While You Were Sleeping: 5 Stories You Might Have Missed, Aug 23, 2026

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Aug 22 that Canada will place new tariffs — that is, extra taxes on imported goods — on products from the United States starting Sept 8. This came after days of talks between the two countries broke down on Aug 21 without a deal. Canada is responding to new US tariffs of 50 per cent that President Donald Trump put in place at midnight. The dispute puts strain on a long and close trade relationship between the two neighbouring countries.

Trump's new tariffs affect a wide range of products, including wine, furniture, dairy items, cement, clothing, fishing rods, and even hockey equipment. In total, about US$20 billion worth of Canadian goods that are sold to the US are now affected. These new taxes also apply to products that were once protected under a trade agreement called the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. That deal had shielded most Canadian exports from tariffs for the past year and a half.

Iran also made headlines on Aug 22, warning other countries not to take part in what it called the United States' 'economic war' against Iran. Mohsen Rezai, the head of Iran's supreme national security council, made the statement on state television. He said that any country joining the US effort would be seen as an enemy of Iran. The US has been pushing its allies to help isolate Iran's economy for about six months.

In Belgium, the US ambassador Bill White spoke out against the suspension of a US academic named Nathan Cofnas. Cofnas had accused Jason Arday, a former professor at Cambridge University in England, of plagiarism — that means copying someone else's work and claiming it as your own. Arday, who had resigned over the accusations, was found dead on Aug 14. The University of Ghent suspended Cofnas, who said he expected to be fired, while White said the move was an attempt to silence him.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug 22 for nearly two hours. Macron promised to speed up the delivery of French military equipment to Ukraine, which is running low on air defence systems used to shoot down incoming missiles and drones. Macron said he was deeply upset by a Russian drone strike on a shopping centre in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Aug 21, which killed at least 16 people and wounded 130 more. He also said he would speak with other allies who have Patriot missile interceptors that Ukraine urgently needs.

Finally, in English football, Tottenham Hotspur had a rough start to the Premier League season, losing 3-0 to Brentford on Aug 22. The club had spent over £200 million during the off-season buying new players in hopes of turning around a team that nearly got relegated — sent down to a lower league — last season. New manager Roberto De Zerbi started four of his new signings, including Sandro Tonali and Andrew Robertson, but the team struggled badly. The result was a reminder that spending lots of money does not always lead to quick success on the pitch.