Canada is planning to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September, the country’s prime minister has said.

Mark Carney’s announcement comes a day after the UK said it will recognise Palestine as a state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions.

France became the first G7 country to announce the move last week – while Ireland, Spain and Norway all officially recognised a Palestinian state last year.

Mr Carney told reporters in Ontario on Wednesday that Canada would do the same on certain conditions – including that the Palestinian Authority commits to fundamentally reforming its governance and to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part.

The Canadian prime minister said he had spoken with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, earlier on Wednesday.

Following the announcement, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement: “The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages.”

A White House official later anonymously told Reuters that US President Donald Trump also believes he would be “rewarding Hamas” if he recognises a Palestinian state and therefore doesn’t plan to do so.

“President Trump’s focus is on getting people fed (in Gaza),” the official added.

Canada had long-stated it would only recognise a Palestinian state at the conclusion of peace talks with Israel.

However, Mr Carney said the reality on the ground, including the starvation of citizens in Gaza, means “the prospect of a Palestinian state is literally receding before our eyes”.

He added: “We are working ourselves, with others, to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, to not allow the facts on the ground, deaths on the ground, the settlements on the ground, the expropriations on the ground, to get to such an extent that this is not possible.”

The Canadian prime minister also said he “condemns the fact Israel has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza”.

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British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the UK could recognise a Palestinian state on Tuesday after he had a meeting with Mr Trump the previous day.

Sir Keir said the conditions Israel would have to meet in order to avoid such a move included taking substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza” and agreeing to a ceasefire.

Some 38 members of the House of Lords, including some of the UK’s most eminent lawyers, have since written to the attorney general to say that recognising a Palestinian state could be a breach of international law, The Times has reported.

They have said the territory may not meet the criteria for statehood under the Montevideo Convention, a treaty signed in 1933.

Meanwhile, a Downing Street spokesperson confirmed Sir Keir had spoken to Mr Carney over the phone on Tuesday.

The spokesperson said: “They discussed the grave situation in the Middle East and last night’s action by the United States to tackle the severe threat posed by Iran’s nuclear programme.

“Both reiterated their support for a diplomatic solution and agreed that Iran must come back to the negotiating table with the United States as soon as possible.

“They looked forward to continuing their discussions at NATO this week.”

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Gaza’s humanitarian crisis

A global hunger monitor has warned that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza.

The Gaza health ministry reported seven more hunger-related deaths on Wednesday, including a two-year-old girl with an existing health condition.

Meanwhile, at least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded on Wednesday while waiting for food at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza, according to the Shifa Hospital that received the casualties.

It was not immediately clear who opened fire and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing.

Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes. It says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group’s militants operate in densely populated areas.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Israel on Thursday to discuss the next steps to address the situation in Gaza, an American official said.

An earthquake off the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka has triggered tsunami warnings in Japan, China, Hawaii, the US and central and Latin America.

The 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred 12 miles below the surface of the water and around 80 miles southeast of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, northeastern Russia on Wednesday, according to the US Geological Survey.

First five waves hit Hawaii; Tsunami warnings latest

So far, it’s the most powerful on record since the 9.1 Japanese earthquake of 2011, which left more than 15,000 people dead, and the sixth strongest since records began.

Tsunamis have started to reach land in Japan and Hawaii, with urgent warnings being issued across the Pacific – from Asia to the US and Canada. Here’s what we know so far.

How did it start?

The earthquake struck at shallow depth 80 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – a city of 165,000 people along the coast of Russia’s Avacha Bay, at around midday on Wednesday, local time (1am UK).

Waves were recorded of up to 4m (13ft) in Severo-Kurilsk on the Kuril Islands where a state of emergency has been declared.

Russia’s Tass news agency reported people running out into the streets, with balconies shaking, furniture and glass broken inside homes, and cars swaying on the street. Around 2,700 people were evacuated.

Electricity cuts were also reported across the peninsula.

Several people were injured and had to seek medical assistance, according to regional health minister Oleg Melnikov.

“Unfortunately, there are some people injured during the seismic event. Some were hurt while running outside, and one patient jumped out of a window. A woman was also injured inside the new airport terminal,” he said.

Where else have tsunamis hit so far?

Injuries have been reported in several countries, but there are no known deaths so far.

Beyond Russia, waves have started to reach Japan, Hawaii, and the US West Coast.

Two million people have been evacuated along the country’s Pacific coast, with evacuation advisories in place in more than 220 municipalities, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Nuclear power plants have also paused activity.

One caused waves of 60cm (2ft) on the island of Hokkaido and another reached 50cm (1.6ft) at Ishinomaki port in the north of the country. In northern Iwate, 40cm (1.3ft) waves were registered at Kuji port.

The tsunami alert has been lowered for south of Fukushima but is still in place in the north.

In Hawaii, people rushed to seek higher ground after waves measured 1.82m (6ft).

Earthquake sirens blared in the streets, with beaches closed and coastal areas evacuated. Maui airport was also closed, Hawaii Governor Josh Green added.

Evacuation orders were later lifted, with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) saying it was safe to return to coastal areas.

In Alaska, 30cm (1ft) waves were observed in the communities of Amchitka and Adak, according to Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator.

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Where are the other warnings in place?

In China, the country’s tsunami warning centre has issued alerts for eastern coastal areas – particularly Shanghai and Zhejiang, which was already under alert from Typhoon CoMay, due to land on Wednesday.

States along the US West Coast have issued tsunami advisories, including Oregon, Washington State, and California, where waves have already hit.

Oregon’s Department of Emergency Management cautioned: “This is not a major tsunami, but dangerous currents and strong waves may pose a risk to those near the water.”

President Donald Trump posted on X: “A Tsunami Watch is in effect for Alaska and the Pacific Coast of the United States. Japan is also in the way. Please visit tsunami.gov/ for the latest information. STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE!”

The Mexican Navy said that tsunami waves were due to hit Mexico’s northern coast at Ensenada near California, and could progress to Chiapas.

In New Zealand, the country’s disaster management agency issued warnings for coastal areas, which are likely to see “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at shore”.

There is currently no need for official evacuation orders, it added, but people are being told to stay away from the coast.

The Pacific Island nations of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Micronesia, and the Solomon Islands have all issued warnings, as their low-lying topography puts them at particular risk.

The Philippines had a tsunami advisory in place but cancelled it after “no significant sea level disturbances or destructive tsunami waves” were reported after 7.25am local time (12.25am UK) on Wednesday.

What happens during a tsunami – and why are they so dangerous?

Tsunamis are a series of very long waves usually caused by an earthquake beneath the ocean’s surface. Although rare, they can also be triggered by landslides, volcanic activity, and sometimes by extreme weather above the ocean.

Unlike normal waves, which are driven by wind, tsunamis move through the entire ocean column – from the sea floor to the surface.

This means they can be incredibly powerful and fast – reaching plane-like speeds of around 500mph in the deepest parts of the ocean.

Their force means they can stretch across an entire ocean basin, impacting multiple countries. The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami caused damage in 17 nations.

Tsunamis become most dangerous when they reach land. The shallowness of the water sees the length of the waves decrease – but their height increase.

Tall waves can be very dangerous. It only requires six inches of water to knock someone off their feet and double that to sweep away a car.

Tsunami waves are also dangerous when they go back out to sea, carrying heavy debris with them.

A blanket of thick fog covers Lesotho’s capital, Maseru.

Winter in the southern African country feels colder than ever.

Thousands of garment workers have lost their jobs as the threat of US tariffs brings the textile industry to the edge.

Hundreds of thousands have been cut off from critical healthcare after the USAID withdrawal. Unemployed women stand outside the locked gates of factories asking for work.

HIV-positive mothers travel long distances to clinics for a limited supply of life-saving medicine, holding their babies wrapped in blankets.

Lives and livelihoods in Lesotho have been devastated by US President Donald Trump – a country he has said “nobody has ever heard of”.

The Basotho have certainly heard of President Trump. His name now evokes fear, worry and panic among many in the small nation his policies have targeted.

“People are scared of him, too much. When he says he will do something then he must do it,” says Maplape Makhele, a 32-year-old garment worker and mother of two.

“I have seen what he has done in South Africa and China. He doesn’t want to work with other countries.”

We spoke to Mpalape at her work station in the Afri-Expo Textiles factory while she sewed denim. This work was steady while Lesotho held the title of the “denim capital of Africa”.

Today, she is terrified of losing her job as the breadwinner of her family. More than 200 of her colleagues have already been laid off from the factory.

“We are close to only half operational,” says her boss Teboho Kobeli, the managing director of Afri-Expo Textiles Factories. He has cut around 500 jobs across three factories.

“We had been doing some US orders but now we have had to re-adjust ourselves,” he says. “There are a lot of job losses and I can see more jobs lost as of next month.”

Lesotho has declared a state of national disaster over high youth unemployment and job losses linked to US tariffs and aid cuts that will last until June 2027.

President Trump is expected to finalise tariffs on several countries including Lesotho and South Africa on August 1. In Lesotho, people are hoping for tariffs on the lower end at 10% but are preparing for a hit as high as 50%.

Any export duties will have an impact on industry here which has benefitted from 25 years of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) duty-free trade agreement with the US.

“That is multilateralism – to trade with one another and leverage on each other’s strengths,” Lesotho’s minister of trade and industry Mokhethi Shelile tells us.

“We did not think an economy so advanced, the pioneer of multilateralism, to renege and turn back on that very principle that has made it so big.

“We are done talking [with the US]. We are waiting for a response, for a final solution from them. We are told it will come soon but we don’t know how soon.”

We interviewed the minister at a celebration launching a government-sponsored factory expansion in Lesotho’s second city Maputsoe.

The factory is only 5km from the border gate into South Africa, its main export destination. Unemployed garment workers are huddled around the locked gates hoping to appeal to the trade minister for jobs.

Inside the warehouse, women furiously produced clothing for the South African market. Minister Shelile tells us that this regional trade is part of Lesotho’s solution but economists believe it is another dead end.

“I don’t think South Africa is an option for us given the problems that South Africa is going through itself,” says economist and former minister of mining Lebohang Thotanyana.

“South Africa has been hit by tariffs and is going to lose around half a million jobs as a result of the Trump effect.

“Some of those jobs on the citrus farms and automobile industry in South Africa were held by Basotho so it means they will be directly affected there as well.”

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Trade unionists in Lesotho’s capital Maseru have been speaking to laid off workers to explain the context of the devastating job cuts.

“It’s really hard for them because what the people want is the job,” says Ts’epang Nyaka-Nyaka, general secretary of the Economic Freedom Trade Union.

He is expecting his own wife to potentially lose her job at a factory exporting to American denim brand Levis. The two-thousand-member union is rapidly shrinking as more lay-offs are announced.

“They want the job – not the politics,” he says.