A massive winter storm dumped snow and freezing rain on New Mexico and Texas Saturday as it spread across the United States towards the northeast, threatening tens of millions of Americans with blackouts, transportation chaos and bone-chilling cold.Shoppers stripped supermarket shelves as the National Weather Service forecast huge snowfall in some areas and possibly “catastrophic” ice accumulations from freezing rain.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that up to 240 million Americans could be affected by the storm. At least 16 states and the US capital Washington declared states of emergency.”Take this storm seriously, folks,” the National Weather Service said on X, predicting an “astonishingly long swath” of snowfall from New Mexico to Maine.More than 3,400 flights in and out of the United States were canceled on Saturday alone, and more than 1,100 others were delayed, according to tracker FlightAware.In Dallas, freezing rain pelted the city and temperatures plummeted to 21F (-6C).Houston Mayor John Whitmire urged residents of the country’s fourth most populous city to hunker down by late Saturday: “Be where you need to be for the next 72 hours.”Warming centers were set to open Saturday for those in need.State officials vowed that the Texas power grid was in better shape than five years ago, when it failed during a deadly winter storm and left millions without power.Snow also hit Oklahoma and Arkansas, where some spots already recorded six inches (15 centimeters) on the ground, the NWS said.After battering the country’s southwest and central areas, the storm system was expected to hit the heavily populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern states before a frigid air mass settles in.”The snow/sleet impacts will linger well into next week with rounds of re-freezing that keeps surfaces icy and dangerous to both drive and walk on for the foreseeable future,” the weather service said. The US federal government preemptively announced offices would be closed on Monday.”We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm!” US President Donald Trump, who was riding out the storm in Washington, said on his Truth Social platform. – Polar vortex -The brutal storm system is the result of a stretched polar vortex, an Arctic region of cold, low-pressure air that normally forms a relatively compact, circular system but sometimes morphs into a more oval shape, sending cold air spilling across North America.Scientists say the increasing frequency of such disruptions of the polar vortex may be linked to climate change, though the debate is not settled and natural variability plays a role.But Trump — who scoffs at climate change science and has rolled back green energy policies — questioned how the cold front fit into broader climate shifts.”WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???” the Republican leader posted on Truth Social.The National Weather Service warned that heavy ice could cause “long-duration power outages, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions,” including in many states less accustomed to intense winter weather.- ‘Five or six minutes’ -In New York state, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul warned residents to stay inside amid frigid conditions: “Five or six minutes outside could literally be dangerous for your health.”She stressed precautions like protecting pipes, using heaters safely, and checking on vulnerable neighbors.Professional and collegiate basketball games have been rescheduled as a result of the weather.Authorities warned of life-threatening cold that could last a week post-storm, especially in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, where wind chill lows were forecast to dip to extremes under -50F (-45C).Such temperatures can cause frostbite within minutes. 

US President Donald Trump has sparked outrage across Europe after claiming that NATO allies shied away from the front line in Afghanistan.In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump claimed NATO had sent “some troops” but “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines”.He also repeated his suggestion that the alliance would not come to the aid of the United States if asked to do so.”I fully understand that Danish veterans have said no words can describe how much this hurts,” Danish Prime Minister Mette said Saturday on Facebook.”It is unacceptable that the American president questions the commitment of allied soldiers in Afghanistan,” she added.In the interview, Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers were among NATO troops who died during the conflict in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday: “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly, appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.” The White House rejected Starmer’s comments and defended Trump.”President Trump is absolutely right — the United States of America has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance has done combined,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement sent to AFP.Following the 9/11 attacks, Britain and a number of other allies joined the United States from 2001 in Afghanistan after it invoked NATO’s collective security clause.”Denmark is one of the NATO countries that has suffered the highest losses per capita,” the Danish prime minister underscored.The country’s population was about 5.4 million in 2003 and, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau, around 12,000 Danish soldiers and civilians had been sent to Afghanistan over the years. As well as Britain, troops from other NATO ally countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Denmark also died.”Let us honour the 53 Italian soldiers who fell during the mission in Afghanistan,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a post on X on Saturday. Meanwhile, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius recalled the “heavy price” his country paid, stressing that “our army was ready when our American allies asked for support” in 2001. “Many wounded are still suffering today from the physical and psychological consequences of that period,” he added. The Danish Veterans Association earlier said it was “at a loss for words” over Trump’s claims. “Denmark has always stood by the United States, and we have shown up in crisis zones around the world when the United States asked us to,” the association said in a statement.Danish veterans are calling for a silent march in Copenhagen on January 31 to protest Trump’s remarks.Trump’s comments follow a bruising transatlantic crisis over his threats to seize Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory — now seemingly defused. The US president on Wednesday backed away from threatened tariffs on Europe for opposing his claims on the Arctic island.

Ukraine and Russia ended two days of US-brokered direct talks on Saturday and agreed to hold more next week in Abu Dhabi, even as Kyiv accused Moscow of undermining the negotiations towards ending the war by launching fresh strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the talks that “a lot was discussed, and it is important that the conversations were constructive”. He added that next round could take place “as early as next week”. On the eve of the second day of talks, Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine, cutting off millions from electricity in sub-zero temperatures. Kyiv accused Moscow of undermining the negotiations by launching yet another “night of Russian terror”.  A UAE government spokesperson said the talks, which involved top military officers from both sides, had been held in a “constructive and positive atmosphere”.But weary Kyiv residents, who had gone through yet another sleepless night, had little hope for a breakthrough. “They’ll just say that everything is fine, that again, nothing has been agreed, and again there will be rockets,” said Anastasia Tolkachov, who had to spend a night in a car park. When asked by AFP about the negotiations, another Kyiv resident, who gave only her first name, Valentina, said: “I don’t think anything will happen. We’ll just have to keep freezing a little longer, somehow.”At night, AFP journalists saw people running through the streets to find shelter as explosions lit up the capital’s sky. According to the Emirati spokesperon, the talks were held on “outstanding elements of the US-proposed peace framework as well as confidence-building measures”.According to Zelensky, “the central focus of the discussions was the possible parameters for ending the war”.  Both warring sides say the fate of territory in the eastern Donbas region is the main unresolved issue in the search for a settlement. – ‘Again and again’ -Over a million people in Kyiv and Chernigiv were left without electricity in sub-zero temperatures due to Russian strikes. About half of Kyiv’s apartment blocks were cut off from heating, Ukrainian authorities said.”This night in Kyiv, it’s really all happening again and again,” Iryna Berehova, 48, told AFP, adding: “These explosions, these sleepless nights, these worries for our children, for our safety, they are very exhausting.” “These negotiations that are taking place don’t even give us any hope for the better.” The European Union, which has sent hundreds of power generators to Ukraine, has accused Moscow of “deliberately depriving civilians of heat”.Zelensky last week declared a state of emergency in the energy sector, which has been battered by relentless Russian strikes on heat and electricity supplies. The Moscow-installed governor in the occupied Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said a Ukrainian drone strike killed three people in an ambulance van heading to a sick man. The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and devastated large swathes of Ukraine.While diplomacy to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II has gained pace again, Moscow and Kyiv appear deadlocked over the issue of territory.- Donbas territory dispute -US President Donald Trump met Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday and US envoy Steve Witkoff later held talks with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.Hours after Putin met Witkoff — and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — in Moscow, the Kremlin said its demand that Kyiv withdraw from the eastern Donbas region still stood, calling it “a very important condition”.Kyiv rejects it. “The Donbas is a key issue,” Zelensky told reporters on Friday, ahead of the talks in the UAE.Zelensky said he and Trump had agreed on post-war security guarantees in Davos.Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are last known to have met face-to-face in Istanbul last summer, in talks that ended only in deals to exchange captured soldiers.The Abu Dhabi meeting was the first time they have faced each other to talk about the Trump administration’s plan.An initial US draft drew heavy criticism in Kyiv and western Europe for hewing too closely to Moscow’s demands, while Russia rejected later versions for proposing European peacekeepers in Ukraine.Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to get full control of eastern Ukraine by force if talks fail.Trump has in the past pressured Ukraine to agree to terms that Kyiv sees as capitulation.