Good morning. This is Hanna Lee and John Mazerolle.

We start with breaking news this morning, as NATO allies react to Russian drone intrusions into Polish airspace. Poland shot some of the drones down. Col. Martin O'Donnell with NATO's Supreme Allied Powers Europe said, "This is the first time NATO planes have engaged potential threats in Allied airspace."

We also look at the fallout of Israel's attack on Qatar yesterday, and just how complicated and confusing Trump's tariff regime can be for Canadian businesses.

THE LATEST

Qatar did what the U.S. and Israel asked. The missiles came anyway

(Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

Qatar calculated years ago that making itself indispensable was the best way to ensure its security, which is why it houses Hamas leaders while also working as a mediator for Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks. The move mostly proved fruitful — until Israel struck Doha yesterday.

What's happening: The Israeli strike targeted the headquarters of Hamas political leaders, killing five members. However, that office was actually set up with U.S. and Israeli approval. Even after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, neither the Biden nor the Trump administrations publicly pressured the country to expel the militant group. Israel, too, has co-operated closely with Qatar to prop up Hamas in order to prevent movement toward a two-state solution.

What's next: The surprise attack is sure to cause the Qatari ruling family to question their strategy. There's always the option of walking away from ceasefire talks — though the government has for now ruled this out — which would hamper the negotiations. That would bode well for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who's looking to ensure his political survival.

It's not the tariffs, it's the chaos

(CBC)

Businesses on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border are struggling with U.S. President Donald Trump's topsy-turvy tariff regime. But it's their chaotic nature — and their associated bureaucracy — that's really crushing them.

What's happening: Prime Minister Mark Carney has often touted the fact that Canada has secured the lowest tariff rate of any country in the world. But that's cold comfort for Canadian businesses, as they struggle with the tariffs' arbitrary application.

The big issue: There are so many fees — from material to country of origin — and so many different ways they're applied that there's too much room for interpretation. Businesses, brokers and shippers are all at a loss on how to process the ever-changing rates. This is precisely what trade experts warned would happen, and it remains a sore spot for the many Canadian firms that had assumed the North American free trade agreement would be respected.

On bail for 'astonishing' $48M crypto theft, a Hamilton teen kept stealing. He's now an adult in U.S. prison

(Jack Guez/Getty Images)

A Hamilton man has been imprisoned for a year in the U.S. after netting more than $1 million in a crypto theft spree in 2022, which he undertook while on bail for a separate theft he committed as a teen. 

What's happening: U.S. prosecutors for the 2022 crimes called the man a "serial online fraudster," while his U.S. defence team called him a "psychologically vulnerable teenager desperate to be seen." The man, who cannot be named as he was charged and convicted as a minor in Canada, was 17 when he stole $48 million in crypto from American entrepreneur Josh Jones in 2020, one of the largest thefts in Canadian history.

What's next: The man is "painfully aware" of the errors in his previous judgment and thinking, his lawyer said. He's been ordered to pay back about $320,000 in restitution and a fine of nearly $83,000. After he's released from jail, he'll likely be deported back to Canada.

PICTURE THIS

Post-secondary institutions are struggling with the plummeting enrolment of international students, after Ottawa's cap on their permits. The federal government has defended the move by saying the growth of international students had become unsustainable. However, experts and students warn that schools' subsequent revenue losses will mean service cuts and class waitlists. Read more here.

In case you missed it

• After a self-described Canadian men's nationalist group had a rally in Niagara, Ont., over the Labour Day weekend, some fear a rise of extremism in Canada.
   
• A social media ban has triggered youth-led demonstrations in Nepal. At least 19 people were killed in two cities as police opened fire on people in some of the country's worst unrest in decades.
   
• French President Emmanuel Macron has picked loyalist Sébastien Lecornu to be the next prime minister, defying expectations he might tack toward the left.
   
• Apple's iPhone 17 lineup includes a new ultra-thin model and a slight price hikes for one of its high-end models, as it feels the effects of a global trade war.
   
• Aziz Benharref of Ottawa has been confirmed as one of the 16 killed in last week's funicular crash in Lisbon.
   

IN LIGHTER NEWS

Volunteers help save a Manitoba farmer's pumpkins from early frost

(Submitted by Melody Schwabe)

After the drought over the summer, Melody Schwabe's family farm was a month behind schedule in harvesting. With an early frost set to come in over the weekend, Schwabe posted a video in tears on social media on Friday morning. Soon enough, about 100 volunteers showed up to Schwabe Pumpkins in southern Manitoba to help her harvest.

Some had driven for hours, while others brought food and coffee. Even a few massage therapists stopped by to give massages to weary farmhands. "It was just amazing," Schwabe said. "I'm just overwhelmed with all the beautiful outpour that we've had."