Daily Briefing

US lawmakers will vote to force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban, Biden and Trump kick off the first US presidential election rematch in nearly 70 years, and Putin warns the West: Russia is ready for nuclear war.

Plus, a rocket made by Japan's Space One explodes on its inaugural flight.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

Putin speaks during an interview in Moscow. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a wide-ranging interview to state media, days before an election that is certain to keep him in power. He warned the West that Russia was technically ready for nuclear war and that if the US sent troops to Ukraine, it would be considered a significant escalation of the conflict.
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank early today, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported, bringing to five the number of Palestinians killed in different incidents within several hours. We have the latest on the war here.
Sudan's army said it had taken control of the state broadcast headquarters from the Rapid Support Forces in what would be its most significant advance against its paramilitary rival. Bureau Chief Aidan Lewis joins the Reuters World News podcast to explain the importance of this move.
Uncertainty hung over Haiti's political future after its prime minister said he would step down, a move welcomed by many Haitians exhausted by months of escalating gang violence, but with questions over security still not settled. On Tuesday, there were signs of an improvement in the situation in Port-au-Prince.
The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has spread more aggressively than ever before in wild birds and marine mammals since arriving in South America in 2022, raising the risk of it evolving into a bigger threat to humans, according to interviews with eight scientists.

US NEWS

The House of Representatives plans to vote on a bill that would give TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the US assets of the short-video app used by about 170 million Americans or face a ban. It is widely expected to pass, according to both proponents and opponents.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both clinched their parties' nomination. The last repeat presidential matchup took place in 1956. This year, voters have expressed little enthusiasm for a repeat of the bitter 2020 election, with polls showing both Biden and Trump are unpopular.

Business & Markets

Britain's economy returned to growth at the start of 2024, offering some relief to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of an election expected this year. GDP grew by 0.2% month-on-month in January after a fall of 0.1% in December, in line with economists' expectations in a Reuters poll.
Methane emissions from the energy sector remained near a record high in 2023 despite a raft of commitments from the oil and gas industry to plug leaking infrastructure. For more on how companies and governments are grappling with climate change, sign up to the Sustainable Switch newsletter.
Toyota agreed to give factory workers in Japan their biggest pay increase in 25 years. Bumper pay increases are expected to help clear the way for the central bank to end its years-long policy of negative interest rates as early as next week. In Japan, rate rises herald a new era for financial markets.
In more news from Japan, a rocket made by Space One exploded just seconds into its inaugural launch as the firm tried to become the first Japanese company to put a satellite in orbit. The setback comes as the government and investors ramp up support for the sector amid a national security buildup.
US air carriers warned that their plans to increase capacity were in doubt due to more jet delivery delays from Boeing. The airline industry has cut expectations for deliveries this year due to Boeing's safety crisis, complicating efforts to meet record travel demand.

In Graphics

When US Representative Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, begged his colleagues in November to "give me one thing I can campaign on and say we did," he was articulating what many lawmakers and observers were feeling: Congress isn't working. The simplest expression of this is the number of bills passed.

These graphics prove it.

And Finally...

Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey, the first musher to win the race six times. Diana Haecker/Nome Nugget via REUTERS

Musher Dallas Seavey became the first six-time champion of the grueling Iditarod sled-dog race in the 52nd annual running of the event in Alaska. Seavey overcame not only the brutal Alaska elements, but just two days into the race was forced to shoot a moose that "became entangled" with his team of dogs on the trail.

He finished in nine days, two hours, 16 minutes and eight seconds.

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