Extremist attack kills 10 in northern Mali: sources

TOKYO: Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is keen to reinforce relationships between Japan’s capital and partner cities in the Middle East following her trip to the region in November when she visited Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Her program in Cairo featured talks with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aati and Cairo Governor Ibrahim Saber, in addition to her attendance at the 12th World Urban Forum on sustainable urbanization where she stated: “I am moving Tokyo forward to a better future.”

Koike has also emphasized the role of startups in urban development. “As we enter a period of major change in the industrial structure, and startups drive global change and growth, it is vital to nurture and cooperate with startups that generate innovation,” she says.

Koike has been promoting SusHi Tech Tokyo, one of Asia’s largest startup conferences, aimed at creating sustainable new value with cutting-edge technology. In May, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will host SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025, which is expected to bring together over 500 startups and investors, as well as at least 50,000 visitors from Japan and abroad, and result in more than 5,000 business negotiations.

“In May, we will hold SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 to accelerate open innovation with challengers from around the world,” Koike said. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi have signed an agreement on city-to-city cooperation in digital transformation and other practical areas, while Egyptian Communications and Information Minister Amr Talat told Koike that the startup and entrepreneurship sectors stand out as possible areas of cooperation between Egypt and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Koike also met with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and attended a promotion event in the UAE capital by several Tokyo startup companies specializing in sustainable materials, products and devices. The firms included a heatstroke-alarm watch maker and the world’s largest vertical indoor strawberry farm.

The future envisaged by Koike includes greater resilience against natural disasters. The Tokyo Resilience Project prepares Tokyo against increasingly intense and frequent heavy rains due to climate change and other natural disasters.

As part of the project, Tokyo is building huge “underground regulating reservoirs” connected to the sea to prevent flooding in urban areas and rivers from overflowing.

Tokyo is also committed to the goal of achieving zero emissions by 2050. “Tokyo will spearhead the social implementation of clean energy,” she stated.

Tokyo has also been promoting exchanges of high school students with Middle Eastern countries to raise youth awareness towards the creation of a multicultural inclusive society and to cultivate the mindset that encourages students to collaborate with others in solving global challenges.

Since 2022, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education has dispatched 109 students from Tokyo metropolitan high schools to places such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Egypt and Turkey for the purpose of developing global human resources. At the same time, the board has invited high school students from the Middle East for international exchanges.

Another exchange in culture and science is the agreement between the Tokyo Metropolitan Library and the Bibliotheca Alexandria in Egypt to explore their cooperation in the AI-driven digital age.

• This article is based on a report from Noboru Sekiguchi, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Special Advisor to the Governor on International Affairs.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said President Donald Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st US state is “a real thing” and is linked to the country’s rich natural resources, local media reported.
Trudeau’s comments to business and labor leaders in a closed-door session were mistakenly carried by a loudspeaker, Canada’s public broadcaster CBC reported.
“Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on…,” Trudeau said of making Canada a US state before the microphone cut out, according to CBC.
“They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have and they very much want to be able to benefit from those,” Trudeau reportedly said.
Trudeau’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a post on social platform X, Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labor, confirmed what Trudeau said.
“Yes, I can confirm that Trudeau said his assessment is that what Trump really wants is not action on fentanyl or immigration or even the trade deficit, what he really wants is to either dominate Canada or take it outright,” McGown wrote.
Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada would be better off if it agreed to become the 51st US state.
In public comments Friday, Trudeau said Canada must think “tactically and strategically” on how to deal with Trump’s threats to impose hefty tariffs on all Canadian imports.
Speaking in Toronto at the opening of a one-day summit on the Canada-US economic relationship, Trudeau said the country must work with the US to avoid tariffs, adding that Canada needs to eliminate internal trade barriers and expand its trade with other nations.
“This is a moment,” said Trudeau. “This is a time in our country’s history that really matters.”
Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on threats to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with another 10 percent tariff on Canadian oil, natural gas and electricity.
Trump had threatened the tariffs to ensure greater cooperation from the countries to stop illegal immigration and prevent fentanyl smuggling, but he has also pledged to use tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing and raise revenues for the federal government.
Trudeau said Canada can use the 30-day extension to show US officials the country’s increased spending on border security. Canada has announced a $1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($900 million) border security plan that includes drones, helicopters, more border guards and the creation of a joint task force.
Trudeau also has promised to appoint a new fentanyl czar, who will serve as the primary liaison between the Canadian and US governments, even though less than 1 percent of the fentanyl and illegal immigrant crossings into the US come from Canada.
“We need to be very deliberate about how we continue to engage closely with the United States to make the case that Canada is responsible for a tiny part of the North American fentanyl problem, but that we are also bitterly touched by this tragedy,” Trudeau said.
He added that Canada needs to be prepared if Trump decides to go ahead with the tariffs after 30 days.
“We need to be ready to respond robustly,” he said. “We also have to be ready to support Canadians through the responses we’re giving and through a difficult time of tariffs.”
Canada had planned to retaliate to the US action with 25 percent tariffs on $155 billion Canadian dollars ($109 billion) worth of American goods.
Trudeau said it’s also time to have “genuine free trade in Canada,” while strengthening its trade relationships with other countries.
Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said she is happy the meeting is focused on internal trade, trade diversification and responding to US tariffs.
“It’s clear that we can’t just tinker around the edges with incremental steps right now,” she said. “We’ve got to be bold so that businesses and communities can pivot to be more resilient and less reliant on what happens in the US,” Laing said in a statement.