Trump sparks anger with claim Nato troops avoided Afghanistan front line

Watch: Labour and Conservative MPs criticise Trump Afghanistan remarksDonald Trump has sparked fresh outrage in the UK after saying Nato troops stayed "a little off the front lines" during the war in Afghanistan.Labour MP Emily Thornberry, the chair of the foreign affairs committee, called it an "absolute insult" to the 457 British service personnel killed in the conflict, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "How dare he question their sacrifice?"Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who served in…

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woman escapes Nigeria church abduction

Madina MaishanuBBC Africa, Kurmin WaliBBCSarah Peter managed to escape from the kidnappers despite being hit on the head by one of the attackersThere was a huge plaster on Sarah Peter's head to staunch the bleeding caused by the blow of a gunman's weapon.Sarah, not her real name, was in church in a village in northern Nigeria on Sunday morning when attackers raided the compound to abduct the worshippers and take them away on foot.The 60-year-old was whacked on…

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US unveils plans for development of ‘New Gaza’ with skyscrapers

Getty ImagesThe US plan for "New Gaza" was presented at the World Economic Forum in DavosThe US has unveiled its plans for a "New Gaza" that would see the devastated Palestinian territory rebuilt from scratch.Slides showed dozens of skyscrapers stretching along the Mediterranean coast and housing estates in the Rafah area, while a map outlining the phased development of new residential, agricultural and industrial areas for the 2.1 million population.They were presented during a signing ceremony at the…

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Could Trump’s bid to become peacemaker-in-chief sideline the struggling UN?

Lyse DoucetChief international correspondentBBC"Together we are in a position to… end decades of suffering, stop generations of hatred and bloodshed, and forge a beautiful, everlasting and glorious peace for that region and for the whole region of the world."Such was the soaring promise of US President Donald Trump as he inaugurated his new Board of Peace on the stage of stages that is the Davos Economic Forum this week.The world of all too much suffering and strife badly…

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Trump’s Board of Peace, Zelensky and Musk at Davos

Before President Donald Trump left the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, he announced the creation of the Board of Peace and called it a "new international oversight body", though several key US allies were not present at a charter-signing ceremony. Trump also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Elon Musk appeared at the forum for the first time to talk about space and AI. The BBC's Faisal Islam is in Davos and runs through the day's…

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Rapid rollback of Kurdish-led forces reshapes Sharaa’s Syria

Hugo BachegaMiddle East correspondent, BeirutAFPSyrian government forces advanced rapidly into north-eastern Syria in recent daysPresident Ahmed al-Sharaa has made significant advances in his efforts to unify a deeply fractured Syria, reclaiming large swathes of territory in the north-east that had been under the control of a Kurdish-led militia alliance for more than a decade. What happens next will be a test for a government that has tried to assert its authority over the whole country.The gains by government…

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What we know about Trump’s ‘framework of a future deal’ over Greenland

EPAUS President Donald Trump has announced that there is a "framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland".The statement came as a surprise after days of mounting tensions, culminating with a threat to impose economic sanctions on eight close US allies which have opposed his plans to seize the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.So what could this deal entail and will it be acceptable to Denmark and Greenland - both of which have made it clear they will…

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Son-in-law of Venezuelan opposition candidate freed from jail, wife says

Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González, has been released from prison, his wife has said, more than a year after he was detained as part of a crackdown on Maduro government critics and their relatives.Mariana González said her husband had returned home after "380 days of unjust and arbitrary detention".Tudares is one of more than 150 detainees who have been released since the US military seized Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, in a nighttime raid…

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Trump to meet Zelensky as US envoy says ending Russia war down to one issue

Paul KirbyEurope digital editorAleksandr Gusev/SOPA ImagesUkraine's Volodymr Zelensky arrived in Davos on Thursday ahead of his talks with President Donald Trump (file pic)US President Donald Trump will meet Volodymyr Zelensky at Davos on Thursday, after his envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism about finalising a deal to end the war in Ukraine."I think we've got it down to one issue and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it's solvable," Witkoff said ahead of his trip…

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UK holds off joining Trump’s peace board over Putin concerns

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said the UK will not yet be signing up to US President Donald Trump's proposed Board of Peace over concerns about Russian leader Vladimir Putin's possible participation.Cooper told the BBC the UK had been invited to join the board but "won't be one of the signatories today" at a planned ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The foreign secretary described the board as a "legal treaty that raises much broader issues"…

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US allies won’t forget Trump Greenland crisis

Paul AdamsDiplomatic correspondentGetty ImagesProtesters have taken to the streets outside the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland this monthWhat on earth has the last fortnight been all about?In the wake of a successful military operation in Venezuela earlier this month, a buoyed-up Donald Trump started to ratchet up the rhetoric on Greenland.Day after day, the world was treated to claims of ownership, threats of military action and tariffs against traditional allies in Europe.Now, in an apparent puff of smoke,…

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Trump drops threats of tariffs on Nato allies over Greenland

Bernd Debusmann JrWhite House reporterWatch: The BBC's Faisal Islam on how Trump's Davos speech receivedPresident Donald Trump has said he no longer plans to impose tariffs on European countries that had opposed his ambitions for the US to acquire Greenland. In a social media post, Trump said his decision followed a "very productive meeting" with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte. "This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all Nato…

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