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US President Donald Trump touched down in a tense Davos on Wednesday to give an “America First” speech that will push his world-shaking bid to seize control of Greenland.Trump’s claims over the Danish territory have dominated the meeting in the Swiss ski resort, where Trump landed by helicopter, stepping onto a red carpet laid in the snow.He arrived at the World Economic Forum some two hours behind schedule, after an electrical issue earlier forced Air Force One to turn back to Washington.The 79-year-old doubled down on his claims over the strategic Arctic island before arriving, but Europe and Canada have closed ranks against what they view as a threat to the US-led global order.Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney warned at Davos of a “rupture” to the US-led system while NATO’s chief called on Wednesday for “thoughtful diplomacy” to resolve one of the biggest crises in transatlantic relations for decades.The united stand drew a rebuke from Trump’s Treasury chief Scott Bessent, who told Europeans to “take a deep breath” and wait for the president’s arrival to see what he has to say.”Do not have this reflexive anger that we’ve seen,” Bessent told reporters in Davos.Trump’s speech would have an “America First feel” and was expected to touch on Greenland and the US military operation to seize Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro “in the context of his Western Hemisphere focus,” a senior US official said.Huge lines of the world’s business and political elite queued up to see Trump’s speech, with hundreds turned away, AFP reporters saw.He will also tout the US economy, amid growing frustration over the cost of living that could damage Trump’s Republican party in the 2026 midterm elections.Trump is also expected to hold around five bilateral meetings with European leaders in Davos, the official said..But in a sign of the dissent against Trump, the words “No Kings” were dug into the snow overlooking mountain-fringed Davos overnight, referring to a US protest slogan.- ‘Thoughtful diplomacy’ -Trump insists mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China as a melting Arctic opens up and the superpowers jostle for strategic advancement.But NATO chief Mark Rutte told Davos on Wednesday that “thoughtful diplomacy” was needed, as Trump’s claims over another ally’s territory provoke an existential crisis for the group.”There are these tensions at the moment, there’s no doubt,” said Rutte, who has been dubbed the “Trump whisperer” for his ability to deal with the US president.Rutte also pushed back against Trump, who has long told other countries to pay more for the alliance, and who on Tuesday said he doubted NATO would come to the aid of the United States if asked.”I tell him, yes they will,” Rutte said.France called meanwhile Wednesday for a NATO exercise in Greenland “and is ready to contribute to it”, Macron’s office said.The French president had warned at Davos on Tuesday against US attempts to “subordinate Europe”, and blasted Trump’s “unacceptable” threats to impose tariffs on allies over Greenland.Europe has threatened countermeasures after Trump turned up the pressure by threatening levies of up to 25 percent on eight European countries for backing Denmark.- ‘Rupture’ -Canada’s Carney — who has sought to reduce his own country’s dependence on Washington since Trump called for it to become the 51st US state — won a rare standing ovation at Davos for his stance.”We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney said of the US-led global system of governance.Greenland’s prime minister said Tuesday that his tiny population of 57,000 must be prepared for military force.On Thursday, meanwhile, Trump is set to formally announce the first charter of his so-called “Board of Peace,” a body for resolving international conflicts with a $1 billion price tag for permanent membership.burs-dk/gv

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday of “politicizing” the institution as the Trump administration intensified its pressure campaign on the central bank.President Donald Trump has railed against Powell for not moving faster to lower interest rates, and the Justice Department this month launched a criminal investigation into Powell — a move former Fed chairs labeled an effort to undermine the central bank’s independence.Bessent on Wednesday criticized Powell’s decision to attend a Supreme Court hearing on Trump’s attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, calling his presence “a political statement.””I am not sure why Chair Powell would go and support Governor Cook when the Fed has not undertaken an examination of whether she did in fact commit mortgage fraud,” Bessent said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, citing allegations Cook has denied.”The Fed should not be politicized. He is politicizing the Fed.”Trump has centered his attempt to remove Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the central bank’s board of governors, on mortgage fraud allegations. Cook has challenged the removal attempt, and the Supreme Court has allowed her to remain in her post until it hears her case. She has not been charged with a crime.This month, Powell revealed that US prosecutors had opened an inquiry into him over an ongoing renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. Prosecutors sent the Fed subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment relating to testimony Powell gave last summer about the remodeling. Powell has dismissed the investigation as a politically motivated attempt to influence the central bank’s interest rate setting, and the heads of major central banks have thrown their support behind him.Powell’s term as chairman of the Federal Reserve ends in May, though Trump has attempted to force him out over disagreements on interest rates.Trump has said he would judge Powell’s successor on whether the person immediately cuts rates.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said Wednesday “thoughtful diplomacy” was needed to deal with tensions over Greenland, as President Donald Trump headed to Davos pushing US claims on the territory.”I see that there are these tensions at the moment, there’s no doubt. Again, I’m not going to comment on that, but I can assure you, the only way to deal with that is, in the end, thoughtful diplomacy,” Rutte said at the World Economic Forum.”You can be assured that I’m working on this issue behind the scenes, but I cannot do it in public.”The alliance head is set to meet Trump in the Swiss ski resort as the president’s push to take over Greenland from Denmark has rocked NATO.Rutte has sought to deflect Trump’s interest in the Danish autonomous territory into a broader discussion at NATO on bolstering Arctic security.”When it comes to the Arctic, I think President Trump is right. Other leaders in NATO are right. We need to defend the Arctic,” he said.Rutte dismissed fears that the crisis over Greenland could cause to the collapse of the 76-year-old alliance.”NATO is crucial, not only for the defence of Europe, but also for the defence of the United States,” he said.”For the United States to stay safe, you need a safe Arctic, a safe Atlantic and a safe Europe.”The NATO secretary general pushed back at repeated comments from Trump casting doubt on whether Europe would help defend the United States if asked.”I tell him, yes they will,” Rutte said.”I have no doubt the US will come to the rescue here, and we will come to the rescue of the US.”Speaking alongside Rutte in Davos, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he believed a diplomatic solution could be found on Greenland.”You have two schools of thought here on Greenland. One is to de-escalate, and the other one is to escalate, to de-escalate. And I think at the end of the day, we’ll find an off ramp,” he said.Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on European allies who oppose his designs on Greenland — leading the European Union to mull hitting back against Washington with trade countermeasures.

A NASA astronaut who was stuck in space for nine months because of problems with her spacecraft has retired after 27 years of service, the space agency said Tuesday.Suni Williams stepped down from her post on December 27 — making her ill-fated mission her last journey to space.Williams and fellow astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore set out on an eight-day mission in June 2024 to test fly Boeing’s new Starliner capsule on its first crewed mission when they were unexpectedly marooned.Despite the incident, Williams on Tuesday called her time with NASA “an incredible honor.””Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favorite place to be,” she said in a statement.Boeing’s new Starliner developed propulsion issues while Williams and Wilmore were traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) and it was deemed unfit to fly back.The technical problems prompted NASA to entrust the return of their astronauts to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, snubbing Boeing.The two veteran astronauts finally returned safely back to Earth with SpaceX in March 2025. Wilmore announced his retirement in August that same year.NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement on Tuesday that Williams had been a “trailblazer in human spaceflight,” adding that she shaped the “future of exploration through her leadership aboard the space station” and paved the way for commercial missions to low Earth orbit.During her career, Williams logged 608 days in space — the second most cumulative time in space by a NASA astronaut, the agency said.She also ranks sixth on the list of longest single spaceflights by an American due to the Starliner incident, NASA added.Williams has completed nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours, the most spacewalk time by a woman and fourth-most on the all-time cumulative spacewalk duration list.

US President Donald Trump descends on Davos for a showdown with European leaders Wednesday as his bid to seize Greenland threatens to tear the transatlantic alliance apart.Trump — whose arrival in Davos was delayed when a “minor electrical issue” forced his presidential jet to turn back shortly after takeoff — mocked the Europeans a day before heading to the World Economic Forum over the fate of the autonomous Danish territory.But leaders gathered at the Swiss ski resort have closed ranks against Trump’s aggressive stance, with French President Emmanuel Macron vowing to stand against “bullies” and Canada’s Mark Carney warning of a “rupture, not a transition” to the US-led global order.The united stand drew a rebuke from Trump’s Treasury chief Scott Bessent, who told Europeans to “take a deep breath”.”Do not have this reflexive anger that we’ve seen and this bitterness,” Bessent told reporters in Davos hours before Trump’s arrival. “Why don’t they sit down, wait for President Trump to get here and listen to his argument,” he said.Trump, who was originally scheduled to give a speech to the annual gathering of the world’s economic and political elite at 2:30 pm (1330 GMT), will be about three hours late to Davos, Bessent said, after the president was forced to switch planes.Trump said he would have a number of meetings on Greenland at Davos, as his designs on the vast island open the biggest rift between Washington and Europe in decades.Asked how far he was prepared to go to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a fellow NATO member, Trump told reporters: “You’ll find out.”As he left the White House, the president admitted he had “no idea” how the trip to Davos would pan out.- ‘Rupture’ -Trump insists mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China as a melting Arctic opens up and the superpowers jostle for strategic advancement.He has turned up the pressure by threatening tariffs of up to 25 percent on eight European countries for backing Denmark, prompting Europe to threaten countermeasures against the United States.Trump dismissed European threats to fire a trade “bazooka” at the United States.”Anything they do with us… all I have to do is meet it and it’s going to go ricocheting backward,” he said in an interview with News Nation.”But we’re not looking into that. We’ll probably be able to work something out, possibly even during the next few days,” he added.At Davos on Tuesday, Macron warned against US attempts to “subordinate Europe”, and blasted Trump’s tariff threats as “unacceptable.”France called Wednesday for a NATO exercise in Greenland, “and is ready to contribute to it”, Macron’s office said.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for her part warned that Trump risked plunging US ties with the European Union into a “downward spiral”.And Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — who has sought to reduce his own country’s dependence on Washington since Trump called for it to become the 51st US state — won a standing ovation at Davos for his stance.”We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney said of the US-led global system of governance.”Call it what it is: a system of intensifying great power rivalry where the most powerful pursue their interests using economic integration as coercion.”In his own Davos speech, the White House said Trump wanted to focus on the US economy amid a cost-of-living crisis that threatens his Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.But the US president’s extraordinary assertion of US power on the world stage one year into his second term means Greenland will form the backdrop to the address.Greenland’s prime minister said Tuesday his tiny population of 57,000 must be prepared for military force.On Thursday, meanwhile, Trump is set to formally announce the first charter of his so-called “Board of Peace,” a body for resolving international conflicts with a $1-billion price tag for permanent membership.The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but a draft of the charter seen by AFP does not appear to limit its role to the occupied Palestinian territory.

Russia’s interior minister met with top leaders of ally Cuba in Havana on Tuesday, a show of solidarity after US President Donald Trump warned that the island’s longtime communist government “is ready to fall.”Trump this month told Havana to “make a deal,” the nature of which he did not divulge, or pay a price similar to Venezuela, whose leader Nicolas Maduro was ousted by US forces in a January 3 bombing raid that killed dozens of people.Venezuela was a key ally of Cuba and a critical supplier of oil and money, which Trump has vowed to cut off. “We in Russia regard this as an act of unprovoked armed aggression against Venezuela,” Russia’s Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev told Russian state TV Rossiya-1 of the US actions after landing in Cuba.”This act cannot be justified in any way and once again proves the need to increase vigilance and consolidate all efforts to counter external factors,” he added.On Tuesday, Kolokoltsev met with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel who described the visit as having “enormous significance,” according to a statement from the Cuban government. The visit, the government said, showed Russia’s “understanding” of Cuba’s situation and “a willingness to help and cooperate.” Russia and Cuba, both under Western sanctions, have intensified their relations since 2022, with an isolated Moscow seeking new friends and trading partners since its invasion of Ukraine.Russia’s ambassador to Havana, Victor Koronelli, wrote on X Tuesday that Kolokoltsev was in Cuba “to strengthen bilateral cooperation and the fight against crime.”Cuba needs all the help it can get as it grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades and now the added pressure from Washington.Trump has warned that acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez will pay “a very big price” if she does not toe Washington’s line — specifically on access to Venezuela’s oil and loosening ties with US foes Cuba, Russia, China and Iran.The US chief of mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer, meanwhile, met the head of the US Southern Command in Miami on Tuesday “to discuss the situation in Cuba and the Caribbean,” the embassy said on X.The command is responsible for American forces operating in Central and South America that have carried out seizures of tankers transporting Venezuelan oil and strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats.- Soldiers killed -Cuba has been a thorn in the side of the United States since the revolution that swept communist Fidel Castro to power in 1959.Havana and Moscow were close communist allies during the Cold War, but that cooperation was abruptly halted in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet bloc.The deployment of Soviet nuclear missile sites on the island triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when Washington and Moscow came close to war.During his first presidential term, Trump walked back a detente with Cuba launched by his predecessor Barack Obama.Thirty-two Cuban soldiers, some of them assigned to Maduro’s security detail, were killed in the US strikes this month that saw the former Venezuelan leader taken away in cuffs to stand trial in New York.Kolokoltsev attended a memorial for the fallen men on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump resumed his trip to the Davos forum in Switzerland early Wednesday after an electrical issue forced his presidential plane to return to its air base.Trump and his entourage changed planes at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington and took off again shortly after midnight (0500 GMT), about two-and-a-half hours after his initial departure.The American president is on his way to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he is expected to face off with European leaders over his bid to seize Greenland.Air Force One had returned to the base late Tuesday out of an abundance of caution, the White House said, due to what officials described as a “minor electrical issue.”Journalists traveling with Trump reported that lights in the cabin went out briefly after takeoff.With its classic blue and white livery, Air Force One is arguably the world’s most iconic plane and an instantly recognizable symbol of the US presidency.Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets — two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H.W. Bush.Last year, Trump said his administration was “looking at alternatives” to Boeing following delays in the delivery of two new 747-8 aircraft.In May, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth accepted a Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to Trump for use as Air Force One.The jet — worth hundreds of millions of dollars — has raised huge constitutional and ethical questions, as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive presidential plane.

US President Donald Trump’s plane was forced to return to an air base late Tuesday due to a “minor electrical issue” shortly after departing for Switzerland, the White House said.Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews out of an abundance of caution, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. It landed shortly after 11:00 pm (0400 GMT).Journalists traveling with Trump reported that lights in the cabin went out briefly after takeoff.Trump and his entourage will switch to another plane and continue the trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the US president was expected to face off with European leaders over his bid to seize Greenland.With its classic blue and white livery, Air Force One is arguably the world’s most iconic plane and an instantly recognizable symbol of the US presidency.Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets — two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H.W. Bush.Last year, Trump said his administration was “looking at alternatives” to Boeing following delays in the delivery of two new 747-8 aircraft.In May, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth accepted a Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to Trump for use as Air Force One.The jet — worth hundreds of millions of dollars — has raised huge constitutional and ethical questions, as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive presidential plane.

The US Supreme Court hears arguments on Wednesday over President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire a Federal Reserve governor, a case which could have far-reaching consequences for the independence of the central bank.Trump sought in August to dismiss Fed governor Lisa Cook, a key official serving on the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee, accusing her of mortgage fraud. She denies the charges.The conservative-dominated Supreme Court barred Trump from immediately removing Cook, allowing her to remain in her post until it could hear the case contesting her dismissal.In a sign of the significance of the case and public support for Cook, Fed Chair Jerome Powell plans to personally attend Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing, a source familiar with the matter told AFP.Powell’s expected appearance comes as the Trump administration intensifies its pressure campaign targeting the central bank, including the opening of a criminal investigation into the Fed chief.Earlier this month, Powell revealed that US prosecutors had launched an inquiry into him over an ongoing renovation of the Fed’s headquarters.Powell has dismissed the investigation as a politically motivated attempt to influence the central bank’s interest rate setting, and the heads of major central banks have thrown their support behind him.Trump’s bid to fire Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the central bank’s board of governors, and the probe into Powell are a dramatic escalation of the president’s efforts to control the Fed.Trump has repeatedly criticized the Fed for spurning his demands to slash interest rates more aggressively.By ousting Cook, the Republican president could potentially add another voice to the Fed’s board to try and shift interest rates in his favored direction.The case’s outcome could also determine if legal protections for the Fed — against political pressure — hold up, or if the president can take aim at members of the Fed’s leadership.Former Fed chiefs have recently warned that undermining central bank independence risks “highly negative consequences for inflation” and the functioning of economies.- ‘No cause exists’ -The Supreme Court has overwhelmingly sided with Trump since he returned to office, allowing mass firing of federal workers, the withholding of funds appropriated by Congress and racial profiling in his sweeping immigration crackdown.The court recently allowed Trump to fire members of other independent government boards, but created a carveout for the Fed in its ruling.Federal law says that Fed officials can only be removed for “cause,” which could be interpreted to mean malfeasance or dereliction of duty.”President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” Cook previously said in a statement.In his announcement that Cook would be removed, Trump pointed to a criminal referral from the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s director — a staunch ally of Trump — to the attorney general.The referral, Trump said, provided “sufficient reason” to believe that Cook might have made “false statements” on one or more mortgage agreements, allegedly claiming two primary residences, one in Michigan and another in Georgia.Cook has not been charged with a crime and the alleged false statements occurred before she was in her current position.Cook took office as a Fed governor in 2022 and was reappointed to the board in 2023.

The world is entering an era of “global water bankruptcy” with rivers, lakes and aquifers depleting faster than nature can replenish them, a United Nations research institute said on Tuesday.It argues that decades of overuse, pollution, environmental destruction and climate pressure had pushed many water systems so beyond the point of recovery that a new classification was required.”Water stress and water crisis are no longer sufficient descriptions of the world’s new water realities,” read a new report by the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).These terms were “framed as alerts about a future that could still be avoided” when the world had already moved into a “new phase”, it said.The report proposes the alternative term “water bankruptcy” — a state in which long-term water use exceeds resupply and damages nature so severely that previous levels cannot realistically be restored.This was reflected in the shrinking of the world’s large lakes, the report said, and the growing number of major rivers failing to reach the sea for parts of the year. The world has lost enormous proportions of wetlands, with roughly 410 million hectares — nearly the size of the European Union — disappearing over the past five decades.Groundwater depletion is another sign of this bankruptcy.Around 70 percent of major aquifers used for drinking water and irrigation show long-term declines with rising “day zero” crises — when demand exceeds supply — the “urban face” of this new reality.Climate change was compounding the problem, spurring the loss of more than 30 percent of the world’s glacier mass since 1970 and the seasonal meltwater relied upon by hundreds of millions of people.- ‘Be honest’ -The consequences were visible on every inhabited continent, but not every country individually was water bankrupt, UNU-INWEH director and report author Kaveh Madani told AFP.Madani said the phenomenon was a “warning” that a policy rethink was essential.Instead of approaching water scarcity as something temporary, governments must “be honest” and “file for bankruptcy today rather than delaying this decision”, he said.”Let’s adopt this framework. Let’s understand this. Let us recognise this bitter reality today before we cause more irreversible damages,” Madani added.The report draws on existing data and statistics and does not provide an exhaustive record of all water problems, but attempts instead to redefine the situation.It is based on a peer-reviewed report, soon to be published in the journal Water Resources Management, that will formally propose a definition of “water bankruptcy”.The report “captures a hard truth: the world’s water crisis has crossed a point of no return”, Tim Wainwright, chief executive of the WaterAid charity, wrote in a statement.Some scientists not involved in the report welcomed the spotlight on water but warned that the global picture varied considerably and a blanket declaration might overlook progress being made at a local level.