Politics
Trump threatens tariffs on nations opposing Greenland takeover
- US lawmakers visit Denmark to back Copenhagen and Greenland.
- Denmark strongly rejects Trump’s takeover idea.
- Lawmakers say most Americans do not support plan.
COPENHAGEN: US President 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 to 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.
GENEVA: The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said that killings such as the reported death of Ali Khamenei raise serious concerns under international human rights law.
Speaking to reporters, Turk said that from a human rights perspective, any form of killing is unacceptable.
“From a human rights perspective, any killing of anyone is not in the interest of international human rights law,” he said.
Strike on Girls’ School Raises Concern
Turk also addressed reports of a strike on a girls’ school in Minab, a city in southern Iran, during the first day of US and Israeli attacks.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, claimed that the attack killed around 150 students, although the figure has not been independently verified.
The UN rights chief stressed that schools are civilian institutions and should never be targeted during armed conflicts.
Call for Independent Investigation
Turk called for an impartial investigation into the incident to determine the circumstances surrounding the strike, including the type of weapon used and the timing of the attack.
He said responsibility now lies with those who carried out the strikes to ensure a transparent inquiry.
Meanwhile, US officials told media that military investigators are examining the possibility that American forces were responsible, though the investigation has not yet reached a final conclusion.
The incident has intensified international concern about civilian casualties and humanitarian law violations as the conflict in the region continues to escalate.
WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department published additional FBI documents describing interviews with a woman who said President Donald Trump sexually assaulted her after she was introduced to him by Jeffrey Epstein.
The documents had not been made public under previous congressionally-mandated file releases related to the late convicted sex offender because they were mistakenly marked “duplicative,” the department said.
Democrats are investigating the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files.
The documents released include descriptions of multiple 2019 interviews the FBI held with the woman, who alleged she was assaulted by both Epstein and Trump while she was between 13 and 15 years old.
In one interview, the woman said Epstein took her to “either New York or New Jersey” and introduced her to Trump.
The woman said she and people close to her received threatening calls over the years demanding she keep quiet that she believed were related to Epstein.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to the Epstein allegations, and the Justice Department previously said some of the documents it has released “contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump.”
Democrats have accused the Trump administration of covering up details of the Epstein investigation that could negatively impact Trump.
On Wednesday, a House committee voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions about the Justice Department´s handling of the documents.
- Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet crashes during training.
- Jet went missing after taking off from Jorhat airbase.
- Dead pilots identified as Sq Ldr Anuj, Flight Lieutenant Duragkar.
Two pilots from the Indian Air Force (IAF) were killed after a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet crashed in India’s northeastern state of Assam, NDTV reported, citing officials.
The Indian Air Force said on Friday that a fighter jet, which was on a training mission, crashed in the northeast Indian state of Assam.
“The Su-30MKI, which was on a training mission, crashed in the area of Karbi Anglong, Assam, approx 60 km from Jorhat,” the Indian Air Force said on X.
The aircraft had gone missing shortly after taking off from the Jorhat airbase. Communication with the Russian-origin fighter jet was lost at 7:42pm, according to officials.
The crash occurred in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, around 60 kilometres from the airbase. The aircraft reportedly went down in a remote hilly area.
The IAF identified the deceased pilots as Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar.
“All personnel of the IAF express sincere condolences, and stand firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief,” the Air Force said in a post on X.
Local residents in the area said they heard a loud explosion from a nearby hill and saw a ball of fire shortly afterwards.
India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of the two pilots in the “tragic” crash.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a two-seater, long-range fighter aircraft developed by Russian manufacturer Sukhoi. It is produced under licence in India by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the IAF.
The aircraft was first inducted into the Indian Air Force in 1997, and the service currently operates a fleet of more than 260 Su-30MKI jets.
Similar incidents have occurred in recent years. A Sukhoi fighter jet crashed in Nashik, Maharashtra, in June 2024, while another Su-30 aircraft crashed in January 2023 shortly after taking off from the Gwalior airbase in Madhya Pradesh.
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