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BBC News with Moira Alderson.
The White House has confirmed that President Trump and his team have been discussing "a range of options" to, as it put it, acquire Greenland, specifying that the use of military force was one such possibility. Here's our North America editor, Sarah Smith. The White House press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, has told the BBC that President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a "national security priority" of the United States because it's vital to deter American adversaries in the region. After the successful operation in Venezuela to arrest President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. "needed" Greenland to counter security threats from Russia and China in the Arctic. Separately, a senior official in the Trump administration has told Reuters that options being discussed include purchasing Greenland from Denmark or forming some kind of close security alliance with the territory. President Zelenskyy has praised agreements reached at a meeting of Ukraine's allies in Paris as efforts continue to thrash out common peace proposals for Washington to present to Russia. Mr. Zelenskyy said they showed how seriously both Europe and the so-called "coalition of the willing" were working to ensure Ukraine's security in the event of any ceasefire. Hugh Schofield reports from Paris. This Paris declaration is being presented as a breakthrough in the provision of the long-term security guarantees that Ukraine needs if it's to agree to any kind of peace deal with Russia. President Zelenskyy said he was satisfied because the commitments were real. Indeed, the most striking aspect of this meeting was the participation of the two American envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who by their presence at the closing news conference made a first public sign of support for this mainly European initiative. Venezuela and Cuba say at least 55 military personnel were killed during the U.S. special forces raid which seized the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In Venezuela, the government has intensified its crackdown on dissent, as Mimi Swaby explains. I've been speaking to people across Venezuela, in Caracas, in surrounding cities and more inland, in rural towns. The main kind of feeling is that people don't want to go out, they don't want to speak to anyone, they're deleting any WhatsApp messages or trying to really have a low profile until it becomes clear what's happening. They've been promised that the U.S. have a plan, no one knows what this plan is, no elections look likely at the moment or in the short term. So at the moment, the majority of people I'm speaking to are just simply trying to hunker down, stockpile while they can and keep a low profile. State media in Syria say at least four people have been killed and several wounded in the northern city of Aleppo in fighting between government forces and the SDF Kurdish militia group. Syria's defense ministry blamed the SDF saying it was escalating the conflict by targeting army positions. The Kurdish group denied responsibility, accusing factions aligned with the Syrian government of indiscriminate shelling. BBC news. A medical charity in Sudan says 13 people, including eight children, have been killed in a drone strike in the central city of el-Obeid. Sudan Doctors' Network said nine of the victims were from the same family and blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for the attack. The group has previously denied accusations that it's violated humanitarian law during the ongoing civil war with the Sudanese army. Brazil's Supreme Court has denied a request from the former president Jair Bolsonaro to go to hospital after he fell and hit his head in prison. His wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, said her husband had suffered a fit but the court said there was no need for an immediate transfer. Earlier, Brazil's federal police said one of its doctors had found only minor injuries on the former president. Hilton has said it will withdraw its franchise name from a hotel in the U.S. state of Minnesota that refused to accommodate federal immigration agents. Although the Lakeview Hilton has apologized, the global hotel chain said the property was still not meeting its standards and values. In men's football, the defending champions Ivory Coast have secured the last quarter-final spot in the Africa Cup of Nations after beating Burkina Faso 3-0. They'll face seven-time champions Egypt on Saturday. Earlier, Algeria also reached the next stage with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo. The winning goal came late in extra time. These Algeria fans were ecstatic after the final whistle. "The last golf ball we played was an incredible, incredible." "Today's game was very difficult but, Hamdulillah, we made a beautiful goal at the end and that's the most important, the most important that is that Algeria win." "The world deserved win. It was a tight game to be honest but we'll be now banging goal. 120th minute, you already know. We're gonna win the cup." Algeria will play Nigeria in the last eight on Saturday. BBC News. |