👋 Ushé-ushé!*
Welcome to Thursday, where U.S. President Donald Trump declares a “national emergency” at the border with Mexico, hundreds of LGBTQ+ couples get married as Thailand legalizes same-sex marriage, and a Greek resident makes a very surprising find in the trash. Meanwhile, Étienne Goetz in French economic daily Les Echos explains why it’s time to invest in good ol’ gold.
[*Kanuri, Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
U.S. daily The Los Angeles Times features before-and-after photos of destruction in Santa Rosa, in Northern California, following the Tubbs Fire that burned more than 36,000 acres and killed 22 back in 2017. In a message of hope after blazes have roiled L.A. for more than two weeks, the Times talks with survivors in Santa Rosa about the possibility for areas to recover fully in the wake of such disasters. Meanwhile, a new fire near Bel Air, and adjacent to a major highway in the city, broke out today and has burned at least 20 acres so far.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Trump to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, vows to end "ridiculous war" in Ukraine. An internal government memo reveals that up to 10,000 troops could be deployed at the Mexican border, which U.S. President Donald Trump declared a “national emergency.” Mexican states are bracing for Trump's mass deportation plan and have started setting up shelters for the migrants gathering at the border. The president told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to “stop this ridiculous war” against Ukraine, in a post on Truth Social, and threatened to raise taxes and tariffs for Russia. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a “strong and sovereign Europe” to face the “challenge” of Trump's presidency. Learn more about Trump’s first executive orders in this piece by Pierre Haski for France Inter.
• Israel launches “counter-terrorism” raids in West Bank, Jenin camp evacuated. The Israeli army has continued raids in the West Bank, in what Defence Prime Minister Israel Katz called a “counter-terrorism” operation. Two Palestinian militants were killed in Jenin and hundreds of people have left the city's refugee camp on an “evacuation order,” Palestinian officials reported.
• New wildfire breaks out in Los Angeles area. A new wildfire broke out north of Los Angeles on Wednesday, triggering the evacuation of some 31,000 people. The Hughes fire, which rapidly grew to more than 9,400 acres, is fueled by strong and dry winds and more than 4,000 firefighters were deployed to fight the blaze. Dive into historian Mike Davis’s work on the consequences of L.A. urban development in this article by Alexander Howard for The Conversation.
• Houthi rebels release crew of vessel seized in November 2023. On Wednesday, Yemeni Houthi rebels released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a commercial ship seized in the Red Sea in November 2023. This came following mediation by the Oman sultanate and a separate request from Hamas to release the 25 crew members. The Houthis SABA news agency said the move was “in support of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.”
• Thailand's same-sex marriage bill takes effect. On Thursday, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to recognize marriage equality and legalize same-sex marriage. Hundreds of same-sex couples said “I do” across the country to celebrate the landmark bill.
• Thirteen people hit by a train in India. At least 13 people were killed and five injured after being hit by a train. The passengers were fleeing their Mumbai-bound train amid fire rumors, after someone pulled the emergency cord, and were hit by another train on an adjacent track. It has not been confirmed whether there was actually a fire on the first train.
• News Quiz! What artifact was found in an abandoned garbage bag in Greece?
A. A post-Byzantine ceremonial staff
B. A jar of olive oil
C. A 2,000-year-old marble statue
D. A rare engraved Turkish amulet
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
11%
Solar energy is officially the EU’s fastest-growing power source, making up 11% of the total power the 27-country bloc consumes. This figure means that solar energy surpassed coal power, which makes up 10%, and boosted the share of renewables to nearly half of all energy production over the past five years, up from 34%. Experts say that in addition to green policies, the war in Ukraine, which drastically increased the cost of cheap Russian oil, has pushed the EU to invest in green alternatives.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇺🇸 U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order trying to end citizenship for those born on American soil despite both law and precedent saying otherwise. For Italian writer Mattia Feltri, America was born from the idea that anyone could come, live freely, pursue their happiness. That dream is dead.
— LA STAMPA
💻 Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's attack on fact-checkers may be cynical and vile, but the practice is here to stay, and gets at the core of maintaining a healthy democracy.
— AGÊNCIA PÚBLICA
🪙 Gold is the asset of choice for cushioning market shocks and navigating uncertain geopolitical times. But that's not the only reason analysts are forecasting an ounce at $3,000 within the next year or two.
— LES ECHOS
📣 VERBATIM
“The frontline is moving in the wrong direction.”
— NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte pushed for continued support for Ukraine from the U.S., saying that the moment calls for stepping up support rather than scaling it back. During his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Rutte said that Europe would foot the bill for additional support, warning that a win for Russia in this war would mean Vladimir Putin “high fiving” the leaders of North Korea and China.
✍️ Newsletter by Chloé Touchard & Jake Shropshire
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Quiz Answer: C. An 80-centimeter (31-inch) headless marble statue of a woman was discovered in a garbage bag beside a trash bin in Neoi Epivates, near Thessaloniki. A resident found the artifact and brought it to local authorities, who contacted archeologists. The statue is believed to be more than 2,000 years old and will be further examined; local authorities opened an investigation to determine who discarded the antique statue.