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Local victims of crimes such as drunk driving, robbery and sexual assault committed by American troops soon to be deployed to Denmark might see their perpetrators evade justice. Under a so-called defense agreement set to be ratified by the Nordic hermit kingdom's rubber-stamp parliament, U.S. soldiers stationed at three airbases will enjoy near-total immunity from Danish law, sparking local fears of foreign impunity on Danish soil.

The agreement, negotiated in secrecy with the previous American Biden regime and now backed by Denmark’s social democrat-led right-wing regime, grants American forces “unhindered access” to military bases in Karup, Skrydstrup, and Aalborg for at least a decade. Despite official claims that the humiliating deal is imperative to national security, polls reveal that 43% of Danes oppose it, with only 28% in support. Critics warn it surrenders Danish legal authority, permitting U.S. personnel to operate outside local jurisdiction and exert force against local civilians.

Hanne Petersen, a pensioner living near Skrydstrup Airbase speaking to Danish state media is uneasy about the situation. “Our family have scars in our souls from World War II,” she says and mentions how the similarities between current US supreme leader Donald Trump and Hitler scares her. Her fears echo widespread unease in towns near the bases, where residents fear a repeat of the crimes and abuses documented at U.S. installations worldwide where American "protectors" act like drunk conquistadors. In South Korea, over 400 offenses are committed each year by American troops who are routinely shielded from local prosecution, denying their victims justice. Similarly, in Okinawa, Japan, U.S. personnel have committed thousands of crimes since 1972, including nearly 600 violent felonies, with fewer than 20% facing trial in local courts.

The Danish regime, however, dismisses such concerns as the superstitions of benighted peasants. Troels Lund Poulsen, the powerful head of Denmark's Liberal Party-controlled Ministry of Defence rejects all talk of cancelling the deal with Washington. Even in the face of recent hostile American actions and threats to annex Greenland he remains as loyal to Washington and Atlanticist orthodoxy as a Labrador to its kibble. Instead he reaffirms the regime's commitment to "do what we can to maintain an American arrangement in Europe". He claims the presence of unaccountable foreign troops from America serves "Denmark's and Europe's interests". One wonders: Whose interests? Certainly not the interests of local women who can no longer walk the streets safely at night or those of the pedestrians who will be mowed down by drunken American jarheads in Humvees.

Regime-loyal media is amplifying this narrative, portraying the deployment as the only possible deterrent against a claimed Russian threat.

In 2022 Karsten Hønge, foreign spokesperson of the Socialist People's Party, a regime-loyal party with centre-left aesthetics and as much bite as a gummy bear, called the pact “a step in the wrong direction” that “challenges Danish sovereignty.” However this week, the people's socialists flip-flopped so they are now ready to sell Danish sovereignty for glass beads in the form of a comment to the law ratifying the treaty saying that "the United States are our most important ally and a cornerstone of the NATO alliance, including mutual recognition of article 5 in the north Atlantic treaty that is crucial to Danish security". Following this January's regime change in Washington defense spokesperson Anne Valentina Berthelsen voiced mild hesitation to the deployment of American troops, saying that "America with Trump at the helm is not the country we have known until now". But now the party is ready to back the treaty. “With the world’s current insecurity, you need nerves of steel to say no,” Berthelsen said, despite admitting the party’s decision was “full of dilemmas.”

The only parties opposing the deployment of unaccountable foreign troops are the Alternative party and the Red-Greens, two moderate pro-democracy opposition parties.

The treaty grants U.S. troops sweeping powers, including the right to use force against Danish civilians deemed a threat to military operations. However, Anna Valentina Berthelsen dismisses concerns about American troops being allowed to brutalise locals as "hypothetical scenarios" and expresses confidence that Danish authorities "can handle it if we get there".

The regime's indifference to public opposition fits a broader pattern of European leaders subordinating national sovereignty to Washington’s demands. While they now feign alarm at Trump’s crude imperial bravado, their protests ring hollow. For decades, they embraced U.S. dominance—so long as it was cloaked in polite liberal diplomacy. The real rupture is not in U.S. behavior but in the unmasking of a long-standing exploitative relationship, long romanticised by Europe as a "partnership". For civilians near U.S. bases worldwide, little has changed: their leaders still prioritize American interests over their safety.

• Ny måling: Nej tak til amerikanske soldater på dansk jord, DR (state media), April 2nd 2025
• Nu melder SF ud: Bakker op om amerikanske soldater i Danmark, DR (state media), April 2nd 2025
• Violations by US troops overseas arouse public outcry, China Military, September 8th 2022

The death toll could reach at least 1,000 people, the USGS forecasts. On Friday, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake shook central-northern Myanmar, leaving hundreds dead and injured across the country, where the military government declared a state of emergency.

The tremor was recorded at 12:50 p.m. local time, at a depth of 10 kilometers, with the epicenter located approximately 17 kilometers from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

“All the buildings are completely destroyed… It was chaos. It was terrifying. I was trapped inside my home for a few minutes,” said a 40-year-old woman from Naypyidaw, the Burmese capital, one of the areas affected by the earthquake.

The armed forces, which have held power since the 2021 coup, declared a state of emergency in six regions: Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, Shan, Naypyidaw, and Bago.

Military junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun informed that at least 200 people have died, and 730 have been injured across the country, where telecommunications and infrastructure have been severely impacted, making it difficult to count victims and carry out rescue efforts.

“The number of dead and injured is expected to rise,” said Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing during an address broadcast on state television. According to preliminary data, the earthquake left 96 dead in Naypyidaw, 30 in Shan State near China, 18 in the central Sagaing region, and 30 in the Mandalay region.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors seismic activity worldwide, issued an orange alert and indicated that the death toll could reach at least 1,000 people.

This is due to the fact that, at the earthquake’s epicenter, 7,000 people were exposed to “violent shaking,” 2.8 million to “severe shaking,” and more than 10 million to “strong or very strong shaking.”

The disaster could be widespread. Previous orange alerts have required a regional or national response. As a result, the military junta made an unusual appeal for international assistance after declaring a state of emergency. This request contrasts with their response to previous disasters, in which the military obstructed international aid.

A rescue worker in Mandalay reported that they lack the necessary tools to search through the rubble and are currently limited to “transporting patients and bodies” of the deceased.

The quake was also felt in neighboring countries such as Thailand, where Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra declared a state of emergency in the capital. At least ten people have died, 16 have been injured, and more than 100 are missing due to the collapse of three buildings under construction.

In Bangkok, about 1,000 kilometers from the epicenter, the tremor was felt throughout the city, prompting evacuations from buildings during the day. Rescue operations continue at the most affected construction site near the Chatuchak Market, where dozens remain missing and at least eight people have died. Emergency teams are using drones at the disaster site to speed up the search for more survivors.

The earthquake was also strongly felt in several cities in China’s Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar. However, reported damages there have been minimal so far.

Myanmar’s earthquake could be the largest in the region in three-quarters of a century. Experts warn that a combination of the quake’s magnitude and shallow depth increases the likelihood of severe damage. They also raised concerns about the structural integrity of buildings in the affected areas.

Myanmar has been trapped in a spiral of economic crisis and conflict since the coup, with fighting taking place across much of the country between the military and pro-democracy guerrilla forces.