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Denmark, US and Greenland to Discuss Arctic Security

FILE PHOTO: Greenland's flag flies in Igaliku settlement, Greenland, July 5, 2024. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Greenland's flag flies in Igaliku settlement, Greenland, July 5, 2024. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Denmark, US and Greenland to Discuss Arctic Security

FILE PHOTO: Greenland's flag flies in Igaliku settlement, Greenland, July 5, 2024. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Greenland's flag flies in Igaliku settlement, Greenland, July 5, 2024. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Denmark agreed on Friday to discuss the Arctic region with Washington, Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said, after his first phone call with the top diplomat of the administration of President Donald Trump, who wants control of Greenland.
Rasmussen and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a 20-minute conversation in a "good and constructive tone", discussing Ukraine, European security and the situation in the Middle East, the Danish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The State Department said late on Friday that Rubio had "reaffirmed the strength of the relationship" between the two countries in the call.
Trump has expressed an interest in making Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, part of the United States. He has not ruled out using military or economic power to persuade Denmark to hand it over.
Greenland's strategic location along the shortest route from Europe to North America, vital for the US ballistic missile warning system, has made it a priority for Trump.
Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, on Jan. 15 said she had spoken on the phone with Trump and told him that it is up to Greenland itself to decide on any independence.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that last week's call between Frederiksen and Trump was fiery, with Trump insisting he was serious about his determination to take over Greenland. The paper cited European officials. Trump took office on Jan. 20.
"Arctic security was not on the agenda, but it was agreed that it will be discussed between the United States, Denmark and Greenland at a later date, the Danish ministry said on Friday.
Greenland's prime minister, Mute Egede, who has stepped up a push for independence, has repeatedly said the island is not for sale and that it is up to its people to decide their future.
While Trump had aired the possibility of taking over Greenland in 2019, during his first term in the White House, his refusal to rule out the use of military or economic power has caught many Danes by surprise.

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NATO Will Not Tolerate Hybrid Actions Against Members, US Envoy Says

The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)
The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)
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NATO Will Not Tolerate Hybrid Actions Against Members, US Envoy Says

The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)
The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)

NATO members should not tolerate deliberate actions of hybrid war, and the United States will stand by countries as they deal with these incidents, Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, said on Saturday.

Whitaker said last month's attempted drone attack at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport, which Berlin ‌has blamed ‌on Russia, was more worrying ‌than ⁠other recent incidents ⁠NATO members have faced due to Russian drones targeting Ukraine that strayed off course.

"Then you have what I would call the more concerning hybrid actions like we saw ⁠in Leipzig, like we ‌have seen ‌in Poland," Whitaker said speaking on the sidelines ‌of a business conference in Italy.

NATO ‌members must be prepared, vigilant and also deliver a strong message when they are challenged by these events, ‌he said.

"If we can identify who's doing it — which Germany ⁠did — ⁠we make sure we express strongly that is unacceptable and we will not tolerate it," Whitaker said.

Critical infrastructure, including energy assets, could be targeted and should be monitored by national authorities, he added.

The response to these challenges is primarily national, but the United States supports countries when they are dealing with these acts, he said.

World

Thousands March for Democracy Ahead of Eastern German Vote

People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Thousands March for Democracy Ahead of Eastern German Vote

People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Thousands of people joined a march for "democracy" in eastern Germany on Saturday, a day ahead of a regional election expected to result in a historic win for the far right.

The march in Magdeburg, capital of the Saxony-Anhalt region, drew demonstrators holding up placards proclaiming "more love, less hate", "a better life without Nazis", and "the potato is also of foreign origin".

The march was organized by a coalition of groups dubbed "Saxony-Anhalt: Open to the World".

The far right, anti-migrant, pro-Russian and pro-Donald Trump Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is leading in the polls for the Saxony-Anhalt election, and is expected to top the vote in the small state of 2.1 million inhabitants.

It would be the first regional election win for the AfD, marking an unprecedented breakthrough for the far right in Germany in the postwar era.

However, the party is not assured of managing an absolute majority that would allow it to govern alone.

So far, all other parties have ruled out governing with the AfD, with the exception of the pro-Russian left-wing party BSW, whose members are divided on the issue.

World

Wedding Party Fire in Kinshasa Leaves at Least 22 Dead

A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Wedding Party Fire in Kinshasa Leaves at Least 22 Dead

A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)

At least 22 people were killed in a fire at a wedding party in Congo 's capital, Kinshasa, the regional mayor said Saturday.

Several other people were injured in the fire that started overnight Friday and continued into early Saturday morning in a building in Lingwala in northern Kinshasa.

The mayor of Lingwala, Norbert Mushinga, told the Congolese Press Agency that the provisional toll is 22. He noted the toll could rise further.

The exact cause of the fire is unconfirmed.

“It is a tragedy,” Jacquemin Shabani, Congo's deputy prime minister and interior minister, said. The minister visited the site Saturday morning

Deadly fires are common in densely populated areas of Kinshasa where urban development is not complemented with provisions such as fire services. The fires are common during the dry season and several have occurred this year, according to local media.