Category: World

Could Trump's bid to become peacemaker-in-chief sideline the struggling UN?9 hours agoShareSaveLyse DoucetChief international correspondentShareSaveBBC”Together we are in a position to… end decades of suffering, stop generations of hatred and bloodshed, and forge a beautiful, everlasting and glorious peace for that region and for the whole region of the world.”
Such was the soaring promise of US President Donald Trump as he inaugurated his new Board of Peace on the stage of stages that is the Davos Economic Forum this week.
The world of all too much suffering and strife badly wants to believe him.
But for many observers and officials in capitals the world over, it is yet more proof of Trump's drive to dismantle the post-war international architecture and replace it with new institutions – dominated by him.
“We will not let anyone play us,” Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned tersely on social media.
ReutersThe idea – born last year in US-led efforts to end the war..

Trump says 'framework of a future deal' discussed on Greenland as he backs off tariffs threat3 hours agoShareSaveBernd Debusmann JrWhite House reporterShareSaveWatch: The BBC's Faisal Islam on how Trump's Davos speech was receivedPresident Donald Trump says the US is exploring a potential deal on Greenland after talks with Nato as he backed off threats to tariff European allies that had opposed his plans for America to acquire the island.
On social media, Trump offered few details about a discussion that both he and Nato described as “very productive”.
After rattling the transatlantic alliance with weeks of rhetoric, the US president said the meeting had led to the “framework” of a potential agreement.
But there was no suggestion of a deal that might meet Trump's demand for “ownership” of Greenland, an ambition he restated at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, while also ruling out military force.
On Truth Social on Wednesday, the US president said: “We..

Trump's jibes are wearing thin for many of Europe's leaders11 hours agoShareSaveNick BeakeEurope correspondent, BrusselsShareSaveAFP via Getty ImagesDonald Trump delivered a wide-ranging speech at the Davos summit in Switzerland”Without us, right now you'd all be speaking German,” President Donald Trump told his audience at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps on Wednesday.
He may well have forgotten German is the most widely spoken of the four official languages in Switzerland.
Many people – from Brussels to Berlin to Paris – will have found his speech to be insulting, overbearing and inaccurate.
In it, he presented the idea that Europe is careering down the wrong path. That is a theme Trump has frequently explored, but it has a different impact when delivered on European soil to the faces of supposed friends and allies.
There is undoubtedly huge relief across Europe that the US president ruled out the use of military force to take Greenland at the forum in Davos…

Trump doubles down on Greenland ahead of Davos visit, saying there is 'no going back'7 minutes agoShareSaveTabby WilsonShareSaveWatch: BBC asks if breakup of Nato is price Trump willing to pay for GreenlandUS President Donald Trump has doubled down on his threats to take control of Greenland, saying there is “no going back”.
Asked at a news conference how far he was willing to go to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory, he replied: “You'll find out.”
It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron warned of a “shift towards a world without rules”, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the “old order is not coming back”.
Trump was due to arrive in Davos ahead of his speech at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, but a minor electrical issue on Air Force One forced the plane to turn around.
It was unclear how the delay would impact his schedule. The White House said the plane turned around and that Trump would fly to Switzerland on another aircraft.
Trump..

Lyse Doucet: Trump is shaking the world order more than any president since WW211 hours agoShareSaveLyse DoucetChief international correspondentShareSaveWatch: BBC asks Trump if breakup of Nato is price he is willing to pay for GreenlandOn day one, he put the world on notice.
“Nothing will stand in our way,” President Donald Trump declared, to thunderous applause, as he ended his inauguration speech in a cold Washington winter on this day last year, at the start of his second term.
Did the world fail to take enough notice?
Tucked into his speech was a mention of the 19th Century doctrine of “manifest destiny” – the idea that the US was divinely ordained to expand its territory across the continent, spreading American ideals.
At that moment, the Panama Canal was in his sights. “We're taking it back,” Trump announced.
Now that same declaration, expressed with absolute resolve, is directed at Greenland.
“We have to have it,” is the new mantra. It's a rude awakening in a momen..