What the Greenland saga means for Europe

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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. There's plenty to read below, but first I recommend this story on grassroots activism among Minnesota's Somalis, the people President Donald Trump has described as garbage. Does the president have a case against JPMorgan for closing his accounts? Would you rather forget all about that and just take a trip to Lisbon?

What the Greenland saga means for Europe

REUTERS/Marko Djurica

New reality: Donald Trump may have backed off his threats to take Greenland by force and to hit European countries with tariffs, but Europe's leaders expect these kinds of issues to come up again. U.S. asset managers and corporate investors say they need to invest more in geopolitical risk analysis. One result of such risk: The price of silver surpassed $100 an ounce for the first time. Another: Big northern European investors are becoming wary of holding U.S. assets.
Umbrage: Trump and the U.S. reinforced fear and loathing among some guests at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos this week. Some said they felt a few of his positions on global issues had merit, but they were deeply offended by the way he and his team presented them. Canada's prime minister delivered an impassioned speech on what he called the rupture of the world order. Business leaders say that's not what's happening and that everybody needs to calm down.

Ukraine freezes as Russia talks yield no compromise

Territory: Russian airstrikes plunged Ukraine into its worst energy crisis since the war began while negotiators from both countries met under U.S. mediation in Abu Dhabi to tackle their dispute over territory. The CEO of Ukraine's top energy firm said power outages are bringing the situation "close to a humanitarian catastrophe."
Europe: Spain suffered four train accidents this week, including a high-speed collision in Andalusia that killed 45 people, leading to questions about whether rail-network maintenance is keeping up with demand. Prince Harry, Keir Starmer and others castigated Trump for accusing allies of shirking their front-line roles in Afghanistan. The owner of the Swiss bar that burned in a deadly New Year's Day fire was released on bail, prompting an outcry from victims' families and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Minnesotans hold economic strike to protest ICE

Closed: Scores of businesses shut their doors and workers went outside in extremely cold weather to protest Trump's deployment of ICE troops in Minneapolis. Vice President JD Vance defended ICE's actions, saying "far-left agitators" and uncooperative local officials are to blame for demonstrations in the city. A U.S. appeals court lifted a lower court's order that restrained federal officers from arresting or tear-gassing peaceful protesters.
Politics: Some Republicans worry that the ICE deployments could turn voters off in November's congressional midterm elections, while Democrats are concerned that calls in their party for ICE's abolition could hurt their chances among voters who are concerned about immigration and border security.

U.S. threatens to starve Iraq of its oil money

Influence: The U.S. warned of sanctions on its oil revenue if it included armed groups backed by Iran in Baghdad's next government. The U.S. also sanctioned nine vessels in Iran's shadow tanker fleet to put pressure on Tehran after the recent killing of protesters. Several U.S. guided-missile destroyers and an aircraft carrier are heading toward the region, U.S. officials said.
Syria: The government seized large portions of territory held by Kurdish fighters after reaching a deal for Kurdish civilian and military authorities to come under Damascus' control. Forces from each side massed on the front lines as an evening deadline approaches to determine whether they resume fighting.

Amazon plans another round of layoffs

Second strike: The 30,000 jobs on the block amount to 10% of Amazon's corporate workforce. It put an earlier round of 14,000 cuts down to AI, but CEO Andy Jassy later told financial analysts that the reduction was about culture – read "bloat" – and not about artificial intelligence.
Jobs, jobs, jobs: Business leaders at Davos predicted that AI will herald higher pay and more jobs for electricians, plumbers and steelworkers. Some delegates countered that AI could lead consumers to psychosis and suicide, while labor leaders questioned the costs of recent technology gains.

Before I forget…

Nearly half the U.S. population is expecting a winter storm by Sunday and Monday that brings the threat of power outages and icy roads.
China is investigating senior military officials, including Xi Jinping's closest military ally, for what it called serious violations of discipline and law.
The fire that killed at least 67 people and burned a mall to the ground in Karachi came after years of ignored warnings and a delayed response.
Police in Indian Kashmir asked journalists to sign a pledge to not "disturb peace" in the region. A journalism advocate said it is part of a pattern of intimidation against the press.
French investigators are probing the deaths of two infants who were fed infant formula that was subject to a recall.
An Australian boy aged 12 died after being bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour.
Manchester City players will pay back ticket costs to fans who traveled with them to Norway, only to see them lose 3-1 in Arctic weather to the Bodø/Glimt soccer team.

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