President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. For Trump, the sheer size of Greenland’s territory holds part of the appeal; it is about three times the size of Texas, and bigger than Alaska. (Allison Robbert/The New York Times) By DAVID E. SANGER As the struggle for control of Greenland intensifies — and with it, the question of whether the Atlantic alliance will suffer a mortal wound — two raw geopolitical realities have come into focus. The first is t

By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, said Monday that she would dissolve parliament and call a snap election, in a bid to strengthen her power and revive the sagging fortunes of her party. Takaichi, the first woman to lead the country, said she would dissolve the House of Representatives when it convenes for its regular session Friday and schedule an election on Feb. 8 — only about three months into her tenure. She said the move was necessary to make

Damaged train cars on an Iryo high-speed train that was involved in a Sunday crash with another train in Adamuz, Spain, on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. The Spanish authorities were investigating the causes on Monday of a high-speed train crash in southern Spain that killed at least 39 people, and survivors described harrowing scenes of bodies thrown from mangled train cars. (Finbarr O’Reilly/The New York Times) By JASON HOROWITZ, JOSÉ BAUTISTA and AMELIA NIERENBERG Spanish authorit

Crowds gather as they wave the flag of Greenland to protest against President Donald Trump and his proposal to take over, in Nuuk, Greenland, Jan. 17, 2026. (Juliette Pavy/The New York Times) By MAYA TEKELI and JULIETTE PAVY For the first time since President Donald Trump renewed his campaign to take over Greenland, people across the Arctic island braved the freezing temperatures and took to the icy streets on Saturday in coordinated protests. Demonstrators waved Greenlandic

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump during a news conference from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 29, 2025. President Donald Trump is inviting countries to longer-term membership on his Board of Peace if they cough up more than a billion dollars in cash during in its first year, and the charter’s failure to mention Gaza is fueling speculation the body will pursue a broader mandate than just rebuilding the Palestinian enclave. (Saher Algh

From left: Vivan Motzfeldt, Greenland’s foreign minister, and Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Danish foreign minister, meet with Senators Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Angus King (I-Maine) at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. A high-powered meeting in Washington on Wednesday ended in an impasse, leaving Greenlanders fearful of what comes next. (Eric Lee/The New York Times) By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN and MAYA TEKELI That’s what Greenlanders ar

President Donald Trump, right, looks on as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel speaks during a joint press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 29, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times) By EDWARD WONG and TYLER PAGER Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has asked President Donald Trump to postpone any plans for a U.S. military attack on Iran, a senior U.S. official said Thursday, even as the Iranian government continues to grapple with natio

By ABDI LATIF DAHIR and SANAM MAHOOZI Iran was expected Wednesday to execute a 26-year-old protester who was sentenced to death just days after his detention, according to human rights groups and family members. President Donald Trump has threatened “strong action” if Iran carries out any such death sentences. As Iran tries to crush anti-regime protests that began more than two weeks ago, the country’s chief justice, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, urged speedy trials and execut

By MUKTITA SUHARTONO and JIN YU YOUNG A crane fell on a train with about 200 passengers and crew members aboard in northeastern Thailand on Wednesday, killing at least 32 people and injuring at least 67 others, the Thai Health Ministry said. The authorities were investigating the accident, which occurred about 9 a.m. on a section of track northeast of Bangkok over which an elevated, high-speed railway is being constructed. The line is planned to extend through Southeast Asia

A statue commemorating Hans Egede, the Danish missionary who founded Nuuk in 1728, stands on a hill overlooking the town in Greenland, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. President Donald Trump cites reasons of ‘national security’ to justify his fixation on Greenland. But scholars say the territory’s vast size itself is at least part of what appeals to him. (Ivor Prickett/The New York Times) By AMELIA NIERENBERG Denmark, Greenland and the United States have a “fundamental disagreement”