World

Donald Trump’s Greenland fixation has never been about maps or minerals. It is about possession — a muscular assertion of power for its own sake — and it now threatens to turn a long‑standing alliance into collateral damage. In a three-hour interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, the former president did what he so often claims to do: say the quiet part out loud. Asked why he wants to take over Greenland, he was disarmingly blunt. “Ownership is very important,” he said. Pressed on whether the world’s most powerful…

Irish officials have condemned X’s decision to put some of its Grok AI image-editing tools behind a paywall, calling the move “window dressing” that fails to address the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes, including images of children, on the platform. Niamh Smyth, Minister of State with responsibility for AI, said X had informed her it would meet with her in the coming weeks after she requested talks earlier this week. But she said restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers does nothing to stop…

Ireland’s minister for AI has condemned X’s decision to put parts of its Grok AI image tool behind a paywall, calling the move “window dressing” that fails to address the spread of abusive and illegal deepfakes. X said this week it has limited Grok’s image generation and editing features to paying subscribers. Users asking Grok to alter photos now receive a prompt stating those functions are “currently limited to paying subscribers,” with links to subscribe. The platform’s AI also told one user the change was “effective…

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she does not believe the United States will use military force to seize Greenland, warning that any such move would carry grave consequences for NATO and trans-Atlantic security. Speaking at her traditional New Year’s press conference, Meloni said a reinforced NATO presence in the Arctic could help address U.S. concerns about rival powers’ influence in the region and reduce the pressure for unilateral action by Washington. “I continue not to believe in the hypothesis that the United…

France, UK, Germany condemn ‘killing of protesters’ in Iran as internet blackout deepens unrest France, the United Kingdom and Germany condemned what they called the “killing of protesters” in Iran and urged authorities to exercise restraint, as sweeping anti-government demonstrations and a nationwide internet blackout disrupted communications and stoked uncertainty across the country. “We are deeply concerned about reports of violence by Iranian security forces, and strongly condemn the killing of protestors,” French…

Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers will square off in Manhattan on Wednesday over whether a man accused of killing a health insurance executive could face the federal death penalty if convicted. Luigi Mangione, 27, is due in U.S. District Court for a hearing at 11 a.m. Eastern (4 p.m. in Ireland) before Judge Margaret Garnett. Mangione is charged in the December 2024 fatal shooting of United Health CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk, a killing that drew swift condemnation from public officials. Mangione…

Storm Goretti battered northern Europe with heavy snow and gale-force winds, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes, closing schools and suspending rail services across France, Britain and Germany as the region endured a week of freezing weather. Emergency crews from the Atlantic coast to the North Sea scrambled to clear downed trees, restore power and keep key corridors open after Goretti slammed into Britain yesterday and moved eastward overnight. France absorbed some of the worst of the impacts as the storm…

Irish members of the European Parliament from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael say they will oppose the EU–Mercosur trade agreement in any European Parliament vote, signaling fresh headwinds for a pact that has stalled for years over environmental and agricultural concerns. The coordinated stance by MEPs from Ireland’s two dominant centrist parties underscores persistent resistance to the agreement, which would lower tariffs and open markets between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and…

Two people were shot and wounded by a U.S. immigration agent during a vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon, authorities said, intensifying tensions already high after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis a day earlier. Portland Police Chief Bob Day urged restraint as investigators worked to establish what happened. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to…

Switzerland will observe a national day of mourning today for the 40 people, many of them teenagers, killed when fire tore through the Le Constellation bar during New Year’s celebrations in the ski resort of Crans-Montana. A minute of silence is set for 2 p.m. local time, to be followed by church bells ringing across the Alpine nation. The government called the silence a “testament to the shared grief felt by the entire nation with all the families and friends directly affected.” The ceremony will be livestreamed on large…