Trump flips US approach toward Russia

Plus, approval of the president's handling of the economy is sagging.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello, in today's news, major risks loom as Trump upends US Russia policy, a judge will not block Elon Musk from firing federal workers, and Germany's far-right AfD is waiting in the wings. Plus, the Webb telescope observes violence around the Milky Way's central black hole. Today's Top News   Daily newspapers laid out at a newsstand in a street in Moscow. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Illustration When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, then-US President Joe Biden took a firm stand in solidarity with Kyiv and forged a bulwark of European allies. Washington's approach changed dramatically with yesterday's initial meeting between US and Russian negotiators. Follow our live updates. President Donald Trump's approval rating has ticked slightly lower in recent days with more Americans worried about the direction of the US economy as the new leader threatens a host of countries with tariffs, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Reporter Tim Reid tells the Reuters World News podcast how a US judge has given Elon Musk the green light to continue with the unprecedented cuts to the US civil service - at least for now. But he says while it's a victory for Musk and Trump it is not an end to the legal attempts to block the cuts. Listen now. A large sinkhole has appeared in a southern English village, swallowing up at least one garden and forcing authorities to evacuate residents from around 30 homes. The number of anti-Muslim incidents in Britain rose to a new high in 2024, according to data compiled by monitoring organisation Tell MAMA, which said the war in Gaza had "super-fuelled" online hate. Trump's axing of aid to South Africa, in response to land reform policies he says will harm its white minority, has raised fears a trade deal may be next, though any such move would hurt the same farmers the US president says he wants to help. Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro was charged with leading a plot to overthrow the government and undermine the country's 40-year-old democracy after his 2022 election loss, complicating his narrow chances of a political comeback. Business & Markets   New trucks crowd a parking lot at the GM assembly plant in Oshawa. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo  Trump said he intends to impose auto tariffs "in the neighborhood of 25%" and similar duties on semiconductors and pharmaceutical imports, the latest in a series of measures threatening to upend international trade. Amid US tariff threats, Vietnam's decision to pave the way for Musk's Starlink is seen as an "olive branch". Vietnam plans to adopt rules that would allow the company to provide satellite internet services in the country while maintaining full ownership of any local subsidiary, a draft of the regulations shows. British inflation sped up by more than expected to hit a 10-month high of 3.0% in January and is likely to rise further soon, testing the Bank of England's confidence that price pressures will ease over the longer term. Global hedge funds keen to navigate US-China trade tensions are amassing Chinese stock bets in the hopes of making huge profits if Beijing forms a pact with Trump, or if the rest of the world and China unite against the US president. About a dozen drugmakers are developing new weight-loss treatments aimed at preserving muscle, and industry analysts, clinical trial experts and doctors say they may also need to demonstrate additional health benefits beyond the numbers on a scale to get approved. Germany's far-right AfD is shut out from power for now, but waiting in the wings   An attendee wears a T-shirt supporting Alternative for Germany party (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel, February 1, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo The Alternative for Germany still has pariah status among other major political parties in a country where far-right politics has long carried a stigma because of the Nazi past. Listen to our podcast which looks at how a stagnating economy and tensions over migration have fueled the rise of German's far right. Read more And Finally... An artist's concept shows the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)/Handout via REUTERS NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is providing the best look yet at the chaotic events unfolding around the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, observing a steady flickering of light punctuated by occasional bright flares as material is drawn inward by its enormous gravitational pull. 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