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Thousands in the United States staged large demonstrations Sunday denouncing the Iranian government’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters in the Islamic Republic.Several thousand people marched in Los Angeles, home to the world’s largest Iranian diaspora, while several hundred others gathered in New York, AFP journalist’s in both cities reported. US protesters could be seen carrying signs  condemning a “New Holocaust,” a “genocide in the making,” and the “terror” of the Iranian government.”My heart is heavy and my soul is crushed, I’m at loss for words to describe how angry I am,” said Perry Faraz at the demonstration in Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the US.The 62-year-old payroll manager, who fled Iran in 2006, learned this week that one of her young cousins had been killed during the overseas rallies held in her native country.”He wasn’t even 10 years old, that’s horrible,” she said.Demonstrations sparked by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests late December in what has been widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in recent years.The rallies subsided after a government crackdown in Iran that rights groups have called a “massacre” carried out by security forces under the cover of a communications blackout that started on January 8.Norway-based Iran Human Rights says it has verified the deaths of 3,428 protesters killed by security forces, confirming cases through sources within the Islamic Republic’s health and medical system, witnesses and independent sources.The NGO warned that the true toll is likely to be far higher. Media cannot independently confirm the figure and Iranian officials have not given an exact death toll.- Calls for US intervention -“This mass murdering of the population is terribly upsetting,” Ali Parvaneh, a 65-year-old lawyer protesting in LA said. Like many protesters, Parvaneh carried a “Make Iran Great Again” sign and said he wanted US President Donald Trump to intervene by targeting the country’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).Some in the crowd in LA went as far as to call for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has been in power for more than 25 years. After having attacked Iranian nuclear sites in June, Trump sent mixed signals on possible US intervention this week. The Republican first threatened to intervene if Iranian protesters were killed, but then said he was satisfied by Iranian assurances that demonstrators would not be executed.”I really hope that Trump will go one step beyond just voicing support,” Parvaneh said.Many protesting in the Californian city chanted slogans in support of the US president and Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran who was deposed by the popular uprising in 1979.- ‘Don’t need a puppet’ – Parvaneh echoed Pahlavi’s popularity among some segments of Iran’s exiled and expatriate population.”Had the monarchy stayed in place, it would be much different and Iran would be in a much better situation,” he said.Pahlavi’s support base is concentrated abroad while his political sway within Iran is limited.The former Shah’s son, who lives in exile near Washington, said this week he would be ready to return to Iran — but it is unclear if most Iranians want this.The Iranian opposition remains divided, and memories of the Shah’s brutal repression of his left-wing opponents remain vivid. Last week, a man caused minor injuries when he drove a truck into a demonstration held by Iranians in Los Angeles, carrying a sign that read: “No Shah. No Regime. USA: Don’t Repeat 1953. No Mullah.” The sign was referring to the 1953 coup that saw Iran’s government overthrown in a US- and UK-backed operation that had seen Pahlavi installed as the country’s leader.In Los Angeles’s Westwood neighborhood, nicknamed “Tehrangeles,” Roozbeh Farahanipour believes the diaspora must support Iranians without infringing on their “right to decide their own future.””They don’t need a puppet implanted by the West,” said the 54-year-old restaurant owner.Others in California also share that view.”Trump is playing the Iranian people,” said poet Karim Farsis, a resident of the San Francisco Bay area. Farsis, an academic, stresses that it is US sanctions — including those imposed by Trump — and the Republican’s ripping up of a nuclear deal that have contributed in large part to the suffering of the Iranian people.She also criticized the almost complete ban on Iranians entering the US since June.”We’re living in a really twisted moment,” she said. “Trump is saying to Iranians: ‘Keep protesting, take over your institutions.'”But if they find themselves in danger, they can’t even find refuge in the United States.”

Prince Harry is to return to London this week for the trial into his claims that a UK newspaper group unlawfully gathered information, in the royal’s last case in his long-running crusade against the media.The trial, expected to last up to nine weeks, is scheduled to start at London’s High Court on Monday.It is the third and final case brought by the prince, who is said to see holding the media to account as a personal mission.Harry has long blamed the media for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 while trying to shake off the paparazzi.King Charles III’s younger son is bringing the case along with six other high-profile complainants including pop icon Elton John and John’s husband David Furnish.The seven accuse Associated Newspapers, publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, of allegedly carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars.They also allegedly impersonated individuals to obtain medical information — a practice known as blagging — and accessed private phone conversations.The media group has firmly denied the allegations, calling them “lurid” and “preposterous”.- Rare UK trip -Harry is expected to attend for some of the first three days of opening statements.He is then due to take the stand for a full day of testimony on Thursday, according to a draft trial schedule shared with reporters by lawyers.Actor Elizabeth Hurley is set to give evidence the following week, followed by John and Furnish in early February. Actor Sadie Frost is also among the complainants.In 2023, Harry made history by becoming the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for more than a century, when he testified as part of his claim against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).It will be a rare trip back to Britain for the prince, also known as the Duke of Sussex, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and relocated eventually to California with wife Meghan, where they live with their two children.During his last UK visit in September, Harry met with the king, seeking to start to repair a bitter rift with his immediate family.But UK media have said there are no plans for Harry to see Charles during next week’s visit.- ‘Blagging’ claim -The new trial follows earlier cases brought against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) and Mirror Group.Last year Prince Harry settled out of court in his action against Murdoch’s UK tabloid publisher.NGN — publisher of tabloids The Sun and the now defunct News of the World — agreed to pay him “substantial damages” in January 2025 after admitting intruding into his private life, including by hacking his phone.In a statement, NGN offered a “full and unequivocal apology” to the prince for “serious intrusion” into the private lives of Harry and his mother Princess Diana by The Sun and also “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World”.In his other case against Mirror Group, a High Court ruling in December 2023 said Harry had been a victim of phone hacking by journalists working for the group and awarded him £140,600 ($179,600) in damages.Media lawyer Mark Stephens told AFP much had changed in the British media in recent years, but that this final case would primarily be about “press freedom”.”Press freedom is essential but so is freedom from being illegally spied on,” he said.”I think we’re not going to be looking so much at yesterday’s gossip. I think this case is going to be more about tomorrow’s accountability for the media more generally,” he added.

As the first explosions rocked his military base in Caracas, 18-year-old Saul Pereira Martinez sent his mother a simple message: “I love you. It has begun.”It was the night of January 3, and US forces were invading Venezuela to seize the country’s then-president, Nicolas Maduro, on the orders of US President Donald Trump.Pereira had finished his shift on guard duty at Fort Tiuna, where Maduro was sheltered that night. Nonetheless, he would not survive the assault.Natividad Martinez, his mother, visited on Sunday the cemetery where her son’s remains are buried, recalling the night it happened, and still in shock.The last time she spoke to Saul was at 2:00 am. He repeated that he loved her, and told her to take care of his two brothers, aged two and nine.Trump has repeatedly touted the success of the stunning operation to seize Maduro, boasting that there were no casualties.In truth, at least 83 people were killed in the operation, including 47 Venezuelan soldiers and 32 Cuban security personnel, according to the defense ministry in Caracas.”You can’t come to my country and kill people like that,” said Martinez.”Because (they say) ‘it was a clean operation.’ It wasn’t clean. Do you know how many people died?” – ‘A brave man’ -As the attack began, 38-year-old Martinez heard explosions and began to scream, worried for the safety of her son, her husband said.After she got off the phone with him, she fell to the ground screaming his name, he said.”I told her to stay calm, we don’t know what’s going on,” said Saul’s stepfather, who asked not to be identified because he works as a police officer and government security official. He believes that Saul was killed because his unit was spending the night within the security perimeter around Maduro, which made them a target for US forces.On Sunday, Saul’s parents were joined by his girlfriend and friends at the cemetery in southern Caracas.Saul had just completed his initial training with the Honor Guard in December and was studying at the military academy. They brought flowers, and, to the rhythm of old salsa music, the family cried, recalled anecdotes, and toasted in honor of the young soldier whom they remember as “a brave man.” Saul entered the military following in the footsteps of a childhood friend, who was at La Carlota air base during the US attack and was wounded in the leg. His mother had applauded the decision, having earlier worried about the trajectory her son’s life was on. Saul, says Natividad, went from “partying, going here and there, doing nothing at home” to studying, cleaning the house during his visits, and acquiring discipline. – ‘All human beings’ -Despite the massive US military deployment in the Caribbean, Trump’s bellicose threats against Maduro and strikes on what Washington called drug-smuggling boats off the Venezuelan coast, Martinez’s family did not expect things to get this bad.”The president didn’t always stay in the same place,” his stepfather explained, and the government maneuvered to mislead even the state security forces about Maduro’s whereabouts. US forces found Maduro because of inside informers, the stepfather said.”(The death of) my son was a collateral effect of that infiltration,” he said. Hours after the attack, Natividad brought food for Saul to Fort Tiuna, as per their weekly schedule.She found only silence. Hours later, when the names of the fallen began to circulate, she went to the battalion and stood there, demanding answers. “And they had to tell me,” she said, staring at the cement tomb where mourners had spelled out Saul’s name in yellow, blue, and white flower petals. Her son, like other soldiers, was honored by the government, which promoted him posthumously. Natividad said that some seemed not to mourn these deaths because of the political polarization that has divided the nation under Maduro’s rule, and that of Hugo Chavez before him.”Those who died are also human beings. They are all Venezuelans. On one side or the other, they are all human beings, they all have people who mourn them,” she said. Shaken but still stoic, Natividad said she felt proud of her son.”He died for his country,” she said. “Regardless of what they say, to me, my son was a patriot, and that’s what matters to me.” 

European leaders on Sunday slammed US President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs over their opposition to his designs on Greenland, warning transatlantic ties were at risk.European countries including Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory, said they “stand united” against Trump’s vow on Saturday to hit them with tariffs of up to 25 percent unless Greenland is ceded to the United States.”Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden warned in a joint statement.Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Trump’s ultimatum threatened the world order “as we know it” and the future of the NATO military alliance.NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had spoken to Trump about “the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic” and hoped to talk again at this week’s Davos summit. He did not elaborate on their conversation.The European Council said it was calling a summit of EU leaders in the coming days, following a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels on Sunday.- Trade deal threatened -The bloc clinched a deal with Washington in July for most EU exports to face a 15-percent US levy. It was unclear how Trump’s threatened tariffs would work against that deal.”I don’t believe that this agreement is possible in the current situation,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told ARD television.Aides to French President Emmanuel Macron said he would ask the EU to activate a never-before-used “anti-coercion instrument” against Washington if Trump makes good on his additional tariffs.This measure allows for curbing imports of goods and services into the EU, a market of 27 countries with a combined population of 450 million.Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to seize Greenland since returning to the White House for a second term.His rhetoric towards that goal has hardened since he ordered a military operation against Venezuela early this month to capture its leader, Nicolas Maduro.- ‘Blackmail’ -Trump and his administration have argued that Greenland coming under US rule would serve American “national security”. He and his aides have also argued that Denmark, a fellow NATO member, would be unable to defend Greenland should Russia or China ever seek to invade.Denmark and several of its European NATO allies responded by recently sending small numbers of military personnel to Greenland for an exercise, to which the US was also invited.And on Saturday, thousands of people in Greenland and Denmark protested against the US push to control the Arctic island.”Make America Go Away” read the wording on caps worn by many demonstrators, riffing on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.Trump responded Saturday with his threat to slap goods coming into the US from Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland with 10-percent tariffs starting February 1.They would rise to 25 percent from June 1 “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland”, Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.Even Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trump’s closest European allies, baulked at the threat.”I believe that imposing new sanctions today would be a mistake,” she told journalists during a trip to Seoul.”I spoke to Donald Trump a few hours ago and told him what I think,” she added.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it “completely wrong”, and said he planned to discuss the situation with Trump “at the earliest opportunity”. Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel denounced Trump’s threat as an “inexplicable” form of “blackmail”.- Trade war fear -France’s Agricultural Minister Annie Genevard warned that tariffs would hurt Washington too.”In this escalation of tariffs, (Trump) has a lot to lose as well, as do his own farmers and industrialists,” she told broadcasters Europe 1 and CNews.Norway, also targeted by Trump’s tariffs threat but like Britain not an EU member, said it was not currently looking at retaliation against US goods.”I think one needs to stop and think so that a trade war can be averted that would lead to a downward spiral,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told NRK television. “Nobody would win.”burs/jxb/jj

The Pentagon has ordered 1,500 US soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to a state roiled by unrest over an immigration crackdown, US media reported Sunday.The reported preparations come days after President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which enables use of the military to suppress “armed rebellion” or “domestic violence” — although a day later he said there was no immediate need for it.The troop deployment plans were first reported by the ABC. The news network cited two unnamed US defense officials as saying 1,500 active-duty Army paratroopers based in Alaska have been put on alert, but the president has not made a final decision on the deployment.The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment on Sunday.The Insurrection Act was last invoked in the United States more than 30 years ago, and any move by the federal government to deploy the military would inflame the standoff between the White House and local authorities in Minnesota.Crowds of protesters have clashed with immigration officers in the midwestern state’s main city of Minneapolis, particularly since the fatal shooting of a US woman by a federal agent on January 7.On Saturday, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said that at the direction of Governor Tim Walz the state’s national guard has been mobilized to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies. As governor, Walz has the authority to deploy the state’s US military reserve during emergencies.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Sunday described the 3,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border control waging Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration as an “occupying force that has quite literally invaded our city.”He told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the federal agents outnumbered the 600-strong city police force by five to one. He also voiced concern about reports of 1,500 federal troops readying to join them.”This is not about safety. What this is about is coming into our city by the thousands and terrorizing people simply because they’re Latino or Somali, and yeah, people in Minneapolis are speaking up,” Frey said.Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said that the crackdown would continue “until we are sure that all the dangerous people are picked up, brought to justice and then deported back to their home countries.”The Pentagon deployed some 700 US Marines in Los Angeles in June and July in response to angry protests over aggressive immigration enforcement operations underway there. Trump also threatened at that time to invoke the Insurrection Act, but ultimately did not, and the soldiers’ role was limited to guarding two federal properties in the greater Los Angeles area.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” showed no signs of slowing down, topping the North American box office for the fifth consecutive week over the long holiday weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday.The third installment in director James Cameron’s blockbuster fantasy series took in another $17.2 million from Friday to Monday, when Americans mark Martin Luther King Jr Day.That put its US and Canadian haul at $367.4 million, and its worldwide total at more than $1.3 billion, according to Exhibitor Relations.”Fire and Ash” stars Zoe Saldana as Na’vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington as ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family’s life on the planet Pandora.It is the fourth Cameron film to pass the $1 billion mark, along with the first two “Avatar” films and “Titanic.”Debuting in second place with a disappointing $15 million was “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” the fourth installment in the zombie horror series, which comes less than a year after the last film.”Returning after 7 months is quick — it’s too quick, and it’s hurting the numbers,” Said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.Disney’s feel-good animated film “Zootopia 2” showed its staying power, moving up to third place at $12 million over the four-day weekend. In fourth place at $10.2 million was “The Housemaid,” an adaptation of Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel about a young woman who is hired by a wealthy couple with dark secrets. Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried star in the Lionsgate release.”Marty Supreme,” starring Oscars frontrunner Timothee Chalamet as a conniving 1950s table tennis player with big dreams, finished in fifth place at $6.7 million.Rounding out the top 10 are:”Primate” ($6 million)”Greenland 2: Migration” ($3.9 million)”Anaconda” ($3.8 million)”The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” ($3.0 million)”No Other Choice” ($2.7 million)

European leaders on Sunday hit back at US President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs over their opposition to his designs on Greenland, with far-right Italian leader Giorgia Meloni urging Washington against making a “mistake”.Trump has made no secret of his desire to seize the vast Arctic island, an autonomous territory of Denmark, since returning to the White House for a second term, and a ramping up of this claim in recent weeks has deeply shaken transatlantic relations.He again upped the ante on Saturday, threatening to punish eight European countries with tariffs after they sent a few dozen troops to Greenland as part of a military drill.Meloni, who has a good relationship with Trump, said she had told him it was a “mistake” to punish Europe economically.”I believe that imposing new sanctions today would be a mistake,” she told journalists during a trip to Seoul, adding that “I spoke to Donald Trump a few hours ago and told him what I think.”However, Meloni also sought to downplay the conflict, telling journalists “there has been a problem of understanding and communication” between Europe and the United States on Greenland.She said it was up to NATO to take an active role in the growing crisis.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is planning to discuss the situation with Trump “at the earliest opportunity”, UK Culture Minister Lisa Nandy told the BBC, calling the president’s tariff threat “wrong”.”We believe it’s deeply unhelpful, and we believe it’s counterproductive, and the prime minister has not shied away from making that clear,” she said.French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile called on the European Union to combat the threatened tariffs by deploying its powerful “anti-coercion instrument”.- Bring out the ‘bazooka’? -That weapon — never used before and dubbed the EU’s trade “bazooka” — allows for curbing imports of goods and services.Trump has threatened to impose a 10-percent tariff from February 1 on all goods sent to the United States from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland.That levy would then be increased to 25 percent on June 1 “until such time as a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland”, the US president said.The EU, which clinched a deal in July for most EU exports to face a 15-percent US levy, has called an extraordinary meeting of its ambassadors in Brussels on Sunday.EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, warned Saturday that tariffs would “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral”.- ‘Blackmail’ -Thousands of people in Greenland’s capital Nuuk, Copenhagen and other Danish cities protested against the prospect of US annexation on Saturday.Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen announced Sunday he would visit fellow NATO members Norway, the UK and Sweden in the coming days to discuss the alliance’s Arctic security policy.France’s Agricultural Minister Annie Genevard warned that tariffs would hurt Washington, too.”In this escalation of tariffs, (Trump) has a lot to lose as well, as do his own farmers and industrialists,” she told broadcasters Europe 1 and CNews.Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel meanwhile called Trump’s threat an “inexplicable” form of “blackmail”.burs-cc/jhb

Donald Trump returns to the Davos ski resort next week after unleashing yet another avalanche on the global order. But for the US president, his main audience is back home.Trump’s first appearance in six years at the gathering of the world’s political and global elite comes amid a spiraling crisis over his quest to acquire Greenland.Fellow leaders at the mountain retreat will also be eager to talk about other shocks from his first year back in power, from tariffs to Venezuela, Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.Yet for the Republican president, his keynote speech among the Swiss peaks will largely be aimed at the United States.US voters are angered by the cost of living despite Trump’s promises of a “golden age,” and his party could be facing a kicking in crucial midterm elections in November.That means Trump will spend at least part of his time in luxurious Davos — a place where leaders can easily look out of touch with ordinary people — talking about US housing.A White House official told AFP that Trump would “unveil initiatives to drive down housing costs” and “tout his economic agenda that has propelled the United States to lead the world in economic growth.”The 79-year-old is expected to announce plans allowing prospective homebuyers to dip into their retirement accounts for down payments.Billionaire Trump is keenly aware that affordability has become his Achilles’ heel in his second term. A CNN poll last week found that 58 percent of Americans believe his first year back in the White House has been a failure, particularly on the economy.Trump’s supporters are also increasingly uneasy about the “America First” president’s seemingly relentless focus on foreign policy since his return to the Oval Office.But as he flies into the snowy retreat, Trump will find it impossible to avoid the global storm of events that he has stirred since January 20, 2025.Trump will be alongside many of the leaders of the same European NATO allies that he has just threatened with tariffs if they don’t back his extraordinary quest to take control of Greenland from Denmark.Those threats have once again called into question the transatlantic alliance that has in many ways underpinned the western economic order celebrated at Davos.- ‘Economic stagnation’ -So have the broader tariffs Trump announced early in his second term, and he is set to add to the pressure on Europe in his speech. Trump will “emphasize that the United States and Europe must leave behind economic stagnation and the policies that caused it,” the White House official said.The Ukraine war will also be on the cards. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping for a meeting with Trump to sign new security guarantees for a hoped-for ceasefire deal with Russia, as are G7 leaders.But while the largest-ever US Davos delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have all played key roles on Ukraine, no meeting is assured.”No bilateral meetings have been scheduled for Davos at this time,” the White House told AFP.Trump is meanwhile reportedly considering a first meeting of the so-called “Board of Peace” for war-torn Gaza at Davos, after announcing its first members in recent days.Questions are also swirling about the future of oil-rich Venezuela following the US military operation to topple its leader Nicolas Maduro, part of Trump’s assertive new approach to his country’s “backyard.”But Trump may also pause to enjoy his time in the scenic spot he called “beautiful Davos” in his video speech to the meeting a year ago.The forum has always been an odd fit for the former New York property tycoon and reality TV star, whose brand of populism has long scorned globalist elites. But at the same time, Trump relishes the company of the rich and successful. His first Davos appearance in 2018 met occasional boos but he made a forceful return in 2020 when he dismissed the “prophets of doom” on climate and the economy.A year later he was out of power. Now, Trump returns as a more powerful president than ever, at home and abroad.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday escalated his quest to acquire Greenland, threatening multiple European nations with tariffs of up to 25 percent until he achieves his goal of controlling the Danish territory.Trump’s threats came as thousands of people protested in the capital of Greenland against his wish to acquire the mineral-rich island at the gateway to the Arctic.Thousands more protested in Copenhagen and other Danish cities.The US president aimed his ire at Denmark, a fellow NATO member, as well as several other European countries that have deployed troops in recent days to the vast autonomous territory with a population of 57,000.If realized, Trump’s threats against Washington’s NATO partners would create unprecedented tension within the alliance.From February 1, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland would be subject to a 10-percent tariff on all goods sent to the United States, Trump said on his Truth Social platform.”On June 1st, 2026, the Tariff will be increased to 25%. This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” he wrote.”These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,” Trump said.”Therefore, it is imperative that, in order to protect Global Peace and Security, strong measures be taken so that this potentially perilous situation end quickly, and without question.”Trump added that he was “immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries.”Denmark called Trump’s announcement a “surprise,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was “completely wrong,” and French President Emmanuel Macron added: “Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.””We won’t let ourselves be intimidated,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told AFP, adding that the governments involved were working on a joint response.In a statement, European Union leaders said the bloc “stands in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland.” An extraordinary meeting of EU ambassadors has been called in Brussels for Sunday afternoon.Greenlandic minister Naaja Nathanielsen on Saturday praised the reaction of European countries, saying she was “thankful and hopeful for diplomacy and allieship (sic) to prevail.”- ‘Make America Go Away’ -In Nuuk, thousands of people, including the territory’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, waved Greenlandic flags, chanted slogans and sang traditional Inuit songs under light rain. Many wore caps with the words “Make America Go Away” — a riff on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.”We don’t want Trump invading Greenland, that is the message,” 44-year-old nurse Paarniq Larsen Strum said at the Nuuk rally, calling the situation “nerve-wracking.””We demand respect for our country’s right to self-determination and for us as a people,” added protest organizer Avijaja Rosing-Olsen. In Copenhagen, charity worker Kirsten Hjoernholm, 52, said it was important to show unity with Greenlanders.”You cannot be bullied by an ally. It’s about international law,” she said.Around her, demonstrators waved the flags of Denmark and Greenland while chanting “Kalaallit Nunaat!” — the vast Arctic island’s name in Greenlandic.Some also held placards saying “USA already has too much ICE,” referring to Trump’s deployment of federal immigration officers in US cities, while others chanted “Greenland is not for sale.”- US ‘security’ claims -Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States needs Greenland for US “national security,” while alleging without evidence that China and Russia are trying to control it.Those two countries have increased their security presence in the Arctic, but have not made any claims over its sovereignty.France said the European military exercise in Greenland was designed to show the world that it will defend the territory.Denmark said the US had been invited to join the drill.It was not immediately clear what authority the US president would invoke to impose the threatened tariffs of up to 25 percent. Since returning to the presidency, Trump has unleashed sweeping tariffs on goods from virtually all trading partners, to address what Washington says are unfair trade practices and as a tool to press governments.Washington and the European Union struck a deal last summer to lower US tariffs on key European goods, with the deal currently being implemented.Also on Saturday, US lawmakers were wrapping up a visit to Copenhagen for talks with Greenlandic and Danish politicians.The group, led by Democratic Senator Chris Coons, told reporters that Trump’s stance was not backed by the majority of Americans.It is also roundly rejected by Greenlanders, 85 percent of whom — according to the latest poll published in January 2025 — oppose the territory joining the United States. Only six percent were in favor.

NASA on Saturday rolled out its towering SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft as it began preparations for its first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.The maneuver, which takes up to 12 hours, will allow the US space agency to begin a string of tests for the Artemis 2 mission, which could blast off as early as February 6.The immense orange and white Space Launch System rocket and the Orion vessel were slowly wheeled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and painstakingly moved four miles (6.5 kilometers) to Launch Pad 39B.If the tests are all satisfactory, three Americans and one Canadian will head to the Moon sometime between February 6 and the end of April — they will not land, but instead fly around Earth’s satellite. The mission — which would last about 10 days — would be a huge step towards Americans once again setting foot on the lunar surface, a goal announced by President Donald Trump in his first term. “We’re making history,” Artemis 2 mission management team chair John Honeycutt told a press conference on Friday.- ‘Pretty pumped’ -US astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canada’s Jeremy Hansen, were on site Saturday for the rocket’s rollout.”I’m actually pretty pumped to see that,” Hansen told reporters. “In just a few weeks, you’re going to see four humans fly around the moon, and if we’re doing that now, imagine what we can do next.”Glover added: “We’re swinging for the fence, trying to make the impossible possible.”Before the mission can take off, engineers must ensure the SLS rocket is safe and viable. After a battery of tests, a pre-launch simulation will be carried out. The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission took place in November 2022 after multiple postponements and two failed launch attempts.NASA hopes to put humans back on the Moon as China forges ahead with a rival effort that is targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed mission.Its uncrewed Chang’e 7 mission is expected to be launched in 2026 for an exploration of the Moon’s south pole, and testing of its crewed spacecraft Mengzhou is also set to go ahead this year.NASA is hoping that the Moon could be used to help prepare future missions to Mars.But the program has been plagued by delays. The US space agency surprised many late last year when it said Artemis 2 could happen as soon as February — an acceleration explained by the Trump administration’s wish to beat China to the punch. Artemis 3, currently scheduled for 2027, is expected to be pushed back, as industry experts say Elon Musk’s SpaceX is behind on delivering the Starship megarocket needed for the mission.