G7 Finance Ministers to Thrash Out Ukraine Aid Plan

Finance ministers of G7 nations alongside other officials pose for a photo at Lancaster House in London on June 5, 2021. Henry Nicholls, AP
Finance ministers of G7 nations alongside other officials pose for a photo at Lancaster House in London on June 5, 2021. Henry Nicholls, AP
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G7 Finance Ministers to Thrash Out Ukraine Aid Plan

Finance ministers of G7 nations alongside other officials pose for a photo at Lancaster House in London on June 5, 2021. Henry Nicholls, AP
Finance ministers of G7 nations alongside other officials pose for a photo at Lancaster House in London on June 5, 2021. Henry Nicholls, AP

G7 partners meet Thursday hoping to find a solution for Kyiv's budget troubles as the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to roil the global economy.

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are holding talks in Koenigswinter in western Germany to coordinate their response.

"The bilateral and multilateral support announced so far will not be sufficient to address Ukraine's needs, even in the short term," United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a speech in Brussels on Tuesday.

Yellen, who is attending the meeting in Koenigswinter, called on US partners to "join us in increasing their financial support" for war-scarred Ukraine.

The United States has forged ahead with a $40 billion (38 billion euros) aid package to fill Kyiv's coffers and military stores.

But domestically, the world's top economy is faced with soaring inflation, while fears mount that the country could tip into recession.

The story is similar in Europe, where the disruptions caused to supplies of raw materials, components and agricultural goods have darkened the outlook.

The continent's heavy reliance on Russian energy imports also leaves it exposed to further fuel price rises or potential disruptions to supply.

- Financial support -
G7 partners have to "assure Ukraine's solvency within the next days, few weeks," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told German daily Die Welt ahead of the meeting.

The war has blown a hole in Ukraine's finances, as tax revenue has dropped sharply, leaving it with a shortfall of around $5 billion a month.

Around $7.5 billion of the US aid package is earmarked to help plug the hole in Ukraine's government budget caused by the war, a source close to the G7 organisers said.

Ahead of the meeting on Wednesday, the European Union also proposed to boost its aid to Ukraine by up to nine billion euros.

Announcing the new funding, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was time to think about rebuilding Ukraine whenever the war ends, adding the EU has "a strategic interest" to support the effort.

The discussion on how to finance Ukraine's long-term reconstruction was however "just beginning", Yellen said at a press conference in Koenigswinter Wednesday.

- 'Turbulence' -
The outbreak of the war has diminished growth prospects globally and pushed inflation rates even higher.

The US Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates aggressively in response to high inflation rates has created concerns that the central bank could step on the brakes too hard, hurting growth.

Yellen said Wednesday she did not "expect" a recession in the United States, but warned of the risks for Europe.

The continent, which has also been battling decades-high inflation, was "more vulnerable and of course more exposed on the energy front" as prices rise following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she said.

Europe's reliance on Russian energy imports for much of its needs means further disruptions to supply could come at a heavy cost for industry.

Shortages of raw materials and agricultural products caused by the conflict also threatened to heap extra pressure on consumers.

The rise in energy and food prices was being felt particularly hard in developing nations, German finance minister Lindner said, just as rising dollar interest rates made their debts harder to finance.

The combined pressures "risked turbulence", the G7 host added, calling on China, one of the world's biggest creditors, to be more transparent about its lending.



Iran President Says Any Attack on Supreme Leader Would Be Declaration of War

 In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
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Iran President Says Any Attack on Supreme Leader Would Be Declaration of War

 In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday that any attack on the country's supreme leader Ali Khamenei would mean a declaration of war.

"An attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation," Pezeshkian said in a post on X in an apparent response to US President Donald Trump saying it was time to look for a new leader in Iran.


Quake Hits Northeast Sicily, No Damage Reported

 A man feeds seagulls in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy on January 10, 2026. (AFP)
A man feeds seagulls in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy on January 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Quake Hits Northeast Sicily, No Damage Reported

 A man feeds seagulls in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy on January 10, 2026. (AFP)
A man feeds seagulls in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy on January 10, 2026. (AFP)

A light earthquake hit the northeastern corner of Sicily on Sunday, authorities said, but no damage was immediately reported.

The quake registering 4.0 on the Richter and Moment Magnitude scales was centered two kilometers (just over a mile) from Militello Rosmarino in the northeastern province of Messina, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV).

It occurred at 2:54 pm local time (1354 GMT) and had a depth of eight kilometers, INGV said.

Il Mattino newspaper said the earthquake was felt throughout the Messina area but no damage to people or buildings had been reported.

The town of approximately 1,200 inhabitants is located just north of the Nebrodi park, Sicily's largest protected area.

Tremors occur frequently in the northeast of Sicily, with a 2.5 magnitude quake occurring at Piraino, to the east, on Saturday.


EU States Condemn Trump Tariff Threats, Consider Countermeasures

Military personnel from the German armed Forces Bundeswehr board Icelandair flight leaving Nuuk airport for Reykjavik on January 18, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland. (AFP)
Military personnel from the German armed Forces Bundeswehr board Icelandair flight leaving Nuuk airport for Reykjavik on January 18, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland. (AFP)
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EU States Condemn Trump Tariff Threats, Consider Countermeasures

Military personnel from the German armed Forces Bundeswehr board Icelandair flight leaving Nuuk airport for Reykjavik on January 18, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland. (AFP)
Military personnel from the German armed Forces Bundeswehr board Icelandair flight leaving Nuuk airport for Reykjavik on January 18, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland. (AFP)

Major European Union states decried US President Donald Trump's tariff threats against European allies over Greenland as blackmail on Sunday, as France proposed responding with a range of previously untested economic countermeasures.

Trump vowed on Saturday to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on EU members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, along with Britain and Norway, until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.

All eight countries, already subject to US tariffs of 10% and 15%, have sent small numbers of military personnel to Greenland, as a row with the United States over the future of Denmark's vast Arctic island escalates.

"Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," the eight-nations said in a joint statement published on Sunday.

They said the Danish exercise was ‌designed to strengthen Arctic ‌security and posed no threat to anyone. They said they were ready to ‌engage ⁠in dialogue, based ‌on principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written statement that she was pleased with the consistent messages from the rest of the continent, adding: "Europe will not be blackmailed", a view echoed by Germany's finance minister and Sweden's prime minister.

"It's blackmail what he's doing," Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said on Dutch television of Trump's threat.

COORDINATED EUROPEAN RESPONSE

Cyprus, holder of the rotating six-month EU presidency, summoned ambassadors to an emergency meeting in Brussels on Sunday, which diplomats said was due to start at 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) as EU leaders stepped up contacts.

A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said he was pushing for ⁠activation of the "Anti-Coercion Instrument", which could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity or restrict trade in services, in which the US has a surplus with ‌the bloc, including digital services.

Bernd Lange, the German Social Democrat who ‍chairs the European Parliament's trade committee, and Valerie Hayer, head of ‍the centrist Renew Europe group, echoed Macron's call, as did Germany's engineering association.

Meanwhile, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said ‍that while there should be no doubt that the EU would retaliate, it was "a bit premature" to activate the anti-coercion instrument.

And Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is closer to the US President than some other EU leaders, described the tariff threat on Sunday as "a mistake", adding she had spoken to Trump a few hours earlier and told him what she thought.

"He seemed interested in listening," she told a briefing with reporters during a trip to Korea, adding she planned to call other European leaders later on Sunday.

Italy has not sent troops to Greenland.

BRITAIN'S POSITION 'NON-NEGOTIABLE'

Asked how Britain would respond to new ⁠tariffs, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said allies needed to work with the United States to resolve the dispute.

"Our position on Greenland is non-negotiable ... It is in our collective interest to work together and not to start a war of words," she told Sky News on Sunday.

The tariff threats do though call into question trade deals the US struck with Britain in May and the EU in July.

The limited agreements have already faced criticism about their lopsided nature, with the US maintaining broad tariffs, while their partners are required to remove import duties.

The European Parliament looks likely now to suspend its work on the EU-US trade deal. It had been due to vote on removing many EU import duties on January 26-27, but Manfred Weber, head of the European People's Party, the largest group in parliament, said late on Saturday that approval was not possible for now.

German Christian Democrat lawmaker Juergen Hardt also mooted what he told Bild newspaper could be a last resort "to bring President Trump to his senses on the Greenland issue", ‌a boycott of the soccer World Cup that the US is hosting this year.