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Daily Briefing

Israel freed two hostages in Rafah under the cover of airstrikes, some of Trump's fellow Republicans lashed out at him, and political leaders wrangle over premiership after inconclusive Pakistan vote.

Plus, browse through our gallery of memorable moments from Super Bowl LVIII.

By Kate Turton

Today's Top News

Palestinian children inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

MIDDLE EAST

Israel freed two Israeli-Argentinian hostages in Rafah under the cover of airstrikes which local health officials said killed 67 Palestinians and wounded dozens in the southern Gaza city that is the last refuge of about a million displaced civilians.
Bureau Chief James Mackenzie tells the daily Reuters World News podcast that the operation shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prepared to accept large Palestinian losses. Listen now.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they had targeted a cargo ship in the Red Sea, the latest such strike since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis identified the vessel as the Star Iris.

US POLITICS

Some of former President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans lashed out at him for saying he would not want to protect NATO members from a future attack by Russia if those countries' contributions to the defense alliance were lagging. The White House rejected Trump's comments as "appalling and unhinged."
The Senate will attempt to steer a $95.34 billion package containing aid for Ukraine and Israel to passage this week following months of delays, even as it lacked any guarantee that the House of Representatives will support the measure.

IN OTHER NEWS

Pakistan's two largest political parties are wrangling over who will take the prime minister's job after inconclusive elections forced them to join forces to gain a majority in a parliament dominated by independents backed by Imran Khan. How will Pakistan form a coalition government after split election results?
His name is not on the ballot, but Indonesia's wildly popular President Joko Widodo, or "Jokowi", looms large over Wednesday's election in the world's third-largest democracy, and nowhere more than in his home province of Central Java.
Every Sunday in Kyiv, two-year-old Tymofii carries a picture of his father at rallies organized by activists and family members to remind citizens of the thousands of Ukrainian soldiers being held as prisoners of war by Russia.
Kenya's marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach were killed in a traffic accident in the Rift Valley, cutting short the career of the only man to have run the endurance classic in less than two hours and one minute.

Business & Markets

US regulators have asked Citigroup for urgent changes to the way it measures default risk of its trading partners and the bank's own auditors have found a plan to improve internal oversight to be lacking.
German commercial property prices fell 12.1% in the final three months of 2023 compared with a year earlier in their biggest-ever drop, the VDP banking association said, as the nation's struggling property industry suffers its worst crisis in decades.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that every country needs to have its own artificial intelligence infrastructure in order to take advantage of the economic potential while protecting its own culture.
Diamondback Energy decided to buy the largest privately held oil and gas producer in the Permian basin, Endeavor Energy Partners, in a cash-and-stock deal for about $26 billion, including debt.
China's Xiaomi has told the Indian government that its heavy scrutiny of Chinese companies has made smartphone component suppliers wary about setting up operations in India, according to a letter and a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
A federal judge ordered Elon Musk to testify again in the US Securities and Exchange Commission's probe of his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, giving the regulator and the billionaire a week to agree on a date and location for the interview.

Robot invasion hit a bump in 2023 as North American economy cooled

North American companies ordered about a third fewer robots last year as worries about a slowing economy and higher interest rates made it harder to justify buying the advanced machines, the first hiccup in five years in what has been a steady progression of the robot invasion of the region's workforce.

"When the economy isn't great, it's easier to delay purchases," said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation, an industry group that tracks robot orders.

Companies bought 31,159 robots in 2023, a decrease of 30% over 2022.

And Finally...

Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce kisses Taylor Swift as they celebrate. REUTERS/Carlos Barria.

Patrick Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman in overtime to give the Kansas City Chiefs a 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers in a 'Sin City' Super Bowl thriller, cementing their status as an NFL dynasty.

The best pictures from the clash between the 49ers and the Chiefs.

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