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The U.S. government touches the debt limit, Jacinda Ardern is to step down as New Zealand prime minister, and France is hit by mass strikes

by Linda Noakes

World News

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius receives his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, for talks in Berlin, January 19, 2023. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Ukraine pleaded for the West to finally send it heavy tanks as the defense chiefs of the United States and Germany headed for a showdown over weapons Kyiv says could decide the fate of the war. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned NATO that the defeat of Russia in Ukraine could trigger a nuclear war.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made a shock announcement that she had "no more in the tank" to continue leading the country and would step down no later than early February and not seek re-election. Ardern altered the face of global politics when she was elected the world's youngest female head of state in 2017.
French train drivers, teachers and refinery workers were among those who walked off their jobs in a nationwide day of strikes against government plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. Here's a timeline of French pension reforms and the protests they faced.
The number of COVID patients needing critical care in China's hospitals has peaked, health authorities said, as millions traveled across the country for long-awaited reunions with families, raising fears of fresh outbreaks.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his intelligence services had failed on January 8, when Brasilia buildings were stormed by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. The fresh remarks come as Lula's criticism of the military mounts, with the commander-in-chief condemning it in recent days for failing to act against the rioting Bolsonaro supporters.

Davos

Climate activist Greta Thunberg said that the global energy industry would go as far as it could without public pressure, adding that the sector would continue to invest in fossil fuels and "throw people under the bus for their gain".

Trade blocs seeking to skirt geopolitical risk by "friend-shoring" activities to like-minded countries should be careful which commerce partners they favor, World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others have used the term to encourage countries to diversify supply chains away from China to market-oriented democracies such as India.

China could see a sharp recovery in economic growth from the second quarter onwards based on current infection trends after the dismantling of most COVID restrictions, IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said.

Empty offices globally should be converted to apartments to address a growing housing crisis in many countries, property executives said. Commercial real estate values are sliding as an economic downturn reduces demand for space among cost-conscious companies, whose employees have been spending fewer days in the office since the pandemic.

In other Davos news - global bank chiefs get an FBI cybersecurity update, the cowed crypto crowd are feeling the winter freeze, and the author who first envisioned the metaverse 30 years ago discusses his vision with Meta.

U.S. News

FILE PHOTO: Morning breaks over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 10, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The U.S. government is due to hit its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit today, amid a standoff that could lead to a fiscal crisis in a few months. Republicans, with a newly won House majority, aim to use the congressionally mandated federal debt ceiling to exact spending cuts from President Joe Biden and the Democratic-led Senate.
Biden's public approval rating was close to the lowest level of his presidency this week amid criticism from Republicans over classified documents found in his home in recent months, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
U.S. Representative George Santos competed as a drag queen in Brazilian beauty pageants 15 years ago, two acquaintances told Reuters, adding to contrasts that have drawn criticism of the openly gay Republican congressman's staunchly conservative views.
Migrants on Mexico's northern border began entering the United States using a mobile app designed to facilitate the process of applying for asylum, although several quickly reported difficulties in using the system.
Groups of Americans will be able to directly sponsor refugees for resettlement in the United States under a new program launching today, a step that could bolster admissions and reduce government costs.

Business & Markets

A man looks at electric monitors outside a brokerage in Tokyo, January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Japan's export growth slowed sharply in December as China-bound shipments fell for the first time in seven months, stoking fears of further slowdown in the global economy and external demand for Japanese shipments.
Federal Reserve policymakers signaled they will push on with more interest rate hikes, with several supporting a top policy rate of at least 5% even as inflation shows signs of having peaked and economic activity is slowing.
German airline Lufthansa's bid for a minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways has ignited talk of further potential sector consolidation as the industry seeks to plot a more profitable post-pandemic recovery.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk "lied" when he said that funding was "secured" to take the company private, a lawyer for Tesla investors said, as an attorney for Musk argued that the billionaire merely used the "wrong words" when he tweeted about his plans in 2018.
U.S. authorities said they have arrested the majority shareholder and cofounder of Hong Kong-registered virtual currency exchange Bitzlato for allegedly processing $700 million in illicit funds. Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national living in China, was arrested in Miami on Tuesday.
More Brexit-related relocations from London and a rise in trading increased the number of bankers earning more than a million euros a year in the European Union by more than 40% in 2021, the bloc's banking watchdog said. Over 70% of the increase is attributed to bankers in Italy, France and Spain.

And Finally

The face of Lionel Messi is depicted in a corn field sown with a special algorithm to plant seeds in a certain pattern in Los Condores, Argentina, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

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