The European Commission president has backed a proposal that could see Canada become the European Union's first "associate member."
Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament that she wanted to work on "opening the door" for Canada, describing the idea as a way to deepen cooperation across key sectors.
The comments came as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been pushing for a "unique alliance" with the EU. Canada's relationship with the United States has become increasingly strained, especially as trade tensions have escalated.
Von der Leyen said the idea was "not a partnership against anyone else, but for our common strength," adding that partnerships are a strategic choice for Europe and a response to the weakening of the international rules-based system.
Carney attended the annual State of the Union speech in Strasbourg and is due to address the parliament on Thursday.
The backdrop to the EU-Canada push is a sharp deterioration in Canada-US trade relations. Trade talks collapsed last month, leading to new tariff measures, while repeated remarks from US President Donald Trump about making Canada the "51st state" have added to the tension.
In her speech, von der Leyen said the EU and Canada "see the world with the same eyes," pointing to shared views on AI, climate change and geopolitics. She said both sides had already stood together on Ukraine, defence, raw materials and supply chains, and stressed that Europe and Canada both believe in democracy.
She did not set out how any Canadian membership arrangement would work, but said cooperation could be expanded in areas including manufacturing, technology, AI, defence, energy, critical minerals and economic security.
Von der Leyen also said it was time to bring the EU's relationship with Canada to "the highest level possible."
The idea of "associate membership" does not currently exist in the EU, and any move in that direction could take years. Earlier this year, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested Ukraine could be given this status, though the reaction was mixed.
The EU already has a number of countries on the path to full membership, including several in the western Balkans, as well as Georgia and Moldova in Eastern Europe.
There are also existing trade ties between the EU and Canada, although ten of the bloc's 27 members have still not ratified a free-trade agreement struck with Ottawa nearly a decade ago. Some capitals would rather strengthen current defence and trade arrangements than create a new category of membership for Canada.
Alongside the Canada proposal, von der Leyen also called for a European Security Council that would include the UK and Ukraine, citing the threat posed by Russia. She said the idea had become more urgent because of the scale of the risks facing the continent.
She also addressed wider concerns in Europe, including the cost of living and the impact of rapid technological change on jobs and society.
Other proposals included talks with the world's largest AI labs, efforts to reduce bureaucracy for businesses, a new emergency tool to help countries respond to mass migration movements, and plans to limit social media use among children, including a ban for under-13s and parent-supervised accounts for those aged 13 to 15.
New posts
So, just three weeks into the new season, we have a huge talking point in terms of VAR during the Manchester derby. I'm sure there have been other contentious VAR decisions over the first 3 rounds of games, but this one has brought VAR right back onto the decision table again.
The Premier League's latest refereeing controversy has sparked fresh debate about VAR, clear-and-obvious errors, and how much room officials should have to get things wrong.
After the opening weekend, the Premier League had been praising a perfect record in key decisions. But as this commentary makes clear, that headline was always more complicated than it sounded. In several early-season incidents, the league's own Key Match Incidents panel accepted that some decisions were wrong, but still said VAR should not intervene unless the mistake was clearly and obviously severe enough to overturn.
That tension came into sharp focus at Old Trafford in the Manchester derby.
Manchester City's winner, scored by Erling Haaland, should not have stood. The initial offside flag was not the real issue. Instead, the problem was that City's Enzo Fernandez was clearly offside and interfering with play by challenging for the ball. After a VAR check that lasted two and a half minutes, the goal was allowed to stand anyway.
Soon after, Pro Ref, the professional referees' body in English football, issued a statement saying the VAR had not recognised "the likely impact" of Fernandez's positioning and should have recommended an on-field review. It also said it had contacted Manchester United to acknowledge what it described as an error of judgement.
This error was different from the more debatable penalty calls seen elsewhere in the opening weeks of the season. In those cases, the issue was whether a decision was wrong but still not clear and obvious enough for VAR to overturn. The Manchester derby incident, by contrast, is presented as a failure of process rather than a subjective call.
There was also frustration around other weekend decisions, including Arsenal's complaints about a penalty awarded to Sunderland. But the Manchester derby is the one likely to linger, because it was not simply about interpretation - it was about officials missing the rule they were supposed to apply.
The piece also notes that the VAR officials involved in the derby have not been assigned Premier League duties this weekend.
Key points:
The Premier League had claimed 100 per cent accuracy in key decisions after the opening weekend, but the picture was more complicated.
Several early-season incidents were judged wrong by some panel members, but not clear and obvious enough for VAR intervention.
Manchester City's winning goal in the derby should have been disallowed because Enzo Fernandez was offside and interfering with play.
Pro Ref said the VAR failed to recognise the likely impact of Fernandez's position and should have recommended an on-field review.
This was a process failure, not just a debatable refereeing call.
The VAR officials involved in the incident have not been given Premier League matches this weekend.
Active Matter has launched on Xbox Series X|S, PC and PlayStation 5, offering a tense extraction-shooter experience built around quantum instability, strange anomalies and a time-loop survival premise.
The game is available now in three editions:
Standard Edition – £26.99
Advanced Edition – £44.99
Deluxe Edition – £89.99
Xbox players also get Play Anywhere support.
Active Matter sends operatives into dangerous zones where gravity can shift, reality can fold in on itself, and loot only matters if you can extract it safely. Players can go in alone or in a small squad, searching for active matter clusters, completing contracts and fighting creatures altered by the mysterious substance. There is also a strong PvPvE element, with other players competing for the same rewards. If you die during a raid, anything not stored in a safe container or marked as personal is lost, which makes every run feel risky.
The game's story centres on an operative trapped in a time loop, returning to the same point after death. Breaking that cycle means venturing into unstable zones and bringing active matter back alive.
Active Matter also leans into bizarre world-building, with anomalies that can alter gravity and reshape the world around you. The game includes SCP-inspired objects and creatures changed by active matter, alongside locations such as a Soviet industrial island, a Central African quarantine zone and a dilapidated North American setting.
What each edition includes
The Standard Edition includes 25,000 Credits, 300 Prime, five weapon sets, one weapon modification set, ten equipment sets and six ammunition sets.
The Advanced Edition adds 60,000 Credits, 1,300 Prime, storage and replicator expansions, extra weapons, equipment and ammunition, plus items such as the Bouncer brass knuckles knife and Harpy scout drone recipe.
The Deluxe Edition includes 185,000 Credits, 5,500 Prime, character shells, additional storage expansions, vehicle and robot dog recipes, backup weapons, weapon camouflage and larger equipment and weapon packages.
More content is planned
Active Matter has been in development for several years, and more updates are already planned. New areas, anomalies, monsters and other additions are expected to expand its unstable multiverse even further.
For players looking for an extraction shooter where the environment itself is as dangerous as the enemy, Active Matter sounds like a pretty intriguing twist on the formula.
True Romance (1993)
Some great scenes from a great cast, but for some reason it wasn't as good as I remember it being when I first watched it years ago, less cool and more cheesy than I originally thought and as soon as it says Clarence is a film buff who loves kung fu movies, it was clear Tarantino was writing about himself in that character.
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AI will be more of a worry from rogue States who will have no restrictions placed on them. As an industry, it needs some serious safeguards, as it will be the new pandemic if allowed to continue as it has been.
Our total dependency on all things digital is a disaster waiting to happen.
Map of Springfield, home of The Simpsons
Gears of War: E-Day has a new trailer that leans into the tragedy of Emergence Day, echoing the tone long-time fans may remember from the original game's haunting launch trailer.
This time, the music comes from Adam Lastiwka, who performs a rendition of "Adagio for Strings". The result is a bleak look at the chaos unfolding in Kalona, where survivors are shown hiding underground in a subway station while Dom and Marcus battle Locust forces on the surface.
The trailer makes it clear that even those desperate efforts may not be enough. A massive E-Hole opens in the ground and drags the subway station down with everyone inside. To make matters worse, a huge Corpser then rises from the wreckage, reinforcing just how devastating Emergence Day really was.
The trailer's message lines up with one of the series' most memorable ideas: that the "lucky ones" were the people who died on Emergence Day, because they never had to live through the years of horror that followed the Locust War.
Finished the second season, thought it was incredible. So many more potential places they can take the story for future seasons, too.
Connor Benn was spanked last night by Ryan Garcia.
A gulf in class between the two fighters - Benn is not top-tier or world-class; he is a good domestic-level fighter (at best!)
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The EU has approved the release of €7.1BN in aid, including for PAC3 Patriot interceptors and drones.
PAC3 is needed for citywide missile defence.
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@admin has taken the quiz. Can you beat their results?
Is there a nest somewhere?
EA Sports FC 27 is still a little over two weeks away from its global release on September 25, but EA has already started setting the tone with the game's soundtrack, now available on Spotify.
This year's playlist is a big one: over 100 tracks from 36 countries, giving the soundtrack a wide range of styles and sounds. The idea seems clear enough — there should be something here for just about everyone, along with a chance to discover music players might not have heard otherwise.
Among the artists included are Barry Can't Swim, Temper City, Little Simz, The Strokes, and Interpol. It sounds like a strong mix for anyone who likes a soundtrack with some energy and variety.
The soundtrack reveal is the latest bit of EA Sports FC 27 news to surface, following recent coverage of the game's gameplay deep dive and PC improvements. With early access also approaching, the buildup to launch is clearly picking up.
Sinners song "I Lied To You," performed live by Miles Caton as Sammie. The Sinners Movie Clip shows the raw, emotional blues track that channels the character's longing, defiance, and dream of escape.
Just started Season 5. Really enjoying it.
I wanted to slap some sense into gullible Jodie in S4 :LOL:
KNOBSTACKLE
(n.) A person who constantly gets in the way, either through incompetence, arrogance, or unhelpful behaviour, and makes situations more difficult than they need to be.
Yeah, I was at the end of the game. There's a little bit at the end that ties it all together and the connection between Sophia and Amicia, who will meet again in A Plague Tale: Requiem.
Match Day One
Thursday 10th September
17:45 Kick-offs
Fenerbahçe SK (TUR) V AS Roma (ITA) 1-1
PSV Eindhoven (NED) V FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 1-1
20:00 Kick-offs
Como 1907 (ITA) V RB Leipzig (GER) 4-1
FC Bayern München (GER) V FK Bodø/Glimt (NOR) 5-0
Manchester United (ENG) V Sabah FC (AZE) 4-0
SK Slavia Praha (CZE) V RC Lens (FRA) 2-3
What a story Cesc Fabregas and Como are writing. Unbelievable stuff.
Looks awesome
Great watch. The animated bits are great, sets it apart from a lot of the standard documentary fare.
He's 70. You'd be fuming if you didn't get to 70 when you see what this guy did to his body.
Started off okay then turned into a borefest. Sadly, I wouldn't recommend!
I watched it all. It was great. An interesting take on Spiderman. Whether it needed a season 2 is another matter.
Drew Karpyshyn, the narrative director of Exodus and a former key figure at BioWare, has shared insights into how player choices will significantly influence the game's ending and the fates of various characters.
In a recent discussion, Karpyshyn highlighted that the decisions players make will not only affect the relationships with companions but also determine who remains in the party by the conclusion of the game. He stated, "Depending on choices you make, by the end of the game, you might not have every companion with you that you started with." This suggests a dynamic narrative where relationships evolve based on player interactions, reminiscent of the relationship systems in Mass Effect.
Karpyshyn elaborated on the importance of making these relationships feel authentic, noting that players' choices will bring some companions closer while potentially alienating others. He hinted at the complexity of these interactions, mentioning that companions may face conflicts regarding the player's decisions, which could lead to significant changes in their storylines.
Moreover, the game will feature optional content that can unlock or lock certain events, further altering the course of the narrative and the relationships within the game. This could lead to scenarios where companions might leave the party entirely, depending on their affinity towards the player and the challenges they encounter throughout the story.