Donald Trump has abruptly backed down over the US takeover of Greenland. From the icy streets of Nuuk our correspondent James Rothwell reports from the centre of an unusual geopolitical spotlight as Greenlanders try to make sense of their island’s sudden importance and the anxiety of being discussed by faraway powers.

Greenland itself emerges not as a prize but as a place with its own history identity and quiet resilience. James paints a picture of a small Arctic capital balancing fishing tourism and everyday life while navigating long memories of colonial rule and new questions about sovereignty security and self determination.

Back in the studio Venetia and Roland are joined by Chief Foreign Correspondent David Blair to unpack what Trump’s partial retreat really means and to explore the wider implications of Mark Carney’s striking Davos speech. Carney argues we are living through a rupture not a transition and urges middle powers to face reality and work together in a world where power politics is once again shaping events.

Read James Rothwell's Greenland dispatch: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/j/ja-je/james-rothwell/

Read David Blair's analysis of the Greenland deal: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/22/predicted-greenland-deal-not-good-one/

Read Roland Oliphant on Trump's Board of Peace: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/22/monarchs-and-pariahs-join-trumps-board-of-peace-parade/

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

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After five years of brutal civil war, Myanmar’s ruling military is holding an election that many say is a sham.

But it has a major backer: China. So why is Beijing suddenly interested in democracy in this conflict-stricken country?

Venetia Rainey and Arthur Scott-Geddes speak to the Telegraph’s Global Health Security correspondent Sarah Newey about her recent trip to Yangon and Joe Freeman, researcher for Amnesty International.

Read Sarah's dispatch: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/why-china-is-forcing-myanmars-junta-to-stage-an-election/

Watch Sarah talking about scam centres in Laos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nRBG037FT0

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

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With tariffs aimed at Europe over Greenland, Nato teetering on the brink and Donald Trump flexing military muscle like never before, this is geopolitics as a personal power play.

Venetia and Roland are joined by the Alliance’s former Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) Philip Breedlove who lays bare the strategic and moral fallout of Mr Trump’s actions and why he would refuse the order to invade Greenland if it came. The retired four star US Air Force general also reflects on the impact of America’s new National Security Strategy and the state of the Pentagon’s fleet of fighter jets.

Plus, US correspondent Connor Stringer on what it’s been like having a front row seat to the president’s second-term storm, sharing what it is really like to cover an administration that is rewriting the international security architecture.

Read David Blair on why this is a gift to Putin: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/19/trump-handed-putin-prize-soviet-union-40-years/

Read Tom Sharpe on why the US doesn’t need Greenland militarily: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/18/us-never-needed-greenland-for-military-reasons/

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

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