Category World News

US President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he wants to take over Greenland – an idea rejected by most people living there.

There is alarm in Denmark, which owns the world’s biggest island, and in the European Union and NATO, too.

So, could Trump really get his way?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Pele Broberg – Chairman of Naleraq, a pro-independence political party in Greenland

Peter Nielsen – Retired colonel in the Danish armed forces who specialises in NATO readiness

Real Madrid announced on Monday that ‌Xabi Alonso has left his role as head coach “by mutual ‍consent”, with Alvaro ‍Arbeloa promoted from coaching the club’s reserve team Castilla to replace him.

The news came a day after Real Madrid lost to Barcelona, 3-2, in the Supercopa de Espana final in Jeddah, Saudi ⁠Arabia.

Alonso, 44, lasted less than a year into the three-year contract he ​signed last summer to replace Carlo Ancelotti.

“Real Madrid CF announces that, ‍by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to put an end to his time as first team coach,” the football team said in a ‍statement.

“Xabi Alonso will ⁠always have the affection and admiration of all Real Madrid fans because he is a Real Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home.

“Our club thanks Xabi Alonso and all his coaching staff for their work and dedication throughout this time, and wishes them the ​best of luck in this new stage of their lives.”

Madrid ‌won 10 of its first 11 La Liga games under Alonso, but rumours about his job status increased with reports of a disconnect with some players while the club struggled to ‌close out 2025, including losses to Liverpool, Celta Vigo and Manchester City.

That included star forward Vinicius Junior’s public complaints ‌about being substituted and reports of other players taking ⁠issue with Alonso’s style.

Madrid has fallen to second in the domestic standings but is well-positioned in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League, with four wins in six games under Alonso.

A former midfielder who ‌played for Madrid from 2009 to 2014, Alonso returned to the club last summer following 18 months at Bayer Leverkusen, where he led the club to its first-ever Bundesliga title in 2024.

He will now be replaced by the 42-year-old Arbeloa, a former right-back who made 238 appearances across seven years with ‌the club.

United Kingdom media regulator Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the use of AI chatbot Grok to generate deepfake sexualised images.

Ofcom labelled the reports as “deeply concerning”, warning in a statement issued on Monday that the chatbot’s creation of nude deepfakes could amount to “intimate image abuse or pornography”, and that “sexualised images of children” could be considered “child sexual abuse material”.

The regulator, which has the power to ban Grok, is under pressure to act after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the images produced by Grok were “disgusting” and “unlawful”, and that Musk’s social media platform X had to “get a grip” on the application.

Ofcom said its investigation will determine whether X “failed to comply with its legal obligations”, and was launched after the company complied with an earlier request from the regulator to explain the steps it had taken to protect UK users.

Asked for a comment, X referred the AFP news agency to a previous statement, which said it took action against illegal content on X “by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary”.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said it was vital that Ofcom complete its investigation swiftly, as the public, and most importantly the victims, would not accept any delay.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said he had raised the situation with United States Vice President JD Vance, who had, he claimed, agreed that it was entirely unacceptable.

Downing Street has meanwhile indicated that it is willing to consider leaving X, formerly known as Twitter, if Mr Musk’s company does not act.

Power to ban

Under Britain’s Online Safety Act, which entered force in July, online platforms hosting potentially harmful content are required to implement strict age verification through tools such as facial imagery or credit card checks.

It is illegal for media sites to create or share non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material, including sexual deepfakes created with artificial intelligence (AI).

Ofcom has the power to impose fines of 10 percent of worldwide revenue for breaches of rules.

Asked on Monday whether X could be banned, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: “Yes, of course”. But he noted that the power to do so lay with Ofcom.

Grok appeared to deflect the international criticism with a new monetisation policy at the end of last week, posting on X that the tool was now “limited to paying subscribers”.

Starmer condemned the move as an affront to victims and “not a solution”.

Musk has accused the UK government of being fascist and trying to curb free speech.

Grok, developed by another company founded by Musk called xAI, launched a new advanced image generation feature in July last year.

The Portuguese Empire was built through ports, trade routes and slavery. Control of fortified ports allowed Portugal to dominate maritime commerce across Africa, Brazil and Asia, creating an empire based on movement rather than territory.

Faith played a central role in legitimising its expansion as missionaries accompanied merchants and military forces. Ports enforced systems of enslavement and forced labour, binding religious authority to economic extraction. Slavery became central to imperial wealth, linking African labour to plantations and markets across the Atlantic.

By integrating slavery into global trade networks, the Portuguese Empire played a central role in shaping modern economic systems, racial hierarchies and patterns of inequality that persist today.

Control once exercised through ports and sea routes increasingly runs through digital infrastructure, including submarine cables and data centres, as Portugal emerges as an important hub linking Europe, Africa and the Americas. Former colonies, such as Mozambique, remain shaped by extractive economic structures rooted in colonial rule while Lisbon faces mounting pressure from mass tourism and foreign real-estate investment, driving displacement and rising housing costs for local residents.

United States President Donald Trump will meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday, according to White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

The Venezuelan opposition figure has played little role in debates about the country’s future since the US abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, with Trump expressing doubt that she has the support necessary to govern Venezuela. Machado said last week that she had not spoken to Trump since October.

Instead, Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has assumed the role of interim president under the threat of further military attacks if her government does not submit to US demands on a range of issues.

The Venezuelan government said on Monday that it had freed dozens of political prisoners, some of whom were jailed during protests against Maduro following the disputed 2024 election.

“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said of Machado after Maduro’s abduction. “She doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”

Machado, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025 that Trump had sought for himself, met with Pope Leo XIV on Monday.

“Today I had the blessing and honour of being able to share with His Holiness and express our gratitude for his continued support of what is happening in our country,” Machado said in a statement.

“I also conveyed to him the strength of the Venezuelan people who remain steadfast and in prayer for the freedom of Venezuela, and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared,” she added.

Pope Leo has said that Venezuela must remain an independent country following the US attack, stating that he is following developments there with “deep concern”.

“The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration,” said Leo. “This must lead to the overcoming of violence, and to the pursuit of paths of justice and peace.”

Machado has sought to cultivate close ties with the Trump administration, dedicating her Nobel Prize to Trump and, more recently, stating that she would like to share the prize or give it to him outright.

“I do want to say – on behalf of the Venezuelan people – how grateful we are for his [Trump’s] courageous vision, the historical actions he has taken against this narcoterrorist regime, to dismantle this structure and bring Maduro to justice,” Machado said last week in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.