Denmark's King Frederik to visit Greenland, daily Sermitsiaq reports
COPENHAGEN: Denmark's King Frederik will travel to Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, on April 28, Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq reported on Wednesday, citing the island's own government.
The visit to Greenland by Denmark's head of state comes as US President Donald Trump seeks a takeover by the United States of the minerals-rich and strategically important island.
Denmark has rejected Trump's ambition and says only Greenlanders themselves can decide the territory's future.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Frederik-Nielsen will travel to Denmark on April 26, where he will meet with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, according to Sermitsiaq.
The king will travel to Greenland together with Nielsen when the prime minister returns to the island, according to the report.
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Arab News
18 minutes ago
- Arab News
US court issues order limiting troop deployment in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES : A US federal court on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order limiting the deployment of troops in Los Angeles after President Donald Trump sent Marines and National Guard to the city. The government is 'temporarily enjoined from ordering or deploying the Title 10 Force to enforce or aid federal agents in enforcing federal law or to take any action beyond (protecting) federal buildings,' said the order, signed by District Judge Charles Breyer. California Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier asked the court Tuesday to block the use of the National Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids in Los Angeles, saying the practice would only heighten tensions. Newsom filed the emergency request after President Donald Trump ordered the deployment to LA of roughly 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines following protests driven by anger over the president's stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws. The governor's request said it was in response to a change in orders for the Guard members, who were originally deployed to protect federal buildings. The court documents said sending troops on immigration raids would only escalate tensions and promote civil unrest. The Marines and another 2,000 National Guard troops were ordered to LA on Monday, adding to a military presence that local officials and Newsom do not want and that the police chief says makes it harder to handle the protests safely. Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith said Tuesday that the Marines deployed to the area had not yet been called to respond to the protests and were there only to protect federal officials and property. The Marines were trained for crowd control but have no arrest authority, Smith told a budget hearing on Capitol Hill. Paul Eck, deputy general counsel in the California Military Department, said the agency was informed that the Pentagon plans to direct the California National Guard to start providing support for immigration operations. That support would include holding secure perimeters around areas where raids are taking place and securing streets for immigration agents, he said in the governor's emergency request. According to US officials, the California Guard members who were deployed were authorized to provide protection and secure streets and perimeters around areas where enforcement actions are taking place. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, said the Guard members are not participating in any of the enforcement actions, but are providing security and have already been doing some of those missions in the Los Angeles area. Trump says he's open to using Insurrection Act Trump left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the US to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations. It's one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a US president. 'If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We'll see,' he said Tuesday from the Oval Office. 'But I can tell you last night was terrible, and the night before that was terrible.' Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth. While protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend, the demonstrations in the city of 4 million people have largely been centered in several blocks of downtown. On Monday, they were far less raucous, with thousands of people peacefully attending a rally at City Hall and hundreds more protesting outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids across the city. Los Angeles police said they made over 100 arrests Monday evening, mostly for failing to disperse the downtown area. One person was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and two police offers were injured, the department said. Obscene slogans directed at Trump and federal law enforcement remained scrawled across several buildings. At the Walt Disney Concert Hall, workers were busy washing away graffiti Tuesday morning. In nearby Santa Ana, armored Guard vehicles blocked a road leading to federal immigration and government offices. Workers swept up plastic bottles and broken glass. Sending in the military is the latest step in the administration's immigration crackdown as Trump pursues the mass deportations he promised last year during the presidential campaign. The protests have been driven by anger over enforcement that critics say is breaking apart migrant families. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Tuesday that the use of troops inside the US will continue to expand. 'I think we're entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland,' he said on Capitol Hill. Los Angeles officials say police don't need help The mayor and the governor say Trump is putting public safety at risk by adding military personnel even though police say they don't need the help. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said he was confident in the police department's ability to handle large-scale demonstrations and that the Marines' arrival without coordinating with the police department would present a 'significant logistical and operational challenge.' The protests began Friday after federal immigration authorities arrested more than 40 people across Los Angeles and continued over the weekend as crowds blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. Demonstrations have spread to other cities nationwide, including San Francisco, as well as Dallas and Austin, Texas. Authorities in Austin said police used pepper spray balls and tear gas to disperse a crowd that threw rocks and bottles at officers Monday, injuring four. LA response takes stage on Capitol Hill The Pentagon said deploying the National Guard and Marines costs $134 million. That figure came out Tuesday just after Hegseth engaged in a testy back-and-forth about the costs during a congressional hearing. The defense secretary defended Trump's decision to send the troops, saying they are needed to protect federal agents doing their jobs. Meanwhile, Democratic members of California's congressional delegation on Tuesday accused the president of creating a 'manufactured crisis' with his orders to send in troops. On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit over the use of National Guard troops following the first deployment, seeking an order declaring Trump's use of the Guard unlawful and asking for a restraining order to halt the deployment. Trump said the city would have been 'completely obliterated' if he had not deployed the Guard. US officials said the Marines were needed to protect federal buildings and personnel, including immigration agents. Despite their presence, there has been limited engagement so far between the Guard and protesters while local law enforcement implements crowd control. The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state's National Guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration's mass deportation efforts. The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Deports Greta Thunberg After Gaza-Bound Ship She Was on Was Seized
Israel deported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military. Speaking upon arrival in Paris en route to her home country of Sweden, Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Freedom Flotilla. She described a "quite chaotic and uncertain" situation during the detention. The conditions they faced "are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now," she said. The trip was meant to protest Israeli restrictions on aid to Gaza's population of over 2 million people after 20 months of war, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey. Thunberg calls on supporters to mobilize "We were well aware of the risks of this mission," Thunberg said. "The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid." She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza. On Monday, US President Donald Trump called Thunberg "a young angry person" and recommended she take anger management classes. "I think the world needs a lot more young angry women," Thunberg said Tuesday in response. Thunberg said it appeared she was headed back to Sweden, hadn't had access to a phone in a few days and wanted a shower. The activists were held separately and some had trouble accessing lawyers, she added. Asked why she agreed to deportation, she said, "Why would I want to stay in an Israeli prison more than necessary?" Thunberg called on supporters to ask their governments "to demand not only humanitarian aid being let into Gaza but most importantly an end to the occupation and an end to the systemic oppression and violence that Palestinians are facing on an everyday basis." She said recognizing Palestine is "the very, very, very minimum" that governments can do to help. Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen. Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early Monday about 200 kilometers (125 miles) off Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, along with rights groups, said Israel's actions in international waters were a violation of international law. Israel rejects that charge, saying such ships intend to breach what it argues is a lawful naval blockade of Gaza. Israel viewed the ship as a publicity stunt, calling it the "selfie yacht" with a "meager" amount of aid that amounted to less than a truckload. Other activists face deportation The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said three activists, including Thunberg, had been deported along with a journalist. It said it had encouraged some to do it so they could speak freely about their experiences. Eight other passengers refused deportation and were in detention before their case is heard by Israeli authorities. Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing them, said they were expected to be brought before a court later Tuesday. "Their detention is unlawful, politically motivated and a direct violation of international law," the coalition said in a statement. It called for remaining passengers to be released without deportation and said their lawyers would demand that they be allowed to complete their journey to Gaza. Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel's Interior Ministry, said the activists who were being deported Tuesday had waived their right to appear before a judge. Those who did not will face one and be held for 96 hours before being deported, she said. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was among the passengers. She has previously been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. It was not clear whether she was being immediately deported or detained. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said one of the detained French activists signed an expulsion order and would leave Tuesday. The other five refused. He said all the activists received consular visits. Sergio Toribio, a Spanish activist, slammed Israel's actions after he arrived in Barcelona. "It is unforgivable, it is a violation of our rights. It is a pirate attack in international waters," he told reporters. A longstanding blockade of Gaza Palestinians in Gaza are now almost completely dependent on international aid. Israel has imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's Palestinian population. During the 20-month-long war in Gaza, Israel has restricted and sometimes blocked all aid into the territory, including food, fuel and medicine. Experts say that policy has pushed Gaza toward famine. Israel asserts that Hamas siphons off the aid to bolster its rule. Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war and took 251 hostages, most released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas still holds 55 hostages, more than half believed to be dead. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said women and children make up most of the dead. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory's population.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran Becoming More Aggressive in Nuclear Talks, Says Trump
US President Donald Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier that Iran is becoming "much more aggressive" in nuclear talks, the network said in a post on X on Tuesday. While Trump has said the next round of talks between the two countries would take place on Thursday, a senior Iranian official and a US official said Thursday was unlikely.
