World

SANTIAGO, Chile — President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in two southern regions of Chile as fast-moving wildfires killed at least 16 people and forced nearly 20,000 residents to evacuate, authorities said. Chile’s national forestry agency, CONAF, reported 24 active fires burning across the country, with the largest and most dangerous blazes in the regions of Ñuble and Biobío, about 500 kilometers south of the capital. The emergency designation aims to speed the government’s response as crews contend with…

Analysis: Europe draws a line in the Arctic as Trump presses bid to take Greenland The image raced across social media: Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, stepping out of the White House and wordlessly fishing a cigarette from a pack. He lit up, then offered both pack and lighter to his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt. The optics matched the moment. Inside, a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had gone sideways, and a thin diplomatic accord collapsed almost as…

Outside the White House, Denmark’s foreign minister jogged toward a car, fished out a pack of cigarettes and lit up. The video went viral: Lars Løkke Rasmussen, smoke curling from his lips, wordlessly offering a cigarette and lighter to his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt. The moment captured the mood of a week in which Europe, Denmark and Greenland were forced to contemplate something once unthinkable — deterring the United States from taking Greenland. “We didn’t manage to change the American position,” Rasmussen…

EU-Mercosur trade deal to be signed in Paraguay as Lula, von der Leyen hail ‘prosperity’ and multilateralism Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday hailed the European Union–Mercosur trade deal as a pivotal step for prosperity and rules-based cooperation, ahead of a planned signing in Asuncion on Saturday after 25 years of negotiations. Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Lula called the agreement “very good, especially for the democratic world and for…

EU ambassadors will convene an emergency meeting later today after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened escalating tariffs on key European allies unless the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, jolting transatlantic relations and trade. Cyprus, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, called the meeting for 5 p.m. in Brussels (4 p.m. in Dublin), according to EU diplomats. It was not immediately clear what authority Trump would invoke to impose tariffs of up to 25% on European goods. In a post on Truth…

Poland is mailing 17 million copies of a new civil defense “Safety Guide” to every household, a nationwide push to harden preparedness amid mounting concern over hybrid threats, cyberattacks and tensions along the country’s eastern frontier. The 48-page booklet lays out what to do in an air raid, how to stock up for a long-term blackout, where to find the nearest shelter, how to administer first aid, and the steps to take in the event of biological or nuclear threats. It is designed as a practical, at-home reference for…

TikTok will begin rolling out new age-detection technology across Europe in the coming weeks, the company said, as the ByteDance-owned platform faces mounting regulatory pressure to better identify and remove accounts belonging to children under 13. The previously unreported system follows a year-long pilot in Europe and is designed to strengthen enforcement of TikTok’s minimum-age rules without resorting to blanket, intrusive checks. The company said the tool analyses profile information, posted videos and behavioral…

European Union ambassadors will convene for an emergency meeting today after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened escalating tariffs on key European allies unless the United States is allowed to buy Greenland. Cyprus, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, called the meeting for late afternoon. EU diplomats said it was set to start at 5 p.m. local time (4 p.m. Irish time). In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that starting Feb. 1, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland…

Syria’s army advanced across swathes of the country’s north, dislodging Kurdish-led forces from pockets of territory where they had exercised de facto autonomy for more than a decade, in a campaign unfolding a day after President Ahmed al-Sharaa declared Kurdish a national language and granted the minority official recognition. The push appeared aimed at consolidating state control after a March accord to integrate Kurdish-led units into government structures stalled. Kurdish authorities welcomed the decree as a “first step”…

Austria avalanches kill five near Salzburg as heavy snowfall triggers deadly slides across Alps SALZBURG, Austria — Five people were killed in two off-piste avalanches in Austria’s Alps today, Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported, underscoring a perilous start to the winter after heavy snowfall across the region. The deadliest incident struck a group of seven ski tourers in the Pongau district south of Salzburg, where an avalanche swept the party, killing four and seriously injuring another, according to ORF. Mountain…