Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for negotiations on the acquisition of Greenland while explicitly ruling out the use of force, using a sweeping address at the World Economic Forum to link US economic strength, energy policy and security guarantees to what he described as America&rsquo;s renewed global leadership.&nbsp;Speaking on the first anniversary of his inauguration, Trump said the United States was undergoing the &ldquo;fastest economic turnaround in its history,&rdquo; citing strong growth, low inflation and record stock market gains.&nbsp;&ldquo;When America booms, the entire world booms,&rdquo; he told business and political leaders gathered in Davos. &ldquo;The United States is now the hottest country in the world.&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump sharply criticized European climate and energy policies, branding them the &ldquo;Green New Scam&rdquo; and blaming them for economic decline.&nbsp;He said Europe had replaced affordable energy with wind power that &ldquo;destroys your land,&rdquo; adding: &ldquo;You&rsquo;re supposed to make money with energy, not lose it.&rdquo;&nbsp;The US president pointed to falling electricity production in Germany and restrictions on drilling in the North Sea as evidence of what he called policy failure, while accusing China of profiting from selling wind turbines abroad while relying on coal and gas at home.&nbsp;Turning to Greenland, Trump said the vast Arctic territory was a &ldquo;core national security interest&rdquo; for the United States and argued that only Washington could properly defend it.&nbsp;&ldquo;Every NATO ally has to defend its territory, but only the United States can secure Greenland,&rdquo; he said. Trump said the US had protected the island during World War II and later returned it to Denmark, calling that decision &ldquo;a mistake.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;I have tremendous respect for the people of Greenland and Denmark,&rdquo; Trump said, adding that he was seeking negotiations for Greenland&rsquo;s acquisition by the United States.&nbsp;He stressed, however, that he would not use military force. &ldquo;This would not be a threat to NATO,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It would greatly enhance the security of the entire alliance.&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump repeated complaints that NATO had treated the United States &ldquo;very unfairly,&rdquo; while saying he had done more than any previous president to strengthen the alliance by pushing members to increase defense spending.&nbsp;He also highlighted a major military buildup, including new aircraft, missile defense systems and what he described as a &ldquo;golden dome&rdquo; to protect the US and its allies.&nbsp;On foreign policy, Trump said he was meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later on Wednesday in an effort to end what he called a &ldquo;bloodbath&rdquo; in Ukraine, claiming 30,000 soldiers were dying each month.&nbsp;He said he had settled eight other conflicts in his first year back in office and argued that US military power was central to global stability.&nbsp;Trump closed by portraying the United States as &ldquo;back bigger, stronger and better than ever before,&rdquo; urging allies to follow Washington&rsquo;s economic and energy model while warning that American strength would determine the trajectory of the global economy.

Europe

The US president returns to Davos after six years as Europe rallies behind Denmark, rejecting any Washington claim to Greenland and warning against escalation.

Trump seeks Greenland negotiations, rules out force in Davos address

Saqib Tanveer

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Global ride-hailing platform inDrive is set to expand into Pakistan&rsquo;s foodtech and healthcare sectors, citing what it describes as &ldquo;significant injustice&rdquo; in pricing and commissions, according to the company&rsquo;s founder and CEO, Arsen Tomsky.&nbsp;Speaking exclusively to Pakistan TV Digital on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, about inDrive&rsquo;s growth strategy, Tomsky said the company enters markets where policies are stable and where it can challenge what it sees as unfair practices, particularly inflated rates, high commissions, and price monopolies.&nbsp;&ldquo;We are the team who fight injustice,&rdquo; Tomsky said, adding that Pakistan has proven to be a strong fit for the company&rsquo;s model. &ldquo;We saw this in the past in Pakistan. This is good for us because we can help people reduce injustice and protect them from inflated rates, commissions, and price manipulations.&rdquo;&nbsp;He said inDrive&rsquo;s launch in Pakistan quickly gained traction, with many users switching to the platform. &ldquo;In a short period, we became the leaders in the country,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;According to Tomsky, Pakistan is now among the company&#39;s top ten markets globally.&nbsp;He explained that inDrive maintains one of the lowest commission structures in the market. The platform charges around 10% commission, compared to 25-40% charged by competitors.&nbsp;&ldquo;This helps make services more affordable,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;inDrive currently operates in more than 20 cities across Pakistan and plans to continue expanding geographically. Beyond mobility, the company is now looking at new sectors where it believes consumers and service providers face unfair pricing.&nbsp;&ldquo;We have started to think about healthcare,&rdquo; Tomsky said. He also confirmed that inDrive is expanding into foodtech this year, calling the sector another area marked by significant injustice.&nbsp;Describing Pakistan as a rapidly growing, youthful market, Tomsky noted that the country&rsquo;s population exceeds 250 million, with more than 60% under 30.&nbsp;&ldquo;The market is absolutely booming and taking off,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I believe in the fantastic future of the country.&rdquo;&nbsp;The planned expansion into food and healthcare would mark a significant broadening of inDrive&rsquo;s footprint in Pakistan, positioning the company beyond ride-hailing as it seeks to replicate its low-commission, user-driven pricing model in other sectors.

Artificial Intelligence

The ride-hailing service operates in more than 20 cities across Pakistan. Beyond mobility, the company is looking at sectors where it believes consumers and service providers face unfair pricing.

inDrive Pakistan set to expand into foodtech, healthcare: CEO

DAVOS:&nbsp;European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday an &quot;unflinching&quot; response to Donald Trump&#39;s threats over Greenland, as the US president said he was ready to hold a meeting in Davos about the Arctic island. In a speech to the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort, von der Leyen warned that Trump risked plunging US ties with the European Union into a &quot;downward spiral&quot; over the autonomous Danish territory. Trump, who will address the annual gathering of global elites on Wednesday, has put the transatlantic alliance to the test with his demand to take over Greenland. Europe is weighing countermeasures after the US president threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries over the Greenland standoff -- although Washington has said any retaliatory levies would be &quot;unwise&quot;. &quot;The proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between long-standing allies,&quot; von der Leyen told the meeting of world business and political leaders. &quot;Plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape. So our response will be unflinching, united and proportional,&quot; she said. Trump pressed on with his Greenland campaign on his Truth Social platform, posting a fake photo of himself planting a flag in a rock and ice landscape next to a sign reading &quot;GREENLAND - US TERRITORY EST. 2026&quot;. He later wrote he had a &quot;very good&quot; call with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte over mineral-rich Greenland. &quot;I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland,&quot; he said late on Monday. The US president said he did not think European leaders would &quot;push back too much&quot; on his attempt to buy the vast island, telling reporters on Monday: &quot;They can&#39;t protect it.&quot; Trump has used the argument that he wants to protect Greenland from perceived Russian and Chinese threats as a key justification for taking over the strategically located territory, although analysts suggest Beijing is a small player in the region. EU leaders will hold an emergency summit on Greenland in Brussels on Thursday. Trump vs Macron&nbsp;French President Emmanuel Macron will also address the forum on Tuesday, with his relations with Trump having hit a new low. The US leader threatened 200 percent tariffs on French wine and champagne over France&#39;s intention to decline an invitation to join his &quot;Board of Peace&quot;. Analysts have likened the board aimed at resolving international conflicts -- which has a $1 billion fee for a permanent spot -- to a pay-to-play version of the UN Security Council. Trump confirmed Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of various world leaders invited to join, and told reporters of Macron that &quot;nobody wants him&quot; as he will &quot;be out of office very soon&quot;. While Macron will leave on Tuesday without seeing Trump in Davos, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would seek to meet the US president at the forum on Wednesday. Macron has instead sent a message to Trump to propose a G7 summit in Paris on Thursday on Greenland, as well as ways to end Russia&#39;s war with Ukraine, with &nbsp;Copenhagen, Moscow and Kyiv attending on the sidelines. The Kremlin said Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev plans to meet members of the US delegation in Davos -- the first to head to the mountain resort since Russians were excluded from the gathering following Moscow&#39;s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The United States has sent an unusually large delegation to Davos, in a sign that it wants to make its presence felt at the summit for global economic and political leaders. China slams &#39;law of the jungle&#39;&nbsp;Other prominent foreign leaders addressing the WEF on Tuesday included Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, whose country has been locked in a trade war with Trump. &quot;A select few countries should not have privileges based on self-interest, and the world cannot revert to the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak,&quot; He said, without naming any country. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has sought to reduce his country&#39;s reliance on the United States in its own tariffs feud with Trump, will also speak in Davos later Tuesday. As US ties fray, Carney turned the page on years of diplomatic tensions with China during a visit to Beijing last week, securing a preliminary trade agreement to reduce tariffs. Other flashpoints on the WEF agenda include the crises in Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine and Iran. UN chief Antonio Guterres, a Davos regular, cancelled his participation after coming down with a &quot;bad cold&quot;, his office said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 20, 2026.(Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

Americas

Speaking at Davos, Ursula von der Leyen warned US tariff threats risk damaging transatlantic ties, as Europe weighs countermeasures and prepares an emergency summit, while Trump pushes meetings on the Arctic territory.

EU vows 'unflinching' response to Trump's Greenland gambit

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday arrived in Davos, Switzerland, to lead high-level Pakistani delegation to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 from January 20 to 22, said the Prime Minister Office on its official Facebook.&nbsp;The prime minister is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, along with other senior officials. During the visit, PM Sharif is set to participate in a series of substantive engagements aimed at strengthening Pakistan&rsquo;s global economic and diplomatic outreach.&nbsp;As part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-to-attend-world-economic-forum-in-davos-next-week-organizers" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">WEF program</a>, the prime minister will take part in the Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders session titled &ldquo;Restoring a Spirit of Dialogue in a Divided World.&rdquo; He will also host and chair a Pakistan-specific High-Level Business Roundtable, engaging with leading international corporate executives to highlight investment opportunities in Pakistan. The premier is expected to hold interactions with several world leaders and prominent business executives. He will articulate Pakistan&rsquo;s perspective on global and regional peace and development, while underscoring the government&rsquo;s vision, reforms, and achievements in the areas of economy, trade, and investment. The World Economic Forum&#39;s annual meeting brings together political leaders, business executives, heads of international organizations, and civil society representatives to deliberate on the world&#39;s key geopolitical, economic, social, and environmental challenges.

Foreign Affairs

During the visit, the prime minister will participate in a series of substantive engagements to strengthen Pakistan’s global economic and diplomatic outreach.

PM Sharif to focus on global, regional peace in Davos 

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump returns to the Davos ski resort next week after unleashing yet another avalanche on the global order. But for the US president, his main audience is back home. Trump&rsquo;s first appearance in six years at the gathering of the world&rsquo;s political and global elite comes amid a spiraling crisis over his quest to acquire Greenland. Fellow leaders at the mountain retreat will also be eager to talk about other shocks from his first year back in power, from tariffs to Venezuela, Ukraine, Gaza and Iran. Yet for the Republican president, his keynote speech among the Swiss peaks will largely be aimed at the United States. US voters are angered by the cost of living despite Trump&rsquo;s promises of a &ldquo;golden age,&rdquo; and his party could be facing a kicking in crucial midterm elections in November. That means Trump will spend at least part of his time in luxurious Davos &mdash; a place where leaders can easily look out of touch with ordinary people &mdash; talking about US housing. A White House official told AFP that Trump would &ldquo;unveil initiatives to drive down housing costs&rdquo; and &ldquo;tout his economic agenda that has propelled the United States to lead the world in economic growth.&rdquo; The 79-year-old is expected to announce plans allowing prospective homebuyers to dip into their retirement accounts for down payments. Billionaire Trump is keenly aware that affordability has become his Achilles&rsquo; heel in his second term. A CNN poll last week found that 58 percent of Americans believe his first year back in the White House has been a failure, particularly on the economy. Trump&rsquo;s supporters are also increasingly uneasy about the &ldquo;America First&rdquo; president&rsquo;s seemingly relentless focus on foreign policy since his return to the Oval Office. But as he flies into the snowy retreat, Trump will find it impossible to avoid the global storm of events that he has stirred since January 20, 2025. Trump will be alongside many of the leaders of the same European NATO allies that he has just threatened with tariffs if they don&rsquo;t back his extraordinary quest to take control of Greenland from Denmark. Those threats have once again called into question the transatlantic alliance that has in many ways underpinned the Western economic order celebrated at Davos. &lsquo;Economic stagnation&rsquo; So have the broader tariffs Trump announced early in his second term, and he is set to add to the pressure on Europe in his speech. Trump will &ldquo;emphasize that the United States and Europe must leave behind economic stagnation and the policies that caused it,&rdquo; the White House official said. The Ukraine war will also be on the cards. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping for a meeting with Trump to sign new security guarantees for a hoped-for ceasefire deal with Russia, as are G7 leaders. But while the largest-ever US Davos delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have all played key roles on Ukraine, no meeting is assured. &ldquo;No bilateral meetings have been scheduled for Davos at this time,&rdquo; the White House told AFP. Trump is meanwhile reportedly considering a first meeting of the so-called &ldquo;Board of Peace&rdquo; for war-torn Gaza at Davos, after announcing its first members in recent days. Questions are also swirling about the future of oil-rich Venezuela following the US military operation to topple its leader, Nicolas Maduro, part of Trump&rsquo;s assertive new approach to his country&rsquo;s &ldquo;backyard.&rdquo; But Trump may also pause to enjoy his time in the scenic spot he called &ldquo;beautiful Davos&rdquo; in his video speech to the meeting a year ago. The forum has always been an odd fit for the former New York property tycoon and reality TV star, whose brand of populism has long scorned globalist elites. But at the same time, Trump relishes the company of the rich and successful. His first Davos appearance in 2018 met occasional boos, but he made a forceful return in 2020 when he dismissed the &ldquo;prophets of doom&rdquo; on climate and the economy. A year later, he was out of power. Now, Trump returns as a more powerful president than ever, at home and abroad.

A picture taken on January 20, 2025 shows the Alpine resort of Davos at sunrise during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting (AFP)

Donald Trump returns to the Davos ski resort next week after unleashing yet another avalanche on the global order. But for the US president, his main audience is back home.

Trump heads into Davos storm, with an eye on home

LONDON: The foreign ministers of 10 nations on Tuesday expressed &quot;serious concerns&quot; about a &quot;renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation&quot; in Gaza, saying the situation was &quot;catastrophic&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;As winter draws in, civilians in Gaza are facing appalling conditions with heavy rainfall and temperatures dropping,&quot; the ministers of Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland said in a joint statement released by the UK&#39;s Foreign Office.&nbsp;&quot;1.3 million people still require urgent shelter support. More than half of health facilities are only partially functional and face shortages of essential medical equipment and supplies. The total collapse of sanitation infrastructure has left 740,000 people vulnerable to toxic flooding,&quot; the statement added.&nbsp;The ministers said they welcomed the progress that had been made to end the bloodshed in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages.&nbsp;&quot;However, we will not lose focus on the plight of civilians in Gaza,&quot; they said, calling on the government of Israel to take a string of &quot;urgent and essential&quot; steps.&nbsp;These included ensuring that international NGOs could operate in Gaza in a &quot;sustained and predictable&quot; way.&nbsp;&quot;As 31 December approaches, many established international NGO partners are at risk of being deregistered because of the government of Israel&rsquo;s restrictive new requirements,&quot; the statement said.&nbsp;It also called for the UN and its partners to be able to continue their work in Gaza and for the lifting of &quot;unreasonable restrictions on imports considered to have a dual use&quot;.&nbsp;This included medical and shelter equipment.&nbsp;The foreign ministers also called for the opening of crossings to boost the flows of humanitarian aid into Gaza.&nbsp;While welcoming the partial opening of the Allenby crossing, they said other corridors for moving goods remained closed or severely restricted for humanitarian aid, including the Rafah crossing.&nbsp;&quot;Bureaucratic customs processes and extensive screenings are causing delays, while commercial cargo is being allowed in more freely,&quot; the statement said.&nbsp;&quot;The target of 4,200 trucks per week, including an allocation of 250 UN trucks per day, should be a floor, not a ceiling. These targets should be lifted so we can be sure the vital supplies are getting in at the vast scale needed,&quot; it added.

Middle East

Foreign ministers say Gaza’s humanitarian situation is catastrophic as winter arrives, with severe shortages of shelter, healthcare, and sanitation; urge Israel to allow NGOs and the UN to work freely, open crossings, and increase aid deliveries.

10 countries warn of 'catastrophic' Gaza situation

GENEVA: Palestinian Authority representatives are touring Europe to try to convince countries that have not yet recognized a Palestinian state to get on board, a presidential envoy said during a visit to Switzerland on Wednesday.&nbsp;Former Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, currently serving as special envoy for President Mahmud Abbas, told reporters that he had met with Switzerland&#39;s top diplomat to push Bern to join &quot;the countries who recognize Palestine&quot;.&nbsp;He said he would be travelling on to the Netherlands and Austria with the same message.&nbsp;&quot;Another delegation will be going to the Baltic states, and our president hopefully will visit Italy and Germany,&quot; he told the briefing, organized by the UN correspondents&rsquo; association ACANU.&nbsp;A majority of European nations now recognize a Palestinian state, following official declarations last month by Britain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and others against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.&nbsp;A number of non-European states, like Australia and Canada have also recently joined their ranks, in moves slammed by Israel.&nbsp;&quot;There are 34 countries that did not yet recognize Palestine,&quot; Shtayyeh said.&nbsp;&quot;We are simply in contact with these countries, trying to urge them to be part of the countries who recognize Palestine, not part of the countries who did not recognize Palestine.&quot;&nbsp;In Switzerland, he said he had met with Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.&nbsp;&quot;My message to the Swiss leadership is very simple: This is the country that &lsquo;hosts&rsquo; UN agencies, and this is the depository for Geneva Conventions,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;I did urge the Swiss leadership to walk the walk and recognize Palestine as a state similar to the countries that have done so.&quot;&nbsp;While there are forces in Switzerland pushing for recognition, such a move could take time.&nbsp;A coalition of civil society, NGOs and politicians began this week gathering signatures to push through a popular vote on the issue, under Switzerland&#39;s famous direct democratic system.&nbsp;If they manage to gather 100,000 signatures over the next 18 months, the Swiss will be called to vote on whether they want recognition of &quot;Palestine as a sovereign and independent state&quot; to be enshrined in the Swiss constitution.

Palestinian envoy Mohammad Shtayyeh is urging European nations, including Switzerland, to recognize Palestine’s statehood amid growing global support for Palestinian independence.

Articles tagged with "Davos, Switzerland"