French president urges ‘rule of law over brutality’ in a thinly veiled takedown from Davos, hours after the US president launches yet another attack on Nato allies with a rant against Keir Starmer's Chagos deal

US president says there is ‘no going back’ on goal of controlling Arctic territory as Emmanuel Macron leads European resistance

European leaders have lined up to condemn Donald Trump’s “new colonialism” and warn that the continent was facing a crossroads as the US president said there was no going back on his goal of controlling Greenland.

After weeks of aggressive threats by Trump to seize the vast Arctic island, which is a largely autonomous part of Denmark, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said on Tuesday he preferred “respect to bullies” and the “rule of law to brutality”.

Child was on way home from a musical with parents, brother and cousin when trains collided, killing 42 people

A six-year-old girl who had travelled to Madrid to see a musical was the only member of her family to survive Sunday’s rail disaster in southern Spain, which killed 42 people, among them her parents, her brother and her cousin.

The girl, who has not been named, was found walking along the tracks after two trains collided near the town of Adamuz in the Córdoba province of Andalucía. She had emerged from the accident with only a minor head wound.

A Paris appeals court will decide if Marine Le Pen can stand in next year’s presidential election. But legal troubles have not damaged the fortunes of her party

In a Paris courtroom, the first act of the 2027 French presidential election is already under way. On Tuesday Marine Le Pen began to answer judges’ questions in her appeal against a conviction relating to the embezzlement of European parliament funds. If she wins, the far-right leader will be free to run for the presidency for a fourth time. If the sentence is upheld, her 30-year-old protege, Jordan Bardella, is almost certain to take her place in the race.

Having presented the original verdict as an assault on democracy by judges bent on thwarting her political ambitions, Ms Le Pen has softened her stance. If the appeals court is swayed by arguments that offences committed by her National Rally party were inadvertent, a five-year ban on running for public office may be reduced or overturned. Even if she loses, however, her political opponents may not be inclined to celebrate too enthusiastically.

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French far-right leader denies existence of fake jobs ‘system’ in effort to overturn ban on running for president

The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has told a Paris appeals court there was no “system” set up by her party to misuse European parliament funds, as she gave evidence in a fresh embezzlement trial that will determine whether she can run in the 2027 presidential election.

“The word ‘system’ bothers me because [it gives] the impression of a manipulation,” Le Pen said on Tuesday, denying she had told members of the European parliament to hire assistants who instead worked for the party headquarters in Paris.

Labour must urgently seek new roles and alliances, while also enhancing the UK’s own military capabilities

• Stella Creasy is chair of the Labour Movement for Europe

If the threats of Donald Trump prove anything, it is that the mantra of “shared values” with his administration is as much use as a chocolate teapot. Countries across the world are scrambling to adjust. Canada has announced a trade realignment towards China – and talk grows of counter-sanctions in Europe. If the UK wants to avoid being caught in the crossfire, there really is only one alternative: to finally take the brakes off rebuilding our common future in Europe.

In the past few weeks, Nato has suffered life-changing injuries. This should not be surprising, given the repeated signals from Washington, from the anti-European screed in Trump’s National Security Strategy to the harassment of President Zelenskyy at the White House. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time and act accordingly.

Stella Creasy is chair of the Labour Movement for Europe and the Labour and Cooperative MP for Walthamstow

Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has amassed extensive battlefield intelligence

Hundreds of passengers were on board the trains before the high-speed collision that has claimed at least 41 lives

Increasingly unpopular at home, a president obsessed by his legacy has turned his scattergun on the world stage

One year into the second Trump administration, an actual US foreign policy remains just a nice idea. Instead, the world has been forced to adapt to the world according to Donald Trump: one increasingly shaped by his erratic shifts and unpredictable decisions, his fury at perceived slights and his growing desire to stamp his legacy in the model of an imperial leader from centuries past.

Think of it as the mad king’s court, where every day is a carnival.

Punta Umbria has declared three days of mourning for victims