Reuters World News - Tariffs, troops and tanneries

Episode Date: January 18, 2026

EU ambassadors hold an emergency meeting in Brussels after U.S. President Donald Trump threatens a new wave of tariffs on eight European allies, unless the U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland. The Pentagon places approximately 1,500 soldiers on standby for potential deployment to Minnesota, according to U.S. media reports. President Trump’s Gaza peace board charter seeks $1 billion for extended membership. Plus, a look inside Morocco's Chouara tannery, where artisans hand-dye leather using traditional methods. Listen to the latest On Assignment: On the ground in Greenland Listen to Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.  Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠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 Sharon Brich Garson in New Jersey. It's Sunday, January 18th. Today, Trump threatens new tariffs on European allies over Greenland. The Pentagon has soldiers on standby for possible Minnesota protests. And a look into the centuries-old craft of Moroccan leather tanning. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. Convierce your passion in a

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in Shopify. coms bar records. EU ambassadors are holding an emergency meeting today after

President Trump threatened to slap steep tariffs on eight European allies until the

U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland. Trump says a 10% tax on imports will

start February 1st, rising to 25% in June. European leaders are rejecting the demand

warning it could fracture NATO and derail trade deals. Polish foreign minister and deputy prime minister Radiswav Sikorsky is rebutting Donald Trump's threats, saying the United States can't single out individual EU members. I hope someone will explain to him that we are a customs union and you can only put tariffs on the EU as a whole. They continue to reiterate support for Denmark. Meanwhile, in Copenhagen and in Greenland's capital, nuke, thousands of protesters hit the streets.

And over in Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is warning that a U.S. invasion of Greenland would make Putin the happiest man on earth. In an interview with La Vanguardia, he says military action against Denmark's Arctic territory would destabilize NATO and validate Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Now to the U.S., where about 1,500 active duty soldiers are now on standby for possible deployment to Minnesota. That's according to the Washington Post. The Pentagon is prepping them in case protests over the government's immigration enforcement intensify. The troops from Alaska's 11th Airborne Division specialize in cold weather operations.

On Saturday, hundreds of anti-ice protesters demonstrated in Minneapolis. countries may be asked to pay $1 billion to stay on President Trump's new Board of Peace. In response, the White House calls that misleading, saying there's no membership fee. The board was first outlined by the White House on Friday is meant to oversee Gaza's temporary governance. Its early members include Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Whitkoff, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Trump, Trump's, Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner, who's the former senior White House advisor, with more names expected to be announced. Israel says parts of the plan, including a separate Gaza executive board that involves

Turkey, were not coordinated and contradict its policy. And for a look at how all this fits into the global agenda this week, from Davos to the markets, check out our sister podcast Morning Bid, hosted by Amanda Cooper. Hi, Amanda. Hi, Sharon. Well, the World Economic Forum gets underway in Davos and President Trump will be attending with an entourage. Also, the earnings season is cranking up. We've got Netflix and Intel amongst others. And finally, Fed Governor Lisa Cook, whom Trump has attempted to fire, is going to make her case to the Supreme Court. So it might be a short week, but it won't be one that's short of action. We'll drop a link in the pod description.

The 26 Dakar rally wraps up after two brutal weeks in Saudi Arabia. with Qatar's Nasr Alatia winning the car race for the sixth time, giving Dacia its first ever victory. And in the motorcycle category, Argentina's Luciano Benavides takes the title by just two seconds. To see it for yourself, check out the surreal shots from photographer Stefan Maé. The link is in the pod description.

The Sagrada Familias hit another milestone. This time, it's completing the film. the horizontal arms of the cross of its Tower of Christ, the tallest of the basilica's 18 towers. Construction started back in 1882, and it hasn't stopped since architect Antony Gowdy's death in 1926. Fast forward to last year, the basilica finally topped the charts as the tallest church in the world. Today, the work blends modern engineering with Gowdy's original vision, metal supports on the inside and geometric textures outside. The Sagrada Familia Foundation says the Tower of Christ should be finished later this year.

And once they do, it'll become the tallest building in Barcelona. Over to Benin now, where some big names are lending their star power to a national push to reconnect people with their African roots. Spike Lee is helping lead the charge. He's now an ambassador for a new program. called My Afro Origins, which aims to offer citizenship to people across the diaspora, especially descendants of enslaved Africans looking to trace their lineage back to the region. And it's already drawing high-profile attention.

This past July, Sierra became one of the first to receive Beninese citizenship. Just last week, she was back in the country performing at a major vood. festival in the coastal city of Wida, once a key hub of the transatlantic slave trade. It's part of a broader cultural moment Benin is trying to harness. So what does it actually take to qualify? Our West and Central Africa Bureau Chief, Robbie Corey Boulay, has been looking into the requirements. You just need to be 18 and to be able to produce documents or DNA results that show some ties to the continent. and you can't be the citizen of another sub-Saharan African country.

It's not necessarily for people who are looking to relocate to Benin and make a life here. It's more about having a formal connection to the country. Robbie says Ghana's been running a similar program for nearly a decade, and that personal connections are only part of what's shaping these initiatives. There is also a political aspect to all of this, which is that proponents of reparations endorse what they call a right of return for the descendants of enslaved people. So ultimately, the hope is a larger resettlement scheme will be funded by the countries that benefited from slavery, mostly in Europe. But these programs by African nations can, in the meantime, keep the issue alive and strengthen ties between the continent and the diaspora.

A search for roots doesn't always mean looking back across borders. Sometimes it means stepping deeper into history to places where traditions aren't revived, but still lived. One of those places is Morocco's ancient city of Fez, where leather goods from purses to cushions line the stalls of the shook. The leather-making craft dates back nearly a thousand years and is still practiced by hand here at a site known as the Chihuahara tannery. Inside, the work follows a steady rhythm.

Hides are dyed, flipped, washed, and stacked by hand in open stone vessels, using methods passed down through generations. Local shop owners describe Chihuahara as both a vital industry and a cultural legacy, one that can't stop regardless of season or circumstance because it supports livelihoods across Fez's old city and supplies leather far beyond it. The hides processed here go to local markets and export chains, keeping the tradition of hand processing and craftsmanship connected to present-day demand.

For more on any of the stories from today, check out reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. and if you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.