France, Sweden, Germany and Norway announced Wednesday that they would deploy military personnel to the island’s capital Nuuk, as part of a reconnaissance mission.

The announcement came after a meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials in Washington failed to deter Trump’s ambition of taking the island.

READ ALSO: US Control Of Greenland ‘Vital’ For Air Defense, Says Trump

Trump argues Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, is vital for US security and that if Washington does not take it, “China or Russia will”.

“The situation unfolding in the high latitudes is of serious concern to us,” the Russian embassy in Belgium, where NATO is headquartered, said in a statement published late Wednesday.

NATO is “building up its military presence there under the false pretext of a growing threat from Moscow and Beijing,” the embassy added.

Neither the Russian foreign ministry nor the Kremlin, whose statements carry more weight than individual embassies, have commented on the recent deployment.

Both NATO and Russia have bulked up their military presence in the Arctic in recent years, as melting sea ice opens the region up to international shipping and mining activities.

Trump’s statements have put unprecedented strain on NATO, an alliance that has been the bedrock of Western security since World War II.

Internal disputes in the bloc over Greenland were making its ability to reach agreements “increasingly unpredictable,” the Russian embassy said.

AFP

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Museveni, 81, is widely expected to win a seventh term in office thanks to his total control of the state and security apparatus.

The former bush fighter faces a concerted challenge from singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43, who styles himself the “ghetto president” after his stronghold in the slums of the capital, Kampala.

But in many areas, voting had yet to start hours after polls were due to open as biometric machines — used to verify voters’ identity — were malfunctioning and ballot boxes were undelivered, confirmed by AFP journalists in several parts of Kampala and the nearby city of Jinja.

READ ALSO: Ugandan Opposition Leader Bobi Wine Warns Of Protests If Polls Rigged

Some linked the problems to an internet blackout imposed by the government on Tuesday, despite repeated promises not to do so.

David Lewis Rubongoya, secretary general of the opposition National Unity Platform, said he had travelled around the capital and that “no voting is taking place” in most places.

“Everything they are doing is a sham and it is deliberate,” he told AFP.

By contrast, voting had begun on schedule near the military barracks at Summit View in Kampala, he said. An AFP journalist also saw a polling station open on time next to a military housing area.

“There are technical issues, it is not at all polling stations,” said Faruk Kirunda, a presidential spokesperson, adding that affected areas were moving to manual verification “and people are now allowed to vote”.

At a polling station on the outskirts of Kampala, voting began four hours late after officials had to switch to manual verification.

“They are trying to steal the poll,” said Respy, a woman in her 20s. “They are trying to make us get tired and go home.”

Repression

As with his 2021 campaign, hundreds of Wine’s supporters have been arrested in the run-up to the vote. He wore a flak jacket at rallies, describing the election as a “war” and Museveni as a “military dictator”.

“We are very aware that they are planning to rig the election, to brutalise people, to kill people, and they don’t want the rest of the world to see,” Wine told AFP on the eve of election day.

The government said the internet shutdown was needed to prevent the spread of “misinformation” and “incitement to violence”, but the United Nations called it “deeply worrying”.

Wine has vowed protests if the vote is rigged.

The other major opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, who ran four times against Museveni, was abducted in Kenya in 2024 and brought back to a military court in Uganda for a treason trial that is ongoing.

Many Ugandans still praise Museveni as the man who ended the country’s post-independence chaos and oversaw rapid economic growth, even if much was lost to a relentless string of massive corruption scandals.

“Peace and security in the country is very good. The party is well-organised,” said Angee Abraham Lincoln, 42, a Museveni supporter waiting to cast his vote in Kampala.

Western countries have often given Museveni leeway after he swallowed their demands for neoliberal reforms in the 1980s and made himself a useful partner in the US-led “war on terror” in the 2000s, especially through troop contributions to Somalia.

The president struck a forceful tone ahead of the election, saying: “Go and vote. Anybody who wants to interfere with your freedom, I will crush them.”

There was a heavy security presence in many areas and police have warned the vote was “not a justification for criminal acts”, seeking to prevent the anti-government protests seen in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania in recent months.

Journalists have been harassed and Human Rights Watch has denounced the suspension this week of 10 NGOs, including election monitors, saying the opposition has faced “brutal repression”.

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Bern said it had reached its decision after Maduro was seized in Caracas in a shock US military operation, and brought to New York to face narcotrafficking charges.

Describing the situation as “volatile”, the Swiss government said in a statement that it wanted “to ensure that any illicitly acquired assets cannot be transferred out of Switzerland in the current situation.

“It has therefore decided, as a precautionary measure, to freeze any assets held in Switzerland by Mr Maduro and other persons associated with him,” it said.

“The asset freeze comes into force today with immediate effect and will remain valid for four years until further notice.”

READ ALSO: Venezuela’s Maduro To Appear Before Judge Monday In New York

The government added that “should future legal proceedings reveal that the funds were illicitly acquired, Switzerland will endeavour to ensure that they benefit the Venezuelan people”.

“The asset freeze does not affect any members of the current Venezuelan government,” it said.

The move, decided under Switzerland’s Federal Act on the Freezing and the Restitution of Illicit Assets Held by Foreign Politically Exposed Persons, comes in addition to existing sanctions on Venezuela in force since 2018, which also include asset freezes, the government said.

The new asset freezes “target individuals who have not previously been sanctioned in Switzerland”, it said.

The government said it was monitoring the situation unfolding in Venezuela closely, and called “for de-escalation, restraint and compliance with international law, including the prohibition of the use of force and the principle of respect for territorial integrity”.

It highlighted Switzerland’s repeated offers of its “good offices to all sides in order to find a peaceful solution to the situation”.

Bern said that “the reasons behind Mr Maduro’s fall from power do not play a decisive role in asset freezes… nor does the question of whether the fall from power occurred lawfully or in violation of international law”.

The decisive factor, it said, was that “a fall from power has occurred and that it is now possible that the country of origin will initiate legal proceedings in the future with regard to illicitly acquired assets”.

AFP

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The relationship between Emmanuel Macron, 48, and Brigitte, 72, who met while she was a drama teacher at his school, has been the subject of intense interest since he became president in 2017.

Eight defendants were handed suspended sentences of four to eight months in prison while a ninth man was sentenced to six months in prison over his absence from the hearing.

Presiding judge Thierry Donard described the claims of the French first lady’s “alleged paedophilia” as “malicious, degrading and insulting”, saying the defendants had received sentences for “intentionally harming the complainant”.

READ ALSO: Macron Vows France’s Support For Nigeria Against Terrorism

They and a tenth person were ordered to follow a course against hate speech online, to be paid at their own expense.

Three individuals considered to be the key instigators online also had their social media accounts suspended for six months.

“The most important things are the prevention courses and the suspension of some of the accounts” of the perpetrators, said Jean Ennochi, Brigitte Macron’s lawyer, after the verdict was handed down.

Brigitte Macron herself did not appear at the trial hearings in October but told investigators after filing her complaint that the claim she is a transgender woman has “strongly affected” her and her loved ones.

In recent years, scrutiny of the couple’s relationship has extended to the widespread publication of false information that they have resolved not to ignore and instead combat in court.

The couple filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing US podcaster Candace Owens, who falsely claimed Brigitte Macron used to be a man.

‘Image distorted’

Tiphaine Auziere, 41, Brigitte Macron’s younger daughter from her first marriage, told the trial in rare public comments that the unsubstantiated claims had harmed her mother’s health.

“She’s constantly having to pay attention to what she wears, how she holds herself because she knows that her image can be distorted,” she said.

Prosecutors sought the heaviest sentence against Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, 41, a commentator known on social media as “Zoe Sagan” and often linked to conspiracy theory circles.

He was handed an eight-month suspended sentence and a six-month suspension of his social media accounts.

In court in October, he defended his right to what he called “satire”.

Another of the most prominent defendants, gallery owner Bertrand Scholler, 56, said that the trial was targeting his “freedom to think” faced with the “media deep state”.

The court sentenced Scholler to a six-month suspended sentence and an immediate suspension of his social media accounts for six months.

Also on trial was a woman already the subject of a libel complaint filed by Brigitte Macron in 2022: Delphine J., 51, a self-proclaimed spiritual medium who goes by the pseudonym Amandine Roy.

The court sentenced Delphine J. to a six-month suspended jail term and the suspension of her online accounts, also for half a year.

Centre of attention

While these three defendants are regarded as the main instigators of spreading the false information, the other seven were presented by prosecutors as “followers” who had “let themselves go” from “their sofa”, some having simply shared or liked a few posts.

Emerging as early as Macron’s election in 2017, the claims have been amplified by far-right and conspiracy theorist circles in France and in the United States, where transgender rights have become a hot-button issue at the heart of US culture wars.

In the case against Candace Owens, who produced a series titled “Becoming Brigitte”, the Macrons are planning to offer “scientific” evidence and photos proving that the first lady is not transgender, according to their US lawyer.

Several of those on trial in Paris shared posts from the US influencer.

Brigitte Macron was at the centre of a new furore in December when she was filmed describing as “stupid bitches” (“sales connes” in French) activists who disrupted a stand-up show of a French actor who had been accused of rape.

A woman in 2021 accused the actor, Ary Abittan, of rape but in 2023 investigators dropped the case, citing lack of evidence.

Brigitte Macron later apologised for using the slur, saying “I am sorry if I hurt women victims” and called the remarks “private” comments.

AFP

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The US military carried out a series of air strikes on Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, early on Saturday. Maduro and his wife were captured and flown to New York City, where they face drug-trafficking and weapons charges.

“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump told a news conference in Florida.

Trump also said that “the embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect.”

Washington imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela in 2017, followed by oil sanctions two years later.

Venezuela produces just under a million barrels of crude a day, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and sells most of it on the black market at steep discounts.

Trump claims Caracas is using oil money to finance “drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping.”

At the start of his second term in 2025, he ended licenses that had allowed multinational oil and gas companies to operate in Venezuela despite the sanctions, with US company Chevron the only one to receive an exemption.

Chevron operates four oil fields in Venezuela in partnership with state-owned PDVSA and its affiliates.

Washington has also imposed a total blockade on sanctioned tankers going to and from Venezuela.

Venezuelan territory contains about 17 percent of the world’s oil reserves, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2023, but is far from being a leading producer after years of mismanagement and corruption.

Venezuelan oil is of lower quality and is mostly processed into diesel or byproducts such as asphalt, rather than gasoline. The United States has refineries around the Gulf of Mexico specifically designed to handle it.

“The United States is doing just fine without Venezuelan oil,” Stephen Schork, an analyst at consulting firm the Schork Group, told AFP last month, pointing to political reasons instead.

AFP

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Tuesday’s emphatic 4-1 win at home to title rivals Aston Villa left Arsenal five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who are away to Sunderland on New Year’s Day.

Arsenal last won the Premier League back in 2004 and asked if this could be the season that they finally end more than two decades of title frustration, Arteta hailed his side’s “belief and energy”.

“We’re playing every two and a half days, the schedule is very, very demanding, we have some very tough matches and injuries but the players are still winning, so winning helps all that,” he said.

“All the sacrifices and commitment that you put in gets reflected in results and great performances and that’s so satisfying, but we know there’s still so much to play for.”

READ ALSO: Arsenal Boss Arteta Will ‘Actively Look’ At January Signings Amid Injury Crisis

The Spaniard added: “It’s a great way to end the year, that’s for sure. We’ll have a good night with our families (on New Year’s Eve), but then the next day we are in, and we have to go to Bournemouth (on Saturday), and we know what that means.”

Following narrow one-goal wins in their three previous league fixtures against Wolverhampton, Everton and Brighton, Arsenal scored four in a game for the first time since a thumping north London derby victory over Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium on November 23.

“We needed this game,” said Martin Zubimendi, who joined Gabriel, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus in scoring against Villa for an Arsenal side that dominated the second half.

“We were playing at home, we wanted to finish the year at the top of the table and against Aston Villa, great team, tactically they are almost perfect, so we’re very happy with the performance.

“In the first half we were struggling a little bit with the counter-attacks. At half-time, we adjusted some movements and in the second half, when we scored the first and the second, the game was then so open and we managed to score four.

“We noticed the willingness of the crowd, always pushing, always wanting more.”

AFP

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The national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has issued a stern warning to party members contemplating defection, declaring that political betrayal has never yielded lasting success.

Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and the NNPP’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, spoke at his residence during a gathering of supporters, where he reacted to reports that some NNPP members are planning to leave the party.

His comments come amid widespread reports that the Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, is finalising plans to dump the Kwankwasiyya Movement and align with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

READ ALSO: NNPP Declares Suspension Of Kano Chairman Null And Void

In a viral video from the meeting, Kwankwaso said he was not surprised by the alleged moves, noting that history offers clear lessons to politicians who abandon the party.

“I want to remind those who left us that nobody has betrayed us and succeeded,” Kwankwaso said. “Political history is very clear on this matter. Those who think they can rise by betraying the people and the movement they came from should reflect deeply.”

The NNPP leader stressed that defections would not weaken the party, insisting that its strength lies with the people rather than individual office holders.

“I am not disturbed by these developments,” he added. “What matters most is the support of the masses, not the movement of a few politicians who are chasing personal interests.”

Kwankwaso also pointed to the large turnout of supporters at the gathering as proof that the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement continue to enjoy strong grassroots support across Kano State.

“You can see with your own eyes the number of people who came here today,” he said. “This is evidence that our movement is alive, strong, and firmly rooted among the people of Kano.”

Despite the growing speculation around possible defections, Kwankwaso maintained that the NNPP remains focused on its core principles and would continue to serve as a platform for progressive politics in the state and beyond.

As of the time of filing this report, neither Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf nor the Kano State Government had officially responded to the claims of an imminent defection to the APC.

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The developer and executive died on Sunday while driving his Ferrari on a scenic road north of Los Angeles, according to local broadcaster NBC4.

“For unknown reasons, the vehicle veered off the roadway, struck a concrete barrier, and became fully engulfed,” the California Highway Patrol said in a statement, without identifying the two victims in the crash.

The CHP added that both the driver and a passenger who was ejected from the vehicle succumbed to their injuries.

READ ALSO: Call of Duty Tops US 2024 Games Charts

Witnesses posted video of the mangled cherry-red Ferarri, engulfed in flames, on the mountain road. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

His studios created some of the world’s best-selling video games, and Zampella was considered an innovator in first-person military shooter style games.

This year, when his “Battlefield 6” video game set a new sales record for the franchise, Zampella expressed gratitude, saying “we never take moments like this for granted” — despite a long career of success in gaming.

The mass-combat game has won over 100 million players in the past two decades, in its various iterations.

And yet, that number isn’t a first. To this day, “Call of Duty” boasts more than 100 million active players, monthly.

“You have that dream of the game being popular, but I don’t think you’re ever ready for that level of success,” Zampella told gaming site IGN in a 2016 interview.

Profound, far-reaching

Zampella was best known for co-creating the “Call of Duty” franchise and founding Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind “Titanfall,” “Apex Legends,” and the “Star Wars Jedi” games.

After starting out in the 1990s as a designer on shooter games, he co-founded Infinity Ward in 2002 and helped launch “Call of Duty” in 2003. Activision later acquired his studio.

He left Activision under contentious circumstances and established Respawn in 2010, which Electronic Arts acquired in 2017.

At EA, he eventually took charge of revitalizing the “Battlefield” franchise, cementing his reputation as one of the most influential figures in modern first-person shooter games.

“This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince’s family, his loved ones, and all those touched by his work,” Electronic Arts said in a statement.

“Vince’s influence on the video game industry was profound and far-reaching,” the company said, adding that “his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment.”

A statement by Respawn, posted on the “Battlefield” X account, praised Zampella “for how he showed up every day, trusting his teams, encouraging bold ideas, and believing in Battlefield and the people building it.”

Zampella “championed what he believed was right for the people behind those studios and our players because it mattered.”

“It was a bold, transgressive method of storytelling, of a moment in time that was political, that was violent, and that was impactful,” Washington Post video game reporter Gene Park told NBC4.

“He really knew how to create stories and create experiences that really hit at the heart of human experience — whether it was terror, dread, heroism. I think he was really able to kindof encapsulate that through the designs of the video games that he made,” Park said.

AFP

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British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, best known for the 1980s festive hit “Driving Home for Christmas”, has died at the age of 74, his family announced on Monday.

“It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Chris,” a spokesperson for his wife and two children said in a statement shared with UK media.

“He passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family.”

A post on his official social media channels added: “Chris’s music has created the soundtrack to many lives, and his legacy will live on through the songs he leaves behind.”

No further details were immediately provided.

The musician, born in 1951 in Middlesbrough, northeast England, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had his pancreas removed in 2001, and in 2016 he suffered a stroke.

He first found fame in Britain in the late 1970s with “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)”, following up in the 1980s with “Let’s Dance” and “The Road to Hell”.

Known for his gravelly voice and slide guitar-playing, he recorded 25 solo albums — two of which topped the UK albums chart — while he also earned a Grammy nomination early in his career.

READ ALSO: Irish Singer CMAT Delays UK Tour Over Infected Tooth

His 1986 track “Driving Home for Christmas” became synonymous with the festive season, often reappearing in the British singles chart in December.

In recent weeks it had reached number 30 and also featured in the Christmas advert for supermarket chain Marks & Spencer.

The song “tells the story of a weary traveller making his way home, a moment of warmth, humour and holiday spirit that’s never lost its magic”, according to Rea’s website.

In interviews, he has revealed he wrote the song during a difficult period eight years earlier when his manager had left him, he had been banned from driving and his wife was behind the wheel.

“I’d look across at the other drivers, who all looked so miserable,” he previously said.

“Jokingly, I started singing ‘We’re driving home for Christmas…’ then, whenever the street lights shone inside the car, I started writing down the lyrics.”

His hometown football club, Middlesbrough FC, posted on X that it was “deeply saddened” by news of his death, calling him “a Teesside icon”.

AFP 

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The amended proposal, worth a total $108 billion from the company run by Ellison’s son David, addresses concerns raised by Warner Bros’ board, which saw the Paramount bid as too risky and asked shareholders to accept a competing buyout offer from Netflix.

Netflix shocked the industry December 5 by announcing it had sealed an agreement to buy the film and television studio and HBO Max streaming business for nearly $83 billion, the entertainment industry’s biggest consolidation deal this decade.

Three days later, Paramount — whose CEO is David Ellison, son of Larry Ellison, an ally of President Donald Trump — launched an all-cash tender offer valuing the entertainment giant at $108.4 billion.

But Warner Bros last week described the Paramount offer as risky, saying it was backed by “an unknown and opaque revocable trust” and involved “no Ellison family commitment of any kind.”

Warner Bros Discovery also stressed the dependence of the Paramount offer on foreign investors — $24 billion of the financing comes from Middle East sovereign wealth funds — which could require further government approval.

Paramount’s amended proposal is meant to address those concerns and also increases the breakup fee to match Netflix’s $5.8 billion, which would be payable to Warner Bros if its offer does not clear regulatory review.

“Paramount has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to acquiring WBD,” said David Ellison. “Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer… continues to be the superior option to maximize value for WBD shareholders.”

Unlike Netflix’s offer, Paramount’s bid includes the buyout of cable channels such as CNN, TNT, TBS and Discovery — which would be added to its group of TV assets like CBS, MTV and Comedy Central.

Trump weighs in

The bidding war that will reshape Hollywood and US media has drawn White House attention.

Trump has repeatedly weighed in, saying Netflix’s deal “could be a problem” as it would leave Netflix with a huge market share of the film and TV industry.

But he has also railed against coverage of the White House from Paramount-owned CBS News, saying neither bidder for Warner Bros had his preference.

He has stressed the importance that CNN gets new ownership as part of the Warner Bros sale, targeting the outlet he has long criticized for what he calls “fake news.”

Both Paramount and Netflix have lobbied the White House directly, with David Ellison also making conservative-friendly changes at CBS News.

Since taking over Paramount earlier this year, the company has appointed journalist Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Weiss is a prominent critic of what she calls bias in mainstream media, and the appointment won praise from conservatives.

On Monday, Weiss was accused by a CBS News staff member of pulling a planned segment on an El Salvador maximum-security prison where the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants.

AFP

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