Experts warn that the timing of the potential drawdown could alarm NATO allies and embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin. Senior Defense Department officials are considering a proposal to withdraw as many as 10,000 troops from Eastern Europe, sparking concern on both continents that it would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to six U.S. and European officials who have been briefed on the matter. The units under consideration are part of the 20,000 personnel the Biden administration deployed in 2022 to strengthen the defenses of countries bordering Ukraine after the Russian invasion. The numbers are still being discussed, but the proposal could involve removing up to half of the forces sent by Biden. Internal discussions about reducing American troop levels in Romania and Poland come at a time when President Donald Trump is trying to persuade Putin to agree to a ceasefire. The six U.S. and European officials, all of whom requested anonymity, described multiple details of the proposal that have not been previously reported to NBC News. If the Pentagon adopts the proposal, it will reinforce fears that the United States is abandoning its longtime allies in Europe who view Russia as a growing threat, European officials said. Russian officials would “assess a downsizing of U.S. forces as a weakening of deterrence, and it will increase their willingness to meddle in various ways across the spectrum in Europe,” said Seth Jones, a senior vice president with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Trump administration has made it clear that it wants European allies to take more responsibility for their own defense, allowing the United States to focus its military resources on China and other priorities. In his first trip abroad as defense secretary, Pete Hegseth said in a speech in Brussels in February that “stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.” Instead, the United States would focus on securing its southern border and countering China, he said. Elbridge Colby, whom the Senate is expected to confirm soon to be the Pentagon’s top policy adviser and No. 3 official, has called for a greater focus on China. Colby has argued against devoting more resources to Ukraine and called for reductions in the number of troops in Europe in favor of focusing on the threat from China. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, appeared to criticize that approach at a hearing Thursday. “There are some who believe now is the time to reduce drastically our military footprint in Europe,” Wicker said, without providing any details. “I’m troubled at those deeply misguided and dangerous views held by some midlevel bureaucrats within the Defense Department,” he added, without identifying the officials. “They’ve been working to pursue a U.S. retreat from Europe, and they’ve often been doing so without coordinating with the secretary of defense.” A Pentagon spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The Army declined to comment. At a hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Gen. Chris Cavoli, the head of U.S. European Command and the supreme allied commander of NATO, told the House Armed Services Committee that he opposed reducing U.S. troop levels in Eastern Europe. “In 2022, we originally surged forces forward,” Cavoli said, referring to the military units that the Biden administration sent after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We have periodically reviewed the force structure at both the military level and the policy level. And I have consistently recommended throughout that period to maintain the forces we surged forward, and I would continue to do so.” A Pentagon official who testified alongside Cavoli, Catherine Thompson, declined to give her opinion but acknowledged that troop levels in Europe are under review. Budget cuts expected As the Pentagon undergoes budget cuts under Trump, shrinking the U.S. military’s footprint in Europe would free up resources, potentially for the Indo-Pacific region, which administration officials have said they see as a higher strategic priority. Canceling the deployment of combat units to Eastern Europe could also save money for the Army, which is trying to boost investments in innovative equipment and weapons. Roughly 80,000 American troops are stationed in Europe. After Russia launched the war, lawmakers from both parties backed a strong U.S. military presence along NATO’s eastern flank, seeing it as an important signal to Putin that the United States remains committed to the defense of those border states. But Trump campaigned on a promise to end the war quickly and is now pushing for a ceasefire. He has taken a very different stance toward Ukraine from that of Biden, who vowed to provide weapons and other aid to Kyiv “as long as it takes” to prevail. Trump has pressed Ukraine to make concessions upfront. He suspended military and intelligence assistance for a week after a public clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and he has made no specific commitment about future U.S. military aid. Ben Hodges, a retired three-star general who oversaw the Army in Europe, said he wondered what kind of analysis was done to lead officials to consider the proposal to withdraw troops in the region. “You’ll have a lot less deterrent capability,” Hodges said. “Now Poland obviously is growing its capability, the Romanians are, other European countries are, but that’ll be a hole that’ll have to be filled.” Russia is pursuing a major rebuilding and reform of its military, including modernizing equipment and ratcheting up weapons production, according to a Danish intelligence assessment released in February. If the war in Ukraine ends or is frozen in a ceasefire arrangement, Russia could be capable of waging a large-scale war in Eastern Europe within the next five years if NATO failed to bolster its defenses, the report said.

In streamed remarks at an event hosted by Italy's right-wing deputy prime minister, Musk said Europe and the U.S. should move to "a zero-tariff situation." Tech mogul Elon Musk, a close adviser to President Donald Trump, on Saturday broke with Trump's decision to impose expansive tariffs on most foreign countries, saying he hopes to see a "zero-tariff situation" between the United States and Europe. "I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move, ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America," Musk told The League Congress, an event hosted Saturday by right-wing Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. "That's what I hope occurs, and also more freedom of people to move between Europe and North America if they wish, if they wish to work in Europe or wish to work in America, they should be allowed to do so, in my view. So that has certainly been my advice to the president," Musk added. Trump announced tariffs this week on some of the country's largest trading partners. The United States is set to impose a 20% tariff on the European Union under his plan. Markets plunged Thursday, the day after Trump's announcement, as the S&P 500 index fell nearly 5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4% and the Nasdaq plummeted 6%, with all three posting some of the largest declines since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020. At a White House event announcing the tariffs Wednesday, Trump said the United States has been “looted, pillaged, raped and plundered" by other countries' trading policies and called the next era in the United States the "golden age of America." After two days of the stock market’s falling, Trump was steadfast Saturday on Truth Social in his rationale for having imposed the widespread tariffs, writing that China "and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless 'whipping post.'" "THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" he added. So far, European leaders have threatened to respond to the tariffs, with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, writing on X that: "Europe is prepared to respond. We’ll always protect our interests and values. We’re also ready to engage. And to go from confrontation to negotiation." The European Union, as well as other countries targeted by tariffs, has threatened to impose countermeasures later this month. Trump has long railed against free trade, which Musk expressed support for Saturday. The White House and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Egg prices at grocery stores in the U.S. have hit record highs, leading the Department of Agriculture to seek egg imports from countires like Germany, Sweden and Italy. SCHOENEICHE, Germany — The U.S. government is on a global egg hunt, seeking exports from countries in Europe and elsewhere to ease a severe shortage that has caused egg prices at grocery stores to hit record highs. Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden are among the nations the U.S. Department of Agriculture approached to address the shortage brought on by a bird flu outbreak, according to European industry groups. But supplying Americans with eggs would be complicated for foreign producers — and not because of political tensions over the myriad import tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed or threatened to impose on his nation’s top trading partners. Even if they were eager to share, European countries don’t have many surplus eggs because of their own avian flu outbreaks and the growing domestic demand ahead of Easter. One of the biggest obstacles, however, is the approach the United States takes to preventing salmonella contamination. U.S. food safety regulations require fresh eggs to be sanitized and refrigerated before they reach shoppers; in the European Union, safety standards call for Grade A eggs to be sold unwashed and without extended chilling. “These are two systems that could not be more different,” said Hans-Peter Goldnick, the president of the German Egg Association. Feathers on eggs at the supermarket It is common in parts of Europe, for example, for consumers to buy eggs that still have feathers and chicken poop stuck to them. Farmer David Karlsch described the simple process that gets eggs from hens to customers of the family-owned Saballus poultry farm in Schoeneiche, a town just outside Germany’s capital: The eggs are taken from nests, placed into cartons and sold on the premises or from a refrigerated vending machine just outside the property. “The demand at Easter time is of course very, very high, as many children naturally want to paint eggs,” Karlsch said. Poland, a major egg exporter, fielded a U.S. query about the availability of eggs, according to Katarzyna Gawrońska, director of the National Chamber of Poultry and Feed Producers. The issue of washed vs. unwashed was a crucial factor as European officials considered such requests, she said. Eggs are not cleaned in most of the 27 EU nations because of concerns that removing the natural protective coating from eggshells makes them more vulnerable to bacteria, Gawrońska said. Polish veterinary officials are trying to determine if the country and its farmers can meet U.S. requirements, such as whether the exporting nation has a comparable food safety inspection system or a significant bird flu outbreak. Powdered egg products Although European Union regulations state that table eggs “shall not be washed or cleaned,” member countries have some leeway if they authorized egg baths at packing plants decades ago. Danish Egg Association CEO Jørgen Nyberg Larsen said national customs are part of it; washed eggs are the norm in Sweden, for example. But Sweden and Norway have informed the U.S. they don’t have extra eggs to export, Larsen said. For now, any increased U.S. egg imports from Europe are more likely to arrive in powdered form or other products that can be shipped frozen or dried, Larsen said. That’s the response Poland’s trade association gave U.S. officials. If the U.S. certifies Poland as a source, the organization’s members would have a limited number of shell eggs to sell but could supply “very large volumes of egg processing products,” Gawrońska said. Processed eggs usually are pasteurized to prevent foodborne illnesses and then used in food manufacturing or by restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Baked goods, pasta and sauces like mayonnaise are some of the commercial products made with egg powder. Europe’s own production problems U.S. officials also tried to sound out farmers in northern Italy’s Veneto region for emergency egg supplies, according to Coldiretti, the main Italian agricultural lobbying organization. But Italy only produces enough eggs to cover the national demand so most of the region’s producers said they could not help. Bird flu outbreaks since the start of last year also have taken a toll on the Italian poultry industry. Germany cannot contribute much either. Its domestic poultry industry generates about 73% of the eggs consumed in the country, “and we ourselves essentially have to import eggs from Holland every day to keep everyone satisfied,” the German Egg Association’s Goldnick said. “We have around 45 million eggs that we can collect from the chicken coops every day, and in America, there’s a shortage of around 50 million eggs a day. That shows how difficult it is,” he said. An improving U.S. market and Easter demand Other countries the U.S. government contacted include Austria, Norway, Spain and Denmark. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it secured new egg commitments from South Korea and Turkey in recent months, although it did not specify the amount or type. Brazil, which traditionally exports less than 1% of its total egg production, increased its February shipments to the U.S. by 93% compared to a year earlier, according to the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein. The detection of Newcastle disease, a viral condition often fatal to chickens, in some parts of Brazil impedes the South American nation’s ability to become a significant U.S. egg supplier, market insiders say. Imports of liquid, frozen and dried eggs may help free up some domestic shell eggs for consumers, but the U.S. made its appeal for foreign eggs amid a significant deficit; last month, the country produced 720 million fewer table eggs than in February 2024, a decline of nearly 10%. The U.S. also cut its own egg exports to boost supplies at home, the Agriculture Department said. While the informal trade talks continue, the U.S. market has shown signs of improvement. It’s been nearly a month since a major bird flu outbreak impacted egg-laying hens, the department said. It reported the national wholesale price for large eggs dropped to $3.27 per dozen as of March 21, or less than half its peak of $8.15 per dozen on Feb. 21. U.S. consumers are just starting to see those falling wholesale prices translate to lower prices on grocery shelves, the department said. The big demand for eggs that usually accompanies Easter and Passover could cause prices to edge up again next month. Business is business Trump hasn’t exactly walked on eggshells with the people of Europe since starting his second term. The president’s repeated threats to seize Greenland, a Danish territory, infuriated many in Denmark. His posture toward Ukraine and disparaging remarks from top members of his administration have alarmed America’s European allies. The European Union, which is the third-largest trade partner of the U.S., was not exempted from the tariffs Trump ordered on steel, aluminum and automobiles. Bracing for more, it has prepared counter-tariffs on American products. But many officials in Europe say none of that would rule out exporting eggs. Goldnick said an egg producer friend recently told him that “if the price is right, then I’ll deliver.” Any deals made or not would come down to business decisions, he said. “I have two souls in my chest. On the one hand, I would say, ‘No, we can’t support this system,’ but that’s not the right answer,” he said, referring to new U.S. tariffs on European goods. “The right answer is we have to help where we can, Goldnick continued. “It doesn’t concern the government. You wouldn’t prop them up or anything, but it’s just people’s demand at Easter, for eggs, and that’s just as important to satisfy in America as it is here.”

The event illustrates a growing alliance between Israel — a country founded on the ashes of the Holocaust — and a European far-right that some critics say has not shed its links to antisemitism and Naziism. JERUSALEM — European far-right leaders were in Jerusalem on Thursday for a conference organized by the Israeli government aimed at combating antisemitism, which was shunned by mainstream Jewish leaders because of the divisive guest list. The event illustrates a growing alliance between Israel — a country founded on the ashes of the Holocaust — and a European far-right that some critics say has not shed its links to antisemitism and Naziism during World War II. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads an ultranationalist government, has cultivated close ties in recent years with far-right populist leaders in countries like Hungary, Brazil and Argentina. Many of these leaders, including Netanyahu, have been greatly influenced by the policies and demeanor of U.S. President Donald Trump. In a speech to the conference, Netanyahu commended Trump for his “decisive actions against antisemitism” and blamed U.S. campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza on “a systemic alliance between ultra-progressive left and radical Islam.” “Antisemitism is a disease carried by barbarians” in “all civilized societies,” said Netanyahu. Thursday’s conference illuminated the increasingly strained relationship between Israel and its traditional allies in the West, which have grown uneasy with Israeli politics and the direction of the country’s devastating war in Gaza. Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas and resumed the war earlier this month, and Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza. Jewish communities around the world have reported increases in antisemitic violence since the start of the war. Also attending the event was Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, even after a Bosnian court requested an international arrest warrant for him for his separatist policies. During the conference, Dodik spoke out defiantly against the warrant. “The Muslims from Sarajevo they want to punish me because I came here to Israel supporting Israel,” Dodik told The Associated Press through a translator. “They are misusing the judiciary and the prosecutor office because they are in charge for that.” Most speakers at the conference railed against antisemitism on the political left and in Muslim societies, with only brief mention of antisemitism on the right. Panels of speakers were set to focus on “How Progressivism Fell Captive to Antisemitism” and “How Radical Islam Fuels Antisemitism in the West.” Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right French National Rally party, gave a keynote address in which he blamed rising antisemitism in Europe on migration and Islamism. “Islamism is the totalitarianism of the 21st century. It threatens to destroy everything that is not like it,” he said. David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel during Trump’s first term, also attended. Asked by the moderator about Trump’s plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza, Friedman said: “I love it! I love it. And I think it’s doable.” Other far-right Europeans are attending from the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Hungary. The European far-right’s anti-immigrant platform has focused heavily on immigration from Muslim countries, finding common ground in what Israel describes as a shared battle against Islamic extremism. Critics say this alliance often veers into Islamophobia. Many mainstream Jewish leaders dropped out of the event after initially agreeing to attend, including Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, a leading U.S. nonprofit that battles antisemitism. French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, German antisemitism czar Felix Klein and German politician Volker Beck also canceled their participation, while Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, also pulled out of the conference in favor of hosting a separate meeting of Jewish leaders who had originally come to the country for the conference, his office said.

Prosecutors outlined their reasons to impose a roughly three-year prison sentence for Ray Holmberg, but the judge said Holmberg is still a threat to underage boys. A once-powerful former North Dakota lawmaker was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for traveling to Europe with the intent to pay for sex with a minor. Former state senator Ray Holmberg’s attorney, Mark Friese, confirmed the sentence to The Associated Press but declined to comment after the hearing, which KFGO radio reported included seven hours of testimony, victim statements and an apology from the shackled 81-year-old. Holmberg pleaded guilty last year in U.S. District Court in Fargo, North Dakota, to one count of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity. KFGO reported that during Wednesday’s hearing, the defense and prosecution agreed that Holmberg should serve about three years because of his age and poor health, but federal Judge Daniel Hovland said Holmberg is still a threat to underage boys. Hovland called Holmberg’s character “egregious and despicable” and said that a 37-month sentence wouldn’t deter others. While Holmberg denied actually having sex with anyone under 18, Hovland said he can “read between the lines,” the radio station reported. Prosecutors said Holmberg traveled at least 14 times from 2011 to 2021 to Prague, Czech Republic, to pay for sex with adolescent-age boys. In court last year, Holmberg admitted to paying young male masseuses, some of whom he had sexual contact with at an alleged brothel. But he claimed not to know for certain how old they were. Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl said the crime was “an assault of the dignity of many young boys.” And the majority and minority leaders in the North Dakota Legislature described Holmberg’s crimes as “evil” in a statement that vowed additional resources to law enforcement to help combat increases in criminal sexual assaults and human trafficking, KFGO reported. Holmberg served 45 years in the North Dakota Senate. He resigned in 2022 after The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reported on his many text messages with a man in jail in connection with child sexual abuse material. Holmberg chaired two powerful legislative panels, including the Senate’s budget-writing committee. Records previously obtained by The Associated Press show that Holmberg made dozens of trips throughout the U.S. and to other countries since 1999. Destinations included cities in more than 30 states as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and Norway. At least one of Holmberg’s trips to Prague was state-funded through a teacher exchange program, the Klemetsrud Puhl wrote in court filings last week. “Holmberg’s offending conduct over the course of decades ... can only be described as corruption,” she wrote. “That is, he used his position to serve his own ends.” In one example the prosecutor described, Holmberg brought a University of North Dakota student to the university president’s suite for hockey games, representing “a right to access some of the most influential people in the state” — including the UND president, governor and congressmembers — with the expectation of him engaging in sexual activity with Holmberg, she wrote. In 2012 and 2013, Holmberg posed as a teenage boy in an online chatroom for teens who had undergone circumcision, and misled and manipulated a 16-year-old Canadian boy into sending him explicit photos, the filing said. The full story of the relationship is unclear because the boy later took his own life in 2021, “but no doubt Holmberg’s conduct contributed to his struggles,” Klemetsrud Puhl said. Former U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon said the acts described in the prosecutor’s filing paints a picture for the judge of Holmberg’s overall character. “What we see here is a defendant who has a decades-long track record of identifying extremely vulnerable young men, grooming them and eventually using them for sex,” Purdon said. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support. by

The manuals, which have yet to be approved, would provide instructions on how to prepare for imminent threats, including armed conflict and natural disasters. French Prime Minister François Bayrou plans to distribute a “survival manual” to every household with instructions on how to prepare for imminent threats, amid concerns over an emboldened Russia and weakened security support from the United States. A spokesperson for the prime minister’s office told NBC News that the first-of-its-kind document, which is currently awaiting official approval, addresses preparations for armed conflict, nuclear threats and natural disasters. According to the prime minister’s office, the 20-page booklet was not designed specifically in response to the current geopolitical climate, but it would seem to align with France’s new defense posture. During a national address on March 5, French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the need to overhaul France’s security stance, saying, “We must equip ourselves better, raise our defense posture, and this for peace, even to deter.” If approved, the manual would be launched before the summer, according to French broadcaster Europe 1 radio, and aim to offer practical advice to citizens on how they can protect themselves and their loved ones in the face of immediate danger. Divided into three sections, the manual will include a list of emergency contacts for the police, fire service and ambulance, as well as which radio channels to tune in to for more information. In the face of nuclear threats, it advises closing doors and windows, along with details on how to volunteer for reserve units or firefighting groups. The recommendations include putting together a “survival kit” that consists of at least one and a half gallons of water, a dozen tins of food, a first aid kit, medicines, batteries and a flashlight. In a national address earlier this month, Macron urged his country to prepare to confront “Russian threats,” referring to changing relations between the U.S. and Europe in recent months. “I want to believe the U.S. will stay by our side, but we have to be ready if they don’t,” Macron said, according to Reuters, adding: “Russia has become, at this moment and for years to come, a threat to France and Europe.” After visiting a military base in eastern France this month, Macron announced “a major overhaul” of France’s security forces that includes increasing the number of operational reservists from 40,000 to 100,000 by 2035 and more military equipment. He added that France was willing to discuss offering the country’s nuclear capabilities to European allies given that U.S. military support was no longer guaranteed. “This is the choice we have made and will continue to make. No one can say what will happen in the months and years to come,” he said. The move follows in the footsteps of neighbors and NATO allies Finland, Norway and Sweden, which late last year also updated guidance to their citizens on how to survive war. In Sweden, a pamphlet called “Om krisen eller kriget kommer,” or “If crisis or war comes,” was distributed by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) to all 5 million households over two weeks from Nov. 18, while a digital version was available online. It was the fifth version of a brochure that was first published in World War II, placing “greater emphasis on preparing for war,” according to the MSB.

European nations have been under pressure to shore up their defenses in the face of a hostile Russia and shifts in U.S. policy under President Donald Trump. BERLIN — Germany’s parliament approved plans for a massive spending surge on Tuesday, throwing off decades of fiscal conservatism in hopes of reviving economic growth and scaling up military spending for a new era of European collective defense. The approval in the Bundestag hands conservative leader Friedrich Merz a huge boost, giving the chancellor-in-waiting a windfall of hundreds of billions of euros to ramp up investment after two years of contraction in Europe’s largest economy. Germany and other European nations have been under pressure to shore up their defenses in the face of a hostile Russia and shifts in U.S. policy under President Donald Trump, which European leaders fear could leave the Continent exposed. Merz’s conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD), who are in talks to form a centrist coalition after last month’s election, want to create a 500 billion euro ($546 billion) fund for infrastructure and to ease constitutionally enshrined borrowing rules to allow higher spending on security. “We have for at least a decade felt a false sense of security,” Merz told lawmakers ahead of the vote. “The decision we are taking today on defense readiness ... can be nothing less than the first major step towards a new European defense community,” he said. The legislation still has to go to the Bundesrat upper house, which represents the governments of Germany’s 16 federal states. The main hurdle to passage there appeared to fall on Monday when the Bavarian Free Voters agreed to back the plans. The conservatives and SPD wanted to pass the legislation through the outgoing parliament for fear it could be blocked by an enlarged contingent of far-right and far-left lawmakers in the next Bundestag starting March 25. Merz has justified the tight timetable with the rapidly changing geopolitical situation.

Trump has imposed tariffs on Canada's metals, commented on turning it into the 51st state and sparked a call from infuriated Canadians to boycott U.S. products. New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday during his first official overseas trip, seeking support from one of Ottawa’s oldest allies as U.S. President Donald Trump attacks Canada’s sovereignty and economy. Macron and Carney did not take journalists’ questions ahead of the talks, a sign the French president might not want to upset Trump. Macron did not address Trump’s attacks on Canada but noted that tariffs only bring inflation. “In the current international context, we want to be able to develop our most strategic projects with our closest, more loyal partners,” Macron said, adding that “we are stronger together, better able to ensure the respect of our interests, the full exercise of our sovereignty.” Carney was sworn in on Friday. He will next visit Britain, where he will meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles III, the head of state in Canada. Starmer is also not expected to hold a joint news conference. Carney will also travel to the edge of Canada’s Arctic to reaffirm the country’s security and sovereignty. Carney has chosen the two European capital cities that shaped Canada’s early existence. During his swearing-in, he noted the country was built on the bedrock of three peoples, French, English and Indigenous. He said Canada is fundamentally different from America and will “never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States.” “I want to ensure that France, and the whole of Europe, works enthusiastically with Canada, the most European of non-European countries, and at the same time resolutely North American, determined, like you, to maintain the most positive relations possible with the United States,” Carney said Monday. Since Trump came to office, he has imposed whopping tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and repeatedly commented on turning Canada into the 51st state, infuriating Canadians and sparking a call to boycott U.S. products across the country. Trump also threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on all of America’s trading partners on April 2. Macron said fair trade “is certainly more effective than tariffs, which create inflation and damage supply chains and our economic integration.” Carney’s choice of itinerary emphasizes Canada’s strong connection with the two former colonial powers, said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. “The fact that Canada never broke away from the U.K. in a violent fashion is a key historical and institutional difference between the United States and Canada, a constitutional monarchy rather than a republic that has adopted and retained a U.K.-style parliamentary system,” Béland said. The trip to London will be a kind of homecoming. Carney became the first non-British governor in the Bank of England’s 319-year history when he took the job on July 1, 2013. He served until March 15, 2020. Carney, who turned 60 on Sunday, has said he’s ready to meet with Trump if he shows respect for Canadian sovereignty. He said he doesn’t plan to visit Washington at the moment but hopes to have a phone call with the president soon. His government is also reviewing the purchase of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets in light of Trump’s trade war. Meanwhile, Macron has been increasing efforts to persuade France’s allies to move away from purchases of American military hardware, which also coincides with mounting concerns in Europe that European defenses are overly dependent on U.S. weaponry, technical support and goodwill. Macron touched on the French-British plan for securing any ceasefire in Ukraine. “This common commitment at the side of the Ukrainians has always aimed for a peace that is solid and lasting,” Macron said. “Canada and France are powers of peace, reliable allies, which will take part together in this effort.” He did not give details. Carney spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone late Sunday and invited him to the G7 summit this summer that Canada is hosting. Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as he pushes to end the war in Ukraine. Carney is expected to call a parliamentary election by the end of the week, to take place in late April or early May. Canada’s governing Liberal Party had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared economic war. Now, the party and its new leader could come out on top.

The French president and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have teamed up after the extraordinary shouting match involving Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy. President Emmanuel Macron said in a prime-time address to France on Wednesday night that Europe must be prepared to go it alone in defending Ukraine, without further assistance from the United States under the Trump administration. "I want to believe that the U.S. will stand by our side, but we have to be ready for that not to be the case," Macron said from the Élysée Palace in Paris. He continued, "Whether we reach peace in Ukraine soon or not, we need to be able to recognize the Russian threat and better defend ourselves in order to deter such attacks. Whatever happens, we need to provide ourselves with more arms, more equipment in terms of defense, to provide a dissuasive force." Macron warned that Ukraine cannot be abandoned in its fight against Russia because, he said: "Who can believe that in this context, Russia will stop at Ukraine? Russia has become, and will remain, a threat to France and Europe.” The French president made clear that France and other European countries must take concrete steps, including investing in defense and military capabilities, to protect the security of their nations and Ukraine's. “To remain a spectator in this dangerous world would be crazy," Macron said. "The initiatives for peace are going in the right direction, and I welcome them, and we need to continue to help Ukrainians resist until they can negotiate with Russia a solid and lasting peace for themselves and for all of us. The path to peace cannot be achieved by abandoning Ukraine." Macron reiterated remarks made by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the weekend at a defense summit in London that Europe may have to put boots on the ground in Ukraine. "Our forces will be there if necessary to guarantee peace, not before a peace agreement is signed," Macron said Wednesday. "We will continue to meet with allies to move toward the signing of such an agreement. It's a plan for a lasting, solid, verifiable peace agreement, which we're working on with European partners and Ukraine." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X that he was grateful for Macron's "clear vision and our joint efforts to achieve peace." "Peace must be real, not just a word—it cannot mean Ukraine’s capitulation or collapse. It must be just, reliable, and lasting, and this can only be achieved through strong and long-term security guarantees — for Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world," Zelenskyy said. Macron and Starmer have teamed up in a desperate attempt to heal American-Ukraine ties after last Friday’s extraordinary shouting match at the White House involving Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Both Starmer and Macron have sought to balance their yearslong outspoken support for Zelenskyy with the need to retain good relations with the United States. Teeing up his speech, Macron said on X that it came in a “moment of great uncertainty, when the world is facing its greatest challenges.” Starmer told British lawmakers Wednesday that he had spoken with Trump three times since he visited the White House last week. This Anglo-French mission has at times appeared onerous. After the Oval Office spat, Trump continued to berate Zelenskyy on social media, with the president and some of his team suggesting that Ukraine’s leader could or should be ousted from office. The administration then paused aid to Ukraine, a vital lifeline holding back the Kremlin war machine. The aid freeze is a serious blow not just to Ukraine, whose biggest military backer is the U.S., but also Europe, which is years away from being able to defend itself against Russia without Washington. Things shifted Tuesday when Trump said during his joint address to Congress that he had received “an important letter” from Zelenskyy stating the Ukrainian president's desire for peace and his gratitude for U.S. support. Zelenskyy confirmed the thrust of this missive in an X post on Tuesday, calling the White House clash “regrettable,” thanking Trump’s team and saying he was ready to sign a deal giving Washington access to Ukraine’s rich mineral wealth. Still, there is much to resolve. Ukraine is reluctant to sign a ceasefire without “security guarantees” — meaning protection from Europe and the U.S. against Russia violating the truce, as it has done before. Supporters and independent analysts worry that a ceasefire would allow Russia to regroup — as well as showing Russian President Vladimir Putin that attacking a European country is not only permitted, but rewarded. Zelenskyy once stood firm in demanding these security guarantees. But now facing pressure from Moscow and Washington, he suggested on X that he would accept a minerals deal that was merely a looser “step toward” such promises.

The fossil is mysterious, however: It can't be conclusively identified as any known human ancestor species. In a cave in northern Spain, researchers have discovered pieces of a fossilized face belonging to an ancient human ancestor — the oldest human fossil ever found in Western Europe. The remains, which the team nicknamed “Pink,” are between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old. But they’re mysterious: The facial fragments do not seem to come from any species found in the same area in the past, nor can they be conclusively identified as any particular species. “We are documenting a previously unknown human population in Europe,” said María Martinón-Torres, a co-author of the study and a paleoanthropologist at the Spanish National Research Center for Human Evolution, said in a call with reporters. “This fossil represents the earliest human fossil found so far in Western Europe.” The fragment, discovered in 2022, was first reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday with new details. The researchers tentatively suggested that Pink is likely related to the human ancestor Homo erectus. (The fossil was named, in part, for the band Pink Floyd, and also after Rosa Huguet, the study’s primary author and the coordinator of the archaeological site where it was found.) The finding is significant because it gives researchers a better timeline of when Western Europe was first settled by human ancestors. It could also help bridge a gap in evolutionary space between the oldest known human ancestor fossils found in Europe — which are roughly 1.8 million years old and were discovered at a site in the Republic of Georgia called Dmanisi — and a species called Homo antecessor, which dates back roughly 900,000 years. “It’s not like the Dmanisi fossils, which are older, and it’s not like the younger Homo sapien-like anatomy of Homo antecessor. It’s something in between,” said Rodrigo Lacruz, a professor of molecular pathobiology at New York University, who was not involved in the new discovery but has studied the evolution of the human face. The discovery may therefore help researchers better understand the story of early human evolution and migration in Europe. “We can start piecing together what that population could have looked like, and that’s a great value, because you start seeing how anatomy changes over time,” Lacruz said. The team that discovered Pink said the fossil is from an adult, but they are not sure whether male or female. Pink was found about 60 feet below the top layer of sedimentary rock, at a cave within the Sierra de Atapuerca archaeological site, which is known for the rich historical record in its rock layers. Within the same sedimentary level as Pink, researchers found stone tools and animal bones with marks made by cutting, which suggests that these early ancestors butchered animals for meat. Evidence suggests that human ancestors settled Europe in multiple waves, but that most of those populations subsequently contracted and died out. The fossil record is discontinuous at the Atapuerca site and in Western Europe as a whole, indicating that there were likely long periods without human presence. The study posits that the species Pink belonged to could have overlapped briefly with Homo antecessor. It’s also possible the species was wiped out during a climactic shift that started about 1.1 million years ago and has only recently been identified by researchers. Chris Stringer, a professor and research leader on human evolution at the Natural History Museum in London, who was not involved in the discovery of Pink, said the climate event “may have caused a major and perhaps complete human depopulation of western Europe.” The cave where Pink was discovered, called Sima del Elefante, or elephant chasm, has produced compelling fossils before. In 2007, researchers found a small piece of jawbone that is believed to be about 1.2 million years old, which appears to be closely related to Pink. Pink was found about 6 feet deeper than that fossil, though, which makes scientists believe it’s older. Martinón-Torres said the researchers were shocked to find a new, important fossil even deeper. Her first reaction to the discovery, she said, was: “Am I really dreaming?” The region’s impressive collection of fossils likely has to do with its geography. “Atapuerca was a natural corridor between different mountain systems,” Martinón-Torres said, adding that there was ample water. “It was probably a place that was ideal for hominins to settle. They have the resources; they have the animals passing by.” Scientists are still digging at the archaeological site. “We’re going to keep excavating,” Martinón-Torres said. “We may have more surprises.”