Canada and France have opened new diplomatic missions in Greenland, marking a historic expansion of foreign engagement in the Arctic territory and a clear demonstration of allied unity following recent remarks by US President Donald Trump about taking control of the island.

Canada formally inaugurated its first-ever consulate in Greenland on Friday, with a high-level delegation travelling to Nuuk for the occasion. The group included Canada’s Governor General Mary Simon and Foreign Minister Anita Anand, and their arrival was accompanied by a Canadian Coast Guard vessel, underlining Ottawa’s long-term interest in Arctic cooperation and security.

At a flag-raising ceremony in Nuuk, Anand said the new consulate represents Canada’s enduring commitment to partnership in the Arctic. She described it as a symbol of Canada’s determination to “stand together with the people of Greenland and Denmark,” emphasising shared values, mutual respect and long-standing regional connections.

The Canadian opening coincided with a similar move by France, whose officials also opened a consulate in Greenland on the same day. Together, the two missions represent the most significant expansion of foreign diplomatic presence in Nuuk in decades. Until now, only Iceland and the United States had maintained formal consular services in the Greenlandic capital.

The coordinated openings send a strong signal of continued support from Nato allies at a time when Greenland has drawn renewed international attention. President Trump has repeatedly said the US needs to “own” Greenland for national security reasons, comments that sparked concern across Europe and North America. He has since moderated his position, saying he is exploring a potential deal following discussions with Denmark, European partners and Canada.

For Canada, the consulate reflects both strategic planning and deep-rooted regional ties. The move was first announced in early 2024 as part of a broader review of Ottawa’s Arctic foreign policy. While the opening had originally been planned for late 2025, logistical challenges caused by severe weather delayed the launch. Recent geopolitical developments have since given the mission added significance.

Michael Byers, a professor at the University of British Columbia and a leading expert on Arctic affairs, said the decision was both timely and logical. He noted that Nuuk is just an hour’s flight from Iqaluit, the capital of Canada’s northern territory of Nunavut, and that the two regions share extensive social, cultural and economic links.

“I’m only surprised it hasn’t occurred sooner, given the important connections between Greenland and Arctic Canada,” Byers said. He added that Governor General Simon’s presence carried particular weight, given her Inuit heritage. “Her visit is an affirmation at the highest level of the cultural and ethnic connections between Arctic Canada and Greenland. It’s a very powerful statement.”

Simon, who grew up in Nunavik in northern Quebec, is the first Canadian governor general to visit Greenland since 1982. She has spoken warmly of her lifelong connection to the territory, recalling how, as a child, she would hear Greenlandic Inuit songs broadcast over shortwave radio through her grandmother.

“She would say: ‘These are our relatives who live in faraway lands. We are all one people,’” Simon told delegates at the Arctic Frontiers conference in Norway earlier this week, shortly before travelling to Nuuk.

The opening has also been welcomed by Inuit leaders in Canada. Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which represents Inuit across the country, said the consulate was the culmination of years of advocacy aimed at strengthening ties between Inuit communities separated by national borders.

Obed said around 50 Canadian Inuit were expected to arrive in Nuuk on a chartered flight from Montreal to attend Friday’s ceremony, highlighting the strong people-to-people dimension of the diplomatic milestone.

He added that US statements about Greenland resonate deeply among Inuit communities, given their shared history of colonisation and broader concerns about sovereignty in the Arctic. Trump’s past remarks about Canada have also heightened sensitivities.

“We do worry that the United States may return to more serious overtures around annexing Canada and Canada being the 51st state,” Obed said. “And we do worry that Inuit Nunangat, our homeland, is one of the pivotal reasons for the US to consider that sentiment.”

Newly released documents linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case have brought renewed attention to allegations involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the late convicted sex offender, underscoring how long-running legal scrutiny continues to surface claims connected to Epstein’s activities.

According to a legal letter included in the latest tranche of Epstein-related files, an unnamed exotic dancer alleged that she was asked to “engage in various sex acts” with Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor during an encounter at Epstein’s Florida residence in 2006. The letter, written by the woman’s lawyers and dated March 2011, claims she had initially been offered $10,000 to dance at the property.

The document states that after performing, the woman was allegedly asked by Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor to participate in a threesome. Her lawyers wrote that she declined to have sex, saying she had been hired only to dance, but claimed that she was later pressured into sexual acts. The letter further alleges that she was paid only $2,000 of the agreed $10,000 fee.

According to the account, the woman and other exotic dancers from Rachel’s Strip Club in West Palm Beach were chauffeured to Epstein’s home, where she said she observed “other young women dressed provocatively,” some of whom she believed appeared to be underage. The letter claims she was taken upstairs and introduced to Mountbatten-Windsor by Epstein before being asked to perform.

The legal correspondence also alleges that after the encounter, the woman was invited to travel with Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor to the Virgin Islands, an offer she said she declined. Her lawyers wrote that she later agreed to keep the matter confidential in exchange for a proposed settlement of $250,000, although it remains unclear whether any settlement was ever reached.

The letter explains that the woman had not pursued the claims earlier because she felt ashamed of the situation, despite working as an exotic dancer. “She was not proud of the circumstances of that night,” the document says, adding that she felt she had been “treated like a prostitute.”

As with other materials released from the Epstein files, the claims outlined in the letter remain allegations rather than court-tested findings. Their publication nevertheless reflects ongoing efforts by courts and authorities to make public records related to Epstein’s network and conduct, a process that continues to bring greater transparency to a case that has had global ramifications.

A US federal judge has sentenced Ryan Routh to life in prison for attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump during the 2024 election campaign, bringing a decisive conclusion to one of the most serious security cases in recent American political history.

Routh, 59, was convicted last year of attempting to kill Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024, when Trump was still a presidential candidate. The sentencing underscores the gravity with which the US justice system treats threats against democratic processes and national leadership.

In a sentencing memorandum, Judge Aileen Cannon said Routh’s actions “undeniably warrant a life sentence,” citing the sustained and deliberate nature of the plot. She noted that Routh “took steps over the course of months to assassinate a major Presidential candidate, demonstrated the will to kill anybody in the way, and has since expressed neither regret nor remorse to his victims.”

The incident was thwarted after a US Secret Service agent on duty spotted the barrel of a rifle protruding from bushes near the golf course. The agent immediately fired at the suspect, prompting Routh to flee. He was later arrested nearby without further harm to the public or to Trump, a response widely credited to the vigilance and rapid action of security personnel.

Although investigators said Routh did not have a clear line of sight to Trump at the time, federal agents testified that a semiautomatic rifle fitted with a scope and an extended magazine was recovered from the hiding place. Jurors were also told that Routh had compiled a list of locations where Trump was likely to appear and had written a note to a friend explicitly describing the plan as “an assassination attempt.”

Routh, a native of North Carolina who had been living in Hawaii before his arrest, pleaded not guilty and chose to represent himself at trial, which began on 8 September. Throughout the proceedings, he displayed erratic behaviour, at times challenging Trump to a game of golf and making disjointed references to figures such as Adolf Hitler and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Following the jury’s guilty verdict, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen in the courtroom before US marshals intervened and escorted him out, an incident that further highlighted the volatile nature of the case.

In his closing statement, delivered in the third person, Routh ranged across unrelated subjects including US history, the Russia-Ukraine war and his stated plans to buy a boat. Judge Cannon repeatedly interrupted the statement and eventually cleared the courtroom to maintain order.

Prosecutors said the evidence presented left little doubt about Routh’s intentions. Lead prosecutor John Shipley told the court that a “mountain of evidence” demonstrated “how close he got to actually pulling this off,” reinforcing the seriousness of the threat that was averted.

Routh’s lawyer, Martin Ross, confirmed that an appeal would be filed, but the life sentence ensures he will remain incarcerated while any further legal challenges proceed.

The Florida incident was the second attempt on Trump’s life in 2024. In July of that year, a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one person and injuring several others, including Trump. The shooter, later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was shot dead by officers at the scene.