Denmark sets up night watch so Trump doesn't seize Greenland while they sleep

US President Donald Trump announced the death of Sarah Beckstrom on Thursday. The 20-year-old National Guardswoman died of her injuries after she and a fellow guardsman were shot in what authorities say was a brazen attack in Washington on Wednesday. The other guardsman is fighting for his life. The perpetrator is believed to be an Afghan national who worked with the CIA, as the Wall Street Journal reports on the front of its website. In the wake of this, the Trump administration has paused immigration from Afghanistan. The US president blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for the shooting, saying the alleged shooter arrived amid the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan. For The Washington Post, Biden's team failed to prepare for the fall of Kabul in 2021, and this inevitably brought "dangerous people" into the US. The paper adds that these people should be identified and repatriated. However, it says, threatening the status of all 77,000 Afghan refugees who have made America their home is "morally bankrupt". The daily reminds us that they put their lives and their families' lives at risk to help the US during its two-decade war in Afghanistan.

The New York Times' editors evoke a tragedy – the "uniquely American heartbreak of tragedy". It follows a year of political violence – Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in June – and a few months ago, the conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead. The editors say that while Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard is "outrageous", he is not to blame. The paper urges readers to condemn the rise of political violence in America. For the conservative magazine National Review, the shootings are an "atrocity", not just a tragedy. It says: "Without Biden’s chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Congress’ lethargy, it would have been far less likely that this terror attack would have occurred."

Moving on, Denmark has set up a night watch on Donald Trump’s declarations and movements concerning Greenland. The "Game of Thrones"-style system was set up by the Danish foreign ministry, as reported by the Danish paper Politiken this week. The idea is to ensure they are on top of all things Trump, especially when it comes to his unpredictable movements while Copenhagen sleeps. The Guardian notes that the night watch starts at 5pm each day until 7am and the Danish government and its department will be informed about Trump's statements and actions during European nighttime. It was implemented after Denmark’s diplomatic row with Trump, who threatened to take control of Greenland earlier this year. According to one defence analyst, the Trump night watch shows that the US-Danish alliance is dead, at least under the current Trump administration.

Finally, here in France, one town is trying to fight the stereotype that French people are rude! The Times of London reports that the Brittany town of Saint-Brieuc set up a novel experiment this week – daring its locals to abstain from complaining for an hour, a day, even a week. Moreover, they’re encouraged to engage in something the French are not known for: polite conversation. They've even been given some talking points – discussing whether putting pineapple on pizza is a crime against humanity or a culinary delight and discussing why socks go missing in the washing machine. The idea is to transform Saint-Brieuc into the "French capital of courtesy". A 2023 survey found that 68 percent of French people themselves agree that they are very rude – Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Paris topped that list!

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