World

At Davos, Trump’s Greenland push ignites transatlantic showdown DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump descended on the World Economic Forum on Wednesday for a high-stakes confrontation with European leaders, arriving as his bid to secure U.S. control over Greenland and threats of tariffs on European allies deepen the most serious rift across the Atlantic in decades. Trump’s keynote address to the annual gathering of political and business elites — his first in six years — is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. local time (1:30…

One person has died and at least 15 others were injured after a commuter train near Barcelona struck rubble from a collapsed wall, Catalonia’s fire service said Tuesday, marking Spain’s second deadly rail accident in days. “There are four seriously injured and one person who has passed away,” fire service spokesman Claudi Gallardo told reporters. Spanish state news agency EFE reported that the train’s driver was the person who died. Catalan emergency services said medical teams were treating at least 15 injured people at the…

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump refused Monday to say how far he is prepared to go on Greenland, suggesting he could “make a deal” even as European leaders warned that any U.S. move to seize the autonomous Arctic territory from ally Denmark would shake NATO and trigger a response. Asked hours before departing for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, how far he would go, Trump replied: “You’ll find out.” He added that he has “a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland” in Davos and predicted “things are going to…

Israel has demolished multiple structures inside the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s east Jerusalem compound after seizing the site last year, an action UNRWA condemned as a violation of international law and UN privileges and immunities. Surrounded by Israeli forces, bulldozers razed several large buildings and smaller facilities within the compound, where dozens of agency staff once worked. UNRWA has not used the site since early last year after Israeli authorities ordered the agency to vacate all premises and…

LONDON — The British government has approved plans for a new Chinese embassy in London, concluding that security risks can be managed even as lawmakers, campaigners and some former officials warn the site could become a hub for intelligence-gathering and transnational repression. Communities Secretary Steve Reed approved the proposal for a large embassy complex at Royal Mint Court, adjacent to the Tower of London. Security Minister Dan Jarvis told Parliament he was “assured that the UK national security is protected” and…

Russia unleashed a combined missile and drone barrage on Ukraine early today, knocking out power and heat to thousands of homes in Kyiv as temperatures plunged, Ukrainian officials said. One person was killed in the wider Kyiv region and at least one was wounded in the capital, where debris also damaged a school and disrupted water supplies on the city’s left bank. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said heating was cut to 5,635 multistory apartment buildings across the city of more than 3 million. The outage hit as the mercury…

Spain began three days of national mourning after a high-speed train collision near Adamuz in the southern province of Córdoba killed 41 people and injured more than 120, authorities said. Investigators are focusing on a suspected faulty rail joint as they work to determine why the crash occurred on a straight section of track where both trains were within the speed limit. The crash happened Sunday when an Iryo service traveling from Málaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, about 360 kilometers south of the capital, crossed…

Ireland warns Trump tariff threat would ‘rip up’ EU-US trade deal, vows strong response Ireland’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on European allies would “rip up” an EU-US trade deal struck last year and force Brussels to put billions in countermeasures back on the table, as leaders head to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Donald Trump has said he will impose 10% tariffs on eight European allies from 1 February unless they agree to his purchase of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish…

One year into President Donald Trump’s second term, the White House marks an inflection point defined by a more assertive use of presidential authority and a recalibration of U.S. relationships abroad. The anniversary arrives after a year of forceful decision-making that supporters see as decisive leadership and critics describe as a test of constitutional limits and diplomatic norms. RTÉ News reporter Jackie Fox looks back at the defining turns of “Trump 2.0” in a new video retrospective, tracing how the administration’s…

Australia advances national gun buy-back, tighter checks after Bondi mass shooting Australia is poised to pass sweeping new gun-control measures, including a national firearm buy-back and tougher background checks, following last month’s mass shooting at a Jewish festival at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, the country’s deadliest in decades. The legislation cleared the House of Representatives by a vote of 96-45 despite opposition from conservative lawmakers. It now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass with support from…