Inflation in the United Kingdom rose to a five-month high as the aftershocks of the Iran war continued to ratchet up fuel prices, official figures showed Wednesday, an increase that will pressure the Bank of England to hike interest rates again over coming months.

The Office for National Statistics said rising prices at the pump and airfares were largely behind the increase in the U.K.'s consumer prices index to 3.1% in August from 2.9% the month before. The increase moved inflation further away from the Bank of England's 2% inflation target.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed making Canada the European Union's first associate member, a striking overture as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs drive Ottawa closer to Europe.

Trump's tariffs and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have pushed Canada to seek closer economic and security ties with Europe. Roughly 70% of Canadian exports go to the United States, and Carney has called for a "unique alliance" with the EU as Canada seeks to reduce that dependence.

The Trump administration is stripping tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military assistance from countries in Europe and the Middle East to support conservative-leaning governments in Central and South America.

The State Department on Tuesday notified Congress that it will reprogram $52 million in foreign military financing from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Europe in the middle of a trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump, seeking a deeper relationship with the European Union that could give Canadians greater freedom to work and study there.

Canada will seek an arrangement that would allow Canadians to live and work in Europe without visas as part of a strategic partnership, according to a senior Canadian official familiar with the discussions.

Saudi Arabia's closure of a major oil pipeline after a recent attack is raising fears that global energy markets in crisis because of the war with Iran could face even starker shortages, pushing prices higher for fuel and other essentials.

The largest oil producer in the Middle East closed its East-West pipeline on Friday after the attack, which it blamed on drones from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Two regional officials told The Associated Press that repairs could take three to five weeks.

U.S. President Donald Trump wants factories and investment moving south to the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is betting he can make billions flow north.

About 300 CEOs and senior executives from some of the world's biggest investment firms will descend on the Four Seasons in Yorkville, a tony Toronto enclave of high-end restaurants and designer boutiques, for Carney's Canada Investment Summit this week.

European leaders were meeting Monday to discuss growing competition in the Arctic, where global warming is opening new shipping routes, governments are vying for vast natural resources and a Russian military buildup is heightening security concerns.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen were among leaders expected for the European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland, a city perhaps best known for its Santa Claus village.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average.

Ukraine has for months been targeting Russia's oil and gas industry with long-range strikes, prompting fuel rationing across the country and causing Moscow to ban diesel exports in July, removing supplies from the already tight global market.

Russia announced Friday that it was rolling out its long-delayed 5G mobile network, but that iPhone users would be unable to connect until Apple coordinated the move with Moscow.

Leaders of the BRICS nations will meet in New Delhi this weekend as wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and U.S.-China tensions test the group's ability to act together.

Host India will seek to balance its ties with China and Russia against its growing partnerships with the United States and other Western powers.