Jamie McGeever

The eye-watering surge in U.S. tech giant Oracle&#39;s share price on Wednesday added fuel to a fiery debate: is the U.S. artificial intelligence stock boom a bubble destined to burst?&nbsp;This is a question that has dogged Wall Street for months, as AI euphoria has helped the S&amp;P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq hit new highs seemingly every day, swatting away the chaos and uncertainty surrounding tariffs, Washington politics and Fed independence.&nbsp;But Wednesday felt different. It&#39;s not every day that one of the country&#39;s biggest tech companies sees its share price skyrocket by as much as 43%. Oracle is not a penny stock, startup or meme stock. A surge of this magnitude should make everyone reassess where markets are, and whether this boom is moving into unsustainable territory.&nbsp;Below are five charts that suggest what former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan termed &quot;irrational exuberance&quot; may be engulfing AI and tech.&nbsp;1. Oracle&#39;s soaring valuation&nbsp;Oracle, the cloud computing giant, saw its stock trade at nearly 50x estimated 12-month forward earnings on Wednesday, the highest since the dotcom crash when its forward PE topped 120. Its share price rose as much as 43% on the day, causing it to virtually double since June.&nbsp;Oracle did say it expects cloud revenue to exceed half a trillion dollars and announced four new multi-billion contracts, so some optimism is warranted. But should the company truly be worth twice as much as it was only three months ago?&nbsp;&nbsp;2. The Nvidia juggernautNvidia&#39;s share price has doubled since April, rising an eye-popping 300% in the last two years. The AI chip superpower is now the world&#39;s most valuable company with a market cap of $4.3 trillion, larger than every country&#39;s listed stock exchange apart from the US, China, Japan and India, according to Deutsche Bank.&nbsp;Sure, Nvidia continue to churn out cash, but just two customers made up 39% of its revenue in the last quarter. Is that sustainable?&nbsp;&nbsp;3. Record-high concentrationThe combined weighting of the top 5 companies in the S&amp;P 500 is nearing 30%, higher than the &#39;Nifty Fifty&#39; in the late 1960s/early 1970s and much higher than tech companies in 2000 before the dotcom bust.&nbsp;This doesn&#39;t automatically mean we&#39;re in a bubble, but the market is in unchartered territory and heavily dependent on a handful of companies - all of them in one industry. History suggests this level of concentration rarely ends well.&nbsp;&nbsp;4. Lofty valuationsThe S&amp;P 500 tech sector is nearing its most expensive levels since 2002 when the dust from the dotcom bust was still settling. Of course, this can be sustained as long as the cash keeps rolling in.&nbsp;But the amount of AI-related capex needed to develop the industry &ndash; an estimated $6.7 trillion worldwide by 2030, according to McKinsey - means the amount of cash that will need to keep coming in is enormous. When the bar is that high, even sound companies might struggle to meet it.&nbsp;&nbsp;5. Stretched positioningBank of America&#39;s August fund manager survey showed that the most crowded trade in world markets currently is once again &quot;long Magnificent 7&quot;, according to 45% of those polled. A majority, 52%, say they see no AI bubble, suggesting this packed trade could get even more crowded before it unwinds.&nbsp;Investors have little incentive to go against this trade as long as it remains a winning one. But when a crowded trade reverses it can be sudden, and not everyone gets out the exit door in time. A lot of investors could lose a lot of money.&nbsp;&nbsp;- The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters

Articles

Oracle’s massive stock surge intensifies debate over whether the U.S. AI tech boom is a risky market bubble.

Oracle surge pours fuel on fiery AI bubble debate

ISLAMABAD: Authorities in India&rsquo;s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh demolished a Muslim shrine on Sunday, January 11, following an order by a local court that declared the structure an illegal encroachment on government land.&nbsp;Officials said the district administration in Deoria used bulldozers to raze the Hazrat Shaheed Syed Abdul Gani Shah Baba shrine, which was located on barren government land on the Deoria&ndash;Gorakhpur Road. The operation was carried out under heavy police deployment to prevent any untoward incident.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 849px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2010356165860032775&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2F&sessionId=6cb67ad56b600ae8755daae5203e3b90bf7b353a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>According to the administration, the action followed directions from the Sadar Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) court, which ruled that the land belonged to the government.&nbsp;Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shruti Sharma said the demolition was conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures. &ldquo;The situation in the area is completely normal,&rdquo; she added.&nbsp;The case dates back to 2019, when local leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a complaint alleging illegal construction on government land.&nbsp;The demolition has sparked political and public reactions. Senior politician Swami Prasad Maurya, a former local minister, condemned the action, calling it &ldquo;extremely unfortunate&rdquo; and saying it had hurt the religious sentiments of both Muslims and Hindus in the region. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/10182285-f65b-428d-bd36-ecbd31dfe60d-Screenshot 2026-01-12 103931.png" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-12 103931.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 720px;"></figure>Journalist Wasim Akram Tyagi also criticized the demolition, questioning what he described as selective action against minority places of worship, while alleging that numerous religious structures belonging to the majority community exist on government land across the state without facing similar measures.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/9e426e6f-1375-468f-9f9c-fcdbf9915de8-Screenshot 2026-01-12 103900.png" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-12 103900.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure>The Uttar Pradesh administration, however, maintains that the demolition was a legal enforcement action carried out in compliance with a standing court order, and not targeted at any particular community.

India

The case dates back to 2019, when local leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a complaint alleging illegal construction on government land.

India bulldozes Muslim shrine on BJP leaders’ complaint

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran&#39;s leadership had called him seeking &ldquo;to negotiate&rdquo; after he repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Tehran killed protesters. For two weeks, Iran has been rocked by a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/fresh-protests-in-iran-as-internet-blackout-persists" style="color:#0073e6;">protest movement</a> that has swelled in spite of a crackdown. Initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, the demonstrations have evolved into a serious challenge to the Iranian government. Information has continued to trickle out of Iran despite a days-long internet shutdown, with videos filtering out of capital Tehran and other cities over the past three nights showing large demonstrations. &quot;The leaders of Iran called&quot; yesterday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that &ldquo;a meeting is being set up... They want to negotiate.&rdquo; He added, however, that &ldquo;we may have to act before a meeting&rdquo;. &#39;Strong options&#39;&nbsp;US President Trump said he was considering potential military action against Iran, amid mounting reports of deadly crackdowns against the country&#39;s mass anti-government protests. &quot;They&#39;re starting to, it looks like,&quot; Trump said, when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One if Iran had crossed his previously stated red line of protesters being killed. &quot;We&#39;re looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it, and we&#39;re looking at some very strong options. We&#39;ll make a determination,&quot; he said. Meanwhile, a video circulating on Sunday showed dozens of bodies accumulating outside a morgue south of Tehran. The footage, geolocated by AFP to Kahrizak, showed bodies wrapped in black bags, with what appeared to be grieving relatives searching for loved ones.<h2 style="line-height: 2;"> </h2><h2 style="line-height: 2;">Near paralysis&nbsp;</h2>In Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city in a state of near paralysis. The price of meat has nearly doubled since the start of the protests, and many shops are closed.&nbsp; Those that do open must close at around 4:00 or 5:00 pm, when security forces deploy en masse. There were fewer videos showing protests on social media Sunday, but it was not clear to what extent that was due to the internet shutdown. One widely shared video showed protesters again gathering in the Pounak district of Tehran shouting slogans in favor of the ousted monarchy. The protests have become one of the biggest challenges to the rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, coming in the wake of Israel&#39;s 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June, which was backed by the United States. State TV has aired images of burning buildings, including a mosque, as well as funeral processions for security personnel. But after three days of mass actions, state outlets were at pains to present a picture of calm returning, broadcasting images of smooth-flowing traffic on Sunday.&nbsp; &lsquo;Legitimate targets&rsquo;Tehran Governor Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian insisted in televised comments that &ldquo;the number of protests is decreasing&rdquo;. The Iranian government on Sunday declared three days of national mourning for &ldquo;martyrs&rdquo; including members of the security forces killed. President Masoud Pezeshkian also urged Iranians to join a &ldquo;national resistance march&rdquo; Monday to denounce the violence. In response to Trump&#39;s repeated threats to intervene, Iran&#39;s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iran-to-target-us-military-shipping-if-attacked-parliament-speaker" style="color:#0073e6;">Iran would hit back</a>, calling US military and shipping &ldquo;legitimate targets&rdquo; in comments broadcast by state TV. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Stand with the people&#39;&nbsp;</h2>Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran&rsquo;s ousted Shah, who has emerged as an anti-government figurehead, said he was prepared to return to the country and lead a democratic transition.&ldquo;I&#39;m already planning on that,&rdquo; he told Fox News on Sunday. He later urged Iran&#39;s security forces and government workers to join the demonstrators. &ldquo;Employees of state institutions, as well as members of the armed and security forces, have a choice: stand with the people and become allies of the nation, or choose complicity with the murderers of the people,&rdquo; he said in a social media post. He also urged protesters to replace the flags outside of Iranian embassies. &ldquo;The time has come for them to be adorned with Iran&#39;s national flag,&rdquo; he said. The ceremonial, pre-revolution flag has become an emblem of the global rallies that have mushroomed in support of Iran&rsquo;s demonstrators. In London, protesters managed over the weekend to swap out the Iranian embassy flag, hoisting in its place the tri-colored banner used under the last Shah.

Middle East

For two weeks, Iran has been rocked by a protest movement that has swelled in spite of a crackdown; initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, the demonstrations have evolved into a serious challenge to the Iranian government.

‘Meeting being set up’ with Iran, but we may act first, says Trump

CARACAS: US President Donald Trump said Sunday his administration was working well with Venezuela&#39;s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez &mdash; and that he would be open to meeting with her. Trump&#39;s upbeat remarks came just over a week after Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was seized in a US special forces raid and brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Trump has said that the United States now has de facto control of Venezuela, as it enforces a naval blockade of the South American nation&#39;s vital oil exports. Rodriguez, despite being a close Maduro ally, has indicated a willingness to work with the United States, saying she is open to cooperating on Trump&#39;s demands for access to Venezuelan oil. Her government has also vowed to release political prisoners and begin talks on reestablishing diplomatic ties with Washington. US envoys visited Caracas on Friday to discuss reopening Washington&#39;s embassy there. &quot;Venezuela is really working out well. We&#39;re working along really well with the leadership,&quot; Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One. Asked if he planned to meet with Rodriguez, Trump said: &quot;At some point I&#39;ll be.&quot; He also said he expected to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Tuesday or Wednesday. Many were stunned when Trump dismissed the possibility of Machado serving as Venezuela&#39;s interim leader following the toppling of Maduro, and instead accepted Rodriguez&#39;s ascent. Machado was given the Nobel Peace Prize last year and dedicated it to Trump, though he has made no secret of his frustration at being passed over for the award. Political prisonersThe Venezuelan government began to release prisoners jailed under Maduro on Thursday, saying a &quot;large&quot; number would be released &mdash; but rights groups and the opposition say only about 20 have walked free so far, including several prominent opposition figures. Relatives have gathered outside prisons believed to be holding political detainees, to await their loved ones&#39; release, sometimes even camping outside. Rights groups estimate there are 800 to 1,200 political prisoners currently being held in Venezuela. &quot;Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their political prisoners. Thank you!&quot; Trump said in a post late Saturday on his Truth Social platform. &quot;I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done.&quot; Meanwhile, a detained police officer accused of &quot;treason&quot; against Venezuela died in state custody after a stroke and heart attack, the state prosecution service confirmed Sunday. Opposition groups said the 52-year-old man, Edison Jose Torres Fernandez, had shared messages critical of Maduro&#39;s government. &quot;We directly hold the regime of Delcy Rodriguez responsible for this death,&quot; Justice First, part of the Venezuelan opposition alliance, said on X. Late Saturday, families held candlelight vigils outside El Rodeo prison east of Caracas and El Helicoide, a notorious jail run by the intelligence services, holding signs with the names of their imprisoned relatives. Prisoners include Freddy Superlano, a close ally of Machado who was jailed after challenging Maduro&#39;s widely contested reelection in 2024. &quot;He is alive &mdash; that was what I was most afraid about,&quot; Superlano&#39;s wife, Aurora Silva, told reporters. &quot;He is standing strong, and I am sure he is going to come out soon.&quot; Maduro&#39;s supporters rallied in Caracas on Saturday, but the demonstrations were far smaller than his camp had mustered in the past, and top figures from his government were notably absent. Oil Trump pressed top oil executives at a White House meeting on Friday to invest in Venezuela, but was met with a cautious reception. ExxonMobil&#39;s chief executive, Darren Woods, notably dismissed the country as &quot;uninvestable&quot; without sweeping reforms &mdash; earning a rebuke from Trump. &quot;I didn&#39;t like Exxon&#39;s response. You know, we have so many that want it, I&#39;d probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn&#39;t like their response. They&#39;re playing too cute,&quot; Trump said Sunday. Experts say Venezuela&#39;s oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.

Americas

US president also expected to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Tuesday or Wednesday; Trump has said that the US now has de facto control of Venezuela, as it enforces a naval blockade of the South American nation's vital oil exports.

Trump says working well with Venezuela's new leaders, open to meeting

SYDNEY: Tech giant Meta urged Australia on Monday to rethink its world-first social media ban for under-16s, while reporting that it has blocked more than 544,000 accounts under the new law. Australia has required big platforms, including Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, to stop underage users from holding accounts since the legislation came into force on December 10 last year. Companies face fines of Aus$49.5 million (US$33 million) if they fail to take &quot;reasonable steps&quot; to comply. Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg&#39;s Meta said it had removed 331,000 underage accounts from Instagram, 173,000 from Facebook, and 40,000 from Threads in the week to December 11. The company said it was committed to complying with the law. &quot;That said, we call on the Australian government to engage with industry constructively to find a better way forward, such as incentivizing all of industry to raise the standard in providing safe, privacy-preserving, age-appropriate experiences online, instead of blanket bans,&quot; it said in a statement. Meta renewed an earlier call for app stores to be required to verify people&#39;s ages and get parental approval before under-16s can download an app. This was the only way to avoid a &quot;whack-a-mole&quot; race to stop teens migrating to new apps to avoid the ban, the company said. Meta said parents and experts were worried about the ban isolating young people from online communities, and driving some to less regulated apps and darker corners of the internet. Initial impacts of the legislation &quot;suggest it is not meeting its objectives of increasing the safety and well-being of young Australians,&quot; it argued. While raising concerns over the lack of an industry standard for determining age online, Meta said its compliance with the Australian law would be a &quot;multilayered process.&quot; Since the ban, the California-based firm said it had helped found the OpenAge Initiative, a non-profit group that has launched age-verification tools called AgeKeys to be used with participating platforms.

Australasia

Australia has required big platforms, including Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, to stop underage users from holding accounts since the legislation came into force on December 10 last year; companies face fines of Aus$49.5 million (US$33 million) if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to comply.

Meta urges Australia to change teen social media ban

Asfandyar Yahya

It&rsquo;s not English. It&rsquo;s not nonsense. It&rsquo;s everywhere. Lorem Ipsum has outlived empires, printing presses, and software updates, and somehow ended up on your Canva template.In this episode, we explore the history behind the internet&rsquo;s favorite filler text.

Tell Me Why

Tell Me Why: Lorem Ipsum matters

SYDNEY: Australia&#39;s leading Adelaide Festival is battling a slew of artist withdrawals and board resignations after disinviting a Palestinian-Australian author citing &quot;cultural sensitivities&quot; raised by the Bondi Beach shooting. Scores of artists have reportedly torn up their invitations, several board members &mdash; including the festival chair &mdash; have quit, and the blocked author&#39;s lawyers have demanded an explanation. Australia&#39;s premier annual cultural event, which lures artists from around the world, unleashed the storm last week when it told Randa Abdel-Fattah it did not &quot;wish to proceed&quot; with her appearance at its Writers&#39; Week. &quot;Whilst we do not suggest in any way that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah or her writings have any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, given her past statements, we have formed the view that it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi,&quot; it said in a statement. The festival board said it was &quot;shocked and saddened&quot; by the December 14 mass shooting at a Jewish festival on Bondi Beach, which killed 15 people, and its decision to exclude Abdel-Fattah was not taken lightly. But the shunned author and academic said it was a &quot;blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism.&quot; It was a &quot;despicable attempt to associate me with the Bondi massacre,&quot; she said in a statement. Her legal representatives, Marque Lawyers, sent a letter to the festival on Sunday demanding that it identify statements by the author that justified excluding her. Marque Lawyers&#39; managing partner Michael Bradley said the festival had &quot;trampled&quot; on Abdel-Fattah&#39;s human rights, and the board would have to answer for it. Festival chair resigns Abdel-Fattah has faced criticism over some statements, including a post on X in October 2024 saying: &quot;The goal is decolonization and the end of this murderous Zionist colony.&quot; Local media said her exclusion had led more than 70 participants to withdraw from the festival, which runs from February 27 to March 15. They included author and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who posted a video on social media of himself tearing up his invitation. Three Adelaide Festival board members reportedly resigned their positions at an extraordinary meeting on Saturday. On Sunday, the festival chair, Tracey Whiting, announced she, too, had resigned with immediate effect. &quot;Recent decisions were bound by certain undertakings, and my resignation enables the Adelaide Festival, as an organization, to refresh its leadership and its approach to these circumstances,&quot; she said. South Australia&#39;s Premier Peter Malinauskas said he was legally prevented from directing the board&#39;s decisions. &quot;However, when asked for my opinion, I was happy to make it clear that the state government did not support the inclusion of Dr Abdel-Fattah on the Adelaide Writers&#39; Week program,&quot; he told local media. The Adelaide Festival said it had &quot;temporarily unpublished&quot; the list of participants and events in Writers&#39; Week while it works through changes to its website.

Australia's premier annual cultural event unleashes storm after telling Randa Abdel-Fattah it does not "wish to proceed" with her appearance at its Writers' Week; scores of artists have torn up invitations, several board members have quit, and the blocked author's lawyers have demanded an explanation; shunned author and academic says it is a "blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism."





Arts festival faces exodus after dropping Palestinian Australian author

COPENHAGEN: Denmark&#39;s prime minister on Sunday said her country faces a &quot;decisive moment&quot; in its diplomatic battle with the United States over Greenland, after President Donald Trump again suggested using force to seize the Arctic territory. Ahead of meetings in Washington from Monday on, the global scramble for key raw materials, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that &quot;there is a conflict over Greenland.&quot; &quot;This is a decisive moment&quot; with stakes that go beyond the immediate issue of Greenland&#39;s future, she added in a debate with other Danish political leaders. Frederiksen posted on Facebook that &quot;we are ready to defend our values &mdash; wherever it is necessary &nbsp;&mdash; also in the Arctic. We believe in international law and in people&#39;s right to self-determination.&quot; Germany and Sweden backed Denmark against Trump&#39;s latest claims to the self-governing Danish territory. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned US &quot;threatening rhetoric&quot; after Trump repeated that Washington was &quot;going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.&quot; &quot;Sweden, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, and several major European countries stand together with our Danish friends,&quot; he told a defense conference in Salen, where the US general in charge of NATO took part. Kristersson said a US takeover of mineral-rich Greenland would be &quot;a violation of international law and risks encouraging other countries to act in exactly the same way.&quot; No &#39;immediate threat&#39; Germany reiterated its support for Denmark and Greenland ahead of the Washington discussions. Before meeting US counterpart Marco Rubio on Monday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadehpul held talks in Iceland to address the &quot;strategic challenges of the Far North&quot;, according to a foreign ministry statement. &quot;Security in the Arctic is becoming more and more important,&quot; and &quot;is part of our common interest in NATO,&quot; he said at a joint news conference with Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir. &quot;If the American president is looking at what threats might come from Russian or Chinese ships or submarines in the region, we can of course find answers to that together,&quot; he added. But &quot;the future of Greenland must be decided by the people of Greenland&quot; and Denmark, he said. Asked about a possible strengthening of NATO&#39;s commitment in the Arctic, Wadephul said Germany was &quot;ready to assume greater responsibilities.&quot; Earlier Sunday, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said: &quot;We are strengthening security in the Arctic together, as NATO allies, and not against one another.&quot; He was speaking ahead of an international meeting on critical raw materials in Washington. European nations have scrambled to coordinate a response after the White House said this week that Trump wanted to buy Greenland and refused to rule out military action. On Tuesday, leaders of seven European countries, including France, Britain, Germany, and Italy, signed a letter saying it is &quot;only&quot; for Denmark and Greenland to decide the territory&#39;s future. Trump says controlling the island is crucial for US national security because of the rising Russian and Chinese military activity in the Arctic. NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Alexus Grynkewich told the Swedish conference that alliance members were discussing Greenland&#39;s status. While there was &quot;no immediate threat&quot; to NATO territory, the Arctic&#39;s strategic importance was fast growing, the US general added. Grynkewich said he would not comment on &quot;the political dimensions of recent rhetoric,&quot; but talks on Greenland were being held at the North Atlantic Council. &quot;Those dialogues continue in Brussels. They have been healthy dialogues from what I&#39;ve heard,&quot; the general said. A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark. Polls indicate that Greenland&#39;s population strongly opposes a US takeover. &quot;I don&#39;t think there&#39;s an immediate threat to NATO territory right now,&quot; Grynkewich told the conference. But he said Russian and Chinese vessels had been seen patrolling together on Russia&#39;s northern coast and near Alaska and Canada, working together to get greater access to the Arctic as ice recedes due to global warming.

Europe

PM Frederiksen says “we are ready to defend our values — wherever it is necessary  — also in the Arctic. We believe in international law and in peoples' right to self-determination"; Swedish PM condemns US "threatening rhetoric" after Trump repeats that Washington was "going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not."

Danish PM says Greenland showdown at 'decisive moment' after new Trump threats

LONDON: Demonstrators rallied in London, Paris and Istanbul on Sunday in support of protests in Iran that have been countered with a deadly crackdown by the country&#39;s security forces. London demonstrations, initially in front of the Iranian embassy and later in front of the British prime minister&#39;s residence, grew to several thousand as the day progressed. &quot;We want revolution, change the regime,&quot; Afsi, a 38-year-old Iranian, who declined to give her last name, told AFP at the rally in front of Downing Street. Afsi has lived in London for seven years, and has not been able to contact her family in Iran because of an internet blackout imposed by authorities since Thursday. &ldquo;It&#39;s so frustrating, but it&#39;s not the first time,&quot; he said. &quot;This time, we have hope ... we feel like we can do it (overthrow the government) this time.&quot; In Paris, more than 2,000 people waving Iran&#39;s flag from before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 demonstrated, to chants of &quot;No to the terrorist Islamic Republic.&quot; Police did not allow them to approach the Iranian embassy. &quot;Close the mullahs&#39; embassy, the terrorist factory,&quot; some demonstrators yelled. A 20-year-old Iranian student living in Paris, who gave his first name as Arya, said: &quot;In Iran, the people are rising up in the streets, and we Iranians outside Iran are here to show we are with them, and they are not alone.&quot; He said he was waiting to hear what the son of Iran&#39;s last shah, US-based Reza Pahlavi, &quot;will tell us to do.&quot; Pahlavi has emerged as a potential figurehead for government opponents. The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have lasted two weeks and become a movement against the theocratic system in place since the 1979 revolution. Iranian authorities have called the protesters &quot;rioters&quot; who are backed by the United States and Israel. In Istanbul, demonstrators voicing support for the Iranian protesters gathered in steady rain. Police cordoned off the area outside the Iranian consulate and the crowd was kept away from the mission. &quot;It&#39;s been 72 hours since we had any news from the country, from our families. No internet or television, we can&#39;t reach Iran anymore,&quot; said Nina, a young Iranian living in Turkey who had the Iranian flag and red tears painted on her face. &quot;The regime kills at random &mdash; whether families are on foot or in a car, whether there are children. It spares no one,&quot; she added. The crackdown by Iran&#39;s authorities has resulted in at least 192 deaths, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights. The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received &quot;credible&quot; accounts of &quot;hundreds of protesters&quot; killed across Iran since the internet clampdown started. The leaders of Britain, France, and Germany on Friday condemned the &quot;killing of protestors&quot; in Iran, while US President Donald Trump said Saturday his country stood &quot;ready to help&quot; as Iranians protest. One of the demonstrators in London, Fahimeh Moradi, 52, said she was taking part &quot;to support the Iranian people who are killed and murdered by the Iran regime &mdash; we don&#39;t want the Islamic Republic of Iran, we hate them!&quot; She added, &quot;My son is there, and I don&#39;t know if he&#39;s alive or not. We just want this murderous regime to leave Iran, that&#39;s it!&quot;

The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have lasted two weeks and become a movement against the theocratic system in place since the 1979 revolution; Iranian authorities have called the protesters "rioters" who are backed by the United States and Israel.

Demonstrators in London, Paris, Istanbul back Iran protests 

STOCKHOLM: Sweden will invest 15 billion kronor ($1.6 billion) on bolstering its air defenses, notably potential civilian targets, the government said Sunday, the latest European country to beef up military spending since Russia&#39;s invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;The money will go to ground-based aerial defense systems, the government said, as Russia&#39;s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the United States&#39; increasingly strained ties with NATO allies under US President Donald Trump prompt a European rush to rearm.&nbsp;&quot;Experience from Ukraine demonstrates the importance of a robust air defence,&quot; the Swedish government said.&nbsp;The announcement follows similar moves by countries, including Germany, where parliament approved $59 billion in new defence spending in December.&nbsp;The initial purchases under Sweden&#39;s new plan will be made in the first quarter of 2026, the government said.&nbsp;&quot;With this broad investment in air defence, we are protecting the whole of society, from our military units to urban areas and critical infrastructure,&quot; Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement.&nbsp;&quot;It is a matter of people&#39;s lives, our freedom, and our ability to withstand attacks in all parts of the country.&quot;&nbsp;Sweden had announced in November it was spending around $366 million on IRIS-T surface-to-air short-range missiles to protect itself against missiles, drones, and combat aircraft.

Sweden will spend 15 billion kronor to strengthen its air defences, focusing on protecting civilians, cities, and critical infrastructure, with ground-based systems to be bought starting in early 2026.

Sweden to spend $1.6B to bolster air defenses

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a series of bilateral meetings with counterparts from Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and other member states on the sidelines of the 22nd Extraordinary Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, reaffirming Islamabad&rsquo;s commitment to regional cooperation and strengthened bilateral relations, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday.&nbsp;The 22nd extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers was convened in Jeddah to address developments concerning Israel&rsquo;s recognition of the Somaliland region and the situation in Palestine.&nbsp;The meeting adopted resolutions underscoring the importance of state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international law.&nbsp;Dar attended the session, condemning Israel&rsquo;s recognition of Somaliland as &ldquo;illegal and unlawful,&rdquo; reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s support for Somalia&rsquo;s sovereignty and for an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, while also engaging counterparts from several OIC member states on the sidelines.&nbsp;According to an FO statement, Dar met Bangladesh&rsquo;s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Touhid Hossain, with both sides expressing satisfaction over the &ldquo;robustness of Pakistan&ndash;Bangladesh relations.&rdquo;&nbsp;The leaders discussed cooperation across a range of areas, including high-level exchanges, trade, and educational collaboration, and also exchanged views on regional and global developments.&nbsp;On the sidelines of the Jeddah moot, Dar separately met Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al-Khereiji.&nbsp;The discussions focused on further strengthening the Pakistan&ndash;Saudi strategic partnership and reaffirmed close coordination within the OIC framework, with both sides emphasizing the importance of continued cooperation to promote &ldquo;peace, stability, and security in the region.&rdquo;&nbsp;With Azerbaijan, FM Dar met Deputy FM Yalchin Rafiyev, where both sides appreciated the frequent high-level exchanges, underscoring the commitment of the leadership of both countries to strengthening bilateral ties.&nbsp;&ldquo;Deputy Prime Minister / Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, met with Dr. Abdulla Khaleel, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Maldives, on the sidelines of the 22nd OIC Extraordinary CFM in Jeddah,&rdquo; the FO said.&nbsp;Pakistan and the Maldives underscored their shared commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties, expressing satisfaction with the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.&nbsp;In another engagement, Dar met his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty.&nbsp;&ldquo;On the sidelines of the 22nd Extraordinary OIC CFM in Jeddah, DPM/FM Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar met Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty,&rdquo; the FO statement said.&nbsp;During the meeting, Pakistan and Egypt reaffirmed their commitment to expanding cooperation across multiple domains and exchanged views on the situation in Gaza and broader regional developments, underscoring support for international law and the just cause of the Palestinian people, the FO added.

Foreign Affairs

On the sidelines of the 22nd OIC Extraordinary Session in Jeddah, Dar holds bilateral talks with Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Maldives, and Egypt, promoting regional cooperation.

Articles by Jamie McGeever