Threat of wider war looms after U.S. bombs Iran nuclear sites
The Globe's international affairs columnist, Doug Saunders, joins The Decibel. He explains how the U.S. got involved in this conflict, what's at stake for the leaders of the U.S., Israel and Iran, and why there are concerns this could become a wider war.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com
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CTV News
22 minutes ago
- CTV News
Trump administration halts visas for people from Gaza after Laura Loomer questions arrivals
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives for a joint press conference with President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) WASHINGTON — A day after conservative activist Laura Loomer posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review. The State Department said Saturday the visas would be stopped while it looks into how 'a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas' were issued in recent days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday told 'Face the Nation' on CBS that the action came after 'outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it." Rubio said there were 'just a small number' of the visas issued to children in need of medical aid but that they were accompanied by adults. The congressional offices reached out with evidence that 'some of the organizations bragging about and involved in acquiring these visas have strong links to terrorist groups like Hamas,' he asserted, without providing evidence or naming those organizations. As a result, he said, 'we are going to pause this program and reevaluate how those visas are being vetted and what relationship, if any, has there been by these organizations to the process of acquiring those visas.' Loomer on Friday posted videos on X of children from Gaza arriving earlier this month in San Francisco and Houston for medical treatment with the aid of an organization called HEAL Palestine. 'Despite the US saying we are not accepting Palestinian 'refugees' into the United States under the Trump administration,' these people from Gaza were able to travel to the U.S., she said. She called it a 'national security threat' and asked who signed off on the visas, calling for the person to be fired. She tagged Rubio, U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. Trump has downplayed Loomer's influence on his administration, but several officials swiftly left or were removed shortly after she publicly criticized them. The State Department on Sunday declined to comment on how many of the visas had been granted and whether the decision to halt visas to people from Gaza had anything to do with Loomer's posts. HEAL Palestine said in a statement Sunday that it was 'distressed' by the State Department decision to stop halt visitor visas from Gaza. The group said it is 'an American humanitarian nonprofit organization delivering urgent aid and medical care to children in Palestine.' A post on the organization's Facebook page Thursday shows a photo of a boy from Gaza leaving Egypt and headed to St. Louis for treatment and said he is 'our 15th evacuated child arriving in the U.S. in the last two weeks.' The organization brings 'severely injured children' to the U.S. on temporary visas for treatment they can't get at home, the statement said. Following treatment, the children and any family members who accompanied them return to the Middle East, the statement said. 'This is a medical treatment program, not a refugee resettlement program,' it said. The World Health Organization has repeatedly called for more medical evacuations from Gaza, where Israel's over 22-month war against Hamas has heavily destroyed or damaged much of the territory's health system. 'More than 14,800 patients still need lifesaving medical care that is not available in Gaza,' WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday on social media, and called on more countries to offer support. A WHO description of the medical evacuation process from Gaza published last year explained that the WHO submits lists of patients to Israeli authorities for security clearance. It noted that before the war in Gaza began, 50 to 100 patients were leaving Gaza daily for medical treatment, and it called for a higher rate of approvals from Israeli authorities. The U.N. and partners say medicines and even basic health care supplies are low in Gaza after Israel cut off all aid to the territory of over 2 million people for more than 10 weeks earlier this year. 'Ceasefire! Peace is the best medicine,' Tedros added Wednesday. Associated Press, The Associated Press
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
European leaders to join Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump in apparent show of support
European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington for Monday's talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, with the possibility of U.S. security guarantees now on the negotiating table. European leaders, including heavyweights France, Britain and Germany, are rallying around the Ukrainian leader after his exclusion from Trump's summit in Alaska 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. WATCH | Trump says Putin meeting was 'very productive': Trump calls meeting with Putin 'very productive' 2 days ago U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on many points during their talks Friday about the war in Ukraine, but about any formal agreement, he said, 'We haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway. So there's no deal until there's a deal.' U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Putin agreed in Alaska 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. 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." Canada is also a member of this coalition. Macron, Starmer among leaders to join talks Von der Leyen was joined Sunday by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish President Alexander Stubb 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. 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. WATCH | Putin has warning for European countries following Alaska meeting: Putin has warning for Europe 2 days ago 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." 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." Zelenskyy stresses U.S., European role in talks 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 had been heard to agree to such an arrangement. 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," he said at Sunday's news conference alongside von der Leyen. "Only Europe can finance this army, and weapons for this army can be provided by our domestic production and European production. Zelenskyy also pushed back against Trump's assertion — which aligned with Putin's preference — that the two sides should negotiate a complete end to the war, rather than first securing a ceasefire. Zelenskyy said a ceasefire would provide breathing room to review Putin's demands.
CTV News
3 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.
