08/01/2026

THURSDAY | JAN 8, 2026

9

Bardot to be buried in Saint-Tropez

PARIS: France is working with partners on a plan on how to respond should the United States act on its threat to take over Greenland, a minister said yesterday. A US military seizure of Greenland from a longtime ally, Denmark, would send shock waves through the Nato alliance and deepen the divide between Trump and European leaders. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the subject would be raised at a meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland. “We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners,” he said on France Inter radio. Leaders from major European powers and Canada have rallied behind Greenland this week, saying the Arctic island belongs to its people, following a renewed threat by Trump to take over the territory. Trump has in recent days repeated that he wants to gain control of Greenland, an idea first voiced in 2019 during his first presidency. He argues the island is key for US military strategy and claims Denmark has not done enough to protect it. The White House said on Tuesday that Trump was discussing options for acquiring Greenland, including potential use of the US military, in a revival of his ambition to control the strategic island, despite European objections. Barrot suggested a US military operation had been ruled out by Washington’s top diplomat. “I myself was on the phone yesterday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio (...) who confirmed that this was not the approach taken ... he ruled out the possibility of an invasion (of Greenland),” he said. A US military operation over the weekend that seized the leader of Venezuela had already rekindled concerns that Greenland might face a similar scenario. A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said this week that Trump and his advisers were discussing ways to acquire Greenland, including a purchase. Greenland and Denmark have said the island is not for sale. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, have requested an urgent meeting with Rubio to discuss the situation. “We would like to add some nuance to the conversation,” Rasmussen wrote in a social media post. “The shouting match must be replaced by a more sensible dialogue. Now.” The world’s largest island with a population of 57,000 people, Greenland is not an independent member of Nato but is covered by Denmark’s membership of the Western alliance. – Reuters France, allies ready Greenland response

‘NO FOREIGN POWER RUNNING VENEZUELA’ CARACAS: Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez insisted on Tuesday no foreign power was governing her country, even as US President Donald Trump announced Caracas will be swiftly turning over millions of barrels of oil to the United States. She said: “The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no one else. There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela.” Trump insists Washington is now “in charge” of the Caribbean country but has said he is prepared to work with Rodriguez provided she submits to his demand for access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. “This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me,”he said. She said the country is holding seven days of mourning for those killed. – AFP ISRAELI GUNFIRE WOUNDS FIVE BIRZEIT: The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli troops shot and wounded five people on Tuesday at a university in the occupied West Bank, while the military said its forces fired to break up a violent confrontation. Military vehicles entered the campus of Birzeit University late in the morning, according to several witnesses, whose accounts were confirmed by the institution’s president Talal Shahwan. The Israeli military said it intervened to disperse an “anticipated gathering in support of terror” that was about to take place, according to “intelligence indications”. It said a “violent confrontation broke out”. “The forces responded with riot dispersal means and precise fire towards violent individuals.” – AFP IRAN EXECUTES MAN ACCUSED OF SPYING DUBAI: Iran executed a man accused of spying for Israel, the Iranian judiciary’s media outlet Mizan reported, naming the defendant as Ali Ardestani. “The death sentence of Ali Ardestani for the crime of espionage in favour of the Mossad intelligence service by providing the country’s sensitive information was carried out after approval by the Supreme Court and through legal procedures,” Mizan said. Executions of Iranians convicted of spying have increased, following a confrontation last June, when Israeli and US forces struck Iran’s nuclear facilities. – Reuters ZELENSKY CHIEF OF STAFF HAILS ‘RESULTS’ KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top adviser hailed “concrete results” yesterday as talks in Paris on peace and security guarantees for Ukraine entered their second day, vowing Kyiv’s national interests would be protected. Ukraine is seeking strong backing from allies in the event of a ceasefire with Russia while also pushing back on a Kremlin demand that it give up its eastern Donbas region. “Not all information can be public, but there are already concrete results, (and) our work continues,” said Kyrylo Budanov, who was appointed head of Zelensky’s office last week. “Ukrainian national interests will be defended.” – Reuters

BR I E F S

o Husband reveals cause of death

SAINT-TROPEZ: Well-wishers gathered in Brigitte Bardot’s hometown of Saint-Tropez yesterday for the funeral of the French screen icon as her husband revealed she had died from cancer. The reclusive star of the 1950s and 60s was set to be buried at her family’s Mediterranean seaside grave later in the day after dying aged 91 at her home on Dec 28. Ahead of a church service her husband Bernard d’Ormale revealed the cause of death for the first time. She had dealt “very well” with two operations for an unspecified cancer before the disease “took her”, d’Ormale told Paris Match magazine in an interview about their life together. After being hospitalised twice in late 2025, Bardot insisted she wanted to return home to her villa known as “la Madrague”, despite being in physical discomfort. “It was uncomfortable, even when she was bedridden,” said the former far-right political adviser. “However, she remained conscious and concerned about the fate of animals until the very end.” Animals and their protection, for which Bardot devoted most of her life, are likely to be a key theme at commemorations, which comprise a service at Notre-Dame de l’Assomption church, a private burial and a public event. The service will be shown on public screens in Saint-Tropez for well-wishers and fans who gathered in their hundreds despite brisk winter temperatures. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she will attend, underlining Bardot’s views on immigration, while centrist President Emmanuel Macron will not.

Bardot with a rescued dog at a pound in Nice on Dec 28, 2005. – AFPFILEPIC

No information has been given about whether Bardot’s only child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, will attend the funeral. Charrier, 65, was brought up by his father, film director Jacques Charrier, and lives in Oslo. Bardot’s sister Mijanou, 87, who had a brief film career, is not expected to make the trip from her home in Los Angeles. “My Brigitte, the one I loved more than anything ... now knows the greatest of mysteries. “She also knows whether our beloved pets are waiting for us on the other side,” she wrote on Facebook. “My God, please let that be the case so she doesn’t feel alone, but is with them.” In 2018, Brigitte Bardot had said she wished to be buried in the garden of her home along with her pets to avoid a “crowd of idiots” trampling on the tombs of her parents and grandparents who are in the same cemetery where she will be interred. – AFP

Some celebrities are expected to be there, but her animal rights foundation has stressed it will be a “no frills” event. “The ceremony will reflect who she was, with the people who knew and loved her. There will no doubt be some surprises, but it will be simple, just as Brigitte wanted,” said Bruno Jacquelin, spokesman for the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. Bardot was a divisive figure who alienated many fans with her political views in later life, leading to mixed reactions to her death. Most observers agreed that she was a cinema legend who came to embody the sexual revolution of the 1960s through her acting and daring, unconventional persona. But having been convicted five times for hate speech, left-wing figures have offered only muted tributes and sometimes none at all. She is survived by her fourth husband, d’Ormale, a former adviser to Le Pen’s late father Jean Marie.

Floral wreaths are displayed in the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption church. – AFPPIC