World, US, Culture, Market, and Sci-Tech News Aggregation from MSM and Independent News
Representatives from the Danish government and Greenland met with senior officials from the Trump administration to discuss the future of Greenland.
It comes amid President Donald Trump’s renewed push for U.S. control of the Arctic territory.
The meeting took place on Wednesday at the White House in Washington, D.C., and lasted approximately one hour.
Representing the United States were Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who hosted the discussions.
As the unrest grows in Iran, the regime has been employing increasingly brutal actions to quell the nationwide uprising.
The protests, which began on December 28, have grown in intensity over recent weeks as tens of thousands of Iranian citizens took to the streets to protest against the regime over economic woes and its oppressive policies.
The situation on the ground remains volatile, marked by the regime’s killings of thousands of protesters, an internet blackout, and escalating tensions with the United States.
President Donald Trump has issued several threats against the regime, indicating Washington might take military action of the regime continues killing its citizens. Iran has threatened to retaliate if this happens, according to Reuters.
The United States is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbours it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.
With Iran’s leadership trying to quell the worst domestic unrest the Islamic Republic has ever faced, Tehran is seeking to deter U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters.
The U.N. Security Council is due to meet on Iran on Thursday at the request of the United States.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was pulling some personnel from key bases in the region as a precaution given heightened regional tensions.
European nations are sending small numbers of troops to Greenland after President Donald Trump labeled anything less that having Greenland under U.S. control “unacceptable.”
Germany, Sweden, France, and Norway are sending troops, according to CNN.
Canada and France have indicated they will open consulates in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
“At Denmark’s request, I have decided that France will participate in the joint exercises organised by Denmark in Greenland, Operation Arctic Endurance,” French President Emmanuel Macron posted Wednesday on X.
“The first French military elements are already en route. Others will follow,” he posted.
Leavitt’s briefing comes as President Donald Trump meets with the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at 12:30 p.m. at the White House. Trump has backed interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez following the United States’s ouster of former dictator Nicolas Maduro, instead of immediately supporting a regime change led by Machado.
Also on the foreign policy front, Leavitt is likely to face questions from reporters on the administration’s goals in Iran and Greenland. The briefing may also cover Trump’s newly announced “Great Healthcare Plan,” which he outlined for Congress.
GENEVA: The United Nations demanded on Tuesday (Jan 13) a swift and independent investigation after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a protester in the US city of Minneapolis last week.
The UN rights office voiced deep concern at the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who was shot dead in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in the Midwestern city last Wednesday.
“Under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a measure of last resort against an individual representing an imminent threat to life,” UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva.
North Korea’s Kim shakes up security detail amid ‘decapitation’ fears inkl
from news.google.com
Taiwan has deployed coastguard vessels after four Chinese boats entered waters near Kinmen Island, sparking further fears over an invasion. The Coast Guard Administration condemned China’s attempt to use routine gray-zone conflict tactics to create false information about its jurisdiction, seriously undermining regional peace and stability.
According to Taiwan’s Coast Guard, the Kinmen‑Matsu‑Penghu Branch, unusual activity was seen near Kinmen in the afternoon. In a press statement, it explained that around 2 pm, personnel in the 12th Patrol District detected Chinese Coast Guard ships gathering in two separate areas just off Kinmen’s southern coastline. In response, Taiwan’s Coast Guard quickly sent out its own patrol vessels, moving them into nearby restricted waters so they would be in position ahead of any potential developments.
President Donald Trump earlier signaled support for protests in the Islamic Republic and threatened new strikes
The US has opened a new air and missile defense coordination cell at a key airbase in Qatar amid rising tensions with Iran and President Donald Trump’s promises to assist protesters in the Islamic Republic.
In a statement on Tuesday, US Central Command said the facility at the Al Udeid Air Base, which houses some 10,000 troops, will be comprised of American and allied personnel and seeks to “enhance integrated air and missile defense.” The new cell is also intended to tighten information-sharing, threat warning, drills and joint responses for air and missile defense, US officials said.
Reuters reported, citing three unnamed diplomats, that some personnel had been advised to leave the base by Wednesday evening for unknown reasons. The agency noted that the US took the same measures ahead of strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last summer, while the Al Udeid Air Base came under a retaliatory attack from Tehran at the time.
The move comes amid soaring US-Iran tensions, with Trump offering symbolic support for the riots, which began in late December as protests over the sharp devaluation of the Iranian rial and the sanctioned country’s cost-of-living crisis. The US president, in particular, has urged Iranians to keep protesting and said “HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” while also warning of “very strong” action in case of a harsh crackdown on rioters. At the same time, Trump did not rule out talks with Iran.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran did not seek war but was prepared for it, and Iranian officials have warned neighboring states that host US forces that they could face retaliation if Washington attacks. Officials in Tehran have also insisted that the US and Israel had had a “big hand” in fostering the current protests.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar have privately pressed Washington not to strike Iran, warning that a conflict could trigger severe regional instability and disrupt oil markets, the Wall Street Journal reported.
You can share this story on social media:
from www.rt.com
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has declared that the communist regime would defend itself “to the last drop of blood” before making a deal with the United States.
Bermúdez responded defiantly to pressure from President Donald Trump, who urged Havana to strike a deal with Washington.
Trump addressed Cuba earlier in the day in a Truth Social post, warning the regime to negotiate while it still can and signaling a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward the island.
“They make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” Trump wrote.
A train derailed in northeastern Thailand on Wednesday after a construction crane fell on three of its carriages, killing at least 25 people and injuring about 80, police said.
The accident took place on Wednesday morning in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230 km northeast of Bangkok, on a train from the capital bound for Ubon Ratchathani province.
“The death toll has now reached 25. The search for more bodies is ongoing,” Police Colonel Thatchapon Chinnawong told Reuters by phone.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said in a statement that there were 195 people on board, adding that he had ordered a thorough investigation to be carried out.
Trump’s 25% ‘Iran tax’ goes global: Who are key trading partners now in line of fire? The Indian Express
from news.google.com
Scott Adams, whose popular comic strip Dilbert captured the frustration of beleaguered, white-collar cubicle workers and satirised the ridiculousness of modern office culture until he was abruptly dropped from syndication in 2023 for racist remarks, has died. He was 68.
His first ex-wife, Shelly Miles, announced the death Tuesday (Jan 13) on a livestream posted on Adams’ social media accounts. “He’s not with us right anymore,” she said. Adams revealed in 2025 that he had prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. Miles had said he was in hospice care in his Northern California home on Monday.
“I had an amazing life,” the statement said in part. “I gave it everything I had.”
At its height, Dilbert, with its mouthless, bespectacled hero in a white short-sleeved shirt and a perpetually curled red tie, appeared in 2,000 newspapers worldwide in at least 70 countries and 25 languages.
The political heavyweight is seeking to overturn a five-year ban on holding office
Veteran French politician Marine Le Pen appeared in court on Tuesday to appeal a ruling that bars her from holding office for five years, effectively sidelining her from the 2027 presidential race, where she had long been seen as the leading candidate.
Le Pen, who was convicted last year of misappropriating EU funds, told the court that she had done nothing wrong.
RT examines what is at stake.
Labour rebel threatens to trigger by-election unless Starmer drops jury reforms Nation.Cymru
from news.google.com
Keir Starmer to ‘approve Chinese mega-embassy’ after security concerns The Sun
from news.google.com
Kiano Vafaeian suffered from diabetes, vision impairment, and mental illness.
A 26-year-old man who sought Canada’s state-assisted suicide program after becoming depressed over losing his eyesight has now died.
Kiano Vafaeian suffered from diabetes, vision impairment, and mental illness. His case gained attention on social media after being highlighted by Billboard Chris, who shared details of Vafaeian’s death and his family’s objections to the process.
Vafaeian’s mother, Maersilla Vafaeian, wrote in a Facebook post that she had previously been able to stop her son from undergoing euthanasia and secure help for him when he was vulnerable.
Keir Starmer warned he’s being manipulated by China in ‘spy hub’ plan Daily Express
from news.google.com
BRASILIA: Brazil’s Supreme Court has rejected former president Jair Bolsonaro’s request to convert his prison sentence for plotting a coup to house arrest, according to a ruling published Thursday (Jan 1).
Bolsonaro’s lawyers submitted the request Wednesday, citing a “real risk of a sudden worsening” in health for the far-right ex-leader as the reason to serve his 27-year sentence at home.
Bolsonaro, 70, has been hospitalised for more than a week after undergoing surgery for a groin hernia and then a procedure to treat recurring bouts of hiccups.
“Contrary to what the defense alleges, there has been no worsening of Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s health condition”, judge Alexandre de Moraes stated in his decision.
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a bar in a Swiss Alps resort town during a New Year’s celebration, police said Thursday.
“Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said during a news conference.
Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure,” Gisler said, adding that the community is “devastated.”
Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.
The BBC will file a motion to dismiss U.S. President Donald Trump‘s $10-billion lawsuit over its editing of a speech that made it appear he had directed supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol.
Court documents published late on Monday showed the broadcaster would argue that the court in Florida lacked personal jurisdiction in the case because it did not broadcast the program in the state, and that the president could not prove damages because he was re-elected after it aired.
Canadian PM visits Beijing as questions loom between China & Taiwan WGXA
from news.google.com
Iranian protesters are burning the tomb of Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic revolution in Iran in ’79.
🚨🇮🇷 ÚLTIMA HORA: Los manifestantes iraníes están quemando la tumba de Jomeini, el fundador de la revolución islámica en Irán en el 79.
¡¡Esto es INCREÍBLE!! pic.twitter.com/J7CoZfNgFB
— Isaac (@isaacrrr7) January 9, 2026
The leftwing media loved him.
New York Times actively promoted Ayatollah Khomeini and begged the world to “trust him” in 1979.
Do not be surprised by this. https://t.co/c5tvAn2RgW pic.twitter.com/d6DGeC0PyO
— ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) December 31, 2025
The saga of President Donald Trump’s quest for Greenland continues with a new chapter.
Over the last few days, I noted that Trump has stressed that a more robust relationship with Greenland is a national security issue. Then, both Greenland and Denmark asked to fast-track a meeting with our very busy Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
It now appears Rubio is scheduled to meet with Danish officials next week.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he plans to meet with Danish officials next week after the Trump administration doubled down on its intention to take over Greenland, the strategic Arctic island that is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Since the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump has revived his argument that the United States needs to control the world’s largest island to ensure its own security in the face of rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic.
In the early hours of Jan. 3, 2026, President Trump directed a smooth, targeted operation to arrest Nicolás Maduro for numerous drug-related crimes.
The usual suspects (the regressive left, the Democrat party, Thomas Massie, and Sloppy Steve Bannon) are complaining that Trump took an illegal action, an act of war that requires Congress’s approval.
But here’s the truth: The United States military enforced a DOJ indictment, and the United States government has done this before.
The United States has resisted evil leaders with similar boldness.
In 2005, President George W. Bush talked about an “Axis of Evil” waging terror and rampaging war around the world: Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. Twenty years later, that Axis of Evil has expanded, including China, Russia, and Venezuela.
Adams, who rose to fame in the 1990s with his satirical take on white-collar office life, had been receiving hospice care at his home in northern California after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Ex-wife Shelly Miles announced his passing in an emotional, live-streamed message on Adams’s YouTube channel, “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.”
US President Donald Trump paid tribute to Adams as a “great influencer” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“He was a fantastic guy, who liked and respected me when it wasn’t fashionable to do so,” Trump wrote. Adams endorsed Trump before his 2016 election win.
GOP Rep. Don Bacon (R) joined House Democrats to introduce legislation seeking to preemptively block President Trump from using military force to acquire Greenland — a prospect the president has declined to rule out amid renewed interest in the Danish territory. The “No Funds for NATO Invasion Act,” introduced Monday, would prohibit the use of…
from thehill.com
House Republicans are finally coalescing around a long-promised ban on stock trading by members of Congress. On Monday, they introduced the Stop Insider Trading Act, a leadership-backed bill from Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) that would ban members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependents from making new purchases of individual stocks. It would also require a seven-day public notification before making any stock sales.
However, the bill would leave another major ethical issue untouched. It would allow members to continue holding and profiting from stocks they already own, even in cases when those holdings create direct conflicts of interest with the committees they oversee or the legislation they are in charge of shaping.
from news.google.com
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Tuesday that the Arctic island chooses Denmark over the U.S., pushing back against Donald Trump‘s repeated takeover threats.
“If we have to choose between the USA and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark and the EU,” Nielsen said, according to translated comments reported by Danish public broadcaster DR.
He was speaking alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at a news conference in Copenhagen, ahead of crunch talks between U.S., Danish and Greenlandic officials at the White House on Wednesday.
“The time has come to stand together,” Nielsen added.
“It has not been easy to stand up to completely unacceptable pressure from our closest allies for a lifetime. But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us,” Frederiksen said.
President Trump said Tuesday he’s canceled talks with Iranian officials amid a protest crackdown, telling Iranian citizens “help is on its way.”
Trump did not offer any details about what the help would entail, but it comes after the Republican president earlier this week said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic that has killed more than 2,000, according to human right monitors.
But Trump with his latest message on social media appeared to make an abrupt shift about his willingness to engage with the Iranian government.
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump wrote in a morning post on Truth Social. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”
The president has repeatedly threatened Tehran with military action if his administration finds the Islamic Republic is using deadly force against antigovernment protesters, but he has not said whether he has made a decision on a response.
from www.denverpost.com