• Trade talks scrapped after Ontario anti-tariff ad airs.
• Ontario to pull ad Monday; Trump wants immediate removal.
• Ad quoted 1987 Reagan warning against high tariffs.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump slammed Canada for playing “dirty” Friday as a row over an advertisement featuring former leader Ronald Reagan that prompted Trump to scrap trade talks showed no sign of abating.

The Canadian province of Ontario said it would pull the offending anti-tariff ad on Monday so that negotiations could restart, after Trump alleged that the ad misrepresented the views of fellow Republican Reagan.

But Trump showed no sign of backing down, saying Ontario should not have let it air during the first two games this weekend of baseball’s World Series.

Adding extra spice to the row, the World Series features a Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, facing a US team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Blue Jays thrashed the Dodgers 11-4 in the first game on Friday.

“Canada got caught cheating on a commercial, can you believe it?” Trump told reporters before heading on a trip to Asia.

“And I heard they were pulling the ad — I didn’t know they were putting it on a little bit more. They could have pulled it tonight,” Trump added.

After a reporter said the ad would be pulled on Monday, Trump replied: “That’s dirty play. But I can play dirtier than they can.”

Trump announced on his Truth Social network on Thursday that he had “terminated” all negotiations with Canada over what he called the “fake” ad campaign.

Less than 24 hours later, Ontario premier Doug Ford said he was suspending the ads after talking to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about the spiralling row with Washington.

“In speaking with Prime Minister Carney, Ontario will pause its US advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume,” Ford said in a post on X.

‘Crooked ad’

The Canadian ad used quotes from a radio address on trade that Reagan delivered in 1987, in which he warned against ramifications that he said high tariffs on foreign imports could have on the US economy.

It cited Reagan as saying that “high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library’s website.

The Ronald Reagan foundation wrote on X on Thursday that the Ontario government had used “selective audio and video” and that it was reviewing its legal options.

Trump said on Friday night that it was a “crooked ad”, adding that “they know Ronald Reagan loved tariffs.”

Trump and Carney are both set to be at a dinner on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in South Korea on Wednesday.

But Trump said he had no plans to meet Carney.

The latest twist in relations between the United States and Canada came just over two weeks after Carney visited Trump at the White House to seek a relaxation of stiff US tariffs.

On Friday, Carney had sought to calm the situation, saying that his country was ready to resume “progress” on trade talks “when the Americans are ready.”

Canada has “to focus on what we can control, and realise what we cannot control,” he added as he headed to Asia.

Trump’s global sectoral tariffs — particularly on steel, aluminium, and autos — have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses.

For now, the United States and Canada adhere to an existing North American trade deal called the USMCA, which ensures that roughly 85% of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free.

But in a speech on Wednesday, Carney said that the United States has raised “its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.”

“Our economic strategy needs to change dramatically,” Carney added, saying the process “will take some sacrifices and some time.”

Two Australian women cricketers, currently in India for the ICC Women’s World Cup, were allegedly harassed in Indore while walking from their hotel to a nearby café on Thursday, according to Indian media reports.

The players immediately sent out an SOS alert following the incident, prompting security personnel to rush to the scene.

Danny Simmons, the Australian team’s security manager, lodged a formal complaint at the MIG police station later that evening.

Acting on the complaint, police swiftly registered an FIR and arrested the suspect, identified as Aqeel, who was reportedly riding a motorcycle at the time of the incident.

The players, staying at the Radisson Blu Hotel along with their teammates, were targeted on Khajrana Road, where the accused allegedly followed them and inappropriately touched one of the players before fleeing, officials said.

According to Sub-Inspector Nidhi Raghuvanshi, the cricketers immediately contacted their team security officer, who coordinated with local authorities and dispatched assistance.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Himani Mishra later met the players, recorded their statements, and confirmed that a First Information Report had been registered under Section 74 (use of criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty) and Section 78 (stalking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The incident has raised concerns over player security during major international tournaments being hosted in India.

The official said that a bystander noted the suspect’s motorcycle number, based on which the accused, Aqeel Khan, was apprehended.

“Khan has prior criminal cases registered against him, and an investigation is ongoing,” she added.

Cricket Australia statement

Two members of Australia’s Women’s Cricket World Cup team have reportedly been “touched inappropriately” while walking in India.

In a statement, Cricket Australia said the duo were walking to a cafe in Indore when they were approached by someone on a motorcycle.

CA said the duo were harassed by a person on a motorcycle, and the team had alerted police.

“CA can confirm two members of the Australian Women’s team were approached and touched inappropriately by a motorcyclist while walking to a cafe in Indore,” CA’s statement read.

“The matter was reported by team security to police, who are handling the matter.”

Australia plays its final pool match of the tournament on Saturday against South Africa, before next week’s semi-final.

BANGKOK: Thailand’s former Queen Sirikit, the mother of the current King Vajiralongkorn and wife of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, died late Friday at the age of 93, the palace said.

The royal family is venerated in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures, and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes nationwide.

“It is a great loss to the nation,” said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Saturday, adding that he would delay his departure to a weekend summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Malaysia.

Throughout her 66-year marriage to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Sirikit carved a dual reputation as a fashionista and the nation’s caring matriarch — with some Western media featuring her on magazine covers and comparing her to former US first lady Jackie Kennedy.

“I had heard that she had been unwell and, given that she was in her 90s, I knew this day would come,” 53-year-old housekeeper Sasis Putthasit said early Saturday in the capital, Bangkok.

“But I didn’t expect it to be today,” Sasis told AFP. “I feel sad because she was a mother figure to the country, and now she’s gone.”

Sirikit had “suffered several illnesses” while hospitalised since 2019, including a blood infection this month, the palace said in a statement.

“Her majesty’s condition worsened until Friday and she passed away… at Chulalongkorn hospital at age 93,” it added.

King Vajiralongkorn has assigned members of the royal family to begin a year-long mourning period, the palace said.

From early Saturday, Thai news anchors were seen wearing black during broadcasts, a sign of public mourning.

Her passing “marks a profoundly significant event for the Thai Royal Family and the entire nation, given her immense popularity and deep connection to the late king who remains deeply revered”, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a former Thai diplomat and academic who studies the monarchy, told AFP.

‘Mother of the Nation’

King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s lengthy reign from 1946 until 2016 was bookended by World War II and the first inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

Though Bhumibol’s son inherited the throne about nine years ago, many still revere him as the nation’s most steadfast figurehead — and Sirikit as his constant companion.

She retired from the public eye in recent years as she suffered from ailing health, her privacy sealed by strict lese majeste laws that limit what can be reported about the royal family.

But in her glamorous heyday in the 1960s, she mingled with US presidents and superstars such as Elvis Presley, while at home touring Thailand to visit villagers in rural areas.

She was referred to as the “Mother of the Nation,” and her birthday was designated the country’s Mother’s Day.

Store owner Tanyaporn Arammetha, whose own parents divorced, said she always saw the late king and queen as parental figures.

“(Sirikit) showed me that she cared about Thai people the way parents love their children,” she said.

The reigning Chakri dynasty dates back to 1782, but the succession from King Vajiralongkorn is unclear as he has not formally named an heir.

He has seven children, including five sons — four from an earlier marriage who have been officially disowned, and his 20-year-old son Dipangkorn Rasmijoti.

While the royal family is still held in very high regard by most Thais, it faced unprecedented public dissent during street protests in 2020.

Tens of thousands of young protesters took to the streets demanding widespread political reforms, including changes to the monarchy — a public challenge to the royals’ status never seen in Thailand before.

Though Thailand’s constitution places the monarchy above politics, Sirikit drew public attention when she attended the funeral of a royalist protester in 2008.

When her husband King Bhumibol died, Thailand observed a year-long mourning period.

Authorities ordered flags to fly at half-mast for 30 days, banned weddings and concerts, and instructed citizens to wear black.

Former Queen Sirikit’s body will lie in state at the Grand Palace’s Dusit Thorne Hall in the capital Bangkok, according to the palace.

Frozen food company employee Siraphob Sutthisalakorn said Thailand had “lost two guiding figures” in Queen Sirikit and her husband King Bhumibol.

“They are watching us from heaven,” he said.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expressed their deep sorrow over the passing Sirikit.

“On behalf of the Government and the people of Pakistan, the President conveyed heartfelt condolences to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the Royal Family, and the people of Thailand,” President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press statement.

The president said the people of Pakistan share the grief of the Thai nation and stand with them in this time of loss.

PM Shehbaz, in a post on X, said “Deeply saddened at the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the beloved Queen Mother of Thailand.”

He said the people and Pakistan government joined him in extending their deepest condolences to King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the Royal Family, and the people of Thailand.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time of national grief,” he further added.