US government workers face more uncertainty

Plus, what next for Germany after Merz's win?

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello, today we look at the fallout from the German election results, and how the push for a Ukraine deal could benefit Russia's economy. Elsewhere, US manufacturers see higher metal prices as tariffs near, and space is about to get more crowded for Elon Musk. Plus, meet the retired hens that have been saved from slaughter by organic farmers. Today's Top News   Elon Musk listens to Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo United States Government workers who have been buffeted by President Donald Trump's chaotic return to power face more uncertainty, when many of them will be required to justify their jobs to Elon Musk. The Trump administration is directing immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the US without their parents, expanding the president's mass deportation effort. Americans gave Trump middling marks on his handling of the economy and efforts to shrink the government and are unimpressed by some of the early fights he has picked, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows. In other news Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz will start trying to form a coalition government after his conservative bloc won a national election that saw far-right and far-left parties hoover up support from disaffected voters. How will he navigate relations with Washington? Listen to Foreign Policy Editor Don Durfee on the Reuters World News podcast for more. Trump's push for a quick deal to end the war in Ukraine alarmed European allies by leaving them out of initial talks with Russia, political gifts for Moscow that could bring strong economic benefits. Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia launched more than 200 drones in an overnight attack, the largest of the war. Pope Francis, in critical condition battling double pneumonia, had a "good" night in hospital, slept and is resting, the Vatican said. The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14. Some 7,000 people have died since January in fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the prime minister of the DRC told a high-level meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Business & Markets   Elon Musk's Starlink communications network is facing increasingly stiff challenges to its dominance of high-speed satellite internet, including from a Chinese state-backed rival and another service financed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. Alibaba said it plans to invest at least 380 billion yuan in its cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure over the next three years. The Chinese e-commerce giant had said it had plans to invest in the sector while announcing its results. Apple said it plans to help bring online a quarter-million-square-foot factory in Texas by 2026 to build artificial intelligence servers and will add about 20,000 research and development jobs across the US. While Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum are only slated to start on March 12, the action is already reverberating through the network of producers and builders that rely on the metals to make their goods. And not in a good way. Sales of unauthorised, flavored disposable vapes in the US amounted to around $2.4 billion in 2024, or 35% of the e-cigarettes from outlets such as convenience stores and supermarkets. BP's chief executive will scrap a target to increase renewable generation 20-fold by 2030, returning the focus to fossil fuels, as part of a strategy shift announced to tackle investor concerns over earnings, two sources told Reuters. Trump aid freeze disrupts anti-narcotics program at Mexican ports   A cargo vessel is assisted by tugboats as it arrives at Manzanillo seaport, Mexico, December 14, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril President Trump's sweeping foreign aid freeze has stalled a United Nations program in Mexico aimed at stopping imported fentanyl chemicals from reaching the country's drug cartels, according to eight people familiar with the situation. It is one of several US counternarcotics efforts in Mexico derailed in recent weeks by the stop-work order. Read our exclusive And Finally... Hens are used to fertilise and mow olive groves in a pilot project, which has boosted crop yields and helped combat disease. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou Organic farmers in Cyprus have recruited hundreds of retired hens to fertilize olive groves in a pilot project they say boosts yields, counters disease and helps to manage food waste. 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