Reuters World News - Reuters interviews Trump, Greenland, Minnesota and Uganda

Episode Date: January 15, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump sits down with Reuters and talks Iran, Ukraine, Venezuela and the midterms. A meeting on Greenland at the White House ends without an agreement. Another immigration-related shooting fuels chaos in Minneapolis. And the FBI searches a Washington Post journalist's home. Plus, Ugandans head to the polls.  Listen to Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Find the Recommended Read here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Thursday, January 15th. Today, Reuters sits down with President Trump to talk Iran, Ukraine, Venezuela and the midterms. A White House meeting on Greenland ends with no agreement in sight. The FBI searches a Washington Post journalist's home, and Uganda votes in a tense election. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. Iran has reopened its airspace after a temporary closure amid warnings from European officials that a US military intervention is imminent. That's being backed up by an Israeli official, although the scope of any action is unclear. Some US military personnel are being withdrawn from bases in the Middle East because

of, quote, heightened regional tensions. Iran has threatened to. Iran has threatened to to attack U.S. military bases if Washington hits. But in a sit-down interview with Reuters reporter Steve Holland, U.S. President Donald Trump refused to be drawn on where their U.S. action is indeed imminent in Iran. Here's Steve on how the interview in the Oval Office went down. He was sitting, sipping a Diet Coke. He had a box of his magic markers embossed with his name on it.

He was in a good mood. First up was the issue of Iran. He was very hesitant about talking about next steps in Iran. He was sort of taking a wait and see attitude. He was a bit cagey about that, in fact. He said that it's possible that the regime could fail there, but any regime can fail. And he was hesitant to make a prediction.

He did not think that Reza-Palavi, the opposition figure, has the support within Iran, at this point to lead the country, but it's possible that he could. But at this point, he didn't sort of endorse Pahlavi as the next leader of Iran. And on Ukraine, Steve says Trump's current rhetoric was in marked contrast to European allies. Today he was back to blaming Zelensky. I said, what's the hold up to a deal? He said, is Zelenskyy?

He says, Vladimir Putin is ready to make a deal. So he's back at that point. Now, what that means, nothing necessarily. He said he'd be willing to meet with Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland next week, should that become apparent? Domestically, obviously, midterms are this year. Here's what Trump had to say about that.

He's very well aware of the history that the party in control of the White House usually will lose seats in a midterm election that comes after a presidential election. Republicans control both houses of Congress. Many analysts will tell you that they think Democrats will make some big gains next November. Trump seemed to be conceding that that's possible.

And on Venezuela, Trump seems happy with progress since the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, but he is meeting with Venezuelan opposition. opposition leader in exile Maria Corina Machado later today. I asked him about his meeting with the opposition leader of Venezuela, and he said that she seems like a nice person, but he also spoke expansively about the acting president, Delci Rodriguez, said he had a fascinating talk with her earlier in a day

and he's working well with her. But if things don't go to plan in Venezuela, Trump could use military force again, if he chooses to. Senate Republicans have blocked a move which would have restricted Trump from taking further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval. Staying in Washington, where a meeting between top Trump officials and the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland has ended in a standoff. The Wednesday meeting was meant to diffuse tensions over Trump's threats to take Greenland, but Danish foreign minister Lars Luka Rasmussen says

that's not what happened. Our perspectives continue to differ, I must say. The president has made his view clear, and we have a different position. Just 17% of Americans approve of Trump's effort to acquire Greenland, according to a new Reuters EPSOS poll. And when it comes to the idea of using military force to do so, that drops to 4%.

Trump, though, is continuing to reiterate that the US, is best positioned to protect Greenland. And the problem is there's done a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there's everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela. European nations, including Germany, Sweden and Norway,

are coming to Greenland's defense, sending military personnel there for support. Denmark is also increasing its military presence. To Minnesota now, where another immigration-related shooting has fueled chaos. A Venezuelan man who fled a traffic stop in Minneapolis was shot in the leg on Wednesday by a U.S. immigration agent. Protesters throwing rocks, ice, and fireworks

clashed with law enforcement agents who fired tear gas and crowd-control munitions late into the night following the shooting. Here's Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. I've seen conduct from ice that is disgusting, and is intolerable. If it were your city, it would be unacceptable there too.

And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight, stop. That is not helpful. Go home. It comes a week after a U.S. immigration officer fatally shot Renee Good in her car. FBI agents have searched the home of a Washington Post reporter

as part of an investigation into leaked classified information. Hannah Natanson, who covers the Trump administration's overhaul of the federal workforce, was reportedly told she's not the focus of the probe. But it's a rare and dramatic move that some are calling a threat to journalism. Reporter Helen Costa has been following the story. Press Freedom Advocates have called the search a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration's attacks on the news media.

and Jamil Jaffer, who is the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute, went so far as to say that searches of newsrooms and journalists are hallmarks of illiberal regimes. The Post reported that the FBI was investigating a criminal case against this technology specialist for the U.S. government, who they had previously charged with unlawful retention of national defense information. So that's the explanation given by the administration. To Uganda, where a security operation is underway as voting takes place in the country's presidential election. 81-year-old Yowery Museveni is widely expected to extend his four-decade rule after a campaign marred by violence. Uganda has significant influence in East Africa, deploying troops in several countries as part of peacekeeping or anti-insurgency missions. Aaron Ross is covering the election. Museveni's ultimate victory is not really considered in doubt by analysts,

given how long he's been in power and his control of institutions in the country. But the election does come at a critical time. There's been a lot of talk in recent years about his possible succession and whether he might be preparing his son, who's at the military chief to possibly take over for him. So Museveni will want to put in a strong performance in this election to re-assert his political power. That's despite the threat from an opponent

who's attracted the backing of many of the country's younger voters. Uganda is an extremely young country where more than 70% of the country is under the age of 30. There's a relative lack of economic opportunity and employment for young people. And many of these young people have rallied around the candidacy of Bobby Wine. It was 43 years old himself. He was charismatic. He grew up in the slums of Kampala. He rose to fame as a pop star in the 2000s.

Many of his songs deal with social and political, topics, talking about urban poverty and political oppression. And then he parlayed that popularity into a political career, first running to join Parliament in 2017 and then very quickly becoming most popular figure in the opposition and running for president in 2021. This has created a lot of support for him. And when his supporters come out to rallies, when they show up in the streets, they often face tear gas, sometimes live bullets, pepper spray, et cetera. And this has led to a lot of tension, a lot of anger. And in the last election in 2021,

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