Feb. 10, 2025 - Daily News Digest

On this day: in 1258, The Siege of Baghdad ends with the surrender of the last Abbasid caliph to Hulegu Khan, a prince of the Mongol Empire.

QOTD: “When there’s a clear act of aggression, I think what we should do isn’t bow down or try to reach a settlement," Macron told Le Monde, the Financial Times and other newspapers in comments published on Tuesday. "We’ve tried that strategy for months. It’s not working.”

US/CANADA/ANOTHER DILEMMA FOR DETROIT? - Trump Threatens to Block Opening of New Bridge Between Detroit and Canada
https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/trump-threatens-to-block-opening-of-new-bridge-between-detroit-and-canada-e80d64ac?mod=world_lead_pos1

President Trump threatened on Monday to not allow the opening of a new bridge connecting Canada with Detroit, marking the latest source of political tension between the two countries.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is close to completion after nearly eight years of construction paid for by Canada. The cable-stayed bridge, running 1.5 miles, marks a new piece of trade infrastructure to alleviate congestion at the Detroit-Windsor, Ontario, gateway, the busiest commercial land crossing in North America.

“I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

He said the U.S. would start negotiations immediately, adding that the U.S. “should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset,” Trump said.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.

A representative for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the Canadian-owned government agency in charge of managing the new corridor, didn’t return a phone message seeking comment.

Late last year, the authority said the bridge would be set to open in early 2026.

Trump pledged his support for the new Detroit-Canada bridge back in 2017, following a bilateral meeting with former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. According to a joint U.S.-Canada statement, Trump and Trudeau said they awaited the “expeditious completion” of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, “which will serve as a vital economic link between our two countries.”

In Monday’s Truth Social post, Trump also criticized the province of Ontario for forbidding the sale of U.S. wines and spirits at government-run liquor stores, Carney’s decision to reach a trade detente with China, and Canadian government rules that limit imports of U.S.—and other foreign—dairy products. Canada said it would import up to 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles at a sharply lower tariff rate.

US/ECON - US Retail Sales Unexpectedly Stalled to Close Holiday Season
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-10/us-retail-sales-unexpectedly-stagnated-to-close-holiday-season?srnd=homepage-americas

US retail sales unexpectedly stalled in December, suggesting consumers provided less firepower for the economy as the year drew to a close.

The disappointing figures indicate the burst of activity at the start of the holiday-shopping season proved to be short-lived. Households remain frustrated over a high cost of living and worried about the job market.

The value of retail purchases, unadjusted for inflation, was little changed after a 0.6% gain in November, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday. Excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations, sales were also flat.

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Eight out of 13 retail categories posted decreases, including declines at clothing stores and furniture outlets. Sales at auto dealers also fell. Meantime, outlays rose at building materials stores and sporting goods retailers.

The weaker-than-expected retail sales data for December, together with likely weakness of spending in January amid extreme winter weather, leaves consumption growth on track to slow sharply this quarter.

The disappointing figures indicate the burst of activity at the start of the holiday-shopping season proved to be short-lived. Households remain frustrated over a high cost of living and worried about the job market.

The value of retail purchases, unadjusted for inflation, was little changed after a 0.6% gain in November, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday. Excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations, sales were also flat.

The breadth of consumer spending is also a concern. While stock-market gains may be boosting spending among wealthier households, there are signs discretionary spending is less robust for lower-income Americans relying primarily on more moderate wage growth.

US/AIR POLLUTERS CAN BREATHE EASIER - Trump to Repeal Landmark Climate Finding in Huge Regulatory Rollback
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-to-repeal-landmark-climate-finding-in-huge-regulatory-rollback-ff7d58db?mod=hp_lead_pos1

The Trump administration is planning this week to repeal the Obama-era scientific finding that serves as the legal basis for federal greenhouse-gas regulation, according to U.S. officials, in the most far-reaching rollback of U.S. climate policy to date.

The reversal targets the 2009 “endangerment finding,” which concluded that six greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. The finding provided the legal underpinning for the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate rules, which limited emissions from power plants and tightened fuel-economy standards for vehicles under the Clean Air Act.

“This amounts to the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in an interview. 

The final rule, set to be made public later this week, removes the regulatory requirements to measure, report, certify and comply with federal greenhouse-gas emission standards for motor vehicles, and repeals associated compliance programs, credit provisions and reporting obligations for industries, according to administration officials.

It wouldn’t apply to rules governing emissions from power plants and other stationary sources such as oil-and-gas facilities, the officials said. But repealing the finding could open up the door to rolling back regulations that affect those facilities.

The move is likely to be seen as a victory for the fossil-fuel industry, which for years has pushed back against federal climate regulations. Since taking office, President Trump has sought to repeal rules that his allies in the oil-and-gas industry have cited as overly burdensome. Trump has framed fossil fuels as vital to economic and national security, and he has argued that expanded reliance on them will help lower energy prices.

US/ISREAL/IRAN - Netanyahu wants Trump to demand more from Iran. The leaders will meet this week
https://apnews.com/article/israel-us-iran-trump-netanyahu-negotiations-5fab7bc1bd473f09a4d3967d1ef53aa6

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Washington on Tuesday to encourage President Donald Trump to expand the scope of high-stakes nuclear talks with Iran. The negotiations resumed last week against the backdrop of an American military buildup.

Israel has long called for Iran to cease all uranium enrichment, dial back its ballistic missile program and cut ties to militant groups across the region. Iran has always rejected those demands, saying it would only accept some limits on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

It’s unclear if Iran’s bloody crackdown on mass protests last month, or the movement of major U.S. military assets to the region, has made Iran’s leaders more open to compromise, or if Trump is interested in broadening the already difficult negotiations.

Netanyahu, who will be in Washington through Wednesday, has spent his decades-long political career pushing for stronger U.S. action toward Iran. Those efforts succeeded last year when the U.S. joined Israel in 12 days of strikes on Iran’s military and nuclear sites, and the possibility of additional military action against Iran is likely to come up in this week’s discussions.

CANADA/MEXICO/SEC - 5 missing workers from Canadian mining company found dead in Mexico
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/missing-workers-canada-mining-company-found-dead-sinaloa-mexico/

Mexican authorities said Monday that five of the 10 missing workers from a mine operated by a Canadian

 company in the northwestern state of Sinaloa have been identified among 10 bodies found in clandestine graves last week in a nearby community.

The Attorney General's Office said in a statement that the remaining bodies were still awaiting identification.

Vancouver-based Vizsla Silver Corp. said in a statement Monday that it "has been informed by a number of families that their relatives, our colleagues, who were taken from the company's project site in Concordia, Mexico, have been found deceased."

The company said it was still awaiting confirmation from Mexican authorities. Neither the company nor Mexican authorities have commented on what a possible motive could be.

"We are devastated by this outcome and the tragic loss of life," said Vizsla President and CEO Michael Konnert. "Our focus remains on the safe recovery of those who remain missing and on supporting all affected families and our people during this incredibly difficult time."

Jaime Castañeda said he identified the body of his brother, José Manuel Castañeda Hernández, on Sunday by viewing photos shown to him by local officials in Mazatlán, CBC News reported.

"In truth, this has been very painful to be here, in a place where we don't want to be," Jaime Castañeda told CBC News in a phone interview.

CHINA/TAIWAN - China to support 'reunification forces' in Taiwan, go after 'separatists'
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/senior-chinese-official-calls-resolutely-cracking-down-taiwan-independence-2026-02-10/

China will offer firm support for "patriotic pro-reunification forces" in Taiwan and strike hard against "separatists", the top Chinese official in charge of policy towards the democratically-governed island said in comments published on Tuesday.

China, which views Taiwan as its own territory despite the objections of the government in Taipei, has ramped up its military and political pressure against the island as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims.

Addressing this year's annual "Taiwan Work Conference", a key meeting which sets the tone for China's policy towards the island, the ruling Communist Party's fourth-ranked leader Wang Huning said officials must advance the "great cause of national reunification", the official state-run Xinhua news agency said.

'USUAL TALKING POINTS', SAYS TAIWAN

It was necessary to "firmly support the patriotic pro-unification forces on the island, resolutely strike against 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, oppose interference by external forces, and safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait", Xinhua paraphrased him as saying.

Taiwan's government, which says only the island's people can decide their future, said in response to Wang's remarks that he was repeating the usual Chinese talking points about opposing separatism and taking eventual control of the island.

GUINEA/SEC - Heavy gunfire heard near prison in Guinea’s capital, Conakry
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/10/heavy-gunfire-heard-in-guineas-capital-conakry

Heavy security has been deployed after sustained gunshots were heard near the central prison in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, according to media reports.

It was unclear who was shooting or what triggered the gunfire on Tuesday. There was no immediate comment from the authorities.

A witness reported seeing several military pick-up trucks carrying armed security forces and a machinegun-mounted armoured carrier deployed around the central administrative district of Kaloum, the Reuters news agency reported. The presidential palace is also located in Kaloum.

A security detail made up of police officers and special forces blocked access to the area leading to the prison on Tuesday morning, an AFP news agency journalist reported, although all routes to the prison were later reopened.

At least three armoured vehicles belonging to the special forces were also visible in front of the prison and three ambulances were seen leaving it.

“I heard the sound of vehicles speeding by. I rushed to the window and heard automatic gunfire,” Thierno Balde, an accountant who works in the neighbourhood, told AFP, confirming similar statements by other witnesses.

The shooting reportedly began shortly before 9am (09:00 GMT) and lasted just more than half an hour with rapid gunfire ringing out.

FRANCE/EU/US - Macron warns of renewed friction with US, urges EU to use 'Greenland moment' to push reforms
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/time-eu-launch-joint-borrowing-challenge-us-dollar-says-macron-2026-02-10/

Europe should brace for more moments of U.S. hostility, French President Emmanuel Macron has warned, and should treat what he called the "Greenland moment" as a wake‑up call to push through long‑delayed reforms to strengthen the bloc’s global power.

In an interview with several European newspapers, the French leader said the European Union should not mistake a lull in tensions with Washington for a lasting shift despite a pause in U.S. threats over Greenland, trade and technology.

Macron urged EU leaders to use a summit in a Belgian castle this week to inject fresh energy into economic reforms to bolster the bloc's competitiveness and strengthen its ability to stand up to China and the United States on the world stage.

RUSSIA/OIL/ECON - Oil exports have been a cash cow for Russia. But revenues are dwindling, thanks to sanctions
https://apnews.com/article/russia-oil-sanctions-ukraine-trump-putin-d4db8311f04f70981b6e6a1caee3920e

Oil and gas exports have sustained Russia’s finances throughout its war against Ukraine. But as the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion approaches, those cash flows have suddenly dwindled to lows not seen in years.

It’s the result of new punitive measures from the U.S. and the European Union, U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff pressure against India, and a tightening crackdown on the fleet of sanctions-dodging tankers carrying Russian oil.

The drop in revenue is pushing President Vladimir Putin to borrow from Russian banks and raise taxes, keeping state finances on an even keel for now.

But those measures only increase strains in a war economy now plagued by slowing growth and stubborn inflation.

In January, Russian state revenues from taxing the oil and gas industries fell to 393 billion rubles ($5.1 billion) That’s down from 587 billion ($7.6 billion) in December and from 1.12 trillion ($14.5 billion) in January 2025. That’s the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic, says Janis Kluge, an expert on the Russian economy at German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

KYRGYZSTAN - Kyrgyzstan president fires powerful security chief, a longtime ally
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/kyrgyzstan-president-fires-powerful-security-chief-longtime-ally-2026-02-10/

President Sadyr Japarov on Tuesday signed decrees removing Kamchybek Tashiev - a longtime ally seen as Kyrgyzstan’s second-most influential official - as head of the State Committee for National Security and deputy prime minister.

Tashiev had held top security and government roles since 2020, when he and Japarov rode into power on a wave of protests against alleged election rigging.

Local media cited Japarov's press secretary as saying that the president had made the decision "with the intention of preventing division in society, including between government agencies, but rather strengthening unity."

There was no immediate comment from Tashiev. Several other senior security officials who had been working under Tashiev were also sacked by presidential order.

A mountainous country of 7 million that maintains close ties with Russia, Kyrgyzstan has come under scrutiny from Western powers who say it has become one of the major facilitators of Russian evasion of sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

Japarov and Tashiev were seen by supporters as having brought an end to years of political turbulence in the Central Asian republic by consolidating power and building alliances among political elites in both the north and south.

[The Tien Shan mountains sharply divide northern and southern Kyrgyzstan. The Northern portion, centered around the capital of Bishkek, has stronger cultural and political ties to Russia. Southern Kyrgyz, and its primary population center of Osh, are distinctly more conservative in terms of ties to their Central Asian identity, religious leanings, and lead a more agrarian lifestyle compared to the much more heavily industrialized north. The Japarov/Tashiev combo allowed for a chillingly effective consolidation of power, not only within Bishkek but among the power brokers of southern clans and family units.-mnno]

IRAN/OMAN/US - Top Iranian adviser visits mediator Oman, as Iran and US prepare for talks
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/top-iranian-adviser-visits-mediator-oman-iran-us-prepare-talks-2026-02-10/

A top adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader discussed ways to reach a "balanced and just" agreement with the United States during talks in Oman on Tuesday, as Washington and Tehran prepare to resume negotiations aimed at averting a new conflict.

Oman facilitated talks between Iran and the U.S. last week, which a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry said had allowed Tehran to gauge Washington's seriousness and showed enough consensus for diplomacy to continue.

The talks came after U.S. President Donald Trump positioned a naval flotilla in the region, raising fears of new military action. Trump, who joined an Israeli bombing campaign last year and hit Iranian nuclear sites, had threatened last month to intervene militarily during a bloody government crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran, but ultimately held off.

"After the talks, we felt there was understanding and consensus to continue the diplomatic process," said the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei.

Baghaei said Tuesday's trip to Oman by Ali Larijani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been pre-planned, and that Larijani would travel next to Qatar, which has also mediated in several Middle East crises.

ETHIOPIA/SUDAN - Ethiopia builds secret camp to train Sudan RSF fighters, sources say
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/ethiopia-builds-secret-camp-train-sudan-rsf-fighters-sources-say-2026-02-10/

Ethiopia is hosting a secret camp to train thousands of fighters for the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group in neighbouring Sudan, Reuters reporting has found, in the latest sign that one of the world’s deadliest conflicts is sucking in regional powers from Africa and the Middle East.

The camp constitutes the first direct evidence of Ethiopia’s involvement in Sudan’s civil war, marking a potentially dangerous development that provides the RSF a substantial supply of fresh soldiers as fighting escalates in Sudan’s south.

Eight sources, including a senior Ethiopian government official, said the United Arab Emirates financed the camp’s construction and provided military trainers and logistical support to the site, a view also shared in an internal note by Ethiopia’s security services and in a diplomatic cable, reviewed by Reuters.

TAIWAN/US/TRADE - Taiwan negotiators head to US for final meeting on trade deal
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-negotiators-head-us-final-meeting-trade-deal-2026-02-10/

Taiwan's trade negotiating team has left for the U.S. to hold their final meeting on a trade and tariff deal struck last month, the island's government said on Tuesday.

Under the terms of the agreement, tariffs on Taiwan's exports to the U.S. will be cut to 15% from 20%.

Taiwan companies will also invest $250 billion to boost production of semiconductors, energy and artificial intelligence in the U.S., while Taiwan will also guarantee an additional $250 billion in credit to facilitate further investment.

Taiwan Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun and chief trade negotiator Yang Jen-ni departed on Tuesday night and are expected to hold "a final meeting with the U.S. side regarding the 'Taiwan–U.S. Agreement on Reciprocal Trade'", Taiwan's cabinet said in a statement.

Once the agreement is finally signed, the government will report the full details to the public and it will then go to parliament for approval, the statement added.

Semiconductor powerhouse Taiwan, which runs a large trade surplus with the U.S., says it aims to build a strategic high-tech partnership with the country, the Chinese-claimed island's most important international backer despite the lack of official diplomatic ties.

GIFT LINK: Who Will Succeed Erdogan? Son’s Rising Profile Fuels Talk
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-10/who-will-succeed-erdogan-son-bilal-s-rising-profile-fuels-talk-in-turkey?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc3MDczODA0MCwiZXhwIjoxNzcxMzQyODQwLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUQThWMTBLSUpIRjUwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIwODA5QjU4MTNCMkE0NTRFOUVCN0QyMDZCOUM5NTAzOCJ9.ZDILIbTJ5WK5t4W3b2iU9lOJN-iIRdNtJl2W_dAsf-c

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics for more than two decades and the subject of succession has long been taboo. One potential candidate, though, now appears to be emerging.

In a country where everything is choreographed by Erdogan and his inner circle, the president’s younger son has become far more visible. There are now regular reports on Bilal Erdogan’s activities on the state-run news service. His father has been taking him on more foreign trips during his latest presidential term, from meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to visiting Pakistan, Malaysia and Qatar.

The transition of power has become a frequent discussion topic behind closed doors among the governing AK Party’s ranks in Ankara, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Bilal’s entry into politics is now under consideration, with a view to his potentially becoming leader, said the people, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.

Who will eventually take over from Turkey’s longest-serving leader has been a persistent question for foreign investors and ordinary Turks for years. But within Erdogan’s political movement, the 71-year-old remains a cult figure and any talk about his health or what comes next are shut down.