The US Department of State announced on Sunday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Saudi Arabia from March 10-12 to hold discussions with his Ukrainian counterparts.

A statement from spokesperson Tammy Bruce mentioned that Rubio will also meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

After his time in Saudi Arabia, Rubio will head to Canada for the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting scheduled for March 12-14.

It’s worth noting that Rubio had a conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Friday, during which he expressed that President Donald Trump aims to bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to an end as soon as possible.

Trump had halted military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine following a dispute with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 28.

Zelenskyy has also confirmed plans to visit Saudi Arabia for a Monday meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, with Ukrainian diplomatic and military representatives set to meet the U.S. team on Tuesday.

The newly elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mark Carney sharply criticised United States President Donald Trump in his victory speech on Sunday, Forbes reported.

Carney rejected Trump’s suggestion that Canada should become the 51st US state, declaring that “Canada will never, ever… be a part of America in any way, shape or form.”

The economist, who previously served as governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, also condemned Trump’s trade policies, accusing the US president of attempting to weaken Canada’s economy through unjustified tariffs.

Carney warned that if Trump succeeded in his objectives, it would lead to the destruction of Canada’s way of life.

The prime minister-designate said the Americans “want our resources, our water, our land, our country…if they succeeded, they would destroy our way of life.”

Carney, speaking on the U.S. healthcare system, saying, “In America, healthcare is a big business…in Canada it is a right.”

The newly elected leader, who won the leadership race with nearly 86 percent of the vote, vowed to maintain retaliatory tariffs against the US “until the Americans show us respect.”

He framed Canada’s response as part of a broader effort to protect the country’s resources, economy, and sovereignty.

Carney is poised to take over from Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister after being sworn in by the country’s Governor General.

Trudeau announced his decision to step down earlier this year, facing pressure from his own party. Following his swearing-in, Carney is expected to call for an early federal election.

President Donald Trump is confident that the country’s economy has a bright future — but he isn’t ruling out a 2025 recession just yet.

“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump said when pressed about the possibility of a recession during a recorded interview that aired on “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.”

The president touted his unconventional use of tariffs on allies and efforts to drastically cut down the country’s federal workforce. But when Bartiromo asked about rising fear of an economic slowdown, he didn’t rule out a recession — or the potential growing pains involved in achieving his economic agenda.

“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing.”

The rosy economic outlook that greeted Trump’s return to the White House has dimmed in recent weeks. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% in February, boosted by firings in the public sector. And consumer confidence fell by the most in any given month since August 2021.

American consumers share concerns that tariffs will raise prices on everyday goods, while corporate CEOs are eager for clarity as the president has continually announced and then rolled back new tariff packages. His moves last week, levying and then delaying 25 percent tariffs on a major chunk of Mexican and Canadian goods until April, are just the latest example. The confusion has sent markets scrambling. The S&P 500 fell by more than 3 percent on the week.

Trump has used tariffs to pressure Canada and Mexico to stem the flow of fentanyl. But he also views them as a vital tool in rewiring the American economy to focus more on manufacturing and production.

“What I have to do is build a strong country. You can’t really watch the stock market,” Trump told Bartiromo. “If you look at China they have a hundred-year perspective. We have a quarter. We go by quarters. And you can’t go by that. You have to do what’s right. What we’re doing is, we’re building a tremendous foundation for the future.”

And his message for manufacturers?

“Build it here. There’s no tariff.”

While Trump plays a cautious tune, others in the administration are far more bullish on the president’s prospects for riding out the economic uncertainty. Just ask Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Americans should “absolutely not” brace for a recession.

“Anybody who bets against Donald Trump,” Lutnick told moderator Kristen Welker. “It’s like the same people who thought Donald Trump wasn’t a winner a year ago. Donald Trump is a winner. He’s going to win for the American people. That’s just the way it’s going to be. There’s going to be no recession in America.”