Denmark pushes back as Trump touts Greenland oil and mineral deals

Denmark has demanded that US resource exploration in Greenland respect the island’s laws amid President Donald Trump’s claim that oil, gas and mineral extraction will soon begin there.

The Danish Foreign Ministry reaffirmed on Wednesday that last month’s agreement between Denmark, Greenland and the US did not alter the rules for extraction.

The agreement “does not grant investors from the US any preferential treatment” over investors from other NATO and EU countries when it comes to access to natural resources in Greenland, the ministry said.

In a post on Truth Social, US President Trump called the semi-autonomous Danish territory “our new and beautiful Greenland”.

“Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin,” he wrote, without providing details.

What the deal covers

Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the 10-page agreement on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 22, ending months of tensions over Trump’s threats to control Greenland.

The deal allows the US to “modernise and expand” its activities at the Pituffik Space Base, a remote US military installation in northwest Greenland.

It also paved the way for two new military bases and Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defence system, while reaffirming Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.

It did not allocate any rights for mining or drilling.


Greenland’s ban

Greenland banned uranium mining and all future oil exploration in 2021.

Its government is reviewing whether a Texas firm, Greenland Energy, can use permits that predate the ban.

The company said in August it planned to drill for oil in 2027 at an untested basin on Greenland’s east coast, although it lacked its own permit.

Danish security policy adviser Jacob Kaarsbo said Trump’s comments could signal that his desire to control Greenland remains unchanged.

“It is extremely dangerous to view this agreement between the Trump administration and Denmark as something that has altered Trump’s intentions,” he said.


Mikkel Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told Al Jazeera that details regarding mining and exploration rights remained unclear and that information coming mostly from the US side should be taken “with a grain of salt”.

Richard Weitz, a fellow at the NATO Defense College in Rome, said Trump “backed down and settled for less” than he sought, but still “got pretty much everything he wanted, except formal annexation”.

ICE pushes back on report suggesting body cameras that automatically record

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a United States agency that has taken a central role in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, has rejected a government report calling for its agents to wear body cameras that automatically activate.

On Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan agency that provides research to Congress, released a report recommending an update to ICE guidelines for camera usage.

It suggested that “automated camera activation” would be helpful in situations where “unexpected and unplanned incidents, unrelated to sensitive operations, result in use of force by or against personnel”.

“Given the important role of body-worn cameras in law enforcement activities, we maintain that additional controls are needed to help ensure that ICE personnel capture footage in accordance with policy,” the report said.

Automatic activation, it added, would address difficulties ICE agents face in manually turning on their cameras during enforcement operations.

But ICE has rejected the recommendation for automatic activation, which could be triggered by an agent pulling a gun or turning on a car siren. The agency cited privacy concerns.


But the Trump administration faces public pressure to improve transparency during its immigration raids.

Agents from ICE and other agencies such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have faced accusations of excessive force and civil liberties violations.

In January, two US citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – were shot to death in separate shootings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during immigration operations.

The New York Times estimated in July that immigration agents had opened fire on at least 25 people since the start of Trump’s second term. A CBS News review updated this week counts at least 30 shootings, with nine people killed and 13 others wounded.

ICE has often blamed such incidents on aggression against its agents, and it has argued that its officers have opened fire to defend themselves from danger.

But in several cases, that rationale has come under scrutiny.

Critics argued that video footage in Good’s fatal shooting disproved government statements alleging that she had weaponised her vehicle against agents. Her car, according to observers, appeared to be turning away from agents, not towards them.

In another case, ICE agent Christian Castro was accused of making false statements about a shooting that resulted in injury to Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man living in Minneapolis.

Castro faces federal charges for allegedly lying about being attacked with a snow shovel and broom before the shooting, after video footage contradicted his account. Castro pleaded not guilty last month.

More recently, on October 8, immigration agents shot a man named Oscar Belgal in New York City while his five-year-old son was in the backseat of his car. ICE stated that Belgal appeared to be “going towards officers” in his car when they opened fire.

On Tuesday, a judge rejected the government’s effort to have Belgal deported.


Activists say better recording procedures for body camera footage could help clarify what happened in such incidents.

But the Trump administration has largely refused to implement reforms to ICE protocol.

Earlier this year, Democrats in Congress delayed funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, on the basis that significant changes needed to be made to reduce incidents of excessive force.

The department said on Wednesday that automatically recording cameras could result in “the unauthorised recording of sensitive interactions with informants or victims”.

The agency added that all ICE offices had received body cameras as of August 5, but that training in their use was still ongoing and would be finished “soon”.

Real Madrid come from 3-1 down to beat Roma on Champions League travels

Jose Mourinho enjoyed a Roma reunion to remember as Real Madrid completed an astonishing comeback by scoring three late goals to claim a 4-3 away win in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Marten de Roon gave the hosts a deserved opener before Kylian Mbappe struck back on his 100th Champions League appearance to level the scores at the break.

Two Donyell Malen strikes in the space of six minutes early in the second half seemed to take the game away from the 15-time European champions as Roma ran rampant.

But Real scored three goals in the space of seven minutes late on, all stemming from corners, to turn the game on its head as Carlos Espi, Endrick and ex-Roma defender Antonio Rudiger struck at a stunned Stadio Olimpico.

Mourinho was a popular figure, leading Roma to the UEFA Conference League title and an Europa League final during two-and-a-half years in charge.

The home crowd honoured the Portuguese with banners and chants in Roma’s first home Champions League match in more than seven years, and the hosts started strongly as Mario Hermoso forced Thibaut Courtois into a flying fingertip save.

Roma took a deserved lead when De Roon swept a shot past Courtois from 25 yards in the 20th minute, and almost doubled it when Malen’s powerful shot squirmed under Courtois before being plucked off the line.

However, one costly moment of switching off proved enough to send them back to square one within five minutes of the opener being scored.

Hermoso misjudged an interception to allow Mbappe a clear run at goal, and the French striker’s deflected shot flew into the roof of the net to level the scores with Real’s first meaningful chance of the game.

Mbappe marked his Champions League centurion status – he is the youngest player to reach the milestone, aged 27 – with his 72nd tournament goal, one that moved him into the all-time top five ahead of Real legend Raul Gonzalez.

The equaliser appeared to subdue Roma and steady Mourinho’s men, who twice threatened a second before the break as Marc Cucurella and Jude Bellingham came close.

Roma take game to Real Madrid

But Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini insisted pre-match that Roma would not compromise on their full-throttle style regardless of opposition, and he was true to his word as they came out firing after the break.

Roma quickly retook the lead when half-time substitute Rodrigo Mora fed the ball to Malen, who finished brilliantly by taking the ball in his stride with his first touch and lifting it over Courtois with his second.

Things got even better for the Italians just six minutes later when Malen raced onto a through ball to power home his second, given following a VAR review after initially being flagged for offside.

Real looked for a response as Mbappe twice tested Pierluigi Gollini, before having his second goal of the night ruled out for offside.

But set-pieces proved to be the key to unlock the Roma defence, as Espi tucked home a close-range rebound from a header to pull one back before Endrick powered home a header from another corner just two minutes later.

The final blow was struck by Rudiger in the 90th minute, the defender getting in front of his marker to guide home a close-range finish and complete an extraordinary turnaround.

The result leaves Real Madrid with six points from their opening two league phase matches, while Roma are on one point.


Shakhtar Donetsk beat AEK Athens in London debut

Nomadic Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk celebrated moving into their new Champions League “home” at Stamford Bridge by storming back to beat AEK Athens 3-1.

Fans of the club turned up in the thousands to support the team, who emerged from the tunnel draped in blue-and-yellow national flags.

The Greek side took the lead in the 28th minute through Lovro Majer but Pedrinho levelled confidently from the penalty spot just six minutes later.

With about 10 minutes of normal time to go, Vinicius Tobias found the net from a tight angle and substitute Gleiker Mendoza made the game safe, smashing home after cutting in from the left.

The result leaves Shakhtar on four points after two games, following a draw against PSV Eindhoven in their opening match in the league phase of the Champions League.

Giant-killers Bodo sink Dortmund in Champions League

Fredrik Sjovold’s 52nd-minute strike secured a 1-0 victory for Bodo/Glimt over Borussia Dortmund, extending the Norwegian side’s remarkable home record against Europe’s elite.

Bodo were a cut above the 2024 Champions League runners-up and took the lead through Sjovold just after the break.

Dortmund improved in the final half hour but were unable to strike back, despite a late chance for Felix Nmecha.

Dortmund join Manchester City, Inter Milan and Sporting as recent big-name scalps on the artificial turf of Bodo’s Aspmyra stadium.

Aston Villa put six past Fenerbahce in record rout

Aston Villa recorded their biggest ever European victory as Nicolas Jackson inspired a 6-0 rout of Fenerbahce.

Unai Emery’s side won at Villa Park for the first time this season to maintain their 100 percent start in Europe’s elite club competition.

Swiss forward Johan Manzambi put Villa in front, and Jackson was on target twice before the interval.

Ross Barkley scored twice in the second half before Tammy Abraham’s late strike completed the rout.


PSG beat Man City 4-2 in Champions League thriller

Paris Saint-Germain further soured the mood at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City’s first home game since the guilty verdict on widespread flouting of Premier League financial rules ended in a 4-2 Champions League defeat on Wednesday.

The European champions turned on the style to strike three times inside the opening 35 minutes through Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha.

But City stormed back in the second half as Erling Haaland scored twice on either side of Maghnes Akliouche’s strike, which briefly restored PSG’s three-goal cushion.

The 10-time English champions face swingeing sanctions unless they can successfully appeal last month’s ruling by an independent commission, which found the club guilty on more than 100 charges of financial impropriety.

City shrugged off the uncertainty over their future to win 3-0 at Liverpool on Sunday and remain top of the Premier League, but PSG showed why they are the favourites to win this competition for a third consecutive season.

Former City manager Pep Guardiola returned to the Etihad for the first time since his departure in May, sitting behind the club’s embattled chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and CEO, Ferran Soriano, in a show of solidarity.

City made passing reference to the guilty verdict with a lengthy pre-match video detailing the club’s historic moments of celebration both before and after an Abu Dhabi-backed takeover in 2008 that transformed their fortunes.

Behind one end, supporters unfurled a giant banner reading: “I’m City till I die.”

Yet the fighting talk in the stands didn’t match the on-field action as City were blown away by a scintillating first 45 minutes from the visitors.

Luis Enrique’s decision to leave Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the bench proved inspired, as it meant Doue started wide on the left.

Gianluigi Donnarumma had a point to prove after the Italian goalkeeper was let go by the PSG coach just months after helping deliver the club’s first Champions League title in 2025.

However, it turned out to be a night to forget for the giant Italian.

Donnarumma was caught out at his near post by Doue’s outside-the-box effort after a lightning counter-attack to open the scoring.

The move for the second goal two minutes later was even more impressive, as Doue and Dembele exchanged an elaborate one-two before the latter headed in at the far post.

Achraf Hakimi hit the post before Vitinha rattled in PSG’s third from the edge of the box.

Maresca responded with a triple substitution at half-time and managed to salvage some pride, even if the deficit proved too much to overturn.

Antoine Semenyo and Enzo Fernandez missed glaring chances to pull a goal back even before Haaland glanced home a header from Iliman Ndiaye’s cross.

Yet City were hit by a sucker punch when Donnarumma got a hand to Akliouche’s effort, but the ball looped high and spun back into the net.

Nuno Mendes made a brilliant clearance off his own line, and Haaland hit the bar before the Norwegian slotted home his second of the night.

Donnarumma saved a late Ferran Torres penalty, denying the French champions a fifth goal.

But in the battle between two state-backed projects that have reshaped European football, Qatar-owned PSG are the top dogs right now as City face a scandal that puts their trophy haul over the past 15 years in question.


Colombia opposition groups launch protest against de la Espriella’s cuts

A coalition of opposition parties, trade unions, indigenous groups and social movements has protested in Colombia against a series of economic and security policies advanced under right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella.

Thousands marched in major cities including the capital Bogota on Wednesday, the first day of a nationwide campaign led by the country’s former left-wing President Gustavo Petro.

Under Petro, Colombia expanded access to public universities, increased the minimum wage and improved labour protections for workers.

Opposition groups say many of those reforms are now under threat, as de la Espriella’s government embraces cuts to government programmes.

Colombia’s Congress has until Tuesday to approve its 2027 fiscal year budget. But as part of the new administration’s austerity measures, allies of de la Espriella are advancing proposals to reduce government spending.

De la Espriella has also pledged to turn Colombia away from his predecessor’s left-wing leanings and towards more free-market policies aligned with those of United States President Donald Trump.

Protesters carry a banner depicting a caricature of President Abelardo de la Espriella during a march called by unions and opposition groups against his government in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Protesters carry a banner depicting a caricature of President Abelardo de la Espriella in Bogota, Colombia, on October 14, 2026 [Fernando Vergara/AP Photo]

The government issued new rules for police ahead of the protests, handing expanded powers to law enforcement to more quickly deal with protesters who vandalise public property or disrupt access to essential services.

“The right to protest is respected, but there is no right to destroy, attack the security forces, assault others or sow chaos,” de la Espriella said in a social media statement announcing the decree.

He added that “violence, vandalism and blockades that trample on the rights of millions of citizens will not be tolerated”.

Indigenous communities and political groups in rural parts of the country sometimes block roads as part of their protests, with impediments to traffic sometimes lasting weeks.

Demonstrators march during a protest against the government of Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella in Bogota on October 14, 2026, during a nationwide day of demonstrations called by labor unions, teachers' organizations, student groups and opposition sectors. (Photo by Sebastian BARROS / AFP)
A demonstrator holds up a sign that reads ‘First the rural class’ during a protest in Bogota, Colombia, on October 14, 2026 [Sebastian Barros/AFP]

But critics have pointed out that the protests this week have been largely peaceful.

Many chanted “It will fall”, a reference to the perceived failure of de la Espriella’s government.

A former defence lawyer and millionaire businessman, de la Espriella was a political newcomer when he ran for the presidency this year on a far-right ticket.

He was elected in a June runoff race by a narrow margin. He campaigned on a hardline platform to address crime, immigration and the economy, including proposals to expel millions of migrants from Colombia and shrink the size of the government.

De la Espriella also pledged to backtrack on reforms made under Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president. He took office in August.

A former left-wing fighter-turned-politician, Petro took part in protests on Wednesday. He was not eligible for re-election in this year’s presidential race; Colombian law currently caps presidents at a single term.

He wrote on social media that the mobilisations were a wake-up call “two months into the start of a tyrannical and imposed government”.

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - OCTOBER 14: Iván Cepeda former presidential candidate and current senator attends a protest as part of the national strike to protest against the current government on October 14, 2026 in Bogota, Colombia. Opposition leaders and various collectives convened a mega protest against Abelardo de La Espriella's government. The economic policies and the right to protest are among the topics that the protesters demand of the new government. (Photo by Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)
Former presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda mingles with protesters in Bogota, Colombia, on October 14 [Diego Cuevas/Getty Images]

Protesters also expressed concerns about cuts to labour protections and healthcare under the new administration.

“I feel like we have no guarantees and that the little we did obtain … we’re about to lose,” teacher Ester Guerra, 32, told the news outlet AFP in Bogota.

Some demonstrators also took issue with the new administration’s overtures towards Israel. Several carried Palestinian flags, in a sign of solidarity.

On Wednesday, de la Espriella’s government opened a Colombian embassy in Jerusalem, a controversial move as Israel and Palestine have both claimed parts of the city.

Petro had been a staunch supporter of Palestine and had cut relations with Israel over its genocidal war against Gaza. But de la Espriella has moved to restore the severed ties since taking office.

That struck protesters like Jimena Rodriguez, a 20-year-old student, as an effort to ignore accusations of Israeli abuses against Palestinians.

Several noted that de la Espriella’s actions towards Israel mirrored Trump’s, who moved the US embassy to Jerusalem during his first term in 2018.

President de la Espriella “just wants to hand the country over to the United States, to Israel,” Rodriguez said. “I feel dark times are coming.”

West Indies beat India to level T20 series as Hope continues record run

Shai Hope set a West Indies record by reaching 102 not out as West Indies beat India by 24 runs Wednesday in the fourth cricket T20 to level the five-match series at 2-2.

Hope hit nine sixes and four fours in his third T20 century – the most for a West Indies batter – as the visitors piled up 247-3 in 20 overs. India had won the toss and opted to bowl.

It was the second-highest first innings total in T20s against India, trailing England’s 257-3 in Southampton this year.

In reply, Sanju Samson hit 56 off 23 balls but India was down to 130-5 and the chase never took off. It finished with 223 in 19.3 overs.

Keemo Paul picked 5-41 for his second five-wicket haul in T20s.

Bengaluru will host the deciding T20 on Saturday.

Put into bat, Hope gave West Indies a flying by putting on 52 off 26 balls with Jewel Andrew (21). Axar Patel trapped Andrew lbw in the fifth over but West Indies still got 79-1 in the powerplay.

Hope then added another 58 off 24 balls with Shimron Hetmyer, reaching 50 off 28 balls with the help of five sixes. He sped to a second hundred in the series with another four sixes.

Hope also became only the fifth batter to score multiple hundreds in a bilateral T20 series. Overall, it was his fourth hundred in seven innings across ODIs and T20s on this tour.

He wasn’t finished, despite Prince Yadav sending back Hetmyer for 33, while Rovman Powell scored 24.

Sherfane Rutherford scored 49 not out off 26 balls to provide the final flourish, hitting four fours and three sixes, as West Indies breached 200.

Hope and Rutherford added 91 off only 43 balls, as India served a slow over-rate penalty in the final over. Nitish Reddy gave away 19 runs in the 20th, with Hope reaching his century with a six off the last ball.

In reply, Samson hit four sixes to give India a quick start. He and Abhishek Sharma (29) added 60 off 25 balls as India scored 80-2 in the powerplay.

Keemo Paul struck twice in the fifth over – Samson was out caught at square leg on the first ball and then three balls later, Ishan Kishan was caught at deep mid wicket for six.

India also lost skipper Shreyas Iyer (16) before the halfway mark, and was down to 97-3.

Abhishek Sharma didn’t get going, scoring 29 off 24 balls, with three fours and a six. His dismissal was the turning point – he was caught off Gudakesh Motie at long off in the 12th over.

Motie also had Naman Dhir stumped for a golden duck.

Tilak Varma fought hard with 43 off 25 balls along with Nitish Reddy’s cameo (41 off 20 balls) but it went in vain.

Paul picked three wickets in the 19th over to wrap up the innings.

Families of Trinidadian men killed in US boat strike demand accountability

The families of two missing men from the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago have marked the one-year anniversary of their disappearance by calling for accountability from the United States.

Since September last year, the US military has undertaken a campaign of attacking small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, on the basis that they were transporting “narco-terrorists”.

But critics have called the boat strikes an illegal campaign of extrajudicial killings.

On Wednesday, the families of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo issued a statement remembering the two men, who they said were killed in one of the US boat strikes on October 14, 2025.

The families are currently pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit in the state of Massachusetts, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). They have argued that Joseph and Samaroo were fishermen and farm workers, not drug-traffickers.

“The last year has been devastating without Chad in our lives. Chad was the heart of our family. He was loving, generous and caring and always there for us. We all miss him terribly,” said Joseph’s mother, Lenore Burnley.

“A year later, we are still grieving and seeking justice for his death. We will always mourn losing Chad but hope that this lawsuit will be a step towards justice for him and the family.”


Four other people were killed in the attack on October 14, 2025, when a missile struck a vessel returning to Trinidad and Tobago from nearby Venezuela.

The families have said Samaroo and Joseph had been working in Venezuela to support their families.

Both men called their families two days before embarking on the trip home to the islands. They were never heard from again.

The boat strike campaign, launched under US President Donald Trump, has killed at least 239 people since September 2025.

But the US government has provided little evidence to prove its claims that those on board were trafficking drugs. It has also not publicly identified the victims.

In several cases — from Colombia to Ecuador to Trinidad and Tobago — relatives have stepped forward to say that their loved ones were among those killed, and that they were fishermen with no connection to the drug trade.

Separately, the family of Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, accusing the Trump administration of violating his right to life when it allegedly bombed his boat on September 15, 2025.

Samaroo and Joseph’s lawsuit was filed in January and is being heard by a US federal court in the city of Boston, Massachusetts.

“Not a day goes by when our family doesn’t think about our brother Rishi,” said Sallycar Korasingh, Samaroo’s youngest sister.

“Rishi was a good person, loved by his family and community. The last year without him in our lives has been heartbreaking. My brother and family deserve justice. We will continue fighting for answers and the accountability we deserve.”


Legal scholars have noted that, even if those killed were involved in criminal activity, the strikes would still amount to extrajudicial killings.

Under international law, it is generally illegal to use military force for civilian law enforcement. Drug trafficking is not considered an act of war, but rather a civilian crime.

“For a year now, our clients have had to live without their loved ones and without justice in the name of President Trump’s lawless killing campaign,” said Jeff Stein, staff attorney with ACLU’s National Security Project.

The group is representing the families in their lawsuit, along with the Center for Constitutional Rights.

“These illegal strikes at sea have devastated countless families, terrified communities, and made us all less safe,” Stein said. “We won’t stop fighting for accountability. We urge leaders in both Congress and the executive branch to finally end this illegal campaign before anyone else is killed.”

World’s oldest shipwreck found off coast of Turkiye

Turkiye’s Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has said the country unearthed ancient treasures from what he called “the world’s oldest shipwreck”.

Underwater excavations near Kekova Island in the southern Antalya province uncovered ceramic storage jars dating back 4,700 years to the Early Bronze Age, Ersoy announced in a post on X on Wednesday.

While the vessel’s wooden hull did not survive, archaeologists recovered the ancient storage jars following an underwater excavation project launched earlier this year.

The jars, believed to have transported olive oil or wine, provide concrete evidence of early maritime trade and cultural exchange across the eastern Mediterranean, according to the ministry.


Clay analysis indicated the containers were manufactured in workshops in the Jordan Valley, matching similar styles previously found in Egypt, Turkiye, and Greece that illustrate extensive Bronze Age sea routes.

One vessel was singled out for its unique design, featuring nine markings and two holes in its body that suggest it may have been used to churn butter or cheese.

Researchers believe the ship was sailing from the Levantine coast towards modern-day Hisarlik in Turkiye or the island of Crete in Greece when it capsized and sank.

The excavation was directed by Hakan Oniz, an associate professor of archaeology at Akdeniz University.

Speaking to the BBC, the professor said when his team first found the wreck four years ago, the jars only appeared to be a century or two old.

“However, we later became excited when we saw the same amphora forms in a publication on Egyptian archaeology and returned to the site,” he said. “Indeed, they were similar to those found at the Giza pyramids in Egypt. We were incredibly excited.”

The discovery has “shed light on the deep-rooted history of maritime trade along the Anatolian coasts,” added Ersoy.

Mexico to force Meta, TikTok, and X to better protect minors on platform

Mexican ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠President Claudia ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sheinbaum signed a presidential decree requiring digital platforms, including TikTok, Meta and X, to protect children from violent, sexual and other harmful content online.

The decree establishes that digital platforms must, by design, restrict exposure to content involving violence, harassment or sexual abuse, as well as immediately remove any risky material from the profiles of minors.

Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that the government would back legislation to penalise companies that fail to implement the decree.

“If no progress is made, it would become a law,” she told a news conference on Tuesday.

“The goal is for digital platforms to take on some of the responsibility and refrain from disseminating, promoting, or spreading content related to this type of information — including criminal acts or violent behaviour,” Sheinbaum had said earlier when she indicated she would introduce the decree.

The decree comes after an attack by two 18-year-olds on their former high school in the northern ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌state of Coahuila in early October that killed one and wounded three others.

Digital platforms will have one month to comply with the decree, government adviser Luisa Maria Alcalde said.

Officials said they had already discussed the matter with representatives of social media outlets and streaming platforms such as Meta, Microsoft, Apple, TikTok, Google, X and Huawei.

Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone. [File: Hollie Adams/Reuters]
Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone [File: Hollie Adams/Reuters]

 

Last August, Meta, for example, agreed to pay an $18bn settlement in a major US federal case accusing it of endangering children, and was forced to introduce new safety features to platforms including Instagram and Facebook. The lawsuit alleged Meta had violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠retaining, and using personal data from children under 13 without proper parental consent.

Mexico’s move follows a broader global push to protect minors online, with governments in Europe and Australia tightening oversight of digital platforms and US states pursuing a range of child-safety measures.

Brazil has also moved to strengthen protections for children online. Such measures have raised questions over how to protect minors while safeguarding privacy and freedom of expression.

Infantino faces FIFA rebels in Zurich after failed World Cup stake sale

Gianni ⁠Infantino faces the football leaders who ⁠want him gone on Thursday in his first meeting with FIFA’s top brass since his plan to sell a stake in FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, collapsed.

Infantino has faced calls to resign from the leaders of three regional football confederations – UEFA (Europe), AFC (Asia) ⁠and CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) – and their representatives will be present in Zurich for a FIFA Council meeting.

They will be joined by their counterparts from Africa, South America and Oceania.

On the agenda will be a discussion of the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, which Infantino was forced to abandon ⁠within days of announcing it in July.

Under the plan, Infantino proposed selling a minority stake in a FIFA commercial subsidiary to private investors, with a company launched by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, identified as the proposed lead investor.

The 37-member council will also address FIFA’s governance, with some of the sport’s most powerful figures determined to limit Infantino’s powers if they cannot force him out of office.

Infantino, 56, will stand for re-election in March 2027, with a ‌November 18 deadline looming for potential candidates to submit their nominations.

Last week, former Switzerland and Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega announced that he intended to stand, but he has not confirmed whether he has the backing of the five national associations required to enter the race.

The FFE plan exposed a split in world football, with Aleksander Ceferin, Salman Al Khalifa and Victor Montagliani – the presidents respectively of UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF – saying it was time for a change at the top of FIFA.

However, Infantino has been canvassing support as he bids to remain in power and received a standing ovation when he met African football leaders last week in Cape Verde.

He is also expected to be backed by South America at next year’s election ⁠in Rabat, Morocco. Despite the AFC’s criticism of his leadership, many countries within Asia, including a bloc of Arab nations, ⁠have offered their support.

FIFA Peace Prize to Trump in spotlight

People familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency that although the chances of finding someone to replace Infantino were remote, his opponents were determined to leave him more isolated and curb his powers.

In addition to reviewing FFE, council members are expected to discuss FIFA’s financial reserves and how much money it can release to member associations, as well as its ⁠disciplinary procedures, governance framework and Peace Prize, which was controversially awarded to US President Donald Trump last year.

Last month, UEFA and CONCACAF called on FIFA to release $10m to each of its 211 member associations, countering Infantino’s FFE proposal ⁠under which associations could receive $20m in development funding and potentially access a further $20m.

Emanuel Medeiros, ⁠founder and Global CEO of Sport Integrity Global Alliance, a pressure group for better governance in sport, said FIFA needed to have a “frank discussion” in Zurich.

“The eyes of the world are on them,” he said. “The world of football expects to see a council that takes this unique opportunity to establish a genuinely independent, comprehensive and transparent governance review … We certainly wish to see a new ‌impetus, a new dynamic.”

However, lawyer and politician Miguel Maduro, who was chairman of the FIFA Governance Committee in 2016 before being sacked by Infantino, said he would be surprised if anything meaningful came of Thursday’s meeting.

“They may announce the setting up of a working group or even an independent review of FIFA ‌governance, ‌but the credibility of either exercise will be very limited in the light of FIFA’s track record,” he said.

“Such an exercise, if not genuinely independent and enforceable, might be more of the same: a window dressing exercise simply aimed at reducing public pressure and to state they have now addressed whatever problems they had.”

FIFA to offer members $6.35bn development fund windfall

FIFA is also planning to set up a $6.35bn development fund for the next four years, the AFP news agency learned Wednesday from a source close to the matter.

The plan is due to be approved at its Council meeting on Thursday.

To finance this development fund for the 2026-2030 period, which would allow money to be distributed to FIFA’s 211 federations as well as to the regional confederations, it would draw in part on its financial reserves after a commercially successful 2026 World Cup.

The plan, first revealed by The Associated Press, would allow for the payment of $25m to each of its 211 member federations.

This is far more than the $10m called for by two of Infantino’s chief critics, Aleksander Ceferin, the boss of the European confederation UEFA, and Victor Montagliani, the head of CONCACAF, the confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Thursday’s gathering is the first such meeting since April 28, and comes amid a crisis in the governance of world football, following Infantino’s announcement earlier this year of his desire to open FIFA’s premium competitions, such as the World Cup, to private investors.

That plan was ultimately abandoned in the face of widespread criticism from the football world, with a rebellion led by UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

At the end of September, Infantino launched a consultation process with the federations to reform how the global body operates, announcing that the first proposals could be examined as early as Thursday’s meeting.

The 56-year-old, who has headed FIFA since 2016, is running for re-election in March 2027.

His opponents have so far failed to agree on a candidate.

Ceferin has chosen to stand for a new term at the helm of UEFA and, according to several media outlets, Montagliani is expected to do the same at CONCACAF.

The deadline for submitting candidacies is November 18.