Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja to represent Nigeria at the 2025 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) scheduled for Davos, Switzerland. The Vice President will join world leaders, top business executives, and representatives of development partners at the meeting to discuss the state of the world economy with a view to improving its conditions. Among the events slated for Vice President Shettima is a workshop entitled, “Roadmap to Co-create Investment Opportunities for Africa’s Frontier Markets,” organized by the African Development Bank in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. Senator Shettima will also co-chair a forum on “Turning Digital Trade into a Catalyst for Growth in Africa,” scheduled for the Pischa Congress Centre. Vice President Shettima will attend, as a panellist, a Stakeholder Dialogue entitled “Global Risks 2025.” The Global Risks Report highlights an increasingly volatile global landscape, marked by accelerating geopolitical, technological, and environmental challenges.

Chloe Kim and Maddie Mastro became the first women to land a double cork 1080 in snowboard halfpipe competition during a US one-two finish at the Laax Open on Saturday in Switzerland. Kim, the first woman to win two Olympic golds in halfpipe, secured her fifth Laax Open title with a standout performance, earning a score of 96.50 on her first run that included a cab double cork 1080. Mastro followed with an impressive score of 94.50 for a second-place finish, landing a frontside double cork 1080 to join Kim in the record books. “It’s rewarding to just ride for fun.”In the men’s event, Australia’s Scotty James captured his fourth Laax Open title. The Laax Open also marked the first US one-two finish in a World Cup snowboard halfpipe since Kim and Mastro achieved it at the 2018 Copper Mountain Grand Prix.

The World Health Organization (WHO) could see lean years ahead if the US withdraws membership under the new Trump administration. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty ImagesThe same day, the WHO made an “emergency appeal” for funds, citing the threats of climate breakdown and conflict to world health. A US funding withdrawal would also put pressure on the WHO Foundation to make up the shortfall. after newsletter promotionTrump’s renewed efforts to withdraw funding and support from the WHO were first reported in December – one of many potential day-one actions. Trump argued WHO was overly deferential to the Chinese government during the pandemic, and announced he would withdraw the US in May 2020.

Lost recordings of a 1967 Ella Fitzgerald concert, including her spin on the era’s pop songs such as Alfie and Music to Watch Girls By, have been rediscovered and prepared for release. That label is now releasing them for the first time, under the title The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum. Fitzgerald performs a series of jazz song standards, including Mack the Knife, Bye Bye Blackbird, Cole Porter’s Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love) and You’ve Changed (made famous a decade earlier by Billie Holiday). A different live rendition has been previously heard – albeit as a muffled bootleg – but this is the first time a Fitzgerald version appears on record. Unlike some unearthed live recordings that suffer from muddy sound or distant vocals, The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum is remarkably clean, having been mixed and mastered from multitracked analogue tapes.

On Monday, as Donald Trump returns to the White House, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual talk fest kicks off in Davos. The Davos elite have a love-hate relationship with Trump: they despise him, but when he showed up at the WEF as president he was the hottest ticket in town. Most of the WEF attenders have grown up believing that trade barriers should be torn down, not erected. Yet a quick look around the world shows that Trump is not a lone voice. Nor is Trump the first occupant of the White House to be a staunch protectionist: Abraham Lincoln held similar views.

Nick Hamm lets rip with some gonzo Game of Thrones craziness in his retelling of the William Tell myth with a blue-chip cast. Limbs get chopped off in a style I haven’t seen since the days of Monty Python’s Black Knight. Ben Kingsley is the evil Austrian king with a deliriously designed eyepatch and Jonathan Pryce is the correspondingly decent Swiss monarch. Jonah Hauer-King plays the Swiss courtier Rudenz, who is fatefully tempted into making some sort of collaborationist (neutral?) It’s entirely ridiculous, but performed with absolute seriousness and the result is an innocent amusement.

Traditionally, artisanal fishing and intermittent tourism have been the mainstay for El Valle residents, providing a modest living. View image in fullscreen Vanilla pods lying out to dry in a specialised chamber at the Río Valle community council, which represents the town’s vanilla farmers. Local farmers ventured into the unfamiliar realm of vanilla cultivation with support from Swissaid Colombia. Photograph: Charlie Cordero/The GuardianFor the vanilla farmers of Chocó, the fragrant crop is more than just a spice – it is a lifeline. “The day someone pours this vanilla into what they’re eating, they will know it came from the hands of the vanilla farmers of El Valle,” Murillo González says.

European anxiety about Donald Trump’s return to the White House is not shared in much of the world, a poll has shown, with more people in non-western powers such as China, Russia, India and Brazil welcoming his second term than not. “Europeans need to recognise the advent of a more transactional world. Rather than attempt to lead a global liberal opposition to Trump, they should understand their own strengths and deal with the world as they find it,” the report said. Moreover, the bloc was widely seen as an “ally” or “necessary partner”, including in countries such as Brazil, India and South Africa. The recent EU-Mercosur trade agreement “shows the kind of deals” a more united EU could make, the report said.

The cost of cleaning up toxic forever chemical pollution could reach more than £1.6tn across the UK and Europe over a 20-year period, an annual bill of £84bn, research has found. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” are a family of more than 10,000 human-made substances. The UK Environment Agency has identified up to 10,000 high-risk sites in the UK that are contaminated with PFAS. The RSC is calling for public protections from toxic PFAS to be enshrined in the recent water special measures bill, which is now at the committee stage. “These figures show that the cost of regulatory inaction on PFAS pollution is staggering,” said a spokesperson for environmental charity ChemTrust.

“For us, it’s a way to provide hope,” said Hamida Aman, the Afghanistan-born, Swiss-raised entrepreneur behind the satellite channel Begum TV. “For women in Afghanistan, television is their only window into the world. All the Begum TV journalists and presenters are Afghan women who sought political asylum in France after fleeing the Taliban regime. “We know that some of our colleagues are worried about their families in Afghanistan, so they do not feel 100% free. “Our hopes and every hope we had for a brighter future for Afghanistan and all the women of Afghanistan might have turned into ashes,” she said.

Announcing changes on Tuesday to Facebook and Instagram’s factchecking programmes , the Meta boss wore a $900k (£740k) watch from the Swiss brand Greubel Forsey. It joins Zuckerberg’s growing horological collection including a $1.2m rose gold timepiece from Patek Philippe and the thinnest watch ever made. Forty-two years after Swatch first disrupted the traditional Swiss watch market with its colourful, plastic casings and low price points, the retro brand is now being championed by hypebeasts thanks to an ongoing collaboration with Omega. Emmanuel Macron was previously spotted removing his luxury watch during a television interview. The former British prime minister Rishi Sunak favoured vintage watches from Rolex and Chopard, while Keir Starmer wears a rubber-strap watch from Tissot.

The competitors, including Tchibo, are alleged to have sold sandals considered to be very similar to the Birkenstock models, violating copyright law, according to Birkenstock’s lawyers who argue the company’s shoes should be considered “works of applied art”. The origins of the sandal go back to the 18th century, and its inventor Johannes Birkenstock according to the company, which is based in Linz am Rhein in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Birkenstock lawyers argue that copyright law gives the sandal’s creators exclusive rights of use, as it would for any artist or creator, whether of written works, computer programmes, or paintings. The Porsche 356 car, another German invention, is also protected by this law, according to a ruling by the court from April 2022. “Under copyright law it has been recognised for decades that outstanding designs of everyday objects can also be protected by copyright,” said Konstantin Wegner, a lawyer for the company.

Meta would also “get rid of a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender” that were “out of touch with mainstream discourse”, the 40-year-old billionaire said, while wearing a Greubel Forsey “Hand Made 1” on his left wrist, Bloomberg reported. View image in fullscreen The Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1. Photograph: Greubel ForseyOn its website, Greubel Forsey says only two or three Hand Made 1 pieces are produced each year. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Arsenal Women v Spurs Women, Emirates Stadium – 3 MarchLens 130mm, 1/16000, f4, ISO 500I know, another corner picture at Arsenal – sorry! Scotland fan walk, Euros 2024, Cologne – 20 JuneLens 16mm, 1/1250, f4, ISO 400For me, the most memorable moments at the men’s Euros in Germany were created by the fans. To say the Paris Olympics were beautiful is a bit of an understatement. Simone Biles, gymnastics women’s team final, Paris Olympics, Bercy Arena – 30 JulyLens 400mm, 1/2500, f4, ISO 2500Biles was a huge attraction at the Olympics this summer. Man City v Man Utd, Premier League, Etihad Stadium – 15 DecemberLens 560mm, 1/1600, f4, ISO 4000You can’t beat a bit of pre-Christmas local derby argy-bargy.

The arrest of a renowned Italian journalist in Iran is reportedly in retaliation for the detention of a Swiss-Iranian businessman and suspected arms dealer in Italy three days earlier, according to media reports quoting the US state department. The Italian ambassador, Paola Amadei, visited Sala in prison on Friday, and Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, said the journalist was “in good health condition”. Journalists do crucial work in informing the public, often under dangerous conditions, and must be protected.’’“We are aware of the arrest in Iran of the Italian journalist Cecilia Sala,” the US state department added. “Her arrest comes after an Iranian citizen was arrested in Italy on 16 December for smuggling drone components. The European Commission’s foreign policy spokesperson, Anouar El Anouni, has confirmed close monitoring of the Italian journalist’s “sensitive” situation.