Europe’s Far-Right Leaders Applaud Trump, Downplay Threat of Possible US Tariffs

Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Portugal's far-right political party Chega leader Andre Ventura, Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders , Spain's far-right party Vox leader Santiago Abascal and French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party parliamentary group, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Greek leader of "Voice of Reason" party Afroditi Latinopoulou and co-leader of Polish far-right political alliance Confederation Krzysztof Bosak stand on stage at Spanish far-right party VOX rally with other European far-right leaders, in Madrid, Spain, February 8, 2025. (Reuters)

16:28-8 February 2025 AD ـ 09 Sha’ban 1446 AH

Europe’s Far-Right Leaders Applaud Trump, Downplay Threat of Possible US Tariffs

Europe's far-right leaders applauded US President Donald Trump's agenda and spoke of the turning point it presented Europe at an event Saturday organized by Spain’s Vox party in Madrid under the banner "Make Europe Great Again."

Those gathered included Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italy's Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, French National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen and others.

Salvini and Vox president Santiago Abascal downplayed Trump's threat to hike tariffs on European imports, saying that the European Union’s taxes and regulations are a bigger danger to Europe's prosperity.

"The great tariff is the Green Deal and the confiscatory taxes of Brussels and socialist governments across Europe," said Abascal.

Salvini referenced the "historic opportunity" ahead of Germany's Feb. 23 election, in which the far-right Alternative for Germany party is polling in second place, behind center-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz’s Union bloc.

"The engine of Europe has come to a halt in the face of the most disastrous government of the post-war period," Salvini said of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government.

The defense of Europe's borders against illegal immigration was another topic touched on by every speaker at the two-day event, even though irregular border crossings into the European Union fell sharply in 2024, according to data collected by the bloc’s border control agency Frontex.

Le Pen said that Trump's election triumph put Europe before a "real change," and said that the EU had left the continent at the margins of ongoing technological revolutions in artificial intelligence and other realms.

She also said that it was the European leaders present at the gathering, whose Patriots for Europe group has 84 seats in the European Parliament, who had the best chance of communicating and working with Trump.

"We are the only ones that can talk with the new Trump administration," Le Pen said.

US Concerned About Expansion of Terrorism in Sahel, West Africa

Members of the Nigeria Armed Forces interact with residents following an attack in Woro, Kwara State, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Light Oriye Tamunotonye / AFP)

Nouakchott: Al-Sheikh Mohamed

06:35-8 February 2026 AD ـ 20 Sha’ban 1447 AH

Nouakchott: Al-Sheikh Mohamed

06:35-8 February 2026 AD ـ 20 Sha’ban 1447 AH

US Concerned About Expansion of Terrorism in Sahel, West Africa

Members of the Nigeria Armed Forces interact with residents following an attack in Woro, Kwara State, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Light Oriye Tamunotonye / AFP)

The United States is concerned by the “expansion” of al-Qaeda affiliates in the Sahel and West Africa, including Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and ISIS-Sahel’s territorial gains.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz shared the concern in his remarks at this week’s UN Security Council Briefing on Terrorist Threats to International Peace and Security caused by terrorist acts.

Highlighting JNIM and ISIS-Sahel’s territorial gains and use in particular of kidnapping for ransom, Waltz said the threats are increasingly diffuse and complex as they involve foreign fighters converging in multiple conflict zones.

The diplomat cited the latest Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team report, which showed that terror cells continue to adapt and exploit instability across Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

Waltz said ISIS’ growing focus on Africa, and the resilience of its cells in Syria and Iraq, and the persistent threat from ISIS-K in Afghanistan, truly reinforces the need for sustained, coordinated counterterrorism efforts.

Washington is particularly concerned by terrorist groups’ exploitation of new technologies, such as commercial satellite communications, artificial intelligence, drones and cryptocurrencies, he said.

“All of these further complicates the threat landscape and it requires our vigilance, vigilance from Member States and particularly where I think there is room for all of us to improve – is our coordination with the private sector as we face this threat,” Waltz added.

The ambassador called for further disruption of terrorist financing networks, saying the recent successes in Somalia and in West Africa demonstrate that following the money and stopping the money to these various groups can have bold decisive effects.

He said the US commends UN Member States whose counterterrorism operations have constrained ISIS and al-Qaeda, especially in Iraq, Syria, and Somalia.

He also urged all states to strengthen cooperation, including intelligence sharing and joint operations, and to support the effective implementation and evolution of the 1267 sanctions regime.

“Member States should collaborate on screening and information sharing to prevent terrorist movement across borders, in support of UN Security Council Resolution 2396,” Waltz noted.

Last November, the United Kingdom, which currently chairs the UN Security Council, expressed similar concern about the proliferation of terrorist groups in the Sahel and West Africa.

The US has sent a small team of troops to Nigeria, the general in charge of the US command for Africa said on Tuesday, the first acknowledgment of US forces on the ground since Washington struck by air on Christmas Day.

General Dagvin RM Anderson, head of the US military's Africa Command AFRICOM, said the US team was sent after both countries agreed that more needed to be done to combat the terrorist threat in West Africa.

“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small US team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States,” he told journalists during a press briefing in Dakar on Tuesday.

World

Kim Expected to Issue Major Policy Goals at NKorea Party Congress

This picture taken on February 1, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on February 2, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending the inauguration ceremony of the Sinuiju Combined Greenhouse Farm in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)

Asharq Al Awsat

06:12-8 February 2026 AD ـ 20 Sha’ban 1447 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

06:12-8 February 2026 AD ـ 20 Sha’ban 1447 AH

Kim Expected to Issue Major Policy Goals at NKorea Party Congress

North Korea will convene a major political conference later this month, the country’s state media said Sunday, where leader Kim Jong Un is expected to outline his domestic and foreign policies for the next five years.

The ruling Workers’ Party congress, which Kim previously held in 2016 and 2021, comes after years of accelerated nuclear and missile development and deepening ties with Moscow over the war in Ukraine that have increased his standoffs with the United States and South Korea.

According to The Associated Press, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the party’s political bureau met under Kim's supervision and decided the congress would be held in late February. State media did not immediately specify a date or release agenda details.

The congress will likely continue for days as a highly choreographed display of Kim’s authoritarian leadership. In recent weeks, Kim has inspected weapons tests and toured military sites and economic projects as state media highlighted his purported achievements, crediting his “immortal leadership” with strengthening the country’s military capabilities and advancing national development.

His recent activities and comments suggest Kim will use the congress to double down on economic development through “self-sustenance” and mass mobilization while announcing plans to further expand the capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, including upgrading conventional weapons systems and integrating them with nuclear forces.

Kim also could highlight his increasingly assertive foreign policy based on closer ties with Moscow and Beijing while hardening an adversarial approach toward rival South Korea as he continues to embrace the idea of a “new Cold War,” experts say.

Kim's willingness to resume diplomacy with the US is unclear. Relations derailed in 2019 after his second summit with US President Donald Trump due to disagreements over sanctions against his nuclear weapons program.

Kim has rejected Trump’s overtures for dialogue since the US president began his second term in January 2025. Kim insists Washington abandon demands for the North to surrender its nuclear weapons as a precondition for future talks.

Entering his 15th year in rule, Kim finds himself in a stronger position than when he opened the previous congress in 2021 during the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. Navigating what was seen as his toughest stretch in a decade of power, Kim acknowledged his previous economic policies failed and issued a new five-year development plan through 2025.

He called for accelerated development of his nuclear arsenal and issued an extensive wish list of sophisticated assets including solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, multi-warhead systems, tactical nuclear weapons, spy satellites and nuclear-powered submarines.

Kim has exploited geopolitical turmoil to his advantage. He used Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a window to accelerate weapons testing and align himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has accepted thousands of North Korean troops and large quantities of military equipment for the war.

Kim also has pursued closer ties with China, traditionally the North’s primary ally and economic lifeline. He traveled to Beijing in September for a World War II event and the first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years.

While Kim’s strict information blockade prevents precise assessments, South Korean analysts say the North's economy appears to have improved over the past five years, possibly due to a gradual recovery in trade with China and an industrial boost from arms exports to Russia.

World

Trump Praises New Honduras President after Talks in US

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on February 06, 2026 shows Honduras' President Nasry Asfura walking following the inauguration ceremony at the Honduran Congress in Tegucigalpa on January 27, 2026, and US President Donald Trump smiling during an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 16, 2025. (Photo by Johny MAGALLANES and ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

Washington: Asharq Al Awsat

05:33-8 February 2026 AD ـ 20 Sha’ban 1447 AH

Washington: Asharq Al Awsat

05:33-8 February 2026 AD ـ 20 Sha’ban 1447 AH

Trump Praises New Honduras President after Talks in US

US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised Honduran counterpart Nasry Asfura, whom he endorsed on the campaign trail, following a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Asfura, a conservative businessman and former mayor of Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, was sworn in last week after winning November elections with Trump's backing.

Trump had threatened to cut aid to Central America's poorest country if his "friend" was defeated.

"I had a very important meeting with my friend, and the President of Honduras, Nasry 'Tito' Asfura," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"Once I gave him my strong Endorsement, he won his Election! Tito and I share many of the same America First Values. We have a close partnership on Security."

He said the pair discussed investment and trade between the two nations.

Asfura is set to speak to media about the talks Sunday, AFP reported.

The Honduran presidency released a photo of the two leaders smiling and giving a thumbs up.

Asfura already met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on January 12, after which the two countries announced plans for a free trade deal.

His win gave Trump another ally in Latin America after conservatives campaigning heavily on crime and corruption replaced leftists in Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina.

Trump has been pressuring countries in Washington's backyard to choose between close ties with Washington or Beijing.

Asfura, who succeeded left-wing leader Xiomara Castro, has said he is considering switching diplomatic ties from China to the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

On the eve of the Honduran election, Trump in a surprise move pardoned former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, from Asfura's party, who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for drug trafficking.

Hernandez was convicted of helping to smuggle 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.

Trump's decision to pardon him, even as US forces were blowing up alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and tightening the noose on Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington accuses of drug trafficking, drew heavy criticism.

Europe’s Far-Right Leaders Applaud Trump, Downplay Threat of Possible US Tariffs

Europe’s Far-Right Leaders Applaud Trump, Downplay Threat of Possible US Tariffs

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