US

Trump threatens tariffs as US lawmakers back Denmark, Greenland

trade

South American bloc to ink long-awaited trade deal with EU

BY MARTíN RASCHINSKY

  • The deal will favor European exports of cars, wine and cheese, while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans to enter Europe.
  • The South American trade bloc Mercosur and the European Union will sign on Saturday a deal 25 years in the making to create one of the world's largest free trade areas at a time of growing protectionism and volatility.
  • The deal will favor European exports of cars, wine and cheese, while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans to enter Europe.
The South American trade bloc Mercosur and the European Union will sign on Saturday a deal 25 years in the making to create one of the world's largest free trade areas at a time of growing protectionism and volatility.
The long-awaited agreement comes amid the sweeping use of tariffs and trade threats by US President Donald Trump's administration, which has sent countries scrambling for new partnerships.
Together, the EU and Mercosur account for 30 percent of global GDP and more than 700 million consumers.
The treaty eliminates tariffs on more than 90 percent of bilateral trade.
The deal will favor European exports of cars, wine and cheese, while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans to enter Europe.
The treaty between the EU and Mercosur nations Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay was agreed in Brussels last week despite fierce opposition from European farmers.
They fear the deal will lead to an influx of cheaper South American products due to production standards they consider less stringent.
Some in South America are also wary about the impact of the treaty.
In Argentina, it is estimated that there could be a loss of 200,000 jobs just from the dismantling of the local automotive industry, trade and investment researcher Luciana Ghiotto told AFP.

'A powerful message'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council head Antonio Costa and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will attend the signing ceremony in Asuncion.
Paraguay's President Santiago Pena and Uruguay's Yamandu Orsi will also be present. The attendance of Argentina's leader Javier Milei is not confirmed.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who played a key role in driving negotiations forward, will not attend.
His office said the signing had initially been planned as a ministerial-level event, and Paraguay issued "last-minute" invites to presidents.
Von der Leyen stopped in Rio de Janeiro on Friday to meet with Lula on the way to Asuncion.
She praised Lula's role in pushing forward the negotiations, and said the deal "sends a powerful message" and shows "the power of partnership and openness. And this is how we create real prosperity."
Lula said the agreement was "very good, especially for the democratic world and for multilateralism."
The treaty is among several that countries are rushing to close in an uncertain global environment shaped by Trump's tariff threats and protectionism.
On Friday, Trump threatened to slap trade tariffs on countries that do not support his plans to take over Greenland, a territory of NATO ally Denmark.
Lula added that the partnership with the EU went "beyond the economic dimension."
"The European Union and Mercosur share values such as respect for democracy, the rule of law, and human rights," he said.
The signing of the deal comes as Latin America is still reeling from Trump's ouster and capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a dramatic military operation this month.
mry-fb/jgc/lga/abs

US

Large crowds expected for 'Hands off Greenland' protests

  • The protests follow Trump's warning on Friday that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose his plans to take over Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
  • Large demonstrations are planned across Denmark and Greenland on Saturday to protest against US President Donald Trump's designs to take over the Arctic island.
  • The protests follow Trump's warning on Friday that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose his plans to take over Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Large demonstrations are planned across Denmark and Greenland on Saturday to protest against US President Donald Trump's designs to take over the Arctic island.
Thousands of people have indicated on social media that they intend to take part in marches and rallies organised by Greenlandic associations in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense and the Greenlandic capital Nuuk.
"The aim is to send a clear and unified message of respect for Greenland's democracy and fundamental human rights," Uagut, an association of Greenlanders in Denmark, said on its website.
The protests follow Trump's warning on Friday that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose his plans to take over Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
The demonstration in Nuuk is scheduled to begin at 4:00 pm (1500 GMT), to protest "against the United States' illegal plans to take control of Greenland", organisers said. Demonstrators would march to the US consulate carrying Greenlandic flags.
The Copenhagen rally was due to begin at 12:00 pm (1100 GMT), and make a stop outside the US embassy in the Danish capital around an hour later.
"Recent events have put Greenland and Greenlanders in both Greenland and Denmark under pressure," Uagut chairwoman Julie Rademacher said in a statement sent to AFP, calling for "unity".
"When tensions rise and people go into a state of alarm, we risk creating more problems than solutions for ourselves and for each other. We appeal to Greenlanders in both Greenland and Denmark to stand together," she said.

'Demand respect'

The protests come as a bipartisan delegation of US Congress members visited Copenhagen on a two-day trip to give backing to Denmark and Greenland, saying the US president's territorial ambitions were not shared by the American people.
Europeans have also been showing support for Greenland in a military reconnaissance mission that a Danish general said Washington was invited to.
Senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller told Fox News on Friday that "positive early talks" had taken place at a White House meeting between senior officials from the United States, Denmark and Greenland this week.
But he reiterated that Trump had been "clear" that he wanted the United States to control the island.
"They want us to spend hundreds of billions of dollars defending a territory for them that is 25 percent bigger than Alaska at 100 percent American expense, but they say while we do this, it belongs 100 percent to Denmark," Miller said. 
Uagut, along with the citizens' movement "Hands Off Greenland", and Inuit, an umbrella group of Greenlandic associations, were staging the demonstrations to coincide with a visit to Copenhagen by a bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers.
On the event's Facebook page, at least 900 people in Greenland said they planned to take part in the territory, which has a total population of about 57,000.
"With this demonstration, we want to show that we are taking action, that we stand together and that we support our politicians, diplomats and partners," Kristian Johansen, one of the organisers, said in a statement.
"We demand respect for our country's right to self-determination and for us as a people," added Avijaja Rosing-Olsen, another organiser. 
"We demand respect for international law and international legal principles. This is not only our struggle, it is a struggle that concerns the entire world."
According to the latest poll published in January 2025, 85 percent of Greenlanders oppose the territory joining the United States. Only six percent were in favour.
bur-nzg/ef/po/rmb/ceg/abs

diplomacy

Venezuela interim leader sacks industry minister, a Maduro ally

  • Trump however has sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former vice president Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the seizure of Maduro.
  • Venezuela's interim president on Friday dismissed businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, from his post as minister of industry.
  • Trump however has sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former vice president Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the seizure of Maduro.
Venezuela's interim president on Friday dismissed businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, from his post as minister of industry.
In a Telegram message, Delcy Rodriguez announced the ministry would be combined with a commerce ministry and thanked Saab -- a Colombian-born Venezuelan -- "for his service to the Homeland; he will be taking on new responsibilities."
The change comes amid pressure from Washington following the January 3 US military raid that ousted Maduro.
Saab, released in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States, was appointed to office in 2024 by Maduro. 
He had been arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 due to an Interpol notice over accusations he had served as a money launderer for the socialist leader.
He was subsequently extradited to the US, where he and his business partner Alvaro Pulido were charged with running a network that exploited food aid destined for Venezuela.
Saab's dismissal is among the latest key changes to Venezuela's government by Rodriguez since the US capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado meanwhile said her country is starting a "true transition" to democracy and will become free with support from the United States and President Donald Trump.
Trump however has sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former vice president Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the seizure of Maduro.
"We are definitely now into the first steps of a true transition to democracy," Machado said during an event in Washington, adding that this will have an "immense impact in the lives of all Venezuelans" as well as around the region and the world.
"Venezuela is going to be free, and that's going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump," Machado said.
Her party has presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election -- claims supported by Washington and much of the international community.
But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with Rodriguez so long as she toes the line on US access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
Machado said Friday that Rodriguez is "following orders" rather than acting of her own will.
The opposition leader's remarks came a day after US Central Intelligence Agency chief John Ratcliffe met Rodriguez in Caracas.
Ratcliffe traveled to Venezuela to "deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship," a US administration official said on condition of anonymity.

Nobel medal

In an indication of that improved relationship, a US deportation flight carrying 231 Venezuelans landed in Caracas on Friday, the first since Maduro's overthrow.
Trump has made cracking down on undocumented immigrants a major part of his second term, carrying out sweeping immigration raids and deporting migrants.
Machado, 58, on Thursday presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in a bid to win over the US president.
"He deserves it," she said. "And it was a very emotional moment, I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela."
It was not immediately clear if Trump -- who said Friday that he and Machado will "be talking again" -- kept the award following their White House lunch. The Norwegian Nobel committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.
Trump had campaigned hard to win last year's prize, falsely claiming that he stopped eight wars since taking office, but it went to Machado instead.
Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday and the White House said he "likes what he's seeing" from her.
Rodriguez said however that her government will stand up to Washington.
"We know they are very powerful... we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue," she said Thursday.
Rodriguez was delivering Maduro's state of the nation address to parliament while the long-time authoritarian leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges.
By contrast Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro's rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters in Washington.
burs-wd/bgs/sla/jgc/lga/mjw

US

Large crowds expected for 'Hands off Greenland' protests

  • The protests follow Trump's warning on Friday that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose his plans to take over Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
  • Large demonstrations are planned across Denmark and Greenland on Saturday to protest against US President Donald Trump's designs to take over the Arctic island. 
  • The protests follow Trump's warning on Friday that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose his plans to take over Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Large demonstrations are planned across Denmark and Greenland on Saturday to protest against US President Donald Trump's designs to take over the Arctic island. 
Thousands of people have indicated on social media that they intend to take part in marches and rallies organised by Greenlandic associations in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense and the Greenlandic capital Nuuk.
"The aim is to send a clear and unified message of respect for Greenland's democracy and fundamental human rights," Uagut, an association of Greenlanders in Denmark, said on its website.
The protests follow Trump's warning on Friday that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose his plans to take over Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
The demonstration in Nuuk is scheduled to begin at 4:00 pm (1500 GMT), to protest "against the United States' illegal plans to take control of Greenland", organisers said. Demonstrators would march to the US consulate carrying Greenlandic flags.
The Copenhagen rally was due to begin at 12:00 pm (1100 GMT), and make a stop outside the US embassy in the Danish capital around an hour later.
"Recent events have put Greenland and Greenlanders in both Greenland and Denmark under pressure," Uagut chairwoman Julie Rademacher said in a statement sent to AFP, calling for "unity".
"When tensions rise and people go into a state of alarm, we risk creating more problems than solutions for ourselves and for each other. We appeal to Greenlanders in both Greenland and Denmark to stand together," she said. 

'Demand respect'

Uagut, along with the citizens' movement "Hands Off Greenland", and Inuit, an umbrella group of Greenlandic associations, were staging the demonstrations to coincide with a visit to Copenhagen by a bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers.
On the event's Facebook page, at least 900 people in Greenland said they planned to take part in the territory, which has a total population of about 57,000.
"With this demonstration, we want to show that we are taking action, that we stand together and that we support our politicians, diplomats and partners," Kristian Johansen, one of the organisers, said in a statement.
"We demand respect for our country's right to self-determination and for us as a people," added Avijaja Rosing-Olsen, another organiser. 
"We demand respect for international law and international legal principles. This is not only our struggle, it is a struggle that concerns the entire world."
According to the latest poll published in January 2025, 85 percent of Greenlanders oppose the territory joining the United States. Only six percent were in favour.
bur-nzg/ef/po/rmb/ceg

conflict

Trump taps Tony Blair, US military head for Gaza

BY SHAUN TANDON AND DANNY KEMP WITH NADA ABOU EL-AMAIM IN CAIRO

  • Israel has refused a Turkish role in the security force, owing to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fiery denunciations of Israel's actions in Gaza. 
  • US President Donald Trump on Friday gave a key role in post-war Gaza to former British prime minister Tony Blair and appointed a US officer to lead a nascent security force.
  • Israel has refused a Turkish role in the security force, owing to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fiery denunciations of Israel's actions in Gaza. 
US President Donald Trump on Friday gave a key role in post-war Gaza to former British prime minister Tony Blair and appointed a US officer to lead a nascent security force.
Trump named members of a board to help supervise Gaza that was dominated by Americans, as he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in a territory that lies in rubble after two-plus years of relentless Israeli bombardment.
The step came after a Palestinian committee of technocrats meant to govern Gaza held its first meeting in Cairo which was attended by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law who plays a key role on the Middle East.
Trump has already declared himself the chair of a "Board of Peace" and on Friday announced its full membership that will include Blair as well as senior Americans -- Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, Trump's business partner turned globe-trotting negotiator.
Blair is a controversial figure in the Middle East because of his role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Trump himself said last year that he wanted to make sure Blair was an "acceptable choice to everybody."
Blair spent years focused on the Israeli-Palestinian issue as representative of the "Middle East Quartet" -- the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia -- after leaving Downing Street in 2007.
The White House said the Board of Peace will take on issues such as "governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding and capital mobilization."
Trump, a real-estate developer, has previously mused about turning devastated Gaza into a Riviera-style area of resorts, although he has backed away from calls to forcibly displace the population.
The other members of the board are World Bank President Ajay Banga, an Indian-born American businessman; billionaire US financier Marc Rowan; and Robert Gabriel, a loyal Trump aide who serves on the National Security Council.

Israel strikes

Israel's military said Friday it had again hit the Gaza Strip in response to a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire declared in October.
The strikes come despite Washington announcing that the Gaza plan had gone on to a second phrase -- from implementing the ceasefire to disarming Hamas, whose October, 2023 attack on Israel prompted the massive Israeli offensive.
Trump on Friday named US Major General Jasper Jeffers to head the International Stabilization Force, which will be tasked with providing security in Gaza and training a new police force to succeed Hamas.
Jeffers, from special operations in US Central Command, in late 2024 was put in charge of monitoring a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, which has continued periodic strikes aimed at Hezbollah militants.
The United States has been searching the world for countries to contribute to the force, with Indonesia an early volunteer.
But diplomats expect challenges in seeing countries send troops so long as Hamas does not agree to disarm fully.

Committee begins work

Gaza native and former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath was earlier tapped to head the governing committee.
The committee's meeting in Cairo also included Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, who was given a role of high representative liaising between the new governing body and Trump's Board of Peace. 
Committee members are scheduled to meet again Saturday, one of them told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"We hope to go to Gaza next week or the week after; our work is there, and we need to be there," he said.
Trump also named a second "executive board" that appears designed to have a more advisory role.
Blair, Witkoff and Mladenov will serve on it as well as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Israel has refused a Turkish role in the security force, owing to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fiery denunciations of Israel's actions in Gaza. 
The board will also include senior figures from mediators Egypt and Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, which normalized ties with Israel in 2020.
Trump also named to the board Sigrid Kaag, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, despite his administration's efforts to sideline the world body.
dk-sct/mlm

Global Edition

Iran protest movement subsides in face of 'brutal' crackdown

BY STUART WILLIAMS

  • People started pouring into the streets in big cities from January 8 but authorities immediately enforced a shutdown of the internet that has lasted over a week and activists say is aimed at masking the scale of the crackdown.
  • Protests in Iran have subsided after a crackdown that has killed thousands under an internet blackout, monitors said Friday, a week after the start of the largest demonstrations in years challenging the country's theocratic system.
  • People started pouring into the streets in big cities from January 8 but authorities immediately enforced a shutdown of the internet that has lasted over a week and activists say is aimed at masking the scale of the crackdown.
Protests in Iran have subsided after a crackdown that has killed thousands under an internet blackout, monitors said Friday, a week after the start of the largest demonstrations in years challenging the country's theocratic system.
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's late shah, however, said he was confident the Islamic republic would fall and called for intervention, though the threat of new military action by the United States against Iran has appeared to have receded for the time being.
In posts to social media on Friday, Pahlavi announced a fresh coordinated demonstration, calling for Iranians to "raise your voices in anger and protest with our national slogans" on the weekend.
Protests sparked by economic grievances started with a shutdown in the Tehran bazaar on December 28 but turned into a mass movement demanding the removal of the clerical system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution.
People started pouring into the streets in big cities from January 8 but authorities immediately enforced a shutdown of the internet that has lasted over a week and activists say is aimed at masking the scale of the crackdown.
The "brutal" repression has "likely suppressed the protest movement for now", said the US-based Institute for the Study of War, which has monitored the protest activity.
But it added: "The regime's widespread mobilisation of security forces is unsustainable, however, which makes it possible that protests could resume."
Pahlavi also told a news conference in Washington on Friday that "The Islamic republic will fall -- not if, but when." 
"I will return to Iran," he said.
Norway-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR) says 3,428 protesters have been verified to have been killed by security forces, but warns the actual toll could be several times higher.
Other estimates place the death toll at more than 5,000 -- and possibly as high as 20,000 -- with the internet blackout severely hampering independent verification, IHR said.
The opposition Iran International channel based outside the country has said at least 12,000 people were killed during the protests, citing senior government and security sources.  
IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam cited "horrifying eyewitness accounts" received by IHR of "protesters being shot dead while trying to flee, the use of military-grade weapons and the street execution of wounded protesters".

'Give Iran a chance'

Monitor Netblocks said that the "total internet blackout" in Iran had now lasted over 180 hours, longer than a similar measure that was imposed during 2019 protests.
Amnesty International said this was being backed up by the use of heavily armed patrols and checkpoints to crush "the nationwide popular uprising in Iran" with security forces visible in the streets.
Trump, who backed and joined Israel's 12-day war against Iran in June, had not ruled out new military action against Tehran and made clear he was keeping a close eye on if any protesters were executed.
But a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led "a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention".
While Washington appeared to have stepped back, the White House said Thursday that "all options remain on the table for the president".
Attention had focused on the fate of Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old protestor who rights activists and Washington said was set to be executed as early as Wednesday.
The Iranian judiciary confirmed Soltani was under arrest but said he had not been sentenced to death and his charges meant he did not risk capital punishment. 
Rights groups have estimated up to 20,000 people have been arrested. Security officials cited by the Tasnim news agency on Friday said around 3,000 people were arrested.

'All Iranians united'

The US Treasury on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Iranian officials including Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme Council for National Security.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile held telephone talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in what the Kremlin described as "efforts to facilitate de-escalation".
Despite the internet shutdown, new videos from the height of the protests, with locations verified by AFP, showed bodies lined up in the Kahrizak morgue south of Tehran, as distraught relatives searched for loved ones.
At the UN Security Council in New York, Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad, invited to address the body by Washington, said "all Iranians are united" against the clerical system in Iran. 
Iran's representative at the meeting, Gholamhossein Darzi, accused Washington of "exploitation of peaceful protests for geopolitical purposes."
sjw/jsa/amj/sla/ceg

oceans

China bids to host secretariat of new high seas treaty

  • China "has decided to present its candidature of the city of Xiamen to host the Secretariat" of the treaty, the Chinese mission to the United Nations wrote in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to a copy seen by AFP. The treaty will officially enter into force on Saturday, and the host country of the eventual secretariat will be decided later this year.
  • China on Friday proposed to host the secretariat of a new treaty governing the high seas, a surprise bid that underscores Beijing's desire to have greater influence over global environmental governance.
  • China "has decided to present its candidature of the city of Xiamen to host the Secretariat" of the treaty, the Chinese mission to the United Nations wrote in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to a copy seen by AFP. The treaty will officially enter into force on Saturday, and the host country of the eventual secretariat will be decided later this year.
China on Friday proposed to host the secretariat of a new treaty governing the high seas, a surprise bid that underscores Beijing's desire to have greater influence over global environmental governance.
China "has decided to present its candidature of the city of Xiamen to host the Secretariat" of the treaty, the Chinese mission to the United Nations wrote in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to a copy seen by AFP.
The treaty will officially enter into force on Saturday, and the host country of the eventual secretariat will be decided later this year.
Until now, Belgium and Chile had been vying to host the future organization. 
The Xiamen bid signals "China's intention to help shape global rules," said Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, calling it a "notable move."
China's announcement came just days after US President Donald Trump announced his country will withdraw from 66 global organizations and treaties -- involving UN and non-UN entities.
They include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the parent treaty underpinning all major international climate agreements, ratified by almost every country in the world.
After years of delays, the treaty to protect the high seas was ratified in September by 60 countries. The law aims to protect biodiverse areas in waters worldwide, extending beyond countries' exclusive economic zones.
Teeming with plant and animal life, the oceans are responsible for creating half of the globe's oxygen supply and are vital to combatting climate change, conservationists say.
Once the treaty becomes law, a decision-making body will have to work with a patchwork of regional and global organizations already overseeing different aspects of the oceans.
These include regional fisheries bodies and the International Seabed Authority -- the forum where nations are jousting over proposed rules on the environmentally destructive deep-sea mining industry.
ico/acb/sla

Mercosur

Brazil, EU hail trade deal as victory for multilateralism

BY FRAN BLANDY

  • - Global trade deals - Von der Leyen said it was important for her to meet with Lula before the signing, highlighting his role in the negotiations, which he made a priority of his third term in office.
  • Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday hailed a trade deal between the EU and South America's Mercosur bloc as a victory for multilateralism at a time of global volatility.
  • - Global trade deals - Von der Leyen said it was important for her to meet with Lula before the signing, highlighting his role in the negotiations, which he made a priority of his third term in office.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday hailed a trade deal between the EU and South America's Mercosur bloc as a victory for multilateralism at a time of global volatility.
The pair met in Rio de Janeiro on the eve of the signing of the deal, which has been 25 years in the making and will create one of the world's largest free trade areas.
Lula said the signing of the deal in Asuncion, Paraguay on Saturday was "very good, especially for the democratic world and for multilateralism."
Von der Leyen praised Lula's role in pushing forward the negotiations, and said the deal "sends a powerful message" and shows "the power of partnership and openness. And this is how we create real prosperity."
The deal is among several that countries are rushing to close in an uncertain global environment shaped by US President Donald Trump's tariff threats and protectionism.
On Friday, Trump threatened to slap trade tariffs on countries that don't support his plans to take over Greenland, part of the territory of NATO ally Denmark.
Lula added that the partnership with the EU went "beyond the economic dimension."
"The European Union and Mercosur share values such as respect for democracy, the rule of law, and human rights."
The signing of the deal comes as Latin America is still reeling from Trump's ouster and capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a dramatic military operation.

 Angry EU farmers

Together, the EU and Mercosur account for 30 percent of global GDP and more than 700 million consumers.
The treaty eliminates tariffs on more than 90 percent of bilateral trade.
This will favor European exports of cars, wine, and cheese, while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey, and soybeans to enter Europe.
The deal between the EU and Mercosur nations Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, was agreed in Brussels last week despite fierce opposition from European farmers.
They fear the deal will lead to an influx of cheaper South American products due to production standards considered less stringent.
Von der Leyen will head to Asuncion in Paraguay for the signing ceremony, which Lula will not attend. His office said the signing had been initially planned as a ministerial-level event, and Paraguay issued "last-minute" invites to presidents.
In addition to host president Santiago Pena, Uruguay's president Yamandu Orsi will also attend the signing.
The attendance of Argentina's leader Javier Milei is not confirmed.

Global trade deals

Von der Leyen said it was important for her to meet with Lula before the signing, highlighting his role in the negotiations, which he made a priority of his third term in office.
"You are a leader deeply committed to the values we hold dear, democracy, the rules-based international order and respect. This is the leadership we need in today's world."
Lula said Brazil was also working on trade partnerships with Canada, Mexico, Vietnam, Japan and China.
Meanwhile, the EU is working on a trade deal with India, the world's most populous nation with 1.4 billion people, whose relations have soured with Washington due to punishing tariffs.
Geopolitical tensions are also rising over strategic minerals, with Trump insisting the United States needs access to Greenland's critical raw materials, which are largely unmined.
Von der Leyen said the EU and Brazil were also "moving towards a very important political agreement on critical raw materials" such as lithium, nickel and rare earths that "tend to become an instrument of coercion."
fb/jgc

conflict

'Nothing's changed' in Gaza as US peace deal enters second phase

BY AFP TEAM IN GAZA WITH CHLOE ROUVEYROLLES-BAZIRE IN JERUSALEM

  • "Everyone is worried and frustrated because nothing's changed." 
  • From his tent in Gaza City, Mahmoud Abdel Aal said residents were frustrated and worried because nothing had changed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the US-brokered ceasefire's second phase.
  • "Everyone is worried and frustrated because nothing's changed." 
From his tent in Gaza City, Mahmoud Abdel Aal said residents were frustrated and worried because nothing had changed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the US-brokered ceasefire's second phase.
In a post-apocalyptic landscape of bombed-out buildings and makeshift camps devastated by recent winter rains, Palestinians who spoke to AFP mostly expressed bitterness.
Though Israeli strikes have been less intense since the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel began in October 2025, bombs still fall every day.
After US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff announced the start of the second phase of US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza on Wednesday, more than 14 people were killed in the tiny coastal territory, according to the Gaza civil defence agency.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire's terms.
"There is no difference between the war and the ceasefire, nor between the first and second phase of the deal: strikes continue every day," Abdel Aal said.
"Everyone is worried and frustrated because nothing's changed." 
On Friday, an AFP photographer saw members of the Houli family walk through rubble after five of their relatives were killed in an air strike on their house in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah.

'All over the media'

Hamas announced the death of Mahmud al-Houli, described as a military officer of the movement, while Israel's military said it carried out strikes on Thursday against members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad's armed wings in response to what it considers violations of the ceasefire.
Houli family neighbour Ahmad Suleiman said the announcement of the ceasefire's second phase was "all over the media, but the reality is different". 
"There is no ceasefire, otherwise look at what the ceasefire has brought," he told AFP, pointing to the destroyed building.
Most residents interviewed by AFP said they were skeptical about recent announcements regarding the formation of the so-called "Board of Peace", an entity chaired by Trump and supposed to oversee reconstruction, and a Palestinian technocratic committee with which it is to work.
"No one is concerned for us," said Hossam Majed, who is living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City. 
"The whole world meets in Cairo to talk about Gaza, but they can't even enter it," he told AFP. 
"Israel will use the pretext of handing over the last body (of a hostage), then the weapons (of Hamas), and the second phase will stretch over additional years," he said.
Hamas returned 47 of 48 hostages it was supposed to hand over under the terms of the first phase, and has yet to commit to disarming as is planned under the second phase.

'Hope and patience'

Day-to-day living conditions for the vast majority of Gaza residents remain extremely precarious, with more than 80 percent of infrastructure destroyed, according to the United Nations.
Several humanitarian and UN workers told AFP that while the situation has improved in some areas since the ceasefire, the humanitarian response remains insufficient due to access restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities -- who deny these claims.
Water and electricity networks, as well as waste management, no longer function. 
Hospitals operate at minimal capacity when still open, and schools exist only as sporadic or marginal initiatives. All children in the Gaza Strip need psychological support after more than two years of war, according to UNICEF.
Nivine Ahmad, a 47-year-old woman living in a camp for the displaced in south Gaza's Al-Mawasi area, said: "We miss real life."
She said the announcement of the formation of the technocratic committee led her to imagine returning to Gaza City. 
"I pictured living with my family in a prefabricated unit, with electricity and water instead of our bombed home," she said.
"Only then will I feel that the war is over," she added.
In the meantime, she urged the world to put itself in Gazans' shoes.
"We only have hope and patience," she said.
bur-my/crb/mj/lba/amj

US

Trump threatens tariffs as US lawmakers back Denmark, Greenland

BY JOHANNES LEDEL WITH JONATHAN KLEIN IN NUUK AND DANNY KEMP IN WASHINGTON

  • Trump, again insisting the United States needed mineral-rich Greenland for its "national security", warned that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose that stance.
  • Donald Trump on Friday warned that he could slap tariffs on countries that do not support his Greenland takeover plans, as US Congress members visited Copenhagen to give their backing for Denmark and its autonomous Arctic island.
  • Trump, again insisting the United States needed mineral-rich Greenland for its "national security", warned that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose that stance.
Donald Trump on Friday warned that he could slap tariffs on countries that do not support his Greenland takeover plans, as US Congress members visited Copenhagen to give their backing for Denmark and its autonomous Arctic island.
The bipartisan delegation, on a two-day trip to the Danish capital, said the US president's long-held territorial ambitions -- strongly rejected by Denmark -- were not shared by the American people.
Europeans have also been showing their backing for Greenland, in a military reconnaissance mission that a Danish general said Washington was invited to and which was linked to what Russia does after the war in Ukraine.
Trump, again insisting the United States needed mineral-rich Greenland for its "national security", warned that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose that stance.
The 11 visiting US lawmakers held talks with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen, as well as Denmark's foreign and defence ministers, parliamentarians and business leaders.
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said there was "good dialogue" and stressed it was important to "nurture" ties between the United States, Denmark and Greenland. 
"The vast majority" of Americans do not agree that it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, she told reporters.
"Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset," she added.

'One idiot'

The visit follows a meeting in Washington on Wednesday at which Danish representatives said Copenhagen and Washington were in "fundamental disagreement" over Greenland's future.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons said the purpose of the Congress members' visit was to "listen respectfully to our friends, our trusted allies and partners here in Denmark and from Greenland".
The lawmakers were then to return to the United States "and share those perspectives so that we can lower the temperature and have a more constructive dialogue about the best path forward", he said.
In Greenland's capital, Nuuk, residents welcomed the show of support.
"Congress would never approve of a military action in Greenland. It's just one idiot speaking," a 39-year-old union representative told AFP.
"If he (Trump) does it, he'll get impeached or kicked out. If people in Congress want to save their own democracy, they have to step up," said the union rep, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Demonstrations

Trump has repeatedly criticised Denmark -- a NATO ally -- for, in his view, not doing enough to ensure Greenland's security.
The US president has pursued that argument, despite strategically located Greenland -- as part of Denmark -- being covered by NATO's security umbrella.
The head of Denmark's Joint Arctic Command, Major General Soren Andersen, said the United States were invited to the military mission, which he said was "about Russia".
"When the war in Ukraine is over, hopefully with a good result for Ukraine, it is our expectation that Russia will move the resources they have been using in Ukraine on other theatres,... including in the Arctic," he told AFP.
"So, in order to prepare for that, we simply have to step up... train, and that is what we are doing up here."
But Andersen said he had not seen any Russian or Chinese combat ships in the area in the two and a half years he has been commander.
Military personnel were more visible in Nuuk on Friday, an AFP journalist said, days after Denmark said it was beefing up its defence on the island. 
The White House has said Trump's aim to take over Greenland would not be affected by the European military presence, which French armed forces minister Alice Rufo said was a sign that the continent was prepared to defend sovereignty.
Britain, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have announced the deployment of small numbers of military personnel to prepare for future exercises in the Arctic. 
Large demonstrations are planned across Denmark and Greenland on Saturday to protest against Trump's plan.
Thousands of people have taken to social networks to say they intend to take part in the protests organised by Greenlandic associations in Nuuk and Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense.
bur/po/phz/rh

diplomacy

China, Canada reach 'landmark' deal on tariffs, visas

  • "It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China-Canada relations toward improvement," Xi told the Canadian leader.
  • Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a raft of measures from trade to tourism on Friday at the first meeting between the countries' leaders in Beijing in eight years.
  • "It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China-Canada relations toward improvement," Xi told the Canadian leader.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a raft of measures from trade to tourism on Friday at the first meeting between the countries' leaders in Beijing in eight years.
The Canadian leader hailed a "landmark deal" under a "new strategic partnership" with China, turning the page on years of diplomatic spats, tit-for-tat arrests and tariff disputes.
Carney has sought to reduce his country's reliance on the United States, its key economic partner and traditional ally, as President Donald Trump has aggressively raised tariffs on Canadian products.
"Canada and China have reached a preliminary but landmark trade agreement to remove trade barriers and reduce tariffs," Carney told a news conference after meeting with Xi.
Under the deal, China — which used to be Canada's largest market for canola seed — is expected to reduce tariffs on canola products by March 1 to around 15 percent, down from the current 84 percent.
China will also allow Canadian visitors to enter the country visa‑free.
In turn, Canada will import 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) under new, preferential tariffs of 6.1 percent.
"This is a return to the levels that existed prior to recent trade frictions," Carney said of the EV deal.
Trump, who has cut off trade talks with Ottawa and insists the United States does not need any products from its northern neighbour, told reporters it was "good" that Carney had secured an agreement during his trip.
"If he can get a trade deal with China, he should do that," the president said.
The head of the Canola Council of Canada, Chris Davison, called the deal an "important milestone".
But the Global Automakers of Canada, an industry group, voiced concern.
The deal may be an "expression of goodwill" to ease pressure on the canola industry, but allowing thousands of Chinese EVs into Canada at a low tariff rate "risks creating significant market distortions" and could hurt companies that employ Canadians, the group said.

'Right track'

Welcoming Carney in the Great Hall of the People, Xi said China-Canada relations reached a turning point at their last meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in October.
"It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China-Canada relations toward improvement," Xi told the Canadian leader.
"The healthy and stable development of China-Canada relations serves the common interests of our two countries," he said, adding he was "glad" to see discussions over the last few months to restore cooperation.
Ties between the two nations withered in 2018 over Canada's arrest of the daughter of Huawei's founder on a US warrant, and China's retaliatory detention of two Canadians on espionage charges.
The two countries imposed tariffs on each other's exports in the years that ensued, with China also accused of interfering in Canada's elections.
But Carney has sought a pivot, and Beijing has also said it is willing to get relations back on "the right track".
The Canadian leader, who on Thursday met with Premier Li Qiang, is also scheduled to hold talks with business leaders to discuss trade.
Canada, traditionally a staunch US ally, has been hit especially hard by Trump's steep tariffs on steel, aluminium, vehicles and lumber.
Washington's moves have prompted Canada to seek business elsewhere.
In October, Carney said Canada should double its non-US exports by 2035 to reduce reliance on the United States.
But the United States remains far and away its largest market, buying around 75 percent of Canadian goods in 2024, according to Canadian government statistics.
While Ottawa has stressed that China is Canada's second-largest market, it lags far behind, buying less than four percent of Canadian exports in 2024.
bur-dhw/je/bs/sst

death

Swiss fire fatalities not given routine autopsies: lawyers

BY AGNèS PEDRERO

  • "It is incomprehensible that autopsies were not ordered immediately," lawyer Romain Jordan, who represents several victims' families, told AFP. "These are violent deaths, so the cause must be precisely established -- fire, smoke, trampling, something else?"
  • The victims of the Swiss New Year fire disaster have not undergone routine autopsies to determine how they died, lawyers representing their families said Friday.
  • "It is incomprehensible that autopsies were not ordered immediately," lawyer Romain Jordan, who represents several victims' families, told AFP. "These are violent deaths, so the cause must be precisely established -- fire, smoke, trampling, something else?"
The victims of the Swiss New Year fire disaster have not undergone routine autopsies to determine how they died, lawyers representing their families said Friday.
The January 1 fire at Le Constellation, a bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, in Switzerland's southwestern Wallis canton, killed 40 people, mostly teenagers, injuring 116 others.
"It is incomprehensible that autopsies were not ordered immediately," lawyer Romain Jordan, who represents several victims' families, told AFP.
"These are violent deaths, so the cause must be precisely established -- fire, smoke, trampling, something else?" he said.
"It is also important to determine how much alcohol the victims had consumed," he added.
Jean-Luc Addor, a lawyer representing the family of a teenager killed in the tragedy, told AFP: "This is not normal, because in cases of violent deaths, it should be standard procedure. It should have been done."
In Switzerland, autopsies are ordered by the public prosecutor's office.
As some funerals have already taken place, there is a risk that bodies that have not undergone a post-mortem examination would have to be exhumed.
Contacted by AFP, the Wallis public prosecutor's office declined to comment on the issue of autopsies and exhumations.
On January 4, Addor asked the Wallis cantonal public prosecutor's office to order a post-mortem examination on the teenager's remains.
With the burial scheduled for January 14, Addor again contacted the prosecutor's office on January 12, by which time the body had been released to the family.
The prosecutor's office finally ordered a post-mortem, forcing the family to return the body and postpone the funeral. The teenager was eventually buried on Friday.

Italian concerns

Italy's ambassador to Bern said none of the six Italian fatalities had undergone a post-mortem in Switzerland, the Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper reported Friday.
In Italy, lawyer Alessandro Vaccaro, who represents the family of one of the victims, told AFP on Friday that "the Rome public prosecutor's office has requested that the bodies be made available so that autopsies can be performed".
Prosecutors in Wallis believe the fire started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to sound insulation foam on the ceiling in the bar's basement section.
But the investigation still needs to clarify several issues, such as whether the foam met safety standards, the functioning of emergency exits and whether there were fire extinguishers.
According to an Italian police report based on a January 4 visit to Crans-Montana by two of their forensic pathologists, of the 40 bodies, three were found outside.
Thirty-seven were found in the basement, with 34 of them "piled up at the bottom of the staircase" leading from the basement to the ground floor level of the bar".
The wooden handrail had been pulled to the ground "by the weight of the bodies".
The report, seen by AFP, said the Swiss authorities "did not order autopsies or other forensic examinations" of the bodies of the Italian victims, and "the death certificates issued do not indicate the cause of death".

Bail decision

The bar's French owners, husband and wife Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are under criminal investigation, facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
Jacques Moretti is being held in custody for an initial period of three months.
Wallis public prosecutors have set a bail amount of 200,000 Swiss francs ($250,000), a source close to the case told AFP on Friday.
A tribunal court will take a decision on the amount, on a date yet to be fixed.
The Morettis' lawyers hope a decision will be made "as soon as possible", they told Switzerland's domestic news agency Keystone-ATS on Friday.
Jessica Moretti remains free but is subject to certain restrictions.
bur-apo/rjm/jj

US

Trump threatens tariffs on nations that don't back Greenland takeover

BY DANNY KEMP

  • European nations who are members of NATO have in recent days shown their support for Denmark and Greenland over Trump's escalating threats, including by sending troops to the strategic territory.
  • US President Donald Trump said Friday he may slap trade tariffs on countries that don't support his plans to take over Greenland, part of the territory of NATO ally Denmark.
  • European nations who are members of NATO have in recent days shown their support for Denmark and Greenland over Trump's escalating threats, including by sending troops to the strategic territory.
US President Donald Trump said Friday he may slap trade tariffs on countries that don't support his plans to take over Greenland, part of the territory of NATO ally Denmark.
"I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security," Trump said at a health roundtable at the White House.
"I may do that," added Trump.
Trump compared the possible Greenland tariffs to those that he threatened on France and Germany last year over the price of pharmaceutical products.
The threat is the latest pressure tactic by Republican Trump as he steps up his bid to acquire the autonomous Arctic island, a goal that he has threatened to achieve by military means if necessary.
Trump claims the United States needs mineral-rich Greenland and has accused Denmark of not doing enough to ensure its security against US rivals Russia and China.
The US president on Friday also appeared to question his country's core role in NATO over Greenland, while adding that Washington was "talking to" the military alliance about the issue.
"We're going to see. NATO has been dealing with us on Greenland," Trump later told reporters when asked if he would pull the United States out of NATO if it doesn't help it acquire Greenland.
"We need Greenland for national security very badly. If we don't have it, we have a hole in national security, especially when it comes to what we're doing in terms of the Golden Dome," he added, referring to his planned missile defense system.
European nations who are members of NATO have in recent days shown their support for Denmark and Greenland over Trump's escalating threats, including by sending troops to the strategic territory.
A bipartisan US Congress delegation also began a visit to Copenhagen on Friday to voice their backing for Denmark and Greenland.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland visited the White House on Wednesday for talks to defuse the issue but said afterward that they remained in "fundamental disagreement" with Trump.
But the United States, Denmark and Greenland had agreed to set up a working group to continue talks every two to three weeks, the White House said on Thursday.
Britain, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have announced the deployment of small numbers of military personnel to prepare for future exercises in the Arctic. 
But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the European troops did not impact Trump's "goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all."
dk/acb

Trump

One year on, it's all about Trump. But for how long?

BY DANNY KEMP

  • At times Trump has also cultivated what looks like a cult of personality, revamping the White House and building a $400 million ballroom, and adding his name to the famed Kennedy Center for the performing arts.
  • On a sunny January morning in Florida, Donald Trump went shopping for marble and onyx for his new White House ballroom.
  • At times Trump has also cultivated what looks like a cult of personality, revamping the White House and building a $400 million ballroom, and adding his name to the famed Kennedy Center for the performing arts.
On a sunny January morning in Florida, Donald Trump went shopping for marble and onyx for his new White House ballroom. A few hours later, he was bombing Venezuela.
It was just one day in an extraordinary year since his return to office, but it summed up how Trump has reshaped the US presidency through the sheer force of his own personality.
And as he enters his second year back in the White House, Trump is increasingly acting as if there are no checks on his power -- either at home or abroad.
"He has really personalized the presidency," Noah Rosenblum, professor of law at New York University, told AFP.
If the former reality TV star's first term dominated news cycles because of its chaos, Trump's second has done so because of a single-minded determination to stamp his mark on the world's most powerful job.
He began with a freewheeling Oval Office appearance on January 20, 2025, during which he pardoned hundreds of pro-Trump rioters who attacked the US Capitol four years earlier.
The Republican leader has kept up the pace ever since. 
An unprecedented blitz of executive orders, outrageous pronouncements and directives for the persecution of his political opponents came in the following days and months.
Trump has shaken the foundations of American democracy as the country prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, caused global turmoil with his tariffs and upended the global order.
"There is one thing. My own morality," Trump, who is the first convicted felon to be elected president, told The New York Times when asked if there were limits on his power.
At times Trump has also cultivated what looks like a cult of personality, revamping the White House and building a $400 million ballroom, and adding his name to the famed Kennedy Center for the performing arts.
And 2026 dawned with an unapologetic Trump Unbound: ordering the capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, threatening Greenland and sending immigration agents on a deadly operation into Minnesota.
Rosenblum said the past year had "revealed that the old system had less legitimacy and was more fragile than I had understood, than was widely understood." 

'Expect trouble'

Trump has begun 2026 with a bang. Yet it could also finally show the limits of a presidency that revolves around the whims of one man who will turn 80 years old in June.
The biggest inflection point could come in November's midterm elections. 
While these votes for the control of Congress are always effectively a referendum on sitting presidents, this year's will more than ever be a verdict on Trump himself.
His approval numbers remain low, with the White House battling to show that his economic plans are working despite voter anger over affordability.
If Republicans take a hammering, there are questions about whether Trump could seek to overturn the results, like he tried when Democrat Joe Biden beat him to the presidency in 2020.
"I expect trouble," William Galston of the Brookings Institution told AFP.
"He is more actively involved in the management of the midterms than any president I've seen."
Galston said however that Trump was unlikely to be able to mount any meaningful challenge if Republicans lose control of the House, which would leave him a lame duck president for the remaining two years of his term.
Trump faces challenges on other fronts too. The Supreme Court could clip Trump's wings on tariffs, while his bypassing of Congress by the use of executive orders could also backfire, said Galston. 
"The problem with governing by fiat is that what you weave by day, your successor can unravel by night, which leads to far fewer permanent achievements," Galston said.
With Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, Ukraine and Gaza on Trump's agenda in 2026, the self-professed "America First" president also appears preoccupied by foreign policy.
"That's a problem politically because a lot of the people who voted for him didn't vote for that, they voted for them to focus on the economy. He's paid a significant price for that," added Galston.
dk/jgc/mlm

US

Trump says 'thank you' to Iran for not hanging protesters

  • "Nobody convinced me -- I convinced myself," Trump told reporters later Friday as he left the White House to head to Florida for the weekend.
  • US President Donald Trump thanked Iran's leadership on Friday after saying Tehran had called off the executions of hundreds of protesters arrested in a brutal crackdown.
  • "Nobody convinced me -- I convinced myself," Trump told reporters later Friday as he left the White House to head to Florida for the weekend.
US President Donald Trump thanked Iran's leadership on Friday after saying Tehran had called off the executions of hundreds of protesters arrested in a brutal crackdown.
"I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
Trump repeatedly threatened military action against Iran over the past two weeks to help protesters, where rights groups say Iranian forces have killed thousands of people.
But he is now holding off on intervening after saying on Wednesday that he had been told the killings had stopped.
Trump also dismissed comments by Gulf officials on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to talk him out of an attack, and said that it was Iran's actions that swayed him.
"Nobody convinced me -- I convinced myself," Trump told reporters later Friday as he left the White House to head to Florida for the weekend.
"They didn't hang anyone. They cancelled the hangings. That had a big impact."
dk/md

conflict

Zelensky hopes for security guarantees plan in looming US talks

BY DARIA ANDRIIEVSKA

  • Zelensky hopes to sign the documents with the Americans at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week.
  • President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he hopes Ukraine will sign agreements with the United States next week on a plan to end Russia's invasion but lashed out at slow ammunition deliveries from abroad. 
  • Zelensky hopes to sign the documents with the Americans at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he hopes Ukraine will sign agreements with the United States next week on a plan to end Russia's invasion but lashed out at slow ammunition deliveries from abroad. 
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a halt to the war and has pressured Ukraine to accept peace terms that Kyiv has likened to capitulation to Russia. 
Key sticking points remain between Kyiv and Washington, and Ukraine has been seeking clarity from allies about what security guarantees it will receive as part of the plan, which it believes are vital to deter Russia from invading again.
Zelensky told reporters, including AFP, that Ukrainian negotiators were on their way to the United States for more talks.
The Ukrainians were due to hold talks on security guarantees and post-war reconstruction with the US side in Miami on Saturday, Kyiv's embassy to Washington said. "The goal of the visit is to finalise these agreements with our American partners," according to ambassador Olga Stefanishyna.
Zelensky hopes to sign the documents with the Americans at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week. "If everything is finalised and if there is agreement from the American side -- because on our side, in principle, I believe we're done -- then signing during Davos will be possible," he said.
The president spoke as Russian strikes have left thousands without heating in Kyiv for days in temperatures as low as -15C. The capital's mayor Vitaliy Klitschko ordered schools to be shut until February for the "safety of children". 

Air defence depleted

Zelensky also conceded problems with Ukrainian air defence systems at a critical moment in the war.    
Some air defence systems supplied to Ukraine by Western allies had run out of ammunition amid a wave of Russian attacks that have devastated his country's energy infrastructure, he said.
Kyiv says more than 15,000 energy workers are racing in sub-zero temperatures to restore power plants and substations battered over recent days by hundreds of Russian drones and missiles.
Zelensky has repeatedly called on allies to beef up Ukraine's air defence systems to shield vital civilian infrastructure facilities from daily Russian bombardments.
"Until this morning we had several systems without missiles. Today I can say this openly because today I have those missiles," Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv. 
The attacks have spurred urgent humanitarian concerns, with millions of Ukrainians suffering long periods without electricity and heating during a cold snap where temperatures have dropped to -20C in some parts of the country.   
The Kremlin claims its forces only target military facilities. 
When it has bombed Ukrainian power plants in previous years, it has blamed civilians' hardships on Kyiv and its refusal to accept Russian peace demands.  
AFP journalists in Kyiv -- one of the worst hit cities -- have seen chaos at intersections where traffic lights are off, shops and restaurants closed, and residents warming up and charging phones in emergency tents set up by the state. 
Ukraine relies on its Western partners for several vital advanced air defence systems -- including US-made Patriot batteries.  
But Zelensky said during a press conference with Czech President Petr Pavel that all of those units "require constant supplies of missiles". 
He urged both European allies and the United States to increase deliveries. 
"We received a substantial package in the morning. It's in Ukraine now and we can talk about it," Zelensky said. 
"But it comes at such cost -- through effort, blood, people's lives," the Ukrainian leader added.

'Energy terror'

After nearly four years of fighting, Russian forces are both pummelling Ukrainian cities and steadily advancing across the sprawling front line. 
On Friday, Moscow said its forces captured two more villages in the eastern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Russian bombardments meanwhile killed two people in the central industrial city of Nikopol, local Ukrainian officials announced.
In Kyiv, the government is still scrambling to respond to one of the worst and most prolonged energy outages since Russia invaded.
"Russia is betting that it can break us through energy terror," Ukraine's new energy minister, Denys Shmygal, told parliament on Friday. 
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced that the government had fuel reserves for 20 days.
Meanwhile Kyiv is easing strict curfew rules that were put in place at the beginning of Russia's invasion in February 2022 to allow Ukrainians to access emergency hubs providing heating and electricity.
Shmygal earlier on Friday ordered state companies to ratchet up their own electricity imports from abroad to help ease the load on consumers. 
bur-jbr-oc-asy/phz

conflict

Former Ukraine PM Tymoshenko released on bail in graft probe

  • Prosecutors claimed Tymoshenko divulged details of a cash-for-votes scheme to another member of parliament and that payments were $10,000 a month.
  • A court in Kyiv released former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on bail on Friday pending a trial to determine whether she paid members of Ukraine's parliament to sway their voting.
  • Prosecutors claimed Tymoshenko divulged details of a cash-for-votes scheme to another member of parliament and that payments were $10,000 a month.
A court in Kyiv released former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on bail on Friday pending a trial to determine whether she paid members of Ukraine's parliament to sway their voting.
The 65-year-old stalwart of Ukrainian politics, who has denied the charges and said the case is politically motivated, served as prime minister twice after 2005.
After losing the 2010 presidential election to pro-Russian figure Viktor Yanukovych, she was jailed for abuse of office -- a case her backers, rights groups and Western governments said was political retribution.
The anti-corruption court on Friday set bail at around $762,000, an AFP journalist reported from the session, barred Tymoshenko from leaving the capital without permission and ordered her to hand over her passport. 
Prosecutors claimed Tymoshenko divulged details of a cash-for-votes scheme to another member of parliament and that payments were $10,000 a month.
Tymoshenko appeared in court in her trademark crown braid and described the allegations as a "provocation".
NABU "was carrying out a political order specifically to discredit me," she said.
In court, Tymoshenko said she was unable to post bail herself because her bank accounts had been frozen. Local media reported she was given five days to pay.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, political campaigning has been largely on hold as Ukraine banned elections under martial law and the country rallied behind the war effort.
But a string of sweeping corruption scandals has rocked the war-torn country in the past months, forcing government ministers as well as President Volodymyr Zelensky's top aide, Andriy Yermak, out of office.
Ukraine has long been plagued by corruption and cracking down on graft is seen as a key requirement of its bid to join the European Union.
bur-jbr/mmp/cw

US

US congress members in Denmark in support of Greenland

  • Their visit came two days after a meeting in Washington where Copenhagen said Denmark and the United States were in  "fundamental disagreement" over the future of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. 
  • A US bipartisan congressional delegation kicked off a visit to Copenhagen on Friday to express support for Denmark and Greenland after President Donald Trump's threats to take over the Arctic island.
  • Their visit came two days after a meeting in Washington where Copenhagen said Denmark and the United States were in  "fundamental disagreement" over the future of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. 
A US bipartisan congressional delegation kicked off a visit to Copenhagen on Friday to express support for Denmark and Greenland after President Donald Trump's threats to take over the Arctic island.
The 11 congressmen and women were to hold talks with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen, among others.
Their visit came two days after a meeting in Washington where Copenhagen said Denmark and the United States were in  "fundamental disagreement" over the future of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. 
An AFP reporter in Copenhagen saw a large black van leave Frederiksen's office shortly before noon (1100 GMT) on Friday, but her office would not confirm whether the meeting had taken place.
The US delegation was also due to meet with Danish members of parliament.
The group arrived at the offices of the Danish employers' association Dansk Industri around midday for a meeting with business leaders.
"We are showing bipartisan solidarity with the people of this country and with Greenland. They've been our friends and allies for decades,"  Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told reporters.
"We want them to know we appreciate that very much. And the statements being made by the president do not reflect what the American people feel," he added.
Trump has insisted the US needs strategically-located Greenland and has criticised Denmark for not doing enough to ensure its security.
The US president has pursued that argument, despite Greenland -- as part of Denmark -- being covered by NATO's security umbrella.
In addition to Durbin, the US delegation is made up of Democratic senators Chris Coons, Peter Welch and Jeanne Shaheen, as well as Republicans Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski.
Democrats from the House of Representatives in the delegation are Steny Hoyer, Gregory Meeks, Madeleine Dean, Sara Jacobs and Sarah McBride.  
The group will be in Copenhagen on Friday and Saturday, before heading to the World Economic Forum in Davos. 
jll-ef/po

music

Spanish singer Julio Iglesias says abuse allegations 'absolutely false'

BY MARTIN DE MONTVALON

  • Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
  • Spain's veteran singer and cultural icon Julio Iglesias on Friday rejected allegations of sexual abuse lodged against him by two women ex-employees, in a case that has dominated headlines.
  • Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
Spain's veteran singer and cultural icon Julio Iglesias on Friday rejected allegations of sexual abuse lodged against him by two women ex-employees, in a case that has dominated headlines.
"I deny having abused, coerced, or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and deeply sadden me," the 82-year-old wrote on his Instagram account.
Iglesias, one of the most successful Latin artists of all time, is a Grammy winner with more than 300 million records sold in a career spanning decades.
Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
Advocacy groups Women's Link Worldwide and Amnesty International said a complaint filed with Spanish prosecutors on January 5 outlined alleged acts that could be considered "a crime of human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour" and "crimes against sexual freedom".
Iglesias subjected them to "sexual harassment, regularly checked their mobile phones, restricted their ability to leave the home where they worked, and required them to work up to 16 hours a day without days off", according to testimony collected by the two groups.
In his Instagram message, Iglesias wrote: "It is with profound sadness that I respond to the accusations made by two people who previously worked for me."
"I have never felt such malice, but I still have the strength to let people know the whole truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious accusation," he said, thanking the "so many dear people" who have sent him messages of support.

Strong reactions

The allegations against the beloved crooner have sparked strong reactions in Spain after being aired on Tuesday in a joint investigation by Spanish newspaper elDiario.es and US television network Univision.
Members of the leftist government have backed the complainants and demanded an investigation to establish the truth.
The head of the conservative opposition Popular Party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who is friends with Iglesias, told Telecinco television on Wednesday he was "very, very, very surprised" but urged against "speculating".
Iglesias has publicly embraced a "Latin lover" image, especially in older interviews where he openly discussed his sexual appetite and romantic exploits.
Iglesias's former manager Fernan Martinez told Telecinco that he was "very affectionate" and enjoyed "physical contact" but stressed he never saw the music icon "behave aggressively".
Women's Link Worldwide has said the complainants will testify at an unspecified date before Spanish prosecutors, who have up to a year to perform a preliminary investigation.
The complaint was submitted in Spain and not the Caribbean countries where the crimes allegedly took place because of Spanish legislation on gender-based violence and trafficking, the organisation added.
Advocates say the wave of claims against high-profile entertainment and music figures in recent years, driven by the #MeToo movement that rose to prominence in 2017, has exposed systemic abuse.
mdm/imm/yad

genocide

Myanmar tells ICJ Rohingya genocide claims 'unsubstantiated'

BY RICHARD CARTER

  • "These attacks were the reasons for the clearance operations, which is a military term referring to counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism operations," added Hlaing.
  • Myanmar on Friday dismissed as "unsubstantiated" allegations that it committed genocide against its Rohingya minority, telling the International Court of Justice that its brutal crackdown was a "counter-terrorism operation."
  • "These attacks were the reasons for the clearance operations, which is a military term referring to counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism operations," added Hlaing.
Myanmar on Friday dismissed as "unsubstantiated" allegations that it committed genocide against its Rohingya minority, telling the International Court of Justice that its brutal crackdown was a "counter-terrorism operation."
Myanmar is defending itself at the United Nations top court from accusations brought by The Gambia that its actions against the Rohingya breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
"This case will be decided on the basis of proven facts, not unsubstantiated allegations. Emotional language and blurry factual pictures are not a substitute for a rigorous presentation of facts," Ko Ko Hlaing, a minister in the president's office, told the court.
Myanmar has always maintained the 2017 crackdown by its armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents after a series of attacks left a dozen security personnel dead.
"Myanmar was not obliged to remain idle and allow terrorists to have free reign of northern Rakhine states," Hlaing told the judges.
"These attacks were the reasons for the clearance operations, which is a military term referring to counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism operations," added Hlaing.
Judges are hearing three weeks of evidence before deciding whether Myanmar was in breach of the Genocide Convention with its violent actions against the Rohingya.
Under this convention, any state can drag any other before the ICJ, which settles disputes between countries, if it believes a breach has occurred.
A final decision could take months or even years, and while the ICJ has no means of enforcing its decisions, a ruling in favour of The Gambia would heap more political pressure on Myanmar.
"A finding of genocide would place an indelible stain on my country and its people," said Hlaing.
"These proceedings are of the fundamental importance for my country's reputation and future."
- 'Genocidal intent' 
Before Myanmar took the stand, representatives from The Gambia laid bare days of harrowing evidence about the crackdown, including mass rape, indiscriminate murder, and torture.
The Rohingya were "targeted for destruction", The Gambia's justice minister told the judges.
"When the court considers... all of the evidence taken together, the only reasonable conclusion to reach is that a genocidal intent permeated and informed Myanmar's myriad of state-led actions against the Rohingya," said Philippe Sands, arguing for The Gambia.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled violence by the Myanmar army and Buddhist militias, escaping to neighbouring Bangladesh and bringing harrowing accounts of mass atrocities.
Today, 1.17 million Rohingya live crammed into dilapidated camps spread over 8,000 acres in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.
"Let me also clear that Myanmar is committed to achieving the repatriation to Myanmar of persons from Rakhine State currently living in camps in Bangladesh," said Hlaing.
Legal experts are watching proceedings closely as it may give clues for how the court will handle similar accusations against Israel over its military campaign in Gaza, in a case brought to the ICJ by South Africa.
The ICJ hearings wrap up on January 29. Judges will hear evidence from victims in a closed session before both sides make final statements.
The ICJ is not the only court looking into possible genocide against the Rohingya -- other cases are underway at the International Criminal Court and in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
ric/st