US President Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to be partially walking back remarks on the role of non-US NATO troops in Afghanistan amid growing outrage from European allies.But Trump’s claim in a Fox News interview that NATO sent “some troops” but “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines” brought fresh condemnation Saturday.He offered an olive branch to Britain after an angry response to his comments earlier in the week, praising British soldiers.On Saturday, a day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned his remarks as “appalling”, he appeared to have changed position — at least as far as British troops were concerned.”The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.”In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken.”As Trump released his latest statement, in London a Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer had discussed the issue during a call with Trump on Saturday.”The Prime Minister raised the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home,” said a Downing Street spokesperson. “We must never forget their sacrifice.”- ‘Unacceptable’: Meloni -But Britain was not the only NATO ally to express anger at Trump’s earlier remarks, as other European leaders reacted sharply Saturday, recalling the sacrifices their soldiers had made.Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her government’s astonishment at Trump’s comments.During the nearly 20 years of NATO operations in Afghanistan, “our nation paid a cost that is beyond dispute: 53 Italian soldiers killed and more than 700 wounded”, she said in a statement.”For this reason, statements that downplay the contribution of NATO countries in Afghanistan are unacceptable, especially when they come from an allied Nation,” she added.Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk recalled attending a farewell ceremony for five fallen Polish soldiers in Afghanistan in 2011.”The American officers who accompanied me then, told me that America would never forget the Polish heroes,” he wrote in a post on X.”Perhaps they will remind President Trump of that fact.” The office of French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday: “These unacceptable comments are not worthy of response. “It is to the families of fallen soldiers that the Head of State wishes to offer comfort and reiterate the nation’s gratitude.”Some 90 French soldiers died in Afghanistan, according to the French government.- ‘Unacceptable’ -Danish Prime Minister Mette said Saturday on Facebook: “I fully understand that Danish veterans have said no words can describe how much this hurts. “It is unacceptable that the American president questions the commitment of allied soldiers in Afghanistan,” she added.”Denmark is one of the NATO countries that has suffered the highest losses per capita,” the Danish prime minister pointed out.The country’s population was about 5.4 million in 2003 and, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau, around 12,000 Danish soldiers and civilians were sent to Afghanistan over the years. Danish veterans have called for a silent march in Copenhagen on January 31 to protest Trump’s remarks.On Friday, Starmer had said: “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly, appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.” The White House had initially rejected Starmer’s comments.”President Trump is absolutely right — the United States of America has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance has done combined,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement sent to AFP.- A ‘heavy price’ -Following the 9/11 attacks, Britain and a number of other allies joined the United States from 2001 in Afghanistan after Washington — for the first time — invoked NATO’s collective security clause.As well as Britain, France, Denmark, Italy and Poland, troops from other NATO ally countries including Canada, the Netherlands and Germany were also killed.German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius recalled the “heavy price” his country paid, stressing that “our army was ready when our American allies asked for support” in 2001. “Many wounded are still suffering today from the physical and psychological consequences of that period,” he added. Trump’s comments follow a bruising transatlantic crisis over his threats to seize Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory — now seemingly defused. The US president on Wednesday backed away from threatened tariffs on Europe for opposing his claims on the Arctic island.burs-jj/gv

What’s a megastar to do when she has defined an entire summer, produced a multi-million-selling album and even persuaded the dictionary eggheads to declare “brat” a word of the year?That’s the conundrum at the heart of “The Moment,” a tongue-in-cheek mockumentary starring Charli XCX as she grapples with her meteoric rise to fame and tries to prepare for a sell-out arena tour.”I’m obviously quite related to my character,” the 33-year-old British singer quipped at the Sundance Film Festival, where “The Moment” premiered on Friday.”I would like to think I’m not as much of a nightmare as Charli in the film,” she said to laughter.The celluloid Charli is indeed a bit of a nightmare: a pastiche of a controlling diva who is on top of every detail, and yet is just a young singer thrust suddenly into the global spotlight and surrounded by an oppressive and needy entourage.She and her tour’s creative director, Celeste (played by Hailey Gates), want to move on from “brat,” the skinny tank tops and IDGAF self-indulgence that dominated 2024, when her album of the same name ruled streaming platforms.But the suits — the record label executive (Rosanna Arquette) and Johannes, the solipsistic film director hired to shepherd the tour movie (Alexander Skarsgard) — want to keep the “brat” money machine rolling.The clash of artistic vision sees Celeste and Johannes battle it out over tour design, in which her on-brand strobe and in-your-face messaging gives way to his light-up wrist bands and a stage set that “looks like a lava lamp,” she tells Charli.A bizarre credit card endorsement aimed at young, queer customers (“How will they know?” asks a bewildered Charli) adds to the pressure and Charli jets off to a spa on Ibiza.A chance encounter there with Kylie Jenner (in a cameo appearance) sends Charli further down the celebrity spiral, and she caves in to Johannes’ sanitized vision of her tour.- Tribute to Reiner -The script, written by Bertie Brandes and Aidan Zamiri, who also directs, draws heavily on archetypes in a plot that sticks closely to the familiar artist-against-the-machine formula.But, Charli said, those characters accurately describe the music industry.”I’ve met different versions of all of the characters in this film,” she told filmgoers.”I’ve met the people who are truly rooting for you… I’ve met the people who are in it to be close to the artist. I’ve met the sort of people who are so ‘we totally get you’, and they really don’t.”Debut feature director Zamiri, whose background is in music videos, said the mockumentary style he was aiming for owed a debt of gratitude to “This is Spinal Tap” — the 1984 comedy about a fictional British band.”I think this film wouldn’t exist without Rob Reiner and ‘Spinal Tap’,” he said, paying tribute to the director who was murdered alongside his wife in their Los Angeles home in December.- Pivot -“The Moment” is one of three films starring Charli XCX that are screening at Sundance; she has smaller roles in ensemble pieces “I Want Your Sex” with Olivia Wilde and “The Gallerist,” which features Natalie Portman.The move into film is a deliberate effort to find something new, she told the audience.”Right now, like the ‘me’ in the film, I am really wanting ‘brat’ to stop and actually really pivot as far away from it as possible,” she said.”And that’s not because I don’t love it. It’s just because I think for all of us as artists, you want to challenge yourself, and you want to switch the creative soup that you’re in and go and live in a different bowl for a while and just feel enriched by that.”Asked how she finds time for so many projects, she reached for a lyric from her smash track “365.””I don’t know, I just do. When you love it, you do it, right? ‘Don’t sleep, don’t eat, just do it on repeat,’ to quote myself,” she said with a mock curtsy.The Sundance Film Festival runs until February 1.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he will impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border.Relations between the United States and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order.During a visit to Beijing last week, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but Trump warned of serious consequences should that deal be realized.If Carney “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.”China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” he said.”If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA.”Trump insulted Carney by calling him “Governor” — a swipe referring to the US president’s repeated insistence that Canada should be the 51st US state.Trump this week posted an image on social media of a map with Canada — as well as Greenland and Venezuela — covered by the American flag.Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the United States, Dominic LeBlanc, pushed back against Trump’s latest threat.”There is no pursuit of a free trade deal with China. What was achieved was resolution on several important tariff issues,” he wrote on X.- ‘Canada thrives because we are Canadian’ -The two leaders have sharpened their rhetorical knives in recent days, beginning with Carney’s speech on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he earned a standing ovation for his frank assessment of a “rupture” in the US-led global order.His comment was widely viewed as a reference to Trump’s disruptive influence on international affairs, although Carney did not mention the US leader by name. Trump fired back at Carney a day later in his own speech, and then withdrew an invitation for the Canadian prime minister to join his “Board of Peace” — his self-styled body for resolving global conflict.Initially designed to oversee the situation in postwar Gaza, the body appears now to have a far wider scope, sparking concerns that Trump wants to create a rival to the United Nations.”Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” Trump said.Carney shot back on Thursday: “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.” He nevertheless acknowledged the “remarkable partnership” between the two nations.- Trade spats -Canada heavily relies on trade with the United States, the destination for more than three quarters of Canadian exports.Key Canadian sectors like auto, aluminum and steel have been hit hard by Trump’s global sectoral tariffs, but the levies’ impacts have been muted by the president’s broad adherence to an existing North American free trade agreement.Negotiations on revising that deal are set for early this year, and Trump has repeatedly insisted the United States doesn’t need access to any Canadian products — which would have sweeping consequences for its northern neighbor.Matthew Holmes, executive vice president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that he hoped the two governments would “come to a better understanding quickly that can alleviate further concerns for businesses.”The two nations, along with Mexico, are set to host the World Cup later this year.