All the barriers to rare earth mining in Greenland
Donald Trump wants to dismantle China’s near-monopoly on the supply of rare earths

© AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump wants to dismantle China’s near-monopoly on the supply of rare earths

© AFP via Getty Images
Move comes as calls for Australia-style social media ban for under-16s grow around world
TikTok will begin to roll out new age-verification technology across the EU in the coming weeks, as calls for an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s grow in countries including the UK.
ByteDance-owned TikTok, and other major platforms popular with young people such as YouTube, are coming under increasing pressure to better identify and remove accounts belonging to children.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

© Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

© Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters
Find swoon-worthy stays from Vienna to the Lake District with these loved-up packages

© Getty Images

Women allege Spanish singer subjected them ‘to inappropriate touching, insults and humiliation … in atmosphere of control’
The Spanish singer Julio Iglesias has broken his silence over allegations that he sexually abused two women who worked in his Caribbean mansions, saying he has never “abused, coerced or disrespected any woman”.
The 82-year-old entertainer, whose career spans six decades, had been accused by two female former employees who allege they had been sexually assaulted and subjected “to inappropriate touching, insults and humiliation … in an atmosphere of control and constant harassment”.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Carlos Giusti/AP

© Photograph: Carlos Giusti/AP

© Photograph: Carlos Giusti/AP
Exclusive: Jesse Binnall and Joe Flynn, who campaigned to overturn 2020 election, seek to win Bosnia deal for little-known US firm
Leading members of Donald Trump’s campaign to overturn the 2020 presidential election are seeking a huge European pipeline contract, the latest figures from the US president’s circle to mix business and geopolitics.
Jesse Binnall, a lawyer who worked on legal actions advancing Trump’s baseless claim that the vote was stolen from him, and Joe Flynn, who also sought to undermine Joe Biden’s victory, have been in Bosnia this week to discuss the project.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: RooM the Agency/Alamy

© Photograph: RooM the Agency/Alamy

© Photograph: RooM the Agency/Alamy
Previous visits left Matt Charlton feeling that the City of Light was a crowded, rude and soulless place, but a trip to the We Love Green festival allowed him to get under the skin of the French capital and uncover an alternative side with small gigs, artisan shops and excellent vegetarian food

© Matt Charlton
Putin's relentless attacks show Russia is not interested in peace, Zelensky says

© REUTERS
Carl Schmitt wanted empires that dominated the small countries in their orbits. But the US president’s chaotic actions are not that strategic
It is axiomatic to many of his critics that the US president, Donald Trump, is a fascist. Indeed, some have seen echoes of the work of the Nazis’ “crown jurist” and political theorist, Carl Schmitt, in the Trump administration’s domestic policies, particularly his doctrine of “the exception”, which can be used to suspend certain constitutional rights. After a tumultuous few weeks in geopolitics, his work is being discussed for its contemporary relevance again.
In the wake of the release of the new US National Security Strategy in 2025, its raid on Venezuela, the president’s rhetoric on Greenland, Panama, Colombia, Mexico and Cuba, and his apparent indulgence towards Vladimir Putin’s Russia, the question now being asked is whether Trump is also an advocate of aspects of Schmitt’s concept of “great space”.
Brendan Simms is director of the Centre for Geopolitics at Cambridge University and author of Hitler: Only the World Was Enough
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Andrew Thomas/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Andrew Thomas/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Andrew Thomas/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and France’s Marine Le Pen among figures showing support for Hungary’s prime minister
Rightwing leaders from around the world have come together to endorse Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, hinting at the symbolism that the country’s elections hold for global far-right movements even as the populist leader lags in the polls.
A campaign video published online by Orbán this week includes endorsements from nearly a dozen leaders including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini, France’s Marine Le Pen and Germany’s Alice Weidel.
Continue reading...
© Composite: Instagram

© Composite: Instagram

© Composite: Instagram
The North Macedonian town celebrated the 1,400-year-old festival over two days. The part-pagan, part-satire carnival is believed to scare away evil spirits, and marks the beginning of the Julian calendar’s New Year.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Many cities have been plunged into darkness and sub-zero temperatures by Russian assaults

© AFP via Getty Images
Response crews at work following strikes in Ukraine’s second city as Britain commits £20m after Zelenskyy declares energy emergency. What we know on day 1,423
Russian forces destroyed a large energy facility in Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, the mayor said on Thursday, the latest target of a winter air campaign by Moscow that has plunged millions of Ukrainians into darkness and cold. Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that emergency crews were working around the clock, while he did not specify what sort of facility had been hit. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said officials were assessing the extent of damage.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy proceeded with a drive to tackle the damage inflicted by Russian strikes, chairing a meeting aimed at securing quick decisions from regional leaders. The Ukrainian president said there had been new strikes on the capital into the evening. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said about 300 apartment buildings remained without heat after a 9 January attack knocked out heating to half the city’s high-rises.
The UK on Friday announced new emergency energy support of £20m ($27m) for Ukraine after Zelenskyy declared a state of emergency following sustained attacks on the country’s power infrastructure. He acted as emergency crews worked to restore heating and electricity in Kyiv and other cities after last week’s attacks by Russia knocked out supplies during sub-zero temperatures. The British support includes funding aimed at keeping electricity and heating on in homes, hospitals and schools across winter.
The Ukrainian prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, introduced measures to deal with power and heating outages, reducing overnight curfews and allowing businesses and government institutions to import more power. School holidays in Kyiv were extended until 1 February. Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the foreign and energy ministries had organised an appeal for funds to help tackle Ukraine’s energy problems, similar to periodic meetings on arms supplies. Norway, he said, had made an initial grant of $200m.
The International Monetary Fund chief, Kristalina Georgieva, met with Zelenskyy and other top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv in a surprise visit on Thursday, telling Reuters she expected to send a new $8.1bn lending program to the fund’s board for approval in coming weeks. The program would help to unlock funds from other institutions for the country, said Georgieva, on her first visit to Ukraine since 2023. During her trip to the capital – kept secret until her arrival by train before dawn – she honoured fallen soldiers and inspected energy infrastructure hit by Russian strikes.
Anti-corruption investigators have reportedly accused Yulia Tymoshenko, the prominent Ukrainian opposition figure and former prime minister, of organising a scheme to bribe MPs – said to include figures from Zelenskyy’s own party – to undermine him. A spokesperson for the specialised anti-corruption prosecutor’s office (Sapo) said on Wednesday that Tymoshenko had been charged after the offices of her Fatherland party were raided late on Tuesday night by officers from Sapo and the national anti-corruption bureau, report Peter Beaumont and Artem Mazhulin. Tymoshenko has not been formally identified but she released a statement denying any accusations.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine. Rutte posted on X that they talked on Thursday “about the energy situation in Ukraine, with Russia’s attacks causing terrible human suffering, as well as on the ongoing efforts to bring an end to the war”. He also said: “We’re committed to ensuring that Ukraine continues to get the crucial support needed to defend today and ultimately secure a lasting peace.” In his account of the conversation, Zelenskyy said he discussed the “serious challenges” posed by the latest Russian strikes and the need to bolster Ukraine’s air defences.
Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukraine was not an obstacle to peace, pushing back against comments made a day earlier by Donald Trump. “We also talked about diplomatic work with America – Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to peace,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly video address.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images
Lesbos court clears aid workers of people smuggling, a move Human Rights Watch called a vindication of their lifesaving activities at sea
Two dozen aid workers, who had faced up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of smuggling migrants into Greece, have been acquitted by a court on Lesbos.
The verdict was met with cheers, tears and cries of jubilation as the presiding judge announced the words that would end a seven-year legal ordeal for the humanitarians. All 24 had engaged in rescue work on the Aegean island at the height of the refugee crisis.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Elias Marcou/Reuters

© Photograph: Elias Marcou/Reuters

© Photograph: Elias Marcou/Reuters