Canada's Next Prime Minister; UN World Heritage Soap
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This message comes from Fred Hutch Cancer Center, whose discovery of bone marrow transplants has saved over a million lives worldwide. Learn how this and other breakthroughs impact the world at fredhutch.org slash lookbeyond. Today on State of the World, Canada's next prime minister and UN World Heritage soap. You're listening to State of the World from NPR, where the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Monday, March 10th. I'm Greg Dixon.

In a few minutes, this soap that is recognized by the UN. First, Canada's Liberal Party has elected a new head, which means that person will soon become prime minister. Mark Carney once led Canada's central bank and then was tapped to do the same job in England. While those are big government jobs, Carney has never held elected office before.

To learn about Canada's next leader in a time of strained relations with the United States, we're going to hear from Colin Robertson. He's a former Canadian diplomat and is a fellow at the nonpartisan think tank Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He spoke with NPR's Steve Inskeep. What does Mark Carney bring to the table as a leader?

Well, he's smart. He's confident. He has a real sense of public service. I met him in the 90s when he'd first come to Ottawa to work at our finance department. He'd been at Goldman Sachs, and one of my friends in Toronto said, get to know this guy. He's a comer. And I was impressed by him. He's written a big book, which is a bit of a slog. It's like a PhD thesis, but he cares about climate, the economy. Safe hands. I wouldn't...

He wouldn't be accused of being particularly charismatic, but he wants to put the emphasis on growth, which is what Canada needs today if we're going to pay for all the things that you need, like public services and defense. You mentioned Goldman Sachs, the American financial firm. Sounds like he knows the United States pretty well. Yes, I think he does. He went to Harvard and he went to Oxford.

In his career as a central banker, both for Canada and Britain, he would get to know all the Americans. So yes, he'll have a big network. I think he met Trump when Trump was president the first time at a G20 meeting.

Now, he has a problem with President Trump immediately because the president has repeatedly referred to Canada as the 51st state, has imposed tariffs, also taken off some tariffs or delayed some tariffs. We're in the middle of an extremely confusing trade war. Do you feel you understand what his approach will be?

Well, I think all Canadians have a problem with Mr. Trump and he just reflects where Canadians are coming from. Will he have a challenge to Mr. Trump? Probably, but he'll listen to Mr. Trump and make the case for Canada and why this makes no sense. And I hope Mr. Trump pays attention because it doesn't make any sense. We have this, we make things together. We have this mutually beneficial

relationship that goes back decades, going back to before the Second World War with Franklin Roosevelt and our then Prime Minister Mackenzie King put in place this framework for access to the United States. In return, we'd watch her back on the North. Well, I'm thinking that through there are so many ways that Canadians are connected with Americans through history. Canadian troops as well as American troops went ashore on D-Day. Canadians helped to rescue Americans from Tehran during the Iranian Revolution. I could go on and on.

9-11, exactly. There's all sorts of things. And Canadians have structured their economy to be closely integrated with the United States. Are Canadians now saying this was a mistake? We need to figure things out a different way.

We're certainly looking at all the options, yes. I think there's a sense that if you can't rely on what has been your friend, your neighbor, and principal partner, you've got to look to other means. So trade diversification. But we're also dealing with what we call the unfinished business of confederation. Since 1867, we've had a lot of trade barriers between our 13 provinces and territories. And now that's being taken on in a big way because that'll help the economy a

The preference would be to maintain that secure access to the United States. That's the first option. So we've been mounting a major campaign over the last year, even before the election, to just remind Americans how much we depend on each other. 37 American states, their biggest export markets, Canada. So this really does make no sense what Mr. Trump is doing.

Are you trapped? And by this, I mean you've structured things in a way that you don't have any choice but to deal with the U.S. For example, the oil pipelines run from Canada down to the United States. Do you not have any choice?

Well, to a large degree, geography is destiny and you can't change our geography. That's correct. Again, why this doesn't make a lot of sense, but we are looking now to other options. Our former Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien, who's 91, yesterday at the convention said, look, we should build a pipeline to the East Coast so we can start providing energy to Europe that wants it. So I think all options are on the table now. Just got a few seconds. There's broad unity between our premiers who...

are of other parties and the prime minister, and that's really important as well, like the United States, we're a federation. Just got a few seconds, Mr. Robertson, but I want to note you are not in Canada right now. You're in Sarasota, Florida. What are you hearing from Americans? Well, I'm struck by my neighbors who are coming up to me because I know I'm Canadian and almost apologetic, saying this isn't what they voted for. Most of them voted for Trump. I don't

I'm living in a district that voted heavily for Trump, and they think this is a bad idea. And as I say, they're apologetic. And it is a bad idea. And I say, well, phone your congressman. Tell him this is a bad idea. It's not working for you. Remember, Canadians used to spend 50 million nights a year in Florida. So that's also a hit if we don't come down to Florida. Colin Robertson is vice president at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Thanks so much. Thanks, Steve.

The Palestinian city of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is known for its soap. It's made with just three simple ingredients, olive oil, water, and lye, in a process that's been passed down generation to generation. Recently, that process was added to UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. NPR's Kat Lanzorf takes us to one of the oldest soap factories in Nablus.

It's around 7 a.m. and the old city of Nablus is waking up for the day, including at the Tukan soap factory right off the main square, where a powerful furnace has just been lit, the flames blasting, heating a giant vat of hundreds of gallons of waxy liquid above it. It's a morning ritual that has been happening here for more than 150 years. Musa Asahil scrapes a metal spatula through the mixture, which has been boiling on and off for several days, checking the consistencies.

He flips a switch and a big metal blade starts mixing it, sloshing the thickening goop onto surrounding surfaces. Esakhil has been in charge of this process, cooking the soap, for 45 years. He says his father had the job before him. It's a job that gives me joy, he says, doing something the way my ancestors did it.

There used to be dozens of soap factories like this in Nablus. Now there are only a few. This one, Tukan, is one of the oldest, open since 1872. We are producing soap using our traditional way. Nael Kubash has been managing operations for more than 30 years. He says here at the factory, barely anything has changed.

I ask if the same can be said for outside the factory, in Nablus, in the West Bank. And he just laughs. He switches to Arabic. Over the past three decades, he says, we have had to deal with increasing military impediments, referring to the roadblocks, checkpoints and raids that are part of the Israeli military occupation here. It's hard for life, he says, but it's also hard for business.

People sometimes can't get to work or product can't be delivered. The day before our visit, the Israeli military raided the old city of Nablus as part of what it calls an extended counterterrorism operation in the West Bank. The factory kept operating, but it's disruptive and dangerous, says Kubaj. They've had to lay off workers and production has decreased by about a third. But we want to keep the legacy alive, he says.

We head upstairs with assistant manager Soltan Kudra. The top level is a wide open room with a slick cement floor. When the soap mixture is ready, after about seven days of boiling, porters carry it up here in metal buckets, spreading it on the floor to harden. Then it's cut into bars using long pieces of thread. Those bars are then stacked in high towers throughout the room to dry for three months.

The final step in the process can be heard from the next room. A rhythmic flutter. Men sit on the ground, surrounded by bars of soap, wrapping each one by hand in paper.

Kudrat says they can wrap about 1,000 bars per hour. We call this soap the white gold of Nablus, Kudrat says with a smile. I ask what he thinks about the UNESCO recognition. We're really proud, he says. We work so hard to preserve this history. It's not just soap, he says. It's part of our identity. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Nablus.

That's the state of the world from NPR. Thanks for listening.

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