Daily World Briefing, Jan. 18
U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose new tariffs on eight European countries unless Denmark accept a deal over Greenland has drawn swift rebukes from Nordic capitals and major European leaders, fueled calls for an EU-level response, and cast fresh doubt over the implementation of last year's EU-U.S. tariff "truce."
Nordic leaders were among the first to push back, stressing that disputes between allies should be handled through dialogue rather than pressure.
The United States will impose 10-percent tariffs on all goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Finland over Greenland starting on Feb. 1, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday.
Those tariffs would increase to 25 percent on June 1, and would continue until a deal is reached for the United States to purchase Greenland, he said on social media.
Trump's statement came after several NATO members, including Britain, France and Germany, that oppose the U.S. attempt to acquire Greenland, sent troops and diplomatic assets this week to the Arctic territory.
Avalanches have claimed eight lives in Austria's Styria and Salzburg regions, the country's largest newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported, calling today the "black Saturday."
Three people were killed on Saturday afternoon in an avalanche which occurred in the Pusterwald area in Styria, the newspaper said.
Also on Saturday, five people were killed after two avalanches struck western Austria's Salzburg region, the Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.■
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday hailed the "historic" entry into force of the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
"Today marks a watershed moment for the ocean," Guterres said in a video message to celebrate the agreement coming into force on Jan. 17.
"This is a historic achievement -- for people and planet; for international cooperation and the United Nations," he said.
The UN chief said the treaty establishes the first legal framework for conserving and sustainably using marine biodiversity in the two-thirds of the ocean that lies beyond national borders, and provides "binding global rules" to share fairly the benefits from marine genetic resources.
More bodies were recovered from beneath heaps of garbage and twisted steel at the site of a collapsed facility in the central Philippine city of Cebu, bringing the death toll to 35, the city's Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said on Saturday.
Authorities said the search continues for a lone worker who remains missing.
The victims were among workers trapped inside the facility when a portion of a dumpsite collapsed on Jan. 8, sweeping the structure in its path.
Iran's Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned a recent "meddlesome" remark by the Group of Seven (G7) states concerning the recent unrest in the country.
The ministry described the joint statement issued earlier this week by the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States, along with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, as "clear proof of the G7 states' hypocritical approach towards human rights," according to a statement released on Friday night.
The G7 foreign ministers accused the Iranian government of taking violent actions against economic protesters in the country and of human rights violations.■