The Sunday Magazine for August 17, 2025
This week on The Sunday Magazine with guest host Saroja Coelho:
What was gained – or lost – at Trump's Alaska meeting with Putin
Friday marked the first time U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in person since the war in Ukraine began. Notably missing from the summit in Alaska: the Ukrainians. Coelho speaks with New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers about what was accomplished – or lost – at the meeting. Then, McGill University political science associate professor Maria Popova explains the best and worst case scenarios for peace following the summit.
The case for throwing shade in cities where sun reigns
As record temperatures scorch Canada, you may find yourself walking on the shady side of the street, or ducking under a tree. But in many cities, keeping public spaces sunny has long been a key priority. The Globe and Mail's architecture critic Alex Bozikovic explains how sun and shade wars have broader implications on critical city infrastructure. Then, Coelho speaks with environmental journalist Sam Bloch about how prizing sun over shade has cast a long shadow on urban design and public health in our warming world.
What's next after government intervenes in Air Canada labour dispute
After a short strike and ensuing lockout, the federal government intervened in the labour dispute between Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants on Saturday, sending employees back to work and ordering binding arbitration. Coelho speaks with aviation expert John Gradek about how the lingering travel disruptions may affect you, and what this move signals about the government's approach to workers.
The past and future of Canada's parks as climate change changes them
Big crowds are heading to Canada's parks this summer, thanks to both a Donald Trump-driven decline in Canadians heading south, and the Canada Strong Pass, which allows free access to national parks. But more visitors also raise concerns about park protection and conservation, while wildfires and woods bans have restricted some from visiting them at all. Alan MacEachern is a Canadian history professor at Western University, who focuses on environmental and climate history. He joins Coelho to reflect on how our parks evolved, who they're for, and what their future may hold in our ever-warming world.
Memories of Vietnam, 50 years after the war
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The conflict led to more than one million people fleeing the war-torn countries of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Canada accepted approximately 200,000 refugees from the region between 1975 and the 1990s. Canadian author Vinh Nguyen was among them. He speaks with Piya Chattopadhyay about retracing his family's journey in his memoir The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse, and how this moment in history resonates with diasporic experiences today.
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Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
European leaders to join Ukraine's Zelenskyy for meeting with Trump
European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they will join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, with the possibility of U.S. security guarantees now on the negotiating table. Leaders from France, Britain and Germany are rallying around the Ukrainian leader after his exclusion from Trump's summit on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their pledge to be at Zelenskyy's side at the White House on Monday is an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump berated Zelenskyy in a heated Oval Office encounter. 'The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelenskyy to the hilt,' said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations. 'It's a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump,' he said. Story continues below advertisement Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Putin agreed at the meeting in Alaska with Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Zelenskyy, said 'we welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. And the 'Coalition of the willing' — including the European Union — is ready to do its share.' Von der Leyen was joined Sunday by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in saying they will take part in Monday's talks at the White House, as will secretary-general of the NATO military alliance, Mark Rutte. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The European leaders' demonstration of support could help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Ukraine risks being railroaded into a peace deal that Trump says he wants to broker with Russia. Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said European leaders are trying to 'shape this fast-evolving agenda.' After the Alaska summit, the idea of a ceasefire appears all-but-abandoned, with the narrative shifting toward Putin's agenda of ensuring Ukraine does not join NATO or even the EU. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday that a possible ceasefire is 'not off the table' but that the best way to end the war would be through a 'full peace deal.' Story continues below advertisement Putin has implied that he sees Europe as a hindrance to negotiations. He has also resisted meeting Zelenskyy in person, saying that such a meeting can only take place once the groundwork for a peace deal has been laid. Speaking to the press after his meeting with Trump, the Russian leader raised the idea that Kyiv and other European capitals could 'create obstacles' to derail potential progress with 'behind-the-scenes intrigue.' For now, Zelenskyy offers the Europeans the 'only way' to get into the discussions about the future of Ukraine and European security, says RUSI's Melvin. However, the sheer number of European leaders potentially in attendance means the group will have to be 'mindful' not to give 'contradictory' messages, Melvin said. 'The risk is they look heavy-handed and are ganging up on Trump,' he added. 'Trump won't want to be put in a corner.' Although details remain hazy on what Article 5-like security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe would entail for Ukraine, it could mirror NATO membership terms, in which an attack on one member of the alliance is seen as an attack on all. In remarks made on CNN's 'State of the Union,' Witkoff said Friday's meeting with Trump was the first time Putin has been had heard to agree to such an arrangement. Story continues below advertisement Zelenskyy continues to stress the importance of both U.S. and European involvement in any negotiations. 'A security guarantee is a strong army. Only Ukraine can provide that. Only Europe can finance this army, and weapons for this army can be provided by our domestic production and European production. But there are certain things that are in short supply and are only available in the United States,' he said at the press conference Sunday alongside Von der Leyen.
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Putin agreed to let U.S., Europe offer Ukraine NATO-style security guarantees, Trump envoy says
Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defence mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,' he said on CNN's State of the Union. He added that it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that 'we welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine and the 'Coalition of the willing' – including the European Union – is ready to do its share.' European leaders to join Zelensky and Trump for White House meeting Witkoff, offering some of the first details of what was discussed at Friday's summit in Alaska, said the two sides agreeing to 'robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing.' He added that Russia said that it would make a legislative commitment not to go after any additional territory in Ukraine. Zelensky thanked the United States for recent signals that Washington is willing to support security guarantees for Ukraine, but said the details remained unclear. 'It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine,' he said, 'But there are no details how it will work, and what America's role will be, Europe's role will be and what the EU can do, and this is our main task, we need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees.' Witkoff defended Trump's decision to abandon his push for Russia to agree to an immediate ceasefire, saying the president had pivoted toward a peace deal because so much progress was made. 'We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,' Witkoff said, without elaborating. 'We began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal,' he said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted there would be 'additional consequences' as Trump warned before meeting with Putin, if they failed to reach a ceasefire. But Rubio noted that there wasn't going to be any sort of deal on a truce reached when Ukraine wasn't at the talks. 'Now, ultimately, if there isn't a peace agreement, if there isn't an end of this war, the president's been clear, there are going to be consequences,' Rubio said on ABC's 'This Week.' 'But we're trying to avoid that. And the way we're trying to avoid those consequences is with an even better consequence, which is peace, the end of hostilities.' Analysis: Trump and Putin in Alaska is a study in contrasts Rubio, who is also Trump's national security adviser, said he did not believe issuing new sanctions on Russia would force Putin to accept a ceasefire, noting that the latter isn't off the table but that 'the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal.' 'The minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to table will be severely diminished,' Rubio said on NBC's Meet the Press. He also said 'we're not at the precipice of a peace agreement' and that getting there would not be easy and would take a lot of work. 'We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remains some big areas of disagreement. So we're still a long ways off,' Rubio said. Zelensky and Europeans leaders are scheduled to meet Monday with Trump at the White House. They heard from the president after his meeting with Putin. 'I think everybody agreed that we had made progress. Maybe not enough for a peace deal, but we are on the path for the first time,' Witkoff said. He added: 'The fundamental issue, which is some sort of land swap, which is obviously ultimately in the control of the Ukrainians – that could not have been discussed at this meeting' with Putin. 'We intend to discuss it on Monday. Hopefully we have some clarity on it and hopefully that ends up in a peace deal very, very soon.'
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
‘All eyes are going to be on Zelenskyy': What to expect from Ukraine-U.S. meeting on Monday
Watch Former European and NATO policy deputy assistant secretary Jim Townsend on what EU leaders want from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's meeting at the White House.
