A deadly stampede in India

Plus, Alibaba releases AI model it says surpasses DeepSeek.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Edson Caldas Police sources say nearly 40 bodies were brought to a morgue after a stampede in northern India, Donald Trump's aid freeze stirs chaos before it is blocked in court, and Alibaba releases an artificial intelligence model it says surpasses DeepSeek. Plus, how over 150 bird strikes a day challenge aviation. Today's Top News   A policeman escorts a devotee after a stampede at the "Maha Kumbh Mela" or the Great Pitcher Festival. REUTERS/Sharafat Ali Nearly 40 bodies were brought to a hospital morgue after a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India, police sources told Reuters, as tens of millions gathered to bathe in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of a six-week festival. We look at what is special about today's 'royal bath' and how India has been managing the world's largest gathering. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's pick to lead the top US health agency, is set to face a grilling from Senate Democrats and Republicans today over his views on vaccines, abortion and potential conflicts of interest. Trump's attempt to freeze federal aid has been temporarily blocked in court, just minutes before it was due to take effect. On today's Reuters World News podcast, Correspondent Andy Sullivan weighs in on the chaos the move triggered and the fears that it would disrupt programs on which millions of Americans depend. Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. An opinion poll indicated that 85% of Greenlanders do not wish their Arctic island to become a part of the United States, with nearly half saying they see interest by Trump as a threat. The US told Rwanda it was "deeply troubled" by the fall of Goma in eastern Congo to Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, who appeared to have consolidated control over the city in just two days. Five people were injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting the southern Lebanese town of Majdal Selm today, the Lebanese health ministry said. Elsewhere in the Middle East, we go inside a hospital in Jordan that offers injured Gazans hope for recovery. Business & Markets   Alibaba says its AI model surpasses GPT-4o, DeepSeek-V3 and Llama-3.1-405B. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Alibaba released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 AI model that it claimed surpassed the acclaimed DeepSeek-V3. The unusual timing of the release, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, points to the pressure DeepSeek's meteoric rise has placed on not just overseas rivals, but also its domestic ones. Dutch chip firm ASML reported fourth-quarter bookings of 7.09 billion euros that far exceeded expectations, as a boom in AI drove demand for its most advanced equipment. European shares hit a record high this morning as ASML lifted tech stocks. Luxury giant LVMH is "seriously considering" bulking up its production capacities in the US, CEO Bernard Arnault said, praising a "wind of optimism" in the country that contrasted with the "cold shower" of potentially higher corporate taxes in France. Sweden's central bank cut its key policy rate to 2.25% from 2.50% as expected to boost sluggish economic growth and said its forecast for interest rates held though it stood ready to act if the outlook for prices and activity changed. Later today, the Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady as it awaits further inflation and jobs data and more clarity on the economic impact of Trump's policies before deciding whether to cut borrowing costs again. In Graphics: Bird strikes are a serious challenge for aviation   Despite how common bird strikes are, serious incidents are rare yet often fatal. One month after the deadly crash at Muan airport a preliminary report has revealed blood and feathers were found in both engines. The remains of the migratory Baikal teal, a Siberian duck, provide evidence that a bird strike happened during those fatal final minutes. In this visual piece, our graphics team shows how over 150 bird strikes a day challenge the aviation industry. Read more And Finally... Mercedes 1955 'streamliner' set to smash F1 record at auction. REUTERS/Thomas Peter A sleek, long-nosed Mercedes raced by Stirling Moss and five-times Formula One world champion Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955 could become the most expensive grand prix car of all time at an auction. It is being sold at a target price of more than 50 million euros. Read more Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement © 2025 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036

Tech selloff deepens

And the White House temporarily pauses grant, loan and other financial assistance programs.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton The global tech selloff deepens as DeepSeek upsets the AI race, Trump's White House pauses federal grant programs, and more peacekeepers are killed as Congo rebels face resistance in Goma. Plus, Google Maps will rename 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' for US users. Today's Top News   Trump returns to the White House from Florida. January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria The Trump administration has temporarily paused grant, loan and other financial assistance programs at the Office of Management and Budget, according to a memo seen by Reuters, prompting criticism from congressional Democrats. The US president signed a series of executive orders to remove diversity, equity and inclusion from the military, reinstate thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing COVID vaccines, and take aim at transgender troops. Auschwitz survivors warned of the dangers of rising antisemitism, as they marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp by Soviet troops in one of the last such gatherings of those who experienced its horrors. Gunfire rippled across east Congo's largest city Goma where Rwandan-backed M23 rebels still faced pockets of resistance from army and pro-government militias. Aid agencies say Goma hospitals are overwhelmed with the wounded, and there are dead bodies in the streets. Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed along the main roads leading north in Gaza, jubilant to be returning home after months of living in temporary shelter but fearing what might remain of their homes amid the bombed-out ruins. Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic announced his resignation, becoming the highest ranking official to leave since anti-corruption protests spread across the country. It's almost three years since Russia invaded Ukraine. In this live edition of The Big View podcast, economist and former Ukrainian minister Tymofiy Mylovanov talks about the damage to both sides, the effect of sanctions, and what a peace deal might look like. Business & Markets   Global technology shares sank as a market rout sparked by the emergence of a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence model entered its second day. Listen to the Reuters World News podcast to hear from Editor Ken Li on the threat DeepSeek poses in the AI sector.  Please don't boycott Target: That's the message from Black founders and influencers to consumers about a backlash against the retailer's decision to end its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. HSBC is preparing to wind down its M&A and equity capital markets businesses in Europe, the UK and the Americas as part of a major shake-up of its investment banking operations, a memo the bank sent staff showed. The German economy is in deep crisis, with gross domestic product likely to contract 0.1% this year, the BDI industry association said, putting it on track for three years of declining growth for the first time since reunification. Volkswagen and its Chinese partners have discussed the possibility of them investing in plants in Germany, VW Chief Executive Oliver Blume told Reuters. Trump's vow of tariffs on US copper and aluminium imports would result in higher costs for local consumers because of a shortfall of domestic production and the length of time it would take to renew the industry, analysts and industry participants said. Images show China building huge fusion research facility, analysts say   China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations say, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Read our exclusive And Finally... Waves crash on the shore in Boca del Rio, Veracruz state, Mexico. January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Yahir Ceballos Google Maps will change the name of "Gulf of Mexico" to "Gulf of America" once it is officially updated in the US Geographic Names System, Google said in an X post. Read more Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement © 2025 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036