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Nepal’s New Prime Minister Urges Calm After Deadly Protests

Newly sworn-in interim Prime Minister of Nepal, Sushila Karki, take part in a meeting after assuming the post in her office at Singha Durbar office complex, following the protest against anti-corruption triggered by a social media ban, which was later lifted, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Newly sworn-in interim Prime Minister of Nepal, Sushila Karki, take part in a meeting after assuming the post in her office at Singha Durbar office complex, following the protest against anti-corruption triggered by a social media ban, which was later lifted, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Nepal’s New Prime Minister Urges Calm After Deadly Protests

Newly sworn-in interim Prime Minister of Nepal, Sushila Karki, take part in a meeting after assuming the post in her office at Singha Durbar office complex, following the protest against anti-corruption triggered by a social media ban, which was later lifted, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Newly sworn-in interim Prime Minister of Nepal, Sushila Karki, take part in a meeting after assuming the post in her office at Singha Durbar office complex, following the protest against anti-corruption triggered by a social media ban, which was later lifted, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Nepal's new prime minister took office Sunday and “urged calm and cooperation to rebuild” the Himalayan nation after days of violent protests last week left at least 72 people dead and destroyed government buildings and politicians’ homes.

Sushila Karki, the country's first woman prime minister, told top officials gathered at her temporary office that each family of slain protesters will receive monetary compensation of 1 million rupees (about $11,330) and assured that those injured would be taken care of, state TV reported.

“We all need to get together to rebuild the country,” Karki said, pledging to work to get the South Asian nation back on track.

The massive demonstrations — called the protest of Gen Z — began on Sept. 8 over a short-lived social media ban. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, particularly young people, angry about widespread corruption and poverty, while the children of political leaders, known as "nepo kids," seemed to enjoy luxurious lifestyles.

The protests soon turned violent, with protesters attacking the parliament building and police opening fire, and led to the resignation of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, who fled his official residence.

The actual office of the prime minister — an old white-colored palace converted to an office — was burnt down along with the offices of the president, the supreme court, key government ministries and several police stations on Sept. 9, a day after police shot at protesters. The businesses and houses of key families were also attacked, including several stores of a popular supermarket chain in Nepal.

Calm was restored after the army took control of the streets that night, and negotiations between protesters, the army and the president began over an interim government.

Karki, 73, was named the new prime minister on Sept. 12. She was a popular figure while serving as the court’s only female chief justice in 2016 and 2017, and was known for her stance against corruption in the government.

Fresh parliamentary elections have been set for March 5.

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World

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.

World

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.

World

Italian PM Calls Threatened US Tariffs Over Greenland a ‘Mistake’

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a press conference with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on January 16, 2026. (AFP)
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a press conference with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on January 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Italian PM Calls Threatened US Tariffs Over Greenland a ‘Mistake’

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a press conference with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on January 16, 2026. (AFP)
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a press conference with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on January 16, 2026. (AFP)

Italy's prime minister called US President Donald Trump's threat to slap tariffs on opponents of his plan to seize Greenland a "mistake" on Sunday, adding she had told him her views.

"I believe that imposing new sanctions today would be a mistake," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told journalists during a trip to Seoul.

"I spoke to Donald Trump a few hours ago and told him what I think, and I spoke to the NATO secretary general, who confirmed that NATO is beginning to work on this issue."

However, the far-right prime minister -- a Trump ally in Europe -- sought to downplay the conflict, telling journalists "there has been a problem of understanding and communication" between Europe and the United States related to the Arctic island, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on all goods sent to the United States from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland over their objections to his moves.

Meloni said it was up to NATO to take an active role in the growing crisis.

"NATO is the place where we must try to organize together deterrents against interference that may be hostile in a territory that is clearly strategic, and I believe that the fact that NATO has begun to work on this is a good initiative," she told reporters.

Meloni said that "from the American point of view, the message that had come from this side of the Atlantic was not clear".

"It seems to me that the risk is that the initiatives of some European countries were interpreted as anti-American, which was clearly not the intention."

Meloni did not specify to what exactly she was referring.

Trump claims the United States needs Greenland for its national security.