Briefly

MEXICO

Trade ties with Canada deepened amid tariffs

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised during a meeting in Mexico City on Thursday to strengthen trade relations in the face of US tariff threats and pushed to keep the most important free trade agreement in the Western Hemisphere alive in the lead-up to negotiations next year. Key to Carney and Sheinbaum's meeting was the United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, which is up for review in 2026. Sheinbaum said they aim to increase bilateral trade in various sectors through the free-trade agreement and achieve this through maritime routes, thereby avoiding the need for those goods to pass through the US.

FRANCE

Deaths from wildfire smoke to surge: Study

Global deaths linked to wildfire smoke could rise sixfold to 1.4 million people a year by 2100, even with moderate levels of global warming, according to research published in Nature on Thursday. It adds to warnings of the significant and growing health impacts from climate-stoked wildfires, which belch out smoke that can drift across continents and oceans. Researchers predicted that between the period 2010-14 and 2095-99, global fire carbon emissions could rise by 23 percent under mid-range emissions scenarios.

RUSSIA

FM Lavrov to meet US counterpart Rubio soon

A meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is planned at the United Nations General Assembly, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Friday, citing Russia's envoy to the UN. Lavrov and Rubio "will discuss an entire range of issues, both bilateral and multilateral. There is no specific agenda yet, but a meeting is being planned", said Russia's permanent representative at the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, according to the staterun Vesti news outlet.

Agencies Via Xinhua