Daily Briefing

An Israeli tank in a "likely scenario" fired a machine gun at reporters in Lebanon, a report finds. In the US, Biden delivers his fourth State of the Union address, and a new push to ban TikTok or force Chinese divestiture gains steam.

Plus, a photo essay on what happens to the coins tossed into the Trevi Fountain.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

Biden's annual address will be held before a rare joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate. REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades

UNITED STATES

President Joe Biden will use his fourth State of the Union address to sharpen distinctions between him and Republican opponent Donald Trump. White House Reporter Trevor Hunnicutt joins the Reuters World News daily podcast to outline what to expect in the speech. And follow the latest on the US elections here.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law a measure aimed at protecting in vitro fertilization after the state Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos should be considered children. Republicans nationwide have scrambled to contain backlash from the Feb. 16 decision.

MIDDLE EAST

An Israeli tank crew killed a Reuters reporter in Lebanon in October by firing two shells at a clearly identified group of journalists and then "likely" opened fire on them with a heavy machine gun in an attack that lasted 1 minute and 45 seconds, according to a new report.
Turkey's Kizilay (Red Crescent) is sending its biggest aid shipment yet to Gaza via Egypt, with a ship carrying some 3,000 tons of food, medicine and equipment leaving for the Egyptian port of Al-Arish. Meanwhile, the US said a Gaza ceasefire is still possible. Follow the latest on the war.

IN OTHER NEWS

Germany is facing strikes on three fronts, as train drivers, airport security workers and Lufthansa ground staff walked off the job. These are the latest in a wave of industrial actions to hit the country, where high inflation and staff bottlenecks have soured wage negotiations in key parts of the transport sector.
The Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir has been transformed and integrated with the rest of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, crediting the change to his government's contentious decision to revoke its special status. Modi is visiting the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley for the first time since 2019.

Business & Markets

China's export and import growth in the January-February period beat forecasts, suggesting global trade is turning a corner in an encouraging signal for policymakers as they try to shore up a stuttering economic recovery. China's improved export data joins those of South Korea, Germany and Taiwan.
The European Central Bank is set to keep interest rates at record highs today and take baby steps towards cutting them in the coming months. Having reacted too slowly to a sudden surge in prices two years ago, the ECB is now reluctant to declare victory over the most brutal bout of inflation in decades.
Novo Nordisk, its fortunes soaring on sales of its obesity drug Wegovy, said it was expanding its focus on diabetes and weight-loss therapies to include cardiovascular disease treatments. For more news on the healthcare industry, sign up to the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter.
From overhauling online platforms to backroom engineering, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and TikTok owner ByteDance have scrambled over the last six months to comply with landmark EU tech rules that come into force today. The Digital Markets Act is expected to reshape the global technology industry.
In more Big Tech news, the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce is expected to vote on legislation giving ByteDance six months to divest from TikTok or face a US ban. Committee approval would set up a vote by the House that represents the first significant momentum for a US crackdown on TikTok.

In Pictures

Bolivia's cholita climbers dream of conquering Everest. REUTERS/Claudia Morales

Spurning modern mountaineering gear, a group of Aymara Indigenous women climbs wearing their layered skirts and cardigans. They have conquered Argentina's Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas at 22,838 feet, as well as the Ojos del Salado, the world's highest volcano, on the Chile-Argentina border.

Now they are training to climb an even higher peak: Everest.

And Finally...

Coins collected from the Trevi Fountain in Rome. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

For hundreds of years, when in Rome, visitors have flocked to the majestic Trevi Fountain to make a wish. Few gave their coins a second thought. As money splashes into the fountain carrying wishes for love, good health or a return to the Eternal City, they provide practical help to people the tourists will never meet.

See our photo essay on what happens to those coins.

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