Trump praises UK troops as row over his NATO comments grows

US President Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to offer an olive branch to Britain on Saturday in a row over the role of UK soldiers in Afghanistan, calling them “among the greatest of all warriors”.But other European countries have also reacted sharply to his comments discounting what NATO troops did in Afghanistan, with French President Emmanuel Macron the latest to comment Saturday.Trump had claimed NATO sent “some troops” but “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines”, in an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday. He also repeated his suggestion that the alliance would not come to the aid of the United States if asked to do so.On Saturday however, a day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned his remarks as “appalling”, he appeared to have changed position — at least as far as British troops were concerned.”The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.”In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken.”- ‘Unacceptable’ -But Britain was not the only NATO ally to have expressed anger at Trump’s earlier remarks.”I fully understand that Danish veterans have said no words can describe how much this hurts,” Danish Prime Minister Mette said Saturday on Facebook.”It is unacceptable that the American president questions the commitment of allied soldiers in Afghanistan,” she added.”Denmark is one of the NATO countries that has suffered the highest losses per capita,” the Danish prime minister pointed out.The country’s population was about 5.4 million in 2003 and, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau, around 12,000 Danish soldiers and civilians were sent to Afghanistan over the years. “These unacceptable comments are not worthy of response,” the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday of Trump’s dismissive remarks.”It is to the families of fallen soldiers that the Head of State wishes to offer comfort and reiterate the nation’s gratitude.”Some 90 French soldiers died in Afghanistan, according to the French government.Already on Friday, Starmer said: “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly, appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.” The White House initially rejected Starmer’s comments, defending Trump.”President Trump is absolutely right — the United States of America has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance has done combined,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement sent to AFP.- A ‘heavy price’ -Following the 9/11 attacks, Britain and a number of other allies joined the United States from 2001 in Afghanistan after Washington — for the first time — invoked NATO’s collective security clause.As well as Britain, Denmark and France, troops from other NATO ally countries including Canada, Germany and Italy were also killed.”Let us honour the 53 Italian soldiers who fell during the mission in Afghanistan,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a post on X on Saturday. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius recalled the “heavy price” his country paid, stressing that “our army was ready when our American allies asked for support” in 2001. “Many wounded are still suffering today from the physical and psychological consequences of that period,” he added. The Danish Veterans’ Association said it was “at a loss for words” over Trump’s claims.”Denmark has always stood by the United States, and we have shown up in crisis zones around the world when the United States asked us to,” said a statement from the association.Danish veterans are calling for a silent march in Copenhagen on January 31 to protest Trump’s remarks.Trump’s comments follow a bruising transatlantic crisis over his threats to seize Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory — now seemingly defused. The US president on Wednesday backed away from threatened tariffs on Europe for opposing his claims on the Arctic island.

Meurtre d’une mère de famille à Nice: le suspect interpellé

La police a arrêté samedi à Grasse un homme de 45 ans recherché pour l’assassinat par balles mercredi à Nice de Lizabete, une jeune mère de 23 ans qui se trouvait avec son bébé dans une voiture.Visé par deux mandats d’arrêt, un national et un européen, le suspect, né au Portugal, serait un ancien compagnon de la belle-mère de la victime.Il a été arrêté samedi en début d’après-midi sur les hauteurs de Grasse, par les enquêteurs de la police judiciaire de Nice “avec l’appui” des policiers spécialisés de la Brigade de recherche et d’intervention (BRI) et du Raid, a indiqué le procureur de Nice, Damien Martinellia, dans un communiqué.Deux autres personnes ont été interpellées et placées en garde à vue samedi, soupçonnées de lui avoir apporté de l’aide, en le logeant pour l’une d’elles, selon une source policière.Les enquêteurs avaient rapidement porté leurs soupçons sur l’homme arrêté à Grasse, qui avait, quelques jours avant l’assassinat de mercredi, été placé en garde à vue pour des violences aggravées sur son ex-compagne.Déféré dimanche, il avait été placé sous contrôle judiciaire avec interdiction d’approcher cette femme.L’assassinat de Lizabete, qui a suscité une forte émotion à Nice, a eu lieu mercredi en début de soirée, à une intersection proche d’un lycée dans l’ouest de la ville.Un homme circulant à scooter s’est porté à la hauteur de la jeune femme, qui était au volant de son véhicule, et a tiré à une dizaine de reprises à bout portant au travers de la vitre.Arrivés rapidement sur les lieux, les pompiers ne sont pas parvenus à réanimer la jeune femme.Miraculeusement, la petite fille de la victime, Ayla, âgée de 7 mois, qui était sanglée à côté sur le siège passager dans un fauteuil bébé, n’a pas été blessée.La police a retrouvé le scooter utilisé par le suspect abandonné juste derrière la gare de Nice.Le procureur de Nice avait annoncé dès jeudi soir l’ouverture “d’une information judiciaire du chef de meurtre avec préméditation”.Le suspect a été placé en rétention samedi “pour une durée maximale de 24H00” dans le cadre de l’exécution d’un mandat d’arrêt et doit être présenté à un juge d’instruction, a-t-on précisé.- Un acte “barbare” -Tard mercredi soir, le Raid était déjà intervenu une première fois pour tenter d’interpeller le suspect à son domicile mais il ne s’y trouvait pas.Selon plusieurs médias locaux, cette opération avait eu lieu au sein d’une école située dans le nord de Nice, où l’homme travaillait et disposait d’un logement.À la suite de l’assassinat de Lizabete, les candidats aux municipales à Nice avaient décidé de mettre en pause pendant trois jours leur campagne.  Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux (PS-PCF-Verts) s’était dite “sidérée et révoltée” par “cette violence d’une barbarie absolue”, appelant à cette initiative.Le maire de la ville, Christian Estrosi (Horizons), avait également appelé à “un esprit de solidarité et de décence”.Eric Ciotti, le candidat UDR-RN, avait accepté la proposition “face au choc immense qui a frappé notre ville”.Vendredi, un hommage a été rendu à la jeune victime à la mairie de Nice, la ville ayant promis d’accorder à sa fille le statut de pupille afin d’accompagner cette enfant jusqu’à sa majorité.Le maire a salué samedi sur X “le travail des enquêteurs, mené sous l’autorité du procureur de la République”, soulignant “l’apport déterminant”, selon lui, de la vidéoprotection.

Turkey pro-Kurd party urges end to Kobane siege

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM party on Saturday called for the blockade on the Kurdish-majority city of Kobane in northern Syria to be lifted immediately, warning of a “humanitarian tragedy”.The situation in Kobane had escalated from a crisis into a “deadly catastrophe”, DEM said after sending a delegation to visit northeastern Syria which over the past week has been targeted by a major Syrian military offensive. The Kurdish-held city, which is also known as Ain al-Arab, is surrounded by the Turkish border to its north and government forces on all sides.It lies around 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the Kurds’ stronghold in Syria’s far northeast.”Both the military and humanitarian siege on Kobane must be lifted as soon as possible,” said DEM co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari. Kurdish forces have withdrawn from areas near Kobane over the past week following pressure from the Syrian military as President Ahmed al-Sharaa seeks to extend his control across the country. As the military offensive advanced, residents of surrounding villages flooded into Kobane, where they were now stranded, Hatimogullari said.”When we went, the snow was knee-deep… Electricity has been cut off, the internet is cut off, water is cut off. This is a great humanitarian tragedy,” she told a news conference.With Kobane’s access to fuel and heating cut off, DEM said four children had frozen to death on Saturday as a result of extreme cold and a lack of shelter. Pharmacies were empty and there was a severe shortage of flour, food and medicine, with hunger widespread, it said. “Guarantor countries… must urgently carry out their responsibilities to lift the siege on northern and eastern Syria,” she said.She was referring to the US and western allies who for years have thrown their support behind the Kurdish-dominated SDF forces that have been forced out of the area.- Another protest banned -Damascus is now demanding the SDF disband, and Washington has indicated its historical alliance with the force has served its purpose.Kobane is highly significant for the Kurds as it was overrun by Islamic State (IS) jihadists in 2014 but the city was liberated in January 2015 by US-backed SDF forces. Although SDF went on to spearhead the fight that forced IS out of Syria in 2019, Turkey has long viewed the force as linked to the Kurdish militant PKK and a major threat along its southern border. It has thrown its weight behind Damascus’s current military offensive, prompting fury from DEM and Turkey’s Kurdish community who have staged a number of protests against the offensive. In Istanbul, scuffles broke out during the afternoon as riot police sought to prevent around 300 people from protesting, firing riot balls and pepper spray to disperse them, an AFP correspondent said.A DEM lawmaker was injured and taken to hospital, local media said, and police could be seen making arrests but it was not clear how many. Earlier on Saturday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the ongoing Syrian offensive against the SDF.”Terrorist organisations are being pushed out of those regions by the Syrian army.. All these sources of trouble for our country are being resolved,” he said. “When this separatist terrorist organisation is tackled once and for all in northern Syria, the whole region will benefit from it.”

Minnesota governor slams ‘another horrific shooting’ by federal agents

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said Saturday that federal agents deployed in Minneapolis as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown had carried out “another horrific shooting,” less than three weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Good.An unconfirmed video was circulating of a person who appears to have been shot during a street disturbance, with several gunshots heard and at least one person in the vicinity wearing a vest marked “POLICE.”The city government said it was “aware of reports of another shooting involving federal law enforcement in the area of 26th Street W and Nicollet Ave” and seeking more details.”I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” Walz said on X. “The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”Thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been deployed to the Democratic-led city, as President Donald Trump presses his campaign to deport undocumented immigrants across the country.Minneapolis has been rocked by increasingly tense protests since federal agents shot and killed Good, a US citizen, on January 7.An autopsy concluded that the killing was a homicide, a classification that does not automatically mean a crime was committed.The officer who fired the shots that killed Good, Jonathan Ross, has neither been suspended nor charged.The detention of a five-year-old boy this week, as agents sought to arrest his father, rekindled public outrage.

Foot: première défaite de la saison en Bundesliga pour le Bayern, battu par Augsbourg (2-1)

Le Bayern Munich a subi sa première défaite de la saison en Bundesliga, battu 2 à 1 par Augsbourg samedi sur sa pelouse de l’Allianz Arena, à l’occasion de la 19e journée.Les Munichois avaient ouvert le score par le défenseur japonais Hiroki Ito (23e), mais ont ensuite perdu le fil de la rencontre et ont encaissé deux buts dans le dernier quart d’heure de jeu par Arthur Chaves (75e) et Han-Noah Massengo (81e).Le Bayern reste à 50 points et ouvre la porte au Borussia Dortmund (39), qui se déplace samedi en début de soirée (18h30) à Berlin sur la pelouse de l’Union. Les hommes de Niko Kovac ont l’occasion de revenir à 8 points du leader en cas de victoire.Les autres concurrents du Bayern en ont profité, puisque Hoffenheim est allé s’imposer sur la pelouse de l’Eintracht Francfort (3-1) après avoir été mené 1-0, Leipzig a fait la différence à Heidenheim en seconde période (3-0) et le Bayer Leverkusen a tenu sa victoire (1-0) sur sa pelouse contre le Werder Brême.Avec 36 points et un match en retard de la 16e journée à jouer sur la pelouse de Brême mardi, Hoffenheim conserve sa 3e place, un point devant Leipzig, qui doit aussi jouer un match en retard mardi, à St. Pauli. Leverkusen compte 32 points, mais jouera un match en retard à Hambourg contre le HSV début mars.Ce premier coup d’arrêt pour le Bayern est un signal avant de se déplacer mercredi à Eindhoven, où un match nul lui suffira pour conserver sa 2e place à l’issue de la phase de groupe de la Ligue des champions derrière Arsenal.