Daily World Briefing, Jan. 10

Trump says to make deal to acquire Greenland in "easy way" or "hard way"

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said a deal will be made for the United States to acquire Greenland in an "easy way" or "hard way."

"I would like to make a deal the easy way but if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way," the U.S. president told reporters at an event at the White House, adding that he was "going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not."

Venezuela's acting president holds phone talks with Brazil, Colombia, Spain

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez on Friday held phone talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

On her Telegram channel, Rodriguez said the leaders agreed on the importance of advancing a cooperation agenda, amid what she described as "the grave criminal, illegal and illegitimate aggression perpetrated against" Venezuela.

Switzerland mourns victims of deadly New Year's Eve bar fire

Switzerland held a national memorial service on Friday to mourn the victims of a deadly New Year's Eve bar fire in the resort town of Crans-Montana, as authorities continued their investigation into the incident.

Due to forecasts of heavy snowfall in Crans-Montana, Swiss authorities decided to hold the official ceremony in Martigny, more than 50 kilometers west of the resort town, citing safety concerns.

Syrian interim gov't accuses SDF of violating withdrawal deal, launches clearing operation

The Syrian interim government on Friday accused the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of violating withdrawal arrangements in Aleppo and announced a military operation in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood.

Pro-Damascus forces said SDF-linked fighters targeted evacuation buses on three occasions, shelled army positions, and attacked soldiers, leaving three servicemen dead and more than a dozen wounded, despite an earlier agreement allowing SDF fighters to leave the neighborhood with their personal weapons to ease tensions.

Israel says it kills 2 senior Hamas militants as Gaza reports 14 dead

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it killed two senior Hamas members in Thursday's airstrikes, while Gaza health officials reported 14 deaths across the enclave over the past 24 hours.

According to an IDF statement, the military killed Kamal Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Awad, identifying him as the head of Hamas' anti-tank missile unit. The military also reported the death of Ahmad Thabet, whom it described as a key figure in Hamas' weapons manufacturing department.■