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Thursday 22 January 2026
In your briefing today:
World reacts after Donald Trump backs down over his threats to seize Greenland
A survey reveals a huge sexual abuse problem in the Scottish folk music scene
Sir Tom Hunter sets out entrepreneurs’ manifesto for Scotland
Scottish clubs prepare for European ties tonight
TODAY’S WEATHER
🌧️ It’ll be a wet day in Glasgow in Edinburgh, with heavy rain early on. But it’s the north east, near Aberdeen, that has a yellow or amber ⚠️ weather warning for rain over the next 48 hours. Inverness may have the best of it - a little rain this morning but otherwise dry. London will be overcast with rain. (Here’s the UK forecast).
THE BIG STORIES
Trump backs down on Greenland threats | Families hit out over hospital “lies” | Scots folk music abuse revealed
📣 Donald Trump backed down from his threats to seize Greenland and impose tariffs on European allies, announcing that a “framework deal” for the Arctic had been struck with Nato.
The surprise announcement came only hours after the US President had delivered a long, rambling speech at Davos during which he was highly critical of renewable energy, Denmark, the UK and other European nations.
He repeatedly mistook Greenland for Iceland during his address. (A transcript of Trump’s address)
Trump’s move appears to signal an end to the immediate crisis. But European capitals will now be left to assess whether the US campaign to take over Greenland is over, and where the episode has left transatlantic relations. (FT £) (Sky News)
Trump declaration of deal met with scepticism amid tariff relief (Guardian)
Trump’s deal could offer $1 million to each Greenlander (The Mail has the exclusive)
Inside Trump’s head-spinning Greenland u-turn (🎁 WSJ - gift link)
Chris Mason says the de-escalation over Greenland is a relief - maybe even a win? - for Keir Starmer. “There is a quiet pride that Britain made its contribution to the welter of diplomacy,” he writes. (BBC)
After Venezuela, the US is now seeking regime change in Cuba “by the end of the year”. (🎁 The Wall Street Journal has the exclusive - gift link)
📣 Families of patients who fell ill or died after they caught infections at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital said they were “lied to”, “demeaned” and “smeared” during their long fight for justice.
“We cannot overstate the level of deceit and conniving cowardice displayed by [NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde] during the whole unfolding of this awful scandal,” the families said in a statement issued by their solicitors.
An inquiry into problems at the hospital and others is hearing final submissions this week before publishing a report later this year. It was set up amid concerns about patient safety after a series of infections and deaths. (BBC) (STV)
Those responsible must now face a “reckoning” (The Herald £)
📣 The vast majority of women working in the Scottish folk scene have experienced harassment and sexual violence, according to research from the University of Glasgow.
A survey of 409 female musicians found 81% had suffered some form of abuse, including sexual comments, stalking and assaults, with most of the perpetrators being fellow musicians. 17% said they had been sexually assaulted or raped.
The report says the folk scene is male-dominated and some of the incidents have allegedly involved prominent musicians. (BBC)
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AROUND SCOTLAND
📣 Sir Tom Hunter has unveiled an election manifesto from Scotland’s entrepreneurs, which he says could grow Scotland’s economy by more than £20 billion in five years and create 10,000 jobs. (Scotsman) (The Herald) (Download the manifesto (PDF)) (Hunter Foundation)
📣 A man has admitted killing a father of two by pushing him into the path of an ambulance in Oban. (Sky News)
📣 A Muslim support group has hit out after racist graffiti was painted on the walls of Edinburgh’s Central Mosque. (Daily Record)
📣 Edinburgh could ban all mobile phones in its schools, with a consultation on the plan launched yesterday. (Scotsman)
AROUND THE UK & WORLD
📣 A tearful Prince Harry said media attacks on his wife Meghan had “made my wife’s life an absolute misery”. (Independent)
📣 Half of the world’s 100 biggest cities are in water-stressed areas: Beijing, Delhi, LA, and Rio are among the worst affected, with water demand close to exceeding supply. (Guardian)
📣 Record-breaking rain has brought chaos to New Zealand, with several people missing at a campsite after a landslide, with a minister comparing parts of the country’s east coast to a war zone. (1News has dramatic images)
📣 Nigella Lawson is to replace Prue Leith on The Great British Bake Off (The Sun has the exclusive)
SPORT
⚽️ The Champions League returned last night:
Mo Salah played a starring role in Liverpool’s impressive 3-0 win over Marseille. (Report & highlights)
Newcastle enjoyed a straightforward 3-0 win over PSV to secure a last 16 play-off spot (Report & highlights)
Chelsea struggled against minnows Pafos, a late Caicedo goal getting them over the line, and keeping hopes of automatic progress alive. (Report & highlights)
⚽️ The Old Firm return to Europa League action tonight:
IDEAS
Davos finds new purpose in the populist era | Columns of note from the Scottish press
🗣️Thankyou to the Early Line readers who got in touch yesterday over my recommendation to check out Mark Carney’s speech at Davos (including to the reader who spotted that, in one reference, I referred to Carney as Canadian President: he is, of course, that country’s Prime Minister. Sorry for the error: blame a coffee crisis at EL Towers, now resolved.
More seriously: feedback from you was universally positive on Carney’s comments. And word of his speech zoomed around the world yesterday: I hope Early Line readers felt comfortably positioned on the inside track.
One more Davos recommendation for you this morning: not quite as ardent, and not quite as epochful, but noteworthy nonetheless: JP Morgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon was being interviewed by the editor of The Economist, Zanny Minton Beddoes, and it was a good joust.
Dimon was guarded on Trump, and praised the US President for some of his policies - especially on immigration. He was most interesting on AI: the world’s most powerful banker came up with some quite left-leaning ideas on how to protect workers as artificial intelligence blows a chill wind through industries, advocating for people to be supported and retrained as that revolution takes hold. It’s an interesting half-hour listen. (🎥 World Economic Forum)
🗣️ A final note today on Davos today: you’ll spot the irony that this often-despised gathering of global business and political leaders has been thrust to centre stage once more.
The World Economic Forum was supposed to be killed dead by Covid (it was cancelled two years in a row) and killed again by the election of Trump, and the rise of populists around the world: a globalist gabfest fading fast into irrelevance in an isolationist age.
Instead, (and of course), it’s the place where globalists are fighting back, and to some impact. Everyone’s there: author Scott Galloway compares its caste structure to high school in this entertaining Instagram video.
And if there really is a deal on Greenland, we’ll all know its outline was brokered at the Swiss ski resort, and should be very happy the event took place.
Sometimes, talk isn’t so cheap.
🗣️ In a normal week, I’d have rounded up some columns of note from the Scottish press by now: it’s not been a normal week. But here, quickly, are a few which have caught my eye in recent days:
Neil Mackay says he can relate to Brooklyn Beckham’s fracture with his family: he’s been through similar. “I learned long ago that blood isn’t thicker than water,” he writes. “Blood is just something that’s spilt, along with sweat and tears, when you try to make an impossible relationship work.” (The Herald £)
There’s a stubborn belief that “serious” education begins at 11 or 12. “The science of learning tells a very different story,” writes Antonia Berry, rector of The High School of Glasgow. Primary school sets vital foundations, she says. (The Scotsman)
Scots don’t want to hear their nation described as a “failed state,” says Magnus Linklater: they want a prescription for how things will be made better. That presents a challenge to Reform UK as we approach the “100 days-to-go” point in the Scottish election campaign. (Times £)
David Alexander says we need more homes built in Scotland. The housebuilding numbers he quotes are startling - all the moreso when you remember we’re supposed to be in a housing emergency, whatever that is. (The Scotsman)
Vicky Allan asks: how many wind farms and battery parks are enough? Allan used to be wary of NIMBYs but now thinks some might have a point: “The way clean energy projects have been pushed through, more via market-driven speculation than long-term planning, risks backlash,” she says. (Herald £)
👍 That’s your Early Line for the day
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