Daily Briefing: A piece of the Greenland pie

On that note, let’s get into the rest of today’s edition👇

🚨 Big Story

Hours after US President Donald Trump remained uncompromising on his ambitions to take over Greenland in his speech at the Davos summit, he said that a framework for a future deal had been reached in his meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations.” He added that he will not be imposing tariffs on European nations, which were to take effect on February 1, over the autonomous Danish territory. In his speech at Davos, Trump had demanded immediate negotiations on Greenland, framing the issue as: “We want a piece of ice for world protection”.

The announcement suggests that the US would avoid military or economic conflict with its allies, at least for the time being. According to the New York Times, NATO officials had been separately discussing whether Trump could be given a part of the land to establish US military bases in the region. Notably, the US President has a desire to install a “Golden Dome” missile defence system in Greenland, access its critical minerals, and block Russia and China’s ambitions in the Arctic.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney waved the warning flag on what he called the “rupture” of the world order. In a stark speech at Davos, which earned him a rare standing ovation, Carney said that as the rules-based world order fades, “Middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” Read the full transcript of his speech here.

Carney wasn’t alone in signalling the breakdown of the “old order”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had struck similar notes in her speech. While they had common themes in their speeches, there were also key divergences worth examining. Yashee explains.

⚡Only in Express

In a scrutiny of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC)’s ROC filings, The Indian Express found that the firm received an “unsecured loan” of Rs 13.50 crore in 2021 from a Rohtak-based firm, ‘Ramasetu Infrastructure India (P) Limited’. However, we also found that this firm doesn’t exist in official records. Read Shyamlal Yadav’s report.

📰 From the Front Page

Breach: The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA), an independent, self-regulatory body for private TV and digital news broadcasters, issued 54 orders in the past three years. Of these, nearly 60 per cent of the orders were against programmes that violated its ethics code on communal harmony.

📌 Must Read

Shifting winds: As Nitin Nabin took charge of the BJP, he began forming his team, appointing the party’s in-charges for the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala and civic body polls in Bengaluru and Telangana. According to sources, Nabin will be leading the BJP’s renewed focus on urban areas, where the party’s performance was subpar in the 2024 general elections.

🎧 For more on the BJP’s new president, tune in to today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode.

Listen up: Music composer A R Rahman has found himself in the midst of a controversy over his recent remarks addressing discrimination arising from a “power shift” in the Hindi film industry. Rahman also hinted towards an increasingly communal environment, pointing out the growing shift toward propaganda and the divisive tone of certain films. Soon, voices of criticism came Rahman’s way, forcing him to issue an explanation. In our Opinion pages today, Suanshu Khurana writes why, amid the vitriol, we must not forget to listen to Rahman.

On the fence: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann recently said that the Union government had agreed, in principle, to shift the security fence in the state closer to the International Border with Pakistan. Farmers in the state had been demanding the shift as it would allow unhindered cultivation on acres of farmland beyond the current fence line. Kanchan Vasdev explains the history of the demand, and why meeting it isn’t so easy.

⏳ And Finally…

On January 9, the Delhi Police made an unusual arrest — that of Meerut resident Rambiri, who was travelling back to Delhi with four sophisticated firearms and three magazines in her luggage. While women have been arrested for gunrunning before, none came close to Rambiri’s age: 67. Known in the syndicate as “Chachi”, Rambiri is one of the oldest women involved in serious organised crime, and will be serving her second stint in Tihar jail. This is her story.

That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta

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