Politics
Titanic passenger’s gold watch expected to fetch more than $1M at auction – National TenX News
An 18-karat gold pocket watch recovered from the body of one of the Titanic‘s wealthiest and most high-profile passengers is expected to sell for more than US$1 million at auction, according to a British auctioneering house.
The more than century-old timepiece belonged to Isidor Straus, who, along with his wife, Ida, was on board the infamous vessel when it sank in the Atlantic after striking an iceberg on its way to New York City on April 14, 1912.
In the days following the disaster, his body was recovered from the Atlantic, and his possessions were logged and returned to his son, Jesse, along with his other personal items. Among them was his engraved Jules Jurgensen pocket watch, which had stopped at 2:20 a.m., according to the auction house, around the time the Titanic is believed to have sunk.
Isidor and his wife’s final moments were memorialized in James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic as the elderly couple who clung to each other on their bed as the ship disappeared underwater. The auction house selling the artifact, Henry Aldridge and Son, noted this Hollywood connection on its website, adding that Ida is believed to have refused a place on a lifeboat, saying she would rather die by her husband’s side.
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Isidor is also believed to have refused a place on a lifeboat because there were still women and children on board, auctioneer Andrew Aldridge stated.
In an appearance on BBC Radio Wiltshire, Aldridge said the watch was “a phenomenal piece of memorabilia.”
The heirloom was passed down through generations before being restored by Kenneth Hollister Straus, the Straus’ great-grandson. The auction will take place on November 22.
Family ties through time
In 2023, Stockton Rush, the CEO of deep-sea exploration company OceanGate, died alongside four others when the company’s Titan submersible imploded during an exploratory dive of the Titanic’s wreck. In an unbelievable connection, Rush was married to Wendy Weil, the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus.
Singer-songwriter Mikaela Mullaney Straus, better known by her stage name King Princess, is also the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus.
The Straus family is now selling the watch for the first time. It is touted to be one of the most expensive Titanic artifacts to ever go on sale. It will be auctioned off alongside a handwritten letter penned by Ida on board the ill-fated ship shortly after it departed from Southampton on April 10, 1912.
Written on Titanic embossed notepaper, it reads: “What a ship! So huge and so magnificently appointed. Our rooms are furnished in the best of taste and most luxurious.”
“Size seems to bring its troubles. Mr Straus, who was on deck when the start was made, said at one time it looked painfully near to the repetitions of the Olympic’s experience on her first trip out of harbour, but the danger was soon averted, and we are now well on our course across the channel to Cherbourg,” she added, referring to a collision between two ships, the H.M.S. Hawke and the R.M.S. Olympic in 1911.
Neither the watch nor the letter has ever been seen publicly before, the auction house stated.
Based on an engraving, it is believed Ida gifted the watch to her husband on his 43rd birthday in February 1888.
The couple died on the Titanic along with an estimated 1,520 other people, including first-class passengers John Jacob Astor, a prominent business magnate, and Benjamin Guggenheim, a member of the famous capitalist family who later became known for its philanthropy and contributions to modern art and aviation.
Ida’s body was never found.
Other items sold from the Titanic include a gold pocket watch that belonged to the captain of the Carpathia, the ship responsible for rescuing more than 700 Titanic survivors, which sold for 1.56 million euros, the violin played by the Titanic’s bandmaster, Wallace Hartley, as the ship sank, which sold for 1.1 million euros in 2013, and John Jacob Astor’s gold pocket watch, which sold in 2024 for 900,000 euros.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
A trip to the world’s most-visited museum is about to cost Canadians significantly more.
France has hiked ticket prices at the Louvre by 45 per cent for visitors from outside the European Union, a move that is fuelling debate over so-called dual pricing and the growing backlash against overtourism.
Starting this week, adult visitors from non-EU countries, including Canada, must pay €32 to enter the Paris landmark, up from €22. That’s an increase from about $35 to $52 Canadian.
Visitors from EU countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, will continue to pay the lower rate.
The price hike comes as the Louvre grapples with repeated labour strikes, a high-profile daylight jewel heist last October that prompted a costly security overhaul, and years of chronic overcrowding. The museum attracts roughly nine million visitors annually.
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Some Canadian tourists told Global News they feel unfairly targeted.
“We didn’t cause the robberies or some of the other issues that happened and we are paying the consequences,” said Allison Moore, visiting Paris from Newfoundland with her daughter. “[In] Canada we don’t discriminate over pricing like that.”
Others argue tourists already shoulder higher costs simply by travelling long distances.
“In general for tourists, I think things should be a little cheaper than for local people, because we have to travel to come all the way here,” said Darla Daniela Quiroz, another Canadian visitor. “It should be equal pricing, or a little bit cheaper.”
Even some Europeans question the two-tiered system. A French tourist interviewed outside the museum said there was “no reason” to charge non-Europeans more and that the fee should be the same for everyone.
Tourism experts say the Louvre’s financial pressures help explain the decision.
“The Louvre is really cash-strapped right now and needs to do something,” said Marion Joppe, a professor at the University of Guelph. “It can’t really look to the government, which is already struggling with its own budget.”
The move also reflects a broader global pushback against mass tourism. Anti-tourism protests have spread across parts of Spain, New Zealand has increased its entry tax, and the United States recently raised national park fees for foreign visitors.
“You take Paris — it gets about 50 million tourists a year,” said Julian Karaguesian, an economist at McGill University. “That’s roughly a million a week. The city simply wasn’t built for those kinds of numbers.”
Despite the higher price, many visitors say they will still line up to see the Mona Lisa and other of the museum’s famous artworks.
“It’s one of the main attractions. It’s on everybody’s list,” Moore said. “We’re still going to go, and hopefully it will be worth it in the end.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Politics
Trump calls Canada-China deal ‘good thing’ as U.S. officials voice concern – National TenX News
Canada’s new trade deal with China is getting a mixed reaction in Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump voicing support as administration officials warned Ottawa could regret allowing Chinese EVs into the Canadian market.
The deal signed with Beijing on Friday reverses course on 100 per cent tariffs Canada slapped on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, which aligned with similar U.S. duties. Canada and China also agreed to reduce tariffs on canola and other products.
Asked about the deal by reporters at the White House, Trump said Prime Minister Mark Carney was doing the right thing.
“That’s what he should be doing. It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said.
However, members of Trump’s cabinet expressed concern.
“I think they’ll look back at this decision and surely regret it to bring Chinese cars into their market,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at an event with other U.S. government officials at a Ford factory in Ohio to tout efforts to make vehicles more affordable.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters the limited number of vehicles would not impact American car companies exporting cars to Canada.
“I don’t expect that to disrupt American supply into Canada,” he said.
“Canada is so dependent on the United States for their GDP. Their entire population is crowded around our border for that reason. I’ll tell you one thing: if those cars are coming into Canada, they’re not coming here. That’s for sure.”
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Carney has said it’s necessary for Canada to improve trade ties and cooperation with China in light of Trump’s trade war and threats to let the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade expire.
The trade pact is up for review this summer, and Greer reiterated that the Trump administration wants to bring more auto manufacturing back to the U.S. and incentivize companies to do so.
Under the new deal with Beijing, Carney said he expects China will lower tariffs on its canola seed by March 1 to a combined rate of about 15 per cent.
Greer questioned that agreement in a separate CNBC interview.
“I think in the long run, they’re not going to like having made that deal,” he said.
He called the decision to allow Chinese EVs into Canada “problematic” and added: “There’s a reason why we don’t sell a lot of Chinese cars in the United States. It’s because we have tariffs to protect American auto workers and Americans from those vehicles.”
Greer said rules adopted last January on vehicles that are connected to the internet and navigation systems are a significant impediment to Chinese vehicles in the U.S. market.
“I think it would be hard for them to operate here,” Greer said. “There are rules and regulations in place in America about the cybersecurity of our vehicles and the systems that go into those, so I think it might be hard for the Chinese to comply with those kind of rules.”
Trump and officials like Greer have taken aim at Chinese attempts to enter the North American car market through Mexico by bypassing rules of origin under CUSMA.
The CUSMA review set for July is expected to address those loopholes that American and Canadian officials have said are being exploited by China.
Those concerns, which were also raised by the Biden administration, in part helped spur the steep tariffs on Chinese EVs, which are heavily subsidized by Beijing.
Trump, however, has also said he would like Chinese automakers to come to the United States to build vehicles.
Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have expressed strong opposition to Chinese vehicles as major U.S. automakers warn China poses a threat to the U.S. auto sector.
Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican, said at Friday’s event at the Ford plant that he was opposed to Chinese vehicles coming into the United States, and drew applause from the other government officials.
“As long as I have air in my body, there will not be Chinese vehicles sold the United States of America — period,” Moreno said.
—with files from Reuters
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trade mission to China is being framed as a win for British Columbia’s economy.
Carney announced a new deal with Beijing on electric vehicles and canola at the end of a high-profile trip on Friday.
“The inroads Canada has made this week are a sign that the government gets it and is showing Canadians and the world that we are open for business,” Alexa Young with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said.
The trade deal would allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada yearly at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent.
An expanded auto terminal on Annacis Island will be able to handle the additional volume of cars that could be more affordable than what is currently on the market, with prices expected to be under $40,000.
The New Car Dealers Association said in a statement to Global News that, “We look forward to reviewing the full details of this announcement and engaging constructively with governments to ensure that affordability, competition, and long-term market stability remain central considerations.”
In British Columbia, the overall reaction to the news on Friday is positive.
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“China’s economy is important,” Alex McMillan with the B.C. Chamber of Commerce said.
“Having trade deals like this — and diversifying our markets — is important. Providing certainty is important.”
There are concerns with the agreement, including privacy issues and China’s human rights record. But Ottawa’s goal is to double trade with partners outside the United States, which is a goal that would be impossible without China.
“We do want to see more trade and more diversification of our markets and know that China is an important nation and important economy, so having better trade relationships with them, I think overall is going to be good,” McMillan said.
–with files from The Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Louvre raises ticket prices for non-Europeans, hitting Canadian visitors TenX News
Trump calls Canada-China deal ‘good thing’ as U.S. officials voice concern – National TenX News
Canada-China trade deal framed as a win for B.C.’s economy TenX News
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