamation in September 2025 in an effort to prioritize American workers, and overhaul the H-1B program that allows companies and organizations to hire foreign workers for specialized, high-skill roles.

The White House has also said the fee would help curb misuse of the H-1B program, accusing U.S. employers of undercutting American workers with lower-paid foreign labor.

H-1B approvals are capped at 85,000 per year, with 20,000 spots for people with advanced degrees. Nearly 400,000 petitions, most of which were for renewal, were approved in fiscal year 2024. The majority of H-1B workers come from India, with the second-most common birthplace being China.

The proposal is part of a sweeping effort by the administration to restrict various immigration programs and make it more difficult for undocumented immigrants to get residency or asylum. In January, the State Department paused immigrant visas from 75 countries, a ban that was struck down by a federal judge on Friday.

The administration has  faced multiple lawsuits by labor unions, research universities and dozens of states over the new fee, saying that it would significantly curb U.S. employers’ ability to hire global talent, decimate hospitals with already skeleton staff and upend the tech industry, which relies on foreign-born AI researchers and coders.

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“Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” he said. The administration is calling the measures “Operation Economic Outcast.”

Secretary Bessent called “its enablers.”

Bessent, though did not name China in his introductory remarks on Monday criticized the country last week for historically buying about 90% of Iran’s oil. China is Iran’s biggest oil customer.

When a reporter asked whether Chinese banks could be targeted by the administration’s new measures, Bessent said, “We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions.”

“The president is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime,” Treasury Secretary Bessent said. “We are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior.”

He wouldn’t spell out a timeline of when Iran’s biggest trade partners — including China — could face secondary sanctions. “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” he said.

A statement from the Treasury Department said that among the targets of Monday’s sanctions is “a network of brokers, companies, and shadow fleet vessels operating across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland, Europe, and other regions to transport Iranian oil and channel revenue to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC‑QF) and other regime elements.”

The Trump administration has been calling this “D-Day” for the Iranian economy. The Treasury said it has mapped out “networks, facilitators and financial channels” that enable Iran.

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“On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in the World to deal with,” Trump said his social media platform on Monday. “They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!”

The moves come after negotiations between Canada and the U.S. broke down over the weekend.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued blistering remarks about the U.S. approach to trade negotiations. He said talks broke down after American negotiators made requests that were unfavorable to Canada.

“They asked too much and offered too little,” Carney said at a Saturday press conference. He criticized the Trump administration, saying it “uses economic integration as a weapon.”

 A fresh round of 50% U.S. tariffs on some Canadian goods took effect on Saturday, prompting a vow from Canada to retaliate with a set of its own levies.

According to the Canada Prime Minister Carney, the 50% tariff would be applied to roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods and that Canada would match the U.S. “dollar for dollar.” Canada’s retaliatory tariffs would go into effect on Sept. 8 and more details will be revealed later, the prime minister said on Saturday.

Mark Carney noted that one of the sticking points was changes by the U.S. over its levels of tariffs on automobiles that he claimed would have hurt Canada’s economy over time.

The latest announcement from Trump promised to double tariffs from 25% to 50% on Canadian cars and auto parts starting on Jan. 1, 2027. The elevated levy will also apply to steel and trucks, according to the president.

According to the Census Bureau  data, In the first half of 2026, the U.S. exported $175.8 billion in goods to Canada — the second biggest export trading partner after Mexico — accounting for 14% of all U.S. exports.

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“July was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine in over four years, with at least 437 killed and more than 2,600 injured”, Tom fletcher said . In the first half of the year, civilian casualties rose 37 per cent compared to last year.

Undersecretary General Fletcher on Monday briefed the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. In the Briefing, Undersecretary general urge to defend the international humanitarian law with three urgent measures by the UN security council. First, Civilians and civilian objects must never be targeted. Violations must be credibly investigated, perpetrators held accountable. Impunity cannot be normalized and taking concrete measures that protect humanitarian action, including systems for responding to strikes near convoys, for improved humanitarian notification and for temporary ceasefires for evacuations.

Second, help humanitarians prepare for the tough winter ahead. If energy infrastructure continues to be targeted, we face the prospect of a much worse humanitarian crisis. Do not allow the international discourse on this war to be dominated by an arms race. And work strenuously to get peaceful commerce moving again across the Black Sea.

And the third, we need robust debate with the States and companies driving this lethal military innovation. The onus of compliance remains with those who develop, deploy and use these systems.

“Drone warfare is dismantling civilian life” Undersecretary General Fletcher told the Security Council giving first hand witness.

Describing the devastating impact of this war Fletcher told the Security Council, “Technology is now outpacing accountability. Abandon the rules of war and we all face the chilling reality the Ukrainians face right now. And they need this war to end above all.”

Expressing concerns of danger by modern tech, he said, Drone operators appear to feel detached from their victims and from the law. But neither the weapon nor the distance diminishes the unequivocal obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL), regardless of the weapon or the party, to protect civilians and civilian objects.

“Drones have a persistent humanitarian impact. Civilians live in constant anxiety, knowing drones are being used to track, observe and strike them with little warning,” Fletcher told.

Humanitarian workers face these same dangers and require the same protection.

Between January and July, ten humanitarian workers were killed in Ukraine and almost 40 injured. At least 20 warehouses have been destroyed, erasing millions of dollars in aid. UN convoys have been struck, evacuation vehicles hit while attempting to save civilians.

While humanitarian operations in Ukraine are better supported than other crises, they remain underfunded“ Fletcher told ‘we need a stronger bridge to long-term recovery.’

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Trade negotiations between the United States and Canada fell apart Friday night, shortly before a midnight deadline for the 50% tariffs to take effect on $20 billion worth of Canadian products, including some dairy products, alcoholic beverages, cement and hockey equipment.

Prime Minister Carney said on Friday night that “Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.” He later said the retaliatory tariffs set to kick in next month will focus on American sectors such as “steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.”

The move came hours after the Trump administration began enforcing 50% tariffs on a slew of Canadian goods. Trump imposed a new set of sweeping tariffs this week, arguing they will benefit the U.S. economy — and American workers. But there is plenty of signs tariffs will end up hurting many households.

In a statement shared on social media, Mark Carney said important progress had been made in recent weeks toward “improving Canada’s position as having the best deal in the world with the U.S.” That progress, however, did not meet Canada’s objectives, he said.

The prime minister blamed the U.S. for the collapse in negotiations. “Last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal,” Carney said, concluding, “Canada has what the world wants. And we will not allow any nation to determine our future.”

Saturday morning Carney had written on social media that his negotiators had worked “in good faith” for more than a year, and his government would in the coming days “release the details of these new tariff measures, which will come into force the Tuesday after Labour Day.”

Overnight Saturday, President Trump posted on social media saying: “Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!! They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!! President DJT.”

The U.S., in turn, pointed the finger at Canada. Shortly after midnight, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer responded to Carney on social media by saying that Canada had “declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week.”

“Despite the U.S. offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walk backs of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days,” Greer said.

He added that earlier this week “the United States agreed to provide even better treatment to Canada, offering significant tariff reductions on steel, aluminum, autos, and lumber.”

“The offer would have led to supply chain coordination on aerospace, complementary actions to address unfair trade practices, critical minerals cooperation, increased enforcement against imports produced with forced labor, and the announcement of formal U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) negotiations,” Greer said in his statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a bulletin to businesses Friday warning that its officers would be ensuring importers complied with the new rates starting immediately after the deadline passed.

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Iran’s new security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said in an interview on state TV over the weekend that Iran would retaliate in a “seismic manner” to Trump’s latest attempt at economic warfare. Rezaei, a hard-liner who used to lead Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, is now a military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Rezaei warned Gulf states that any countries partnering in these new economic restrictions would be considered an enemy of — and a target for — Iran.

Rezaei said Iran would retaliate by further targeting oil tankers that are transiting the Persian Gulf, warning that “not even a single drop of oil will leave the region.”

The hard-line leader of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, issued his latest warning on X, with the comments quickly shared by Iranian state media.

“If (Trump) wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” he had told the state broadcaster in an interview that aired late Saturday. He said Iran would target other oil-shipping routes from the Persian Gulf — alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. already has extensive sanctions on Iran, some stretching back almost 50 years. And as recently as June, the U.S. had imposed further penalties for entities that helped Iran evade existing financial restrictions. Months long U.S. naval blockade of Iran, which has cut off most goods to Iran from the outside world.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday is expected to announce the new measures after the U.S. vowed to impose an “unprecedented” level of economic warfare and isolation on a country that has lived for decades under sanctions.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier Sunday said the memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June was the best way to move beyond a situation of “neither war nor peace,” adding that Tehran can’t attract investment nearly six months after the war began.

“There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation,” Pezeshkian said in a speech published by state-run IRNA. “The supreme leader sets the policies, and we will follow that path.”

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“We need the international community to uphold the law. The law is meant to protect us, meant to protect civilians from all weapons, however sophisticated they are. So we need those investigations. We need accountability,” Fletcher said. And behind it all, this sense we feel of impunity, of a lack of accountability for those who pulled the trigger, those who gave the order, those who supplied the weapon, those who created the environment in which it could be used in that way, he added.

Honoring the memory of friends and colleagues across the global humanitarian effort, he said, “We do grieve today but we recommit to this mission, the mission that they loved and ultimately died for. We recommit to that mission in their memory.”

While staying in Ukraine, Under-Secretary-General said, he has been in Kherson for the last two days, which is a real epicenter at the moment – it’s saturated by use of drones against civilian areas.  

 “I was really struck – I drove the road four times, actually, that Ukrainians call the “Road of Death,” between Mykolaiv and Kherson, and until you see it and experience it, it’s hard to describe driving for miles and miles, kilometres, kilometres along these roads covered in netting to try and keep out as many of the drones as possible. That sense when you’re walking around of the constant threat, the alarms going on everyone’s phone incessantly, and the sense of collective anxiety that these drones create, Under-Secretary-General Fletcher said.

“It’s become one of the places, I’m afraid he said,  where you get to really understand this dystopian reality that lies ahead, potentially, for many of us, but is an existence day to day for people here and in so many of the crisis areas in which we work, from Somalia to Sudan to Gaza to Lebanon.

Referring to the remarks by Stephen Dujarric Fletcher said said, this day was born from tragedy, the Canal Hotel bombing 23 years ago. But those tragedies are now continuing day to day, and we’re seeing them increasingly powered by a chilling alliance between technological ingenuity and modern warfare, and the victims are civilians and they are humanitarians.

While taking about the Ukraine Tom Fletcher also talked on use of modern technology Drone,” we need the companies who are manufacturing and supplying these weapons to understand international humanitarian law, to understand how these weapons are being used and to understand their obligations and responsibilities.” we need States to uphold the law, He said.

Fletcher expressed concerns that Member States is not doing enough.

Fletcher responded to a question ,”we  need a dialogue with the companies involved in supply and distribution of this new deadly technology to make sure they really understand the risks that they are creating and their obligations under international law as well. And then we need to have a strong, robust conversation about international humanitarian law in the 21st century and try to make sure that our enforcement of the rules keeps up with the deadly innovation, in this case that we’re seeing. This shouldn’t be beyond us. The world has had to adapt to modernization of warfare again and again.

Under-Secretary-General Fletcher said, everyone – from the kids I met in shelters, civilians, humanitarians, my colleagues – he said, can tell the difference between the sound of a first-person-view drone and a fibre-optic drone and the medium-range drones or the loitering munitions, which are such a threat to our work. And so these weapons have become part of life and part of the language of people here, and that’s pretty chilling.

“So you see this dystopian reality of these kill zones and kamikaze drones increasingly putting lethal power into the hands of more people, and all of that without the accountability that […].

We have a sense that it’s not just the killer, who’s further from the victim, but that accountability and justice are further from the victim, and that the technology is changing every week as these drones become more sophisticated’” he added.

You know, my family name is Fletcher; he said, ‘we were arrow makers.’ The world adjusted to a world of arrow makers, it adjusted to a world of gunpowder. It created rules to protect people from nuclear weapons, ballistic weapons, and chemical weapons. Those rules apply to these drones, but they are not being applied in the way that they should.

Fletcher said,   this isn’t just a Ukraine story. I’ve seen the way that armed drones are transforming war around the world. I was told in Somalia a few weeks ago by women that they were fleeing not famine or violence, but the drones that are following them round, as people are experimenting with cheaper and cheaper and more available technology. So, from Sudan to Colombia to Gaza to Lebanon, these cheap armed drones are extending the reach of war and allowing people to kill at greater distance. A thousand civilians killed in Sudan in the first five months of the year.

World need to ensure that if the global economy is being put, as it is, on a war footing, that we are also training these weapons in the right way, he said, and that we’re also ensuring that technology does not outpace humanity and that technology does not outpace accountability.

When asked, Under-Secretary-General of the UN for humanitarian affairs underscored the needs of resources to provide those to all our partners in the field to face challenges about how we protect ourselves, particularly from drones, in the future, and how we adapt protection of our colleagues.

Firstly,as humanitarians, you know, we’re here to help survivors, he added.

Responding to a  question on Gaza, Under-Secretary-General Fletcher said,  it’s been a very, very rough few years for our work, of course, in Gaza, Lebanon, elsewhere. But it’s been much rougher for the civilians that we serve, and you know, but I wouldn’t characterize it as the dismantlement of the UN humanitarian system. We’re still here, and we’re still doing our work in Gaza and elsewhere. We’ve made real inroads, as, in handling the hunger levels in Gaza, for example, with over a million hot meals a day. You know, over that last year, since the 20-Point Plan, since the Sharm El-Sheikh meeting, we’ve got a lot more food in, and we are turning the corner on the hunger situation.

Of course, we’ve got much, much further to go. We’ve got to get shelter materials in for the winter. We’ve got to get all the crossings open. We’ve got to get the full range of our NGO partners operating in the way that we need them to operate. We’ve got to get the protections for civilians in place from airstrikes he said.

Fletcher said, In Gaza, across the West Bank, in Lebanon, but globally, the UN humanitarian system has taken the shocks to it and continues to operate. And we’re out there right now, looking to reach 87 million people this year with life-saving support, as you’ve heard me describe, and we’re not retreating from that challenge, either because of these weapons being used against us, or because of the scale of the challenges in places like Gaza, Sudan, Yemen and beyond, where our work is under such threat.

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UN Women Special Representative in Afghanistan, Susan Ferguson told Journalists “Afghanistan is the only country in the world where women and girls faces far-reaching restrictions on their education, work, movement, public participation, and legal equality.”

 In the past year alone, new decrees and edicts have further restricted women’s and girls’ access to justice and formally removed equality between men and women before the law.  Year by year, the de facto authorities have systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls, issuing more than 100 decrees that have stripped away their rights and institutionalized discrimination against them, She added.

 “We are seeing just how profoundly these restrictions are reshaping women’s everyday lives,” Ferguson said, Women described a constant need to be aware of their dress, speech, and movements to avoid sanctions, scrutiny, or judgment.

This systematic loss of rights, freedoms, and opportunities has triggered a mental health crisis among women and girls. Seven in ten women we surveyed describe their mental health as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’. These figures tell us what five years of systematic and growing exclusion looks like in the life of an Afghan woman according to the UN women special representative Ferguson.

Ferguson underscored that   Women’s organizations are one of the last remaining lifelines for Afghan women and girls, delivering life-saving services including protection from violence, healthcare, mental health and psychosocial support, livelihoods and humanitarian assistance. Yet, nearly three-quarters of these organizations experienced funding cuts in 2025. Two-thirds reported they had six months or less of operational funding remaining. She said, More than half of these organizations said they had scaled back gender-based violence support, and two out of three said they had already scaled back education and income support Ferguson added. And these pressures extend beyond women’s organizations.

In June, a survey of more than 100 NGOs and UN entities found that more than half had been forced to let Afghan women staff go because of funding cuts according to Ferguson.

Afghanistan also remains prone to natural disasters and climate shocks, which can push already vulnerable families even further into crisis. This year, more than 10.7 million Afghan women and girls need humanitarian assistance. And 4.9 million women and children are expected to need treatment for malnutrition.

“So we are facing a stark contradiction. Despite operating in the world’s most severe women’s rights crisis. Despite being one of the last remaining lifelines for many vulnerable women and girls. Despite needs rising as poverty deepens and restrictions on women intensify… Ferguson said.

UN special representative said, More than half of the 3,200 women  surveyed say they now leave their homes only once or twice a month. Nearly three-quarters say they feel unsafe leaving home without a male guardian, or mahram. And more than half say they avoid public spaces, such as markets and health facilities, altogether.

In the face of all these extraordinary restrictions, I hear the message over and over from the Afghan women I meet: see us, don’t leave us, stand with us, and continue to support us, Ferguson said.

Across Afghanistan, international aid cuts are forcing women’s organizations to cut services, lay off staff and, in some cases, consider closing their doors altogether. In fact, more than half of the 74 women’s organizations UN Women surveyed in April this year are likely to suspend work or close in the next year due to these aid cuts.

Explaining the situation on the ground Ferguson presented examples that , under Decree Number 12, a husband is only criminally liable for violence within marriage if he causes severe and visible physical injuries – and his wife must prove it in court, with her male guardian, who may be the very person who harmed her.

Under Decree Number 18, men retain the right to divorce, but a woman either needs her husband’s permission or to go through lengthy legal processes. The decree also implicitly permits child marriage, further eroding the rights and protection of women and girls.

Enforcement of these decrees and edicts has intensified, with thousands of officials now patrolling the streets with broad powers of detention and surveillance. The gates of high schools remain locked to girls. The halls of universities remain open to men only. And a growing shortage of women health workers – a consequence of the education bans – is making it harder for women to receive health care, particularly in communities where custom prevents women from being treated by male doctors.

The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan for the second time five years ago. What has unfolded since then has no parallel in the modern world.

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