A record 47% of the European Union’s electricity now comes from solar and other renewables, a report Thursday said, in yet another sign of the growing gap between the bloc’s push for clean energy and the new U.S. administration’s pursuit of more fossil fuels.

Nearly three-quarters of the EU’s electricity doesn’t emit planet-warming gases into the air — with another 24% of electricity in the bloc coming from nuclear power, a report released by the climate energy think tank Ember found. This is far higher than in countries like the United States and China, where nearly two-thirds of their energy is still produced from carbon-polluting fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Experts say they’re encouraged by Europe’s fossil fuel reductions, particularly as the U.S. looks set to increase its emissions as its new president pledges cheaper gas prices, has halted leases for wind projects and pledged to revoke Biden-era incentives for electric vehicles.

“Fossil fuels are losing their grip on EU energy,” said Chris Rosslowe, an energy expert at Ember. In 2024, solar power generated 11% of EU electricity, overtaking coal which fell below 10% for the first time. Clean wind power generated more electricity than gas for the second year in a row.

2024 data wasn’t available for all countries. Ember’s data for the world’s largest generators of electricity for 2023 show Brazil with the largest share of its electricity from renewables, almost 89%, with much of that coming from hydroelectric power. Canada had about 66.5%, China 30.6%, France 26.5%, the U.S. 22.7% and India 19.5%.

One reason for Europe’s clean power transition moving at pace is the European Green Deal, an ambitious policy passed in 2019 that paved the way for climate laws to be updated. As a result of the deal, the EU made their targets more ambitious, aiming to cut 55% of the region’s emissions by the end of the decade. The policy also aims to make Europe climate neutral — reducing the amount of additional emissions in the air to practically zero — by 2050.

Hundreds of regulations and directives in European countries to incentivize investment in clean energy and reduce carbon pollution have been passed or are in the process of being ratified across Europe.

“At the start of the Deal, renewables were a third and fossil fuels accounted for 39% of Europe’s electricity,” Rosslowe said. “Now fossils generate only 29% and wind and solar have been driving the clean energy transition.” The amount of electricity generated by nuclear energy has remained relatively stable in the bloc.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also spurred the move to clean energy in Europe. Gas prices skyrocketed — with much of Europe’s gas coming from Russia becoming unviable — forcing countries to look for cheaper, cleaner alternatives. Portugal, Netherlands and Estonia witnessed the highest increase in clean power in the last five years.

The transition to clean power helped Europe avoid more than $61 billion worth of fossil fuel imports for generating electricity since 2019.

“This is sending a clear message that their energy needs are going to be met through clean power, not gas imports,” said Pieter de Pous, a Brussels-based energy analyst at European think tank E3G. De Pous said the EU’s origins were “as a community of coal and steel because those industries were so important,” but it is now rapidly becoming a “community of solar and wind power, batteries and smart technologies.”

Nuclear growth in the bloc, meanwhile, has slowed. Across the European Union, retirements of nuclear plants have outpaced new construction since around the mid-2000s, according to Global Energy Monitor.

As President Trump has pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement aimed at curbing warming and is pursuing a “drill, baby, drill” energy policy, Rosslowe said the EU’s leadership in clean power becomes all the more important. “It’s about increasing European energy independence, and it’s about showing this climate leadership,” he said.

On Tuesday, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said: “Europe will stay the course, and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming.”
…

Nuuk, Greenland — A blizzard whips the Danish, Greenlandic and Faroe Islands flags above the Joint Arctic Command headquarters overlooking the harbor of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.

The small military outpost staffed by around 80 personnel oversees Danish security for the vast Arctic island of some 2.1 million square kilometers.

Greenland’s government is largely autonomous, but the island is part of the Danish Kingdom, and Denmark retains responsibility for its security.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear his determination to take ownership of the island for the United States and hasn’t ruled out using economic or military force.

Speaking hours after his inauguration, Trump reiterated his view that U.S. control was necessary for “international security” because, he explained, “You have Russian boats all over the place. You have China boats all over the place, warships. And [Denmark] can’t maintain it.”

Russian missiles

The United States has long viewed Greenland as vitally important for its defense, explained Marc Jacobsen, an analyst at the Royal Danish Defense College in Copenhagen.

“There’s no doubt that it’s geostrategically important in defending the U.S. national security against Russian missiles,” Jacobsen told VOA. “The shortest route for Russian missiles towards the U.S. is via the North Pole, via Greenland.”

Russia has invested heavily in its Arctic military footprint in recent years. Its northernmost Nagurskoye air base on Siberia’s northern coast hosts nuclear-capable strategic bombers, missile and surveillance systems.

Russian nuclear submarines patrol the Arctic seas, while a growing fleet of nuclear-powered ice breakers projects Kremlin power across the region.

China and Russia have conducted joint military drills in the Arctic. Beijing is also seeking access to valuable minerals beneath the ice.

“There is definitely a threat, especially from Russian military capacities in that region. And NATO countries are right now moving to increase their capacity,” Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen, also of the Royal Danish Defense College, told VOA.

Denmark’s defense

Denmark’s military capabilities on Greenland consist of four aging naval patrol vessels, a surveillance plane and dog sled patrols.

Copenhagen announced plans last month to invest in new surveillance drones, two new ships and additional personnel, along with upgrading an existing air base to accommodate F-35 fighter jets. The exact cost has yet to be decided, but the government said it would spend a “double-digit billion amount” in Danish kroner, or at least $1.5 billion.

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen admitted, however, that the government has failed to invest in Greenland’s security.

“We have neglected for many years to make the necessary investments in our ships, in the aircraft that will help to monitor our kingdom, and that is what we are now trying to do something about,” he told reporters on Jan. 9.

“We will hopefully create an investment package where we will strengthen our ability to monitor what is happening in the Arctic, and also for some new capacities to be put into place.”

Denmark hopes the upgrades will go toward “meeting American demands for increasing the surveillance of Greenland,” Jacobsen said.

US Space base

The U.S. military has been present in Greenland since World War II, when American forces were deployed to the island following Denmark’s fall to Nazi Germany. At the height of the U.S. deployment, Greenland hosted more than 10,000 U.S. service personnel.

The Pituffik Space Base on Greenland’s northwest coast, formerly known as the Thule Air Base, is the United States’ northernmost military facility. It now hosts around 200 military personnel, alongside missile warning, defense and space surveillance systems.

“The military protection of Greenland de facto relies on the U.S.,” Rahbek-Clemmensen said. “And the big question is then whether the U.S. wants to enhance that presence, perhaps to be able to do other types of military operations in that area.”

That may be why, he added, Danish officials appear to be approaching the issue in a manner that maintains good U.S. relations.

“The Danish government has been trying to touch on that word ‘control’ that Trump uses, which is a very ambiguous term,” he added. “What does control mean? Does it mean owning a piece of territory? Or does it mean having a certain amount of military equipment on that territory?”

US-Danish relations

At Denmark’s Arctic command center in Nuuk, the U.S. flag flies alongside the Danish, Greenlandic and Faroe Islands colors. The building also hosts the U.S. Consulate — a sign that, for the time being, U.S.-Danish relations remain cordial.

Before Trump’s inauguration, the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen said there were no plans to expand U.S. military presence in Greenland.

That could change under the new president.

For now, Denmark and its European allies are hoping that Trump’s comments are part of a strategy to force NATO allies to spend more on defense.

“There’s an important element which is about his personality, which he brings into the way that U.S. diplomacy, or his diplomacy, is carried out,” Jacobsen said.

“In a positive light, if the USA increases its presence in the Arctic, it will increase the NATO presence, because the seven Arctic states — besides Russia — we are all members of NATO now.”
…

washington — Last December, Georgia’s parliament chose Mikheil Kavelashvili, a close ally of ruling Georgian Dream party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, as the country’s new president. He replaced Salome Zourabichvili, who had won the presidency in 2018 in a popular vote. Zourabichvili was the country’s fifth president.

Opposition parties and Zourabichvili contend that the country’s October 2024 parliamentary elections, which Georgian Dream officially won with 54.09% of the vote, were rigged, and that therefore neither Georgian Dream’s victory nor Kavelashvili’s replacement of Zourabichvili as president was legitimate. The opposition parties have refused to enter parliament and work with Georgian Dream members and are demanding new elections.

Zourabichvili was in Washington to attend the inauguration of President Donald Trump at the invitation of Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina. While in the U.S. capital, she spoke with Voice of America.

The following transcript of that interview has been edited for brevity and clarity:

VOA: Thank you for being here at VOA. We know that you attended the inauguration of the 47th president of the United States but also had a chance to meet with members of President Trump’s Cabinet. What was your main message during those meetings?

Salome Zourabichvili, former president of Georgia: Well, those … were more social encounters before the inauguration and before the confirmation of those Cabinet members. I met them during different receptions and at [an inaugural] ball. So it was not a place for [a] formal meeting [or] for relaying formal messages.

It’s very important that contact was established. My short message was that Georgia [is] at a very crucial turning point today, in a region that is very important for the United States and for the United States’ interests, and so there should be immediate attention for what is happening in Georgia, in the Caucasus, in the Black Sea, from the new administration.

VOA: You often say that Georgia needs the U.S., but the U.S. also needs Georgia. Why should Georgia be important for the United States, and what role could Georgia play in the South Caucasus [and] the wider region?

Zourabichvili: First of all, because the Russians know that more than anybody else: They always said historically that whoever controls Tbilisi … controls the Caucasus. And that is even more important today, at a time when this region is becoming very important for control of the Black Sea. …

The ports of the Black Sea are very important. And it’s not a coincidence that Russia started the war against Ukraine also for control of that part of the Black Sea coast, starting with Crimea in 2014. And it’s no coincidence that the hybrid war Russia … has started with the elections in Georgia, also with the elections in Romania, and to rig the elections, in a very different manner, in Moldova – so those three countries, if you look at the map, are countries of the Black Sea. So the strategy of Russia is very clear.

Hence the strategy of the United States should be [a] continuation of what it has been over the years, which was to consolidate Georgia … [as] a stronghold of democracy. [The] Georgian army would not exist were it not for American support. So I think that shows that this was not just for sympathy of, but because there was a serious, real American interest in supporting Georgia. And I’m confident that these interests are still there and even more today than maybe in the past.

VOA: You were invited to attend the inauguration by Congressman Joe Wilson, one of the authors in the U.S House of Representatives of the MEGOBARI Act [aimed at bolstering democracy and countering Russian influence in Georgia], and the Georgian Nightmare Non-Recognition Act [prohibiting the U.S. from recognizing the Ivanishvili regime and recognizing Zourabichvili as Georgia’s legitimate president]. Could you explain why you think it is so important for the U.S. government not to recognize the current Georgian government?

Zourabichvili: I think it is not possible for a country like the United States to recognize a government that is the result of rigged elections and anti-constitutional acts … a regime in which no independent institution is left; all the institutions are just nominated by one party and one-man rule.

That is really destroying everything that the United States has been doing in this country. Building institutions — not only the army; it’s all the institutions — support for reform of the justice system, creation of the anti-corruption system and all of that, which is really the work of more than 30 years since the independence of Georgia. What is happening today is really destroying all of that.

VOA: You, the opposition and part of Georgian people are asking for new elections. Is that the main demand at this moment?

Zourabichvili: I’m still hoping that the de facto leaders [of Georgia] would recognize that stability of the country is the most important thing and would come to terms with helping the country by [holding] new elections, through some compromise with the opposition. But as time goes by, there’s probably less and less hope that they would come to such a sensible solution.

And what will then happen most probably is that the regime will dissolve, because it cannot resist either the sanctions, the economic and financial situation that we are getting into, the fact that it’s rejected by the vast majority of the country and is isolated from all the partners, Americans and Europeans, that have been really supporting Georgia over the years.

VOA: Different experts we talk with say that Georgia is not going to be a top priority of the Trump administration. How do you plan to bring Georgia to its attention?

Zourabichvili: Well, we probably are never going to be the top priority, and I hope it won’t be, because that means a crisis of a different level, which we don’t want. Again, we do not want instability. But I think that what is happening in Georgia is quite important as an example. I don’t think America [can] accept a country [that] has been supported and, really, constructed as a state by the United States, [making] friends with terrorist movements, with Iran, with China, and [handing over] strategic interests on the Black Sea, the port of Anaklia, or new communications lines, to China, which is what is happening.
…

LONDON — Prince Harry claimed a monumental victory Wednesday as Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life over decades and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

News Group Newspapers offered a “full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life,” Harry’s attorney, David Sherborne, read from a statement in court.

The statement even went beyond the scope of the case to acknowledge intruding on the life of Harry’s mother, the late Princess Diana, and the impact it had on his family.

“We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages,” the settlement statement said.

His phone was hacked, and he was spied on

It was the first time News Group has acknowledged wrongdoing at The Sun, a paper that once sold millions of copies with its formula of sports, celebrities and sex — including topless women on Page 3.

Harry had vowed to take his case to trial to publicly expose the newspaper’s wrongdoing and win a court ruling upholding his claims.

In a statement read by his lawyer, Harry claimed he achieved the accountability he sought for himself and hundreds of others, including ordinary people, who were snooped on.

News Group acknowledged “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators” aimed at Harry. News Group had strongly denied those allegations before trial.

“This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them,” Sherborne said outside the High Court in London.

Wrongdoing alleged at the top

The bombshell announcement came after the trial’s start was postponed a day as last-minute settlement talks heated up outside court.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, and Tom Watson, a former Labour Party member of Parliament, were the only two remaining claimants out of more than 1,300 others who had settled lawsuits against News Group Newspapers over allegations their phones were hacked and investigators unlawfully intruded in their lives.

The company engaged in “perjury and cover-ups” to obscure the truth for years, deleting 30 million emails and other records, Harry and Watson said in a joint statement read by Sherborne.

“There was an extensive conspiracy,” the statement said, in which “senior executives deliberately obstructed justice.”

News Group said in a statement that it would have disputed at trial that evidence was destroyed and that it continues to deny those allegations.

While News Group had issued an unreserved apology for its wrongdoing at the shuttered News of the World, it had never done so at The Sun and had vehemently denied those allegations.

The statement read by Sherborne took aim at Rebekah Brooks, now the CEO overseeing News Group, who had been the editor at The Sun when she was acquitted at a criminal trial in a phone hacking case.

“At her trial in 2014, Rebekah Brooks said, ‘When I was editor of The Sun, we ran a clean ship,'” he said. “Ten years later when she is CEO of the company, they now admit, when she was editor of The Sun, they ran a criminal enterprise.”

News Group apologized for wrongdoing by private eyes hired by The Sun, but not for anything done by its journalists.

Two cases down, one to go

In all the cases that have been brought against the publisher since a widespread phone hacking scandal forced Murdoch to close News of the World in 2011, Harry’s case got the closest to trial.

Murdoch closed the paper after the Guardian reported that the tabloid’s reporters had in 2002 hacked the phone of Milly Dowler, a murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl, while police were searching for her.

Harry’s case against News Group was one of three he brought accusing British tabloids of violating his privacy by eavesdropping on phone messages or using private investigators to unlawfully help them score scoops.

His case against the publisher of the Daily Mirror ended in victory when the judge ruled that phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at the newspaper and its sister publications.

During that trial in 2023, Harry became the first senior member of the royal family to testify in court since the late 19th century, putting him at odds with the monarchy’s desire to keep its problems out of view.

The outcome in the News Group case raises questions about how his third case — against the publisher of the Daily Mail — will proceed. That trial is scheduled next year.

Source of a bitter feud

Harry’s feud with the press dates to his youth, when the tabloids took glee in reporting on everything from his injuries to his girlfriends to dabbling with drugs.

But his fury with the tabloids goes much deeper.

He blames the media for the death of his mother, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi in Paris. He also blames them for the persistent attacks on his wife, actor Meghan Markle, that led them to leave royal life and flee to the United States in 2020.

The litigation has been a source of friction in his family, Harry said in the documentary “Tabloids On Trial.”

He revealed in court papers that his father opposed his lawsuit. He also said his older brother, William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, had settled a private complaint against News Group that his lawyer has said was worth over 1 million pounds ($1.23 million).

“I’m doing this for my reasons,” Harry told the documentary makers, although he said he wished his family had joined him.

Harry was originally one among dozens of claimants, including actor Hugh Grant, who alleged that News Group journalists and investigators they hired violated their privacy between 1994 and 2016 by intercepting voicemails, tapping phones, bugging cars and using deception to access confidential information.
…

ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkey has detained nine people, including the owner of the hotel, in connection with a deadly fire that claimed the lives of 76 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in western Turkey, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said early Wednesday.

Yerlikaya also reported that the bodies of 45 victims had been handed over to their families, while DNA tests were being conducted to identify the remaining bodies at the forensic institute.

The fire occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in the Bolu mountains.

The hotel, where the fire broke out, expressed deep sorrow in a statement on Wednesday and pledged full cooperation with the investigation.

“We are cooperating with authorities to shed light on all aspects of this incident,” the statement said. “We are deeply saddened by the losses and want you to know that we share this pain with all our hearts.”

The 12-story hotel, which had 238 registered guests, was consumed by flames after the fire started on the restaurant floor around 3:30 a.m. local time or 0030 GMT. Survivors described scenes of panic as they fled through smoke-filled corridors and jumped from windows to escape.

Authorities are facing growing criticism over the hotel’s safety measures, as survivors reported that no fire alarms went off during the incident. Guests said they had to navigate the smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.

President Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday a day of national mourning following the tragedy, which occurred during the peak of the winter tourism season, with many families from Istanbul and Ankara traveling to the Bolu mountains for skiing.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the possibility of placing additional sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Asked about the prospect while speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump responded, “Sounds likely.”

Trump said his administration has been in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and would be speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon.”

He said the European Union should be “paying a lot more than they’re paying” to aid Ukraine, while falsely stating the U.S. has contributed $200 billion more than the EU.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has committed about $175 billion in aid for Ukraine. The European Union says the bloc and its member states have made about $145 billion in aid available.

Trump says Europe should be paying more because its proximity means the war has a greater effect on the EU than the United States.

“I mean, what are we, stupid? I guess the answer is yes, because they must think so,” Trump said.

He has previously complained that NATO allies are not allocating enough of their spending to defense and called for increased defense budget targets.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said during a speech Wednesday at an EU Defence Agency conference that, in terms of general defense spending, Trump is “right to say that we don’t spend enough,” and that the EU needs to invest more.

She called for the EU to provide “more, faster and stronger” support to Ukraine, saying that Ukrainians “are fighting for their freedom and ours.”

“There is absolutely no doubt that we can do more to help Ukraine,” Kallas said. “With our help, they can also win the war.”

Aerial attacks

Ukrainian officials said Wednesday the country’s air defenses shot down dozens of drones overnight, including in Mykolaiv where Governor Vitaliy Kim said falling debris damaged an apartment building and injured two people.

Officials in the Khmelnytskyi and Sumy regions also reported drones being shot down in their areas.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed six Ukrainian drones over the Rostov region, while also knocking down a drone over Kursk and another over Voronezh.

Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar said drone fragments fell in the courtyard of a house, but that no one was injured.

Ceasefire provisions

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that if a ceasefire deal were enacted with Russia, “at least 200,000 European peacekeepers” would need to be on the ground in Ukraine to defend the Eastern European country against a possible attack by Russia.

Zelenskyy said Europe must “take care of itself.” He said 200,000 peacekeepers from European countries would be the minimum number of peacekeepers required, “Otherwise, it’s nothing.”

“Let’s not forget, there is no ocean separating European countries from Russia,” Zelenskyy said in his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Ukraine’s president said Russia’s demand that Ukraine reduce its army to one-fifth of its current size of 800,000 is not an option. 

Ukraine’s best defense during a ceasefire deal, Zelenskyy said, would be its membership into NATO. 

Alliance members have declared the Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to membership, but the United States, Germany and others oppose allowing Ukraine to join while the war is ongoing for fear of sparking a wider conflict..

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
…

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would likely impose sanctions on Russia if its president, Vladimir Putin, refuses to negotiate about ending the war in Ukraine. 

Trump gave no details on possible additional sanctions. The United States has already sanctioned Russia heavily for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

Trump said his administration was also looking at the issue of sending weapons to Ukraine, adding his view that the European Union should be doing more to support Ukraine. 

“We’re talking to [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy; we’re going to be talking with President Putin very soon,” Trump said. “We’re going to look at it.” 

Trump said he had pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping in a call to intervene to stop the Ukraine war. 

“He’s not done very much on that. He’s got a lot of … power, like we have a lot of power. I said, ‘You ought to get it settled.’ We did discuss it.”  
…

U.S. President Donald Trump pledged Tuesday to hit the European Union with tariffs, adding that a 10% duty on Chinese imports could also come as soon as February 1. 

Trump, who was speaking to reporters at the White House a day after being sworn in, cited the need to rectify the EU’s trade imbalances with the United States while taking aim once again at Beijing over fentanyl trafficking. 

“They treat us very, very badly. So they’re going to be in for tariffs,” Trump said of the EU. “You can’t get fairness unless you do that.” 

A day earlier, Trump accused the bloc of not importing enough American products, saying he would “straighten that out” by imposing duties or by urging for more oil and gas purchases. 

Regarding China, Trump on Tuesday reiterated his threat to impose a 10% tariff, saying it was “based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada.” 

When asked how soon these tariffs could be enacted, he added: “Probably February 1st is the date we’re looking at.” 

This was the same date he earlier said he could impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, accusing them of failing to stop illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking into the United States. 

Mexico, Canada and China are leading sources for goods imported by the United States, according to official trade data. 

The EU’s economy commissioner vowed this week that the bloc stands ready to defend its interests. 

Speaking at an annual meeting of global elites in Davos, Switzerland, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen declared that Europe was ready to negotiate with Trump, while maintaining that Washington remains an important partner. 

The EU’s “first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interests, and be ready to negotiate” with Trump, she said. 

“We will be pragmatic, but we will always stand by our principles, to protect our interests and uphold our values,” she said. 

On Monday, Trump vowed an immediate overhaul of the U.S. trade system, promising to “tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.” 

He signed an order directing agencies to study a range of trade issues including deficits, unfair practices and currency manipulation. 

The investigations could pave the way for further duties. 
…

Russian lawyer practice could face existential risks after the recent guilty verdict against three lawyers who had represented late opposition leader Alexey Navalny in court. VOA Russian spoke to legal experts who voice concern about the ability of Russian activists to get proper legal representation in the future after Navalny lawyers got up to 5½ years in prison for essentially doing their job, something that did not happen even in the Soviet times.

Click here for the full story in Russian.
…

Six Kurdish journalists have been detained in Turkey, charged with being members of a “terrorist organization” with no word from their lawyers. Journalists and activists say opposition media outlets are being targeted more and more every day.

Click here for the full story in Kurdish.
…

Geneva — United Nations agencies say the imminent U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and Paris climate agreement will have serious consequences for global health and efforts to slow down climate change.

“The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the organization,” the WHO said Tuesday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration Monday that he intends to quit the U.N. health agency.

“WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go,” it stated.

In explaining his decision, Trump accused the agency of being subject to “inappropriate political influence” from other member states.  “World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” he said in signing an executive order Monday, hours after his inauguration.

In responding to the allegations, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told journalists at a briefing in Geneva Tuesday that the United States, which was one of the founding members of WHO in 1948, had over seven decades together with the WHO, “saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats.”

“Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication,” he said.

The United States is the WHO’s single largest donor. It contributed $1.284 billion or 18 percent of the agency’s 2022-2023 budget.

Jasaravic said the U.S. decision was not unexpected and the WHO was now analyzing the exact details of Trump’s executive order “to see how this will play out and to see what will be the consequences.”

He noted that the United States can formally leave the WHO and stop financing the organization one year after the United Nations receives official written notice of U.S. withdrawal.

He said the WHO hopes the United States will reconsider its decision and maintain the U.S.-WHO partnership “for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”

“At the same time, we will continue to work in the world’s most difficult places,” including countries in conflict, “so we can protect the most vulnerable and be where people need us the most,” he said.

“The world lives longer, healthier, perhaps a little bit happier because of WHO, which goes to places where others cannot go, including Gaza, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Sudan,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said in support of the beleaguered agency.

In the meantime, U.N. officials have called the U.S. decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement “a major disappointment,” noting that the world’s nations had adopted the accord because they recognized “the immense harm that climate change is already causing and the enormous opportunity that climate action presents.”

Antonio Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, said that it was “crucial that the United States remains a leader on environmental issues” in this critical decade for climate action.

The World Meteorological Organization has warned that “climate change is playing out, on an almost daily basis, through more extreme weather.”

A recent WMO report finds the last 10 years have been the hottest in recorded history, and that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with temperatures at about 1.55 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era.

“Every fraction of a degree of global warming has an impact on our economies and our lives,” Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson said, adding that “The U.S. accounts for the lion’s share of global economic losses from weather, climate and water-related hazards.”

According to the non-profit USAFacts, “nearly 40 percent of the billion-dollar climate events that have hit the U.S. since 1980 happened between 2017 and the present day.” The data-gathering organization says that “2023 had the most billion-dollar natural disaster events of any year to date.”

Nullis pointed out Tuesday that the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires are “estimated to be the most costly U.S. disaster on record.”

“Not all of these weather-related disasters, you know, have a connection with climate change.  We are not saying that…but climate change is an aggravating factor.  It is making our weather much more, much more extreme,” she said.  “So, you know, the need for the Paris Agreement is pretty obvious.”
…

NUUK, GREENLAND — U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his assertion Monday that the United States needs to take control of Greenland from Denmark in the interests of “international security.”

His repeated calls in recent weeks are raising concerns and stirring debate among the Arctic island’s 57,000-strong population as well as alarm among the United States’ European allies.

“Greenland is a wonderful place. We need it for international security. And I’m sure that Denmark will come along,” the president said.

“The people of Greenland are not happy with Denmark, as you know. I think they are happy with us. … My son and representatives went up there two weeks ago, and they like us. So, we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, hours after his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.

Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, on Jan. 7, where he handed out “Make America Great Again” baseball caps and had lunch with a group of locals before returning to the U.S. a few hours later.

At a press conference in Florida the same day, President-elect Trump said he refused to rule out using economic or military force to take control of Greenland.

‘Not for sale’

Denmark and its European allies have offered a cautious response, emphasising the need to respect international sovereignty while trying not to offend Trump.

Greenland already has a high degree of independence, although Denmark retains responsibility for the island’s security affairs.

Naaja Nathanielsen, a senior minister in Greenland’s autonomous government, gave a simple response to Trump’s comments.  “We are not a commodity. And we are not for sale,” she told VOA.

Nevertheless, Nathanielsen sees common ground with Washington.

“If you cut through the rhetoric, I hear two messages from the U.S.,” she said. “One is we need to look at the national security aspect, and we quite agree with the U.S. message in that point. We’ve been trying to advocate for that as well for some years. And the other perspective is, and the other message I hear is, we want to engage more in the Greenlandic mineral sector. And that is really, you know, kicking in an open door.”

Political change

Greenland is due to hold a general election by April at the latest. The government wants a simultaneous referendum on full independence from Denmark.

“Greenlanders themselves must decide what our future looks like,” Greenlandic Premier Mute Egede said during a live televised debate on Sunday with political leaders from Denmark and Greenland. “We have said very precisely that Greenland — and us in this country — do not want to be Americans. We don’t want to be Danes either. We are Greenlanders,” he said.

After centuries of Danish control, the political winds of change in Greenland are getting stronger, according to Arnaq Nielsen, opinion editor at Greenland’s weekly Sermitsiaq newspaper.

“Everything is about the visit of Trump Junior, and when you meet people, it’s all we talk about,” Nielsen told VOA in an interview at the Sermitsiaq newsroom in Nuuk.

“This situation is evolving so quickly. Now it’s about a lot more than the complicated relationship between Denmark and Greenland. Suddenly Trump Junior is here, and it all explodes. It’s hard to figure out what is going on.”

“It’s a small number of people here who are really happy that Trump Junior came to Greenland. And a small number of people really resent him coming here. But the large majority are not that loud because only the two extremes are being heard,” Nielsen said.

Social media

Those extremes are being amplified by social media. YouTube influencers have followed Trump Junior’s visit to Greenland, handing out American dollar bills to passers-by, along with baseball caps emblazoned with the slogan “Make Greenland Great Again.” The influencers are not associated with the Trump administration.

Several Greenlanders welcomed the unfamiliar visitors. Others have engaged in angry exchanges. A video posted online last week showed an unidentified local resident tearing up a U.S. currency note and stamping on a red Make Greenland Great Again baseball cap.

“Do you think you can buy us?” the man said.

Residents of Nuuk who spoke to VOA were divided over the global attention.

“I think we are in a terrible situation,” Nuuk resident Per Chemnitz said. “Our politicians are handling this totally wrong. They have been seduced by something so much bigger than they are able to handle. So, I don’t know where this will end. The worst thing that can happen is that we lose our relationship to Denmark.”

Aka Gronvold, who also lives in the Greenlandic capital, welcomed the Trumps’ intervention.

“Right now, Greenland has the attention of the whole world. That is really good, and it’s about time that Greenland gets some more attention.” Gronvold told VOA.

‘Make Greenland Great Again’

That attention looks set to continue. Republican lawmakers last week introduced a bill titled the Make Greenland Great Again Act, allowing President Trump to start talks with Denmark over purchasing Greenland. It’s not yet clear whether the bill will receive enough support from Congress.

Denmark has echoed Greenland’s assertion that the island is not for sale but said it would welcome greater cooperation with Trump in security and mineral extraction.

Controlling Greenland comes with a cost, noted analyst Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen of the Royal Danish Defense College.

“If the U.S. went in and were to acquire Greenland, they would suddenly also have to pay the bill for running Greenlandic society — a bill that’s being covered by the Danish government right now and which runs along the lines of U.S. $750 million to U.S. $1 billion a year,” Rahbek-Clemmensen said.

“[The U.S.] gets all its interests, and it doesn’t have to pay the bill. And so, geopolitically speaking, it doesn’t really make that much sense to change that situation. So, if I were to explain why Trump has an interest in Greenland… I would say that it probably has to do with the whole ideology of Make America Great Again,” he told VOA.

“In this situation. acquiring Greenland would literally make the U.S. greater — or at least bigger,” he said.
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