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Spanish police break up gang that used swimmers to hide cocaine on ships

Spanish police have arrested 30 people and seized almost 2.5 tonnes of cocaine after breaking up a criminal network that used teams of young swimmers to hide the drugs on moving, Europe-bound ships which were then attacked and relieved of their unwitting cargo before reaching port. The 15-month investigation began in October 2024 when Policía Nacional officers found 88kg of cocaine in a vehicle in the southern Spanish town of Mijas. The drugs led them to three gangs, including a Balkan cartel, who were working together to bring huge quantities of cocaine into Spain from Colombia. “The gangs used the so-called ‘monkey’ technique to get the shipments of cocaine into maritime containers that were being transported on container ships,” the force said in a statement on Thursday. “The drug-trafficking technique involves using youngsters from poor backgrounds who are good swimmers to get the drugs on to ships while they’re at sea. “Members of the same organisation then headed to Spain in order to get to the containers by intercepting the ships carrying them before they reached the strait of Gibraltar.” One such attempt was thwarted in the middle of last year when a ship bound for the port of Cádiz informed the maritime rescue service that it had found stowaways on its deck, leading to the seizure of a container in which 1.4 tonnes of cocaine had been stashed. The stowaways turned out to be three men tasked with recovering the drugs, who then fled. Not long after, a ship passing through Portuguese waters reported armed stowaways on board. But the men managed to unload bundles of cocaine that had been hidden in a container and hand them to their accomplices before evading the authorities. In the autumn of last year, officer came across five men – three Colombians and two Spain-based members of the Balkan cartel – who were using speedboats and the “drop-off” method to collect their drugs. “This method involves throwing the merchandise from a merchant ship for collection by smaller vessels near the destination country, subduing the ship’s crew and extracting the drugs from inside the containers, using military techniques and weapons of war,” the statement added. The drugs were then hidden in towns and villages along the Gulf of Cádiz and later transported by road to other European countries. As well as confiscating 2,475kg of cocaine and various assault weapons during the operation, police seized boarding ladders, nautical equipment, eight high-end vehicles, more than €166,000 (£144,000) in cash and watches, and jewellery worth €100,000. On Monday the Policía Nacional announced its largest-ever seizure of cocaine at sea after officers found almost 10 tonnes of the drug hidden amid a cargo of salt on a merchant ship off the Canary Islands.

Anger in Iceland over incoming US ambassador’s ‘52nd state’ joke

Thousands of people have signed a petition expressing anger after Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Iceland reportedly joked that the Nordic country should become the 52nd US state. On Wednesday, hours before top officials from Greenland and Denmark were to meet with the US in the hope of warding off Trump’s threats to seize the Arctic island, the news outlet Politico said it had heard of musings regarding another Nordic island. “We heard that former Rep Billy Long, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Iceland, joked to members on the floor last night that Iceland will be the 52nd state and he’ll be governor,” Politico wrote in its morning newsletter. The reaction in Reykjavík was swift. In a statement to the Guardian, Iceland’s foreign ministry said it had contacted the US embassy for clarification. “The ministry for foreign affairs contacted the US embassy in Iceland to verify the veracity of the alleged comments,” it said. In a petition calling on Iceland’s foreign minister, Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, to reject Long as ambassador to the country, critics said: “These words, spoken by Billy Long, whom Donald Trump has nominated as ambassador to Iceland, may have been said in jest. Still, they are offensive to Iceland and the Icelandic people, who have had to fight for their freedom and have always been a friend to the United States,” the petition read. Within hours of its launch, more than 3,200 people had signed the petition, backing the call for the US to “nominate another person who shows greater respect for Iceland and the Icelandic people”. On Wednesday Long reportedly apologised for the remarks in an interview with Arctic Today, a news website that covers the region. The outlet quoted him as saying the comments had been made in jest as others were joking about Jeff Landry, Trump’s US special envoy to Greenland. “There was nothing serious about that, I was with some people, who I hadn’t met for three years, and they were kidding about Jeff Landry being governor of Greenland and they started joking about me and if anyone took offence to it, then I apologise,” the publication quoted Long as saying. Though Long said he could understand why the comments would have set off a reaction, he was adamant they were a joke and should not be taken seriously. “I apologise and that’s my only comment, I look forward to working with the people of Iceland and I apologise it was taken that way. I was with a group of friends and there was nothing serious about it,” he added. On Thursday, Sigmar Guðmundsson, an MP for Iceland whose centrist Liberal Reform party is part of the country’s governing coalition, described the remarks as “not a particularly funny joke” given the tensions over Greenland. “It goes without saying that this is extremely serious for a small country like Iceland,” he told the Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið. “We must realise that all the security arguments that the Americans cite regarding Greenland also apply to Iceland. This is about the location of these two islands.” He described the comments as a sign of the growing disrespect in the US towards the sovereignty of small states. “Icelanders also have to have the courage, despite our very friendly relations with the United States, not least through Nato, to discuss where and how our security interests are best served in this changing world.”

G7 threatens more sanctions for Iran amid ’high level of reported deaths and injuries’ - live

We are pausing our live coverage, thank you so much for reading along. Here’s a brief recap of the main developments: The head of the European Commission said the EU is considering further sanctions on Iran, as she described the killing of young people as a human tragedy. The UN security council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss Iran’s crackdown on protests, following a request by the United States, around 3pm ET. The Trump administration announced new sanctions against more than a dozen Iranian individuals and entities that it alleges are the “architects” of the regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters, and whom laundered the revenue generated by oil sales to foreign markets. A local Red Crescent staff member was killed and five others were injured while on duty in Iran, the global Red Cross federation said. A Canadian citizen died in Iran at the hands of the Iranian authorities, Canada’s foreign minister Anita Anand disclosed, but she did not give details of how or when. Condemning the regime’s violence, Anand said that peaceful protests by Iranians who are “asking that their voices be heard” have led the regime to “flagrantly disregard human life”. New Zealand’s foreign affairs minister said he is “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression in Iran” and condemned the “brutal crackdown” by the security forces, “including the killing of protesters”.

Iran protests appear to slow under weight of brutal crackdown

Iran’s nationwide protest movement appeared to have slowed on Thursday under the weight of a brutal crackdown by authorities that has left thousands dead and put tens of thousands in prison. In Tehran, Iranians reported relative calm on the streets as the sound of gunfire faded and fires were extinguished – a marked contrast from the weeks before when large crowds confronted security forces. The slowdown of protests came just two days after Donald Trump urged Iranians to “keep protesting – take over your institutions”, promising “help is on its way”. Intelligence assessments had indicated that the US was preparing to strike Iran, a move Trump had threatened if Iran’s government killed protesters. But on Wednesday night Trump appeared to walk back from the brink of a military intervention, telling reporters that Iranian authorities were halting executions. “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping – it’s stopped – it’s stopping. And there’s no plan for executions, or an execution, or execution – so I’ve been told that on good authority,” Trump said. At least 2,637 people have been killed in the protests, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Among them was an Iranian Red Crescent staffer who the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said was killed in northern Iran on Saturday. Five other Red Crescent staffers were wounded, prompting the organisation to call for the protection of humanitarian workers. It is understood Trump reviewed the full range of options to strike Iran but was unconvinced that any single action would lead to decisive change. Trump has pulled off misleading feints with Iran in the past. In June, he suggested US officials were fully engaged in negotiations with their Iranian counterparts over its nuclear programme, when in reality he was preparing the strikes for the 12-day war last summer. Iranian authorities also toned down their rhetoric on Wednesday, after a week of threatening retaliatory strikes against the US, with the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, urging the US to engage in negotiations. Araghchi added that the authorities had no plan to hang people, Iranian state media reported on Thursday. Iranian state media claimed that 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, the first protester sentenced to death, would not be executed. Soltani had been scheduled to be put to death on Wednesday and had become a symbol for the repression of protesters in Iran around the world. Despite Trump’s comments that the killing would stop, Iranian authorities have continued to go after protesters. Iranian media trumpeted the arrest of protesters it labelled “terrorists”, while the internet shutdown entered its seventh day – surpassing communication blackouts during previous protest movements. Authorities were reportedly searching for Starlink satellite dishes, posting pictures of shipments of the devices they said they had seized, cracking down on one of the only ways to communicate with the outside world. Rights groups expressed concerns about forced confessions among arrested protesters, as state media showed the hardliner chief justice, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, personally questioning detainees. Ejei, who has been placed under sanctions by the US and EU, is accused by opposition groups of being involved in the 1988 mass execution of political prisoners. Footage broadcast on Thursday showed Ejei interrogating women, one of whom stood accused of sending a message to the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Another woman, accused of dropping concrete blocks on security forces, said as Ejei interrogated her: “I don’t know what happened, why I did something so foolish.” From the very beginning, state media have broadcast footage of such confessions, as authorities attempt to cast the protests as a foreign-instigated movement to destabilise Iran. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said: “Confessions that were obtained under coercion and torture being aired prior to legal proceedings violate the right of defendants to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.” Protests started on 28 December after a sudden slide in the value of the country’s currency, and quickly expanded to demands for political reform and even an end to the Iranian regime. The protest movement spread to all 31 provinces. It is the most serious bout of unrest the government has faced in decades. Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on Thursday that the government was trying to ameliorate living conditions in the country and address the issues that sparked the protests. He vowed to target corruption and price gouging, which he expected would improve Iranians’ purchasing power. Iran’s national currency has lost two-thirds of its value over the past three years while the price of basic goods has soared, with food prices increasing by 72% since last year. Analysts have said that while the protests point to underlying systemic issues in Iran that will be problematic for the Iranian regime in the long term, state collapse is unlikely. The concern was echoed by Israeli and Arab officials, who told the US administration in recent days that the Iranian regime was not yet weak enough for American strikes to topple it, NBC reported on Tuesday. Trump was lobbied hard by leaders in the Middle East not to go ahead with strikes that would have been certain to lead to an Iranian counterstrikes on US bases across the region. On social media, some Iranians expressed disappointment with Trump’s seeming about-face on military intervention. An AI photo of Trump pulling off a mask to reveal the former US president Barack Obama, whom Iran’s diaspora depicted as soft on Iran, was widely shared. Early on Thursday, the UN security council scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss the protests at the request of the US. Foreign ministers from the G7 said they were “prepared to impose additional restrictive measures” on Iran over its handling of the protests and the “deliberate use of violence, the killing of protesters, arbitrary detention and intimidation tactics”.

Gulf states and Turkey warned Trump strikes on Iran could lead to major conflict

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Oman urged Donald Trump not to launch airstrikes against Iran in a last-minute lobbying campaign prompted by fears that an attack by Washington would lead to a major and intractable conflict across the Middle East. The warnings of chaos from the longstanding US allies appear to have helped persuade Trump late on Wednesday to hold off for the moment on a military assault. In the case of Saudi Arabia, its reticence led it to deny the US use of its airspace to mount any attacks. Continuing discussions, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, conferred by phone with his counterparts from Iran, Oman and Turkey on Thursday. Iran remains politically apart from the Gulf states, partly owing to its continued support for its weakened network of regional proxies, known as the axis of resistance, and its refusal to back a two state-solution for Palestine as well as disputes over three islands in the Gulf claimed by the United Arab Emirates, a claim backed by the Gulf Cooperation Council. But Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has also undertaken a series of visits to Arab capitals that are said to have improved relations. Last year, for instance, he visited Bahrain, the first Iranian minister to do since 2010. He also visited Cairo four times last year in an effort to improve relations. The two sides had severed diplomatic relations in 2016. The Saudi-Iranian relationship, once the most fraught in the Middle East, has been on a recovery path for three years. Araghchi makes a point of being photographed sampling local cuisine in the Arab capitals he visits. All the Gulf states are further aware of the disruption Iran could cause to maritime traffic in the Gulf. Araghchi has recently been trying to persuade the Gulf states than Iran is less of a risk to global stability than Israel, a case made more plausible after Israel bombed Doha last September with the intent to kill the Hamas negotiators that have lived in the Qatari capital for nearly a decade. The Israelis failed to hit their primary targets, but reportedly killed five lower-ranking members of the group. The US, not informed of the strikes in advance, apologised directly to Qatar’s emir and offered new security guarantees for Doha designed to protect Qatar from further Israeli attacks. At the time, Qatar accused Israel of trying to sabotage every opportunity for peace in the region. The US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is a supporter of the Qatari state’s self-appointed but often effective role as a global mediator. The US al-Udeid airbase, its largest in the region, is in Qatar, and as tensions mounted on Wednesday the US withdrew key personnel from the base. The withdrawal, after Tehran’s open threats to hit US bases in the region if attacked, underscores how static American land and naval bases in the region designed to project US power could also be a source of vulnerability. Iran persistently claims that the US ordered Israel to end its 12-day assault in the summer on Iran’s leadership and nuclear programme after Iran struck the US base. Araghchi has also managed to exploit the political capital he has invested in diplomatic outreach by ringing Arab leaders to explain Tehran’s rationale for the crackdown. Many of the states deeply resent the interference of Iranian proxy forces in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. Yet by the same measure, few of them would welcome the example of an authoritarian regime being toppled by street protests riled by falling living standards, and leading to a new democratic transition, or even the fragmentation of a unified Iranian state. Saudi Arabia for instance has recently put down a rebellion in the south of Yemen that would have broken up the country. The Egyptian military leadership dedicates much its energy to suppressing calls for human rights reforms. The spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, Majed al-Ansari, told reporters on Tuesday: “The big challenges in the region – and we are talking about internal and external challenges in different countries – require all of us to return to the negotiating table.” The Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, has called for dialogue. “Hopefully, the United States and Iran will resolve this issue among themselves – whether through mediators, other actors, or direct dialogue. We are closely following these developments.”

Opposition candidate Bobi Wine claims ‘massive ballot stuffing’ as Uganda goes to polls

Uganda’s most prominent opposition presidential candidate has accused the government of ballot stuffing and arresting and abducting his party’s officials during Thursday’s general election, which took place against against the backdrop of an internet shutdown. The pop star turned politician Bobi Wine wrote on X: “Internet switched off. Massive ballot stuffing reported everywhere. Our leaders … arrested. Many of our polling agents and supervisors abducted, and others chased off polling stations. RISE TO THE OCCASION AND REJECT THE CRIMINAL REGIME.” Voting in the election, which is expected to result in President Yoweri Museveni extending his nearly four-decade grip on power, was delayed in many parts of the country because of technical and logistical issues. Some polling stations in the capital, Kampala, and the eastern city of Jinja remained closed several hours after voting was supposed to start. According to local reports, in some instance ballot papers had not been delivered and biometric machines used to check voters’ identities were not working. Anxious crowds at polling stations spoke of their concerns about the delay. David Lewis Rubongoya, the secretary general of Wine’s National Unity Platform, (NUP) said no voting took place in the morning across much of Kampala. “Everything they are doing is a sham and it is deliberate,” he said of the government. Museveni acknowledged that even he had experienced challenges in voting and promised to investigate the matter. In the run-up to the vote, security forces – over which Museveni has total control – frequently broke up Wine’s campaign events using teargas and gunshots and by bludgeoning his supporters. At least one person was killed and hundreds were arrested. Civil society members were also arrested and rights groups suspended. On Tuesday, access to the internet was shut down and mobile phone services were limited. Observers said the heightened repression could indicate that the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) was concerned about waning support. It has also prompted fears of a violent crackdown on dissent in the aftermath of the vote, as happened in neighbouring Tanzania after its election in October. Museveni is seeking his seventh term. Most Ugandans have not lived under another president. Younger people in particular have connected with 43-year-old Wine and say they are concerned about their futures. Museveni became Uganda’s ninth president in 1986 after leading rebels in a five-year civil war. He led the country to economic growth and democratic change after years of political decay by autocratic governments. But hopes of enduring change dwindled amid accusations of corruption, authoritarianism, repression and curtailment of judicial independence. Critics have also condemned his extended stay in office, achieved by using tactics to lengthen his term indefinitely, including by twice changing the constitution. Mwambutsya Ndebesa, a political historian, said: “[Wine’s] challenge has brought to the surface the character of the regime in terms of tolerating political alternatives or dissent. The political class is getting more and more politically polarised. And that threatens the stability of the country.” In December, police detained Sarah Bireete, a rights activist and government critic who had raised concerns about discrepancies in the registry of voters. On Tuesday, the government ordered several rights groups that had denounced violations during the campaign to stop their work. A report by the UN human rights office last week accused Ugandan authorities of using laws enacted or amended since 2021 to entrench repression and restrict rights before the election, which it said would take place in an environment marked by widespread repression and intimidation. The government has said the actions of the security forces are in response to what it termed lawless conduct by opposition supporters. In a televised address on New Year’s Eve, Museveni advised security forces to use more teargas to break up the crowds of “the criminal opposition”. Eron Kiiza, a human rights lawyer, said at a briefing last week: “Everything is done to frustrate and annoy,” referring to disruption of opposition events by security agencies. Kiiza was allegedly tortured and detained without trial last year while representing the jailed opposition politician Kizza Besigye, who has been in prison for 14 months over what critics say are politically motivated charges, and Besigye’s aide Hajj Obeid Lutale. Museveni, 81, often credits NRM with bringing peace and development to Uganda. Under the slogan “protecting the gains”, he promised wealth and job creation and to grow the economy partly through value addition for agricultural exports and oil production, which is expected to start this year. Festus Kezire, an NRM supporter in Serere district in eastern Uganda, said Museveni’s introduction of free primary and secondary education was one of the reasons he would vote for him. He said: “He has restored peace and stability in Uganda and this has helped end many years of civil strife.” Wine’s manifesto promised “a complete reset of Uganda”, including by upholding human rights and ending corruption. Florence Naluyiba, an NUP supporter in Wakiso district in central Uganda, said she would vote for Wine because “Uganda needs change”. “Our dream is to have a president who will prioritise social service delivery. Bobi Wine has taken the risk to stand up for Ugandans at the expense of his freedom,” she said. Ndebesa, the historian, said the incumbent’s stranglehold on state power, resources and infrastructure gave him organisational advantages over Wine. “The winning [of Museveni] in Uganda is almost a given,” he said. Observers are keen to see what the election will say about Museveni’s eventual succession. He has long been thought to be grooming his son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as his successor, although he has denied this. Additional reporting by Samuel Okiror and Agence France-Presse

Danish PM says US ‘ambition to take over Greenland’ is intact after Washington meeting – as it happened

… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today! Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said last night’s high-profile meeting with US representatives was “not easy,” warning that “there is a fundamental disagreement” over “the American ambition to take over Greenland” (12:07). Frederiksen said Greenland’s defence was a “common concern” for the whole of Nato, as troops started arriving from across Europe as a result of Donald Trump’s threats to take the Arctic island by force (10:11, 10:44, 12:02, 13:05, 14:39). Greenlandic prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said “dialogue and diplomacy are the right way forward” on Greenland, as he reiterated that “Greenland is not for sale” and doesn’t want to be a part or governed by the US (13:42, 16:50). The Danish parliament has just announced it would fly the Greenlandic flag, Erfalasorput, on Friday to mark its support for the people of the semi-autonomous territory ahead of planned meetings between Danish, Greenlandic and US parliamentarians (15:15). Separately, French president Emmanuel Macron has warned that “we live in a world where destabilising forces have awakened,” as he worried about “certainties that sometimes lasted for decades being called into question” and the standoff over Greenland (13:00, 13:05, 13:17) Meanwhile, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has promised a new security strategy for Europe, as part of its broader response against a backdrop of US threats to annex Greenland (17:15). And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today. If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com. I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

California refuses to extradite doctor over abortion pill: ‘Not today. Not ever’

California will defy Louisiana’s request to extradite a doctor indicted for mailing abortion pills into the southern state, Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, said on Wednesday. “Louisiana’s request is denied,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement. “We will not allow extremist politicians from other states to reach into California and try to punish doctors based on allegations that they provided reproductive health care services. Not today. Not ever.” Louisiana’s attorney general, Republican Liz Murrill, announced on Wednesday that her state would seek the extradition of the doctor, Remy Coeytaux. In records released by Murrill’s office, law enforcement officials allege that Coeytaux, who is based in California, mailed pills to a woman in Louisiana in October 2023 through Aid Access, an organization that mails abortion pills throughout the US, in defiance of Louisiana’s near-total ban on abortion. Aid Access providers operate under the protection of “shield laws”, which aim to guard abortion providers from out-of-state extradition and prosecution. A handful of blue states, including California, passed shield laws following the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade – a development that has infuriated abortion opponents, who argue that shield laws are illegal. “It’s appalling to see the California governor and attorney general openly admitting that they will protect an individual from being held accountable for illegal, medically unethical and dangerous conduct that led to a woman being coerced into terminating the life of her unborn child,” Murrill said in a statement. The documents released by Murrill’s office do not indicate that the Louisiana woman who received pills from Coeytaux said she was coerced. In a separate court proceeding, over the legality of a common abortion pill called mifepristone, Louisiana revealed last year that it had issued an arrest warrant for a doctor accused of supplying abortion pills to the boyfriend of a woman named Rosalie Markezich. Markezich alleged that her boyfriend obtained abortion pills by filling out an online form for Aid Access and forced her to take pills in October 2023. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Murrill’s office declined to comment on whether Markezich’s case was connected to the extradition order for Coeytaux. Coeytaux who has been charged with violating a Louisiana statute that bans “criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs”. If convicted, Coeytaux could face fines and up to 50 years of “hard labor”. Louisiana has also previously sought the extradition of a New York-based doctor, Margaret Carpenter, over allegations that she mailed an abortion pill to Louisiana. Like California, New York has a shield law protecting abortion providers. Kathy Hochul, New York’s Democratic governor, refused the extradition order.