Ukraine kills top Russian general

Plus, Canada government adrift after finance minister resigns and Trump tariffs loom.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Ukraine kills a top Russian general in Moscow it accuses of chemical weapons crimes, a teenage girl shoots dead a fellow student and teacher at a school in Wisconsin, and Mayotte authorities fear hunger and disease after Cyclone Chido. Plus, our top fashion photos of the year. Today's Top News   The scene of an explosion, which reportedly killed two army officers, in Moscow. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov A top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops was assassinated in Moscow by Ukraine's SBU intelligence service in the most high-profile killing of its kind. Follow the latest news from the war in Ukraine. A 15-year-old girl opened fire in a Wisconsin school classroom, fatally shooting a fellow student and a teacher and wounding six other people before killing herself with the handgun, police said. Listen to this episode of the Reuters World News podcast for insights from Correspondent Michael Erman on the advocacy groups trying to lobby US senators to block the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary. Syria's Bashar al-Assad issued his first statement since being toppled from power, saying he was evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim base on Dec. 8 as it came under drone attack. Meanwhile, Germany has joined the US and Britain in making diplomatic contact with Syria's HTS. The abrupt resignation of Canada's finance minister leaves the government adrift less a month before the inauguration of a new US administration that could impose crippling sanctions on Canadian exports. The US government deported drug lord Osiel Cardenas, transferring custody of the ex-Gulf Cartel chief known for hyper-violent tactics to Mexican authorities at the border city of Tijuana, two federal government officials told Reuters. Nigeria's anti-graft agency said it had arrested 792 suspects in a raid on a building believed to be a hub for fraudsters who lured victims with offers of romance, then pressed them to hand over cash for phony cryptocurrency investments. Business & Markets Bitcoin hit a record high above $107,000 after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated plans to create a US bitcoin strategic reserve, stoking the enthusiasm of crypto bulls. Here's how the plan could work. The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain, lawyers for the Congolese government told Reuters. Fast fashion retailer Shein is considering asking UK regulators to waive listing rules that require at least 10% of its shares to be sold to the public in its planned London flotation, two people with knowledge of the matter said. European automakers are raising prices of petrol cars and readying discounts on electric vehicles as they brace for yet another challenge - tougher emissions rules that threaten to further shrink profits across the struggling industry. Chinese leaders agreed last week to raise the budget deficit to 4% of GDP next year, its highest on record, while maintaining an economic growth target of around 5%, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. International battery cell makers are struggling to compete with Chinese giants like CATL. But innovations like solid-state batteries could upend the industry in the not-too-distant future. In this week's episode of The Big View podcast, QuantumScape CEO Siva Sivaram explains how. Trump bump? Fed officials prepare projections into new presidential term   The Federal Reserve building. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Since Donald Trump's election to a second term last month, Federal Reserve policymakers including Chair Jerome Powell have said it is too soon to factor in the US president-elect's yet-to-be-detailed policies into forecasts. But eight years ago Powell as a Fed governor joined the majority of his colleagues in doing just that, meeting records show, bumping up estimates for economic momentum and interest rates to reflect the expected effect of Trump's tax cuts and other policies. Read more And Finally... A model presents a creation from the Tom Ford Fall-Winter 2024/2025 collection during Milan Fashion Week, February 22, 2024. REUTERS/Claudia Greco Some of the best fashion pictures of the year captured by Reuters photographers around the world. See our photo gallery Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com 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 © 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036