Feb. 11, 2025 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 1929, Benito Mussolini of Italy and Pietro Gasparri of the Vatican signed the Lateran Treaty, recognizing papal sovereignty over Vatican City, an enclave in Rome.
QotD: "Let me take the US example again: One financial system, one financial capital, and a handful of other financial centers," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech Wednesday, adding that the European Union has not only 27 different financial systems but also more than 300 trading venues.
US/JOBS REPORT – US added 130k jobs in January, starting year off on stronger footing.
The U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January, its strongest growth in more than a year and a sign that the labor market may be shaking off its recent stagnation.
January’s surprising gains were concentrated in the healthcare and social assistance sector—including jobs like home health aides and residential care workers—which has been the main engine of jobs growth in recent months. Elsewhere, though, there were other signs of strength, with construction and manufacturing also adding workers. The transportation and warehousing, information, financial services and government sectors all cut jobs.
This improves on a revised 48,000 jobs in December, according to the Labor Department, while surging beyond the 55,000 expected by analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal.
Markets opened higher Wednesday on the news, with the Nasdaq composite rising 0.7% and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each up about 0.5%.
The strongest job growth since December 2024 marks a turnaround after hiring slowed sharply in 2025, especially after new revisions from the Labor Department show just how tough the market has recently been for job seekers.
US/CONGRESS/TARIFFS – US House rejects ban on challenges to Trump tariffs as Democrats ready vote on Canada.
A narrowly divided U.S. House of Representatives rejected on Tuesday a bid by Republican leaders to block legislative challenges to President Donald Trump's tariffs, a move that could allow Democrats to try to undo U.S. tariffs on Canada.
Lawmakers voted 217-214 to derail the plan to bar tariff challenges through July 31, with three Republicans joining 214 Democrats in opposition. The prohibition was included in a measure intended to open debate on three unrelated bills.
"I don’t like putting the important work of the House on pause, but Congress needs to be able to debate on tariffs," said Representative Don Bacon, one of the Republicans who rejected the ban.
"Tariffs have been a 'net negative' for the economy and are a significant tax that American consumers, manufacturers, and farmers are paying," the Nebraska lawmaker said on X.
The result presents a major challenge for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who cannot afford to lose more than one vote from his 218-214 Republican majority on any measure opposed by Democrats.
CANADA/SEC – Ten dead after shooter opens fire at Canadian high school in rare massacre.
Ten people including the shooter are dead after an assailant opened fire at a high school in western Canada on Tuesday in one of the country's deadliest mass casualty events in recent history.
Six people were found dead inside a high school in the town of Tumbler Ridge, in British Columbia, two more people were found dead at a residence believed to be connected to the incident, and another person died on the way to hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
At least two other people were hospitalized with serious or life-threatening wounds, and as many as 25 people were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police did not say how many of the victims may have been minors. Parents gathered in a local community center as they waited to learn the fate of their children.
"It was a situation that you really never want to face again ... the sight of what I saw was devastating, many parents just waiting for the news on whether their child had survived the shooting or not," said local pastor George Rowe.
CANADA/US/BRIDGE TALK – Canada’s Carney says Ontario-Michigan bridge tensions will be ‘resolved’ after Trump call.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke to US President Donald Trump Tuesday about a new bridge connecting Canada and the US, assuring that the president's complaints about the project will be "resolved".
Trump said the United States should own "at least half" of the still under-construction Gordie Howe International Bridge that links the Canadian province of Ontario with the US state of Michigan.
Work on the $4.7-billion bridge – named after the late Canadian-born National Hockey League great and Detroit Red Wings star Gordie Howe – started in 2018. It is due to open this year.
According to a fact-sheet issued by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the bridge was financed entirely by Canada and will be jointly owned by the governments of Canada and the state of Michigan.
"I spoke to the president this morning. Regarding the bridge, the situation is going to be resolved," Carney told reporters in Ottawa without giving details.
"I explained that Canada, of course, paid for the construction of the bridge; that the ownership is shared between the state of Michigan and the government of Canada," Carney said.
NICARAGUA/CUBA/US/MIGRATION – Nicaraguan government blocks key pathway used by Cuban migrants to reach United States.
https://apnews.com/article/cuba-nicaragua-migrants-trump-us-d9bd0c5a56ff4bbb1bf4ba40468992be
Nicaragua’s government on Sunday blocked Cuban citizens from entering the country without a visa, effectively cutting off a key route for Cuban migration to the United States at a time when the Trump administration has put the Caribbean island in an economic chokehold.
Nicaragua’s government confirmed to The Associated Press that it suspended an exemption that allows Cubans to enter the Central American nation without a visa.
The move would effectively cut off Cubans from a country that has long acted as a bridge for Caribbean migrants traveling to the U.S. For years, Cuban migrants would fly to Nicaragua and meet up with smugglers, who would then help them migrate north through Central America and Mexico to get to the U.S. border.
Experts say Nicaragua kept its doors open to people from countries like Cuba and Haiti in a move to weaponize migrants fleeing turmoil against its longtime adversary, the U.S.
But the change comes amid mounting pressure by Trump administration on Latin American nations to fall in line with its vision for the hemisphere, particularly on issues like migration and security.
VENEZUELA/POL – Venezuelan opposition politician Guanipa under house arrest, son says.
Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa is under house arrest in the city of Maracaibo, his son Ramon Guanipa said on Tuesday, shortly after the close ally of Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado was freed from jail and recaptured.
"I confirm my father, Juan Pablo Guanipa, is in my house in Maracaibo," his son said in a post on X. "We are relieved to know my family will be reunited soon."
"My father is still unjustly imprisoned," Ramon Guanipa added, "because house arrest is still prison and we demand his full freedom and that of all the political prisoners."
Venezuela's government has announced a series of prisoner releases amid U.S. pressure after the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro in an attack on Caracas ordered by President Donald Trump. The government denies holding political prisoners and says those jailed have committed crimes.
Juan Pablo Guanipa, a 61-year-old lawyer and politician, was released from detention on Sunday but then rearrested several hours later after speaking to media in Caracas and seeing supporters. Venezuela's Attorney General's Office said he was rearrested for allegedly violating the terms of his release.
US/NIGERIA/MIL – US troops in Nigeria will avoid combat, focus on training, military says.
Nigeria's military said on Wednesday that about 200 U.S. troops due to arrive in the coming weeks would not take part in combat action and that Nigerian forces would retain full control over all security decisions.
This followed comments from a U.S. official on Tuesday that the Pentagon planned to deploy the troops to train Nigerian forces fighting Islamist militants, weeks after President Donald Trump ordered against what he described as Islamic State targets.
Last week, the U.S. military confirmed it had sent a small team to Nigeria, without giving details, marking Washington's first acknowledgment of personnel on the ground since the Christmas Day strikes.
Major General Samaila Uba, spokesperson for Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, told Reuters that Abuja requested the U.S. presence to provide technical training and advisory work at several locations.
“These personnel do not serve in a combat capacity and will not assume a direct operational role,” Uba said. “Nigerian forces retain full command authority, make all operational decisions and will lead all missions on Nigerian sovereign territory.”
He declined to say when the troops would arrive, but said the deployment formed part of ongoing cooperation under the U.S.-Nigeria Joint Working Group.
LIBYA/ENERGY – Libya awards new oil, gas blocks to Chevron, Eni, others in first licensing round since 2007.
Libya on Wednesday awarded oil and gas exploration blocks to foreign oil companies, including Chevron, Eni, QatarEnergy and Repsol in its first licensing round in nearly two decades as it seeks to revitalise the sector despite ongoing political division.
The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced the winners of its first bid round since 2007, allocating key acreage across the onshore Sirte and Murzuq basins and offshore blocks in the Sirte basin of the gas-rich Mediterranean.
The awards signal renewed interest as foreign investors have been wary for years of Libya's operating environment, after it descended into chaos following the 2011 overthrow of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
The country remains politically divided between rival administrations in the east and west, and disputes over the central bank and oil revenues frequently lead to force majeure declarations at key oil fields.
The licensing round, in which five of 20 blocks on offer were awarded, follows a 25-year oil development deal last month with France's TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips.
IRAN/REVOLUTION – Under-pressure Iran marks Islamic Revolution anniversary.
https://www.dw.com/en/under-pressure-iran-marks-islamic-revolution-anniversary/a-75905431
Iran on Wednesday marked the 47th anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution, which put an end to the country's historical monarchy and replaced it with a clerical, theocratic regime.
The commemorations come as the country is facing a highly confrontational strategy from the US President Donald Trump's administration, while experiencing public outrage over the regime's violent suppression of nationwide anti-government protests.
State television broadcast footage of tens of thousands of people across the country taking part in pro-government rallies.
Some of the participants were seen burning US flags and shouting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."
Others waved images of the country's current supreme leader, 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, alongside Iranian and Palestinian flags.
However, there were also reports that several protesters had called out anti-government chants from the balconies of residential blocks despite the regime's ongoing suppression of the opposition.
To mark the anniversary, President Masoud Pezeshkian also delivered a speech at Azadi Square in the capital, Tehran, in which he vowed that Iran would not give in to "excessive demands" from Washington.
"Our Iran will not yield in the face of aggression, but we are continuing dialogue with all our strength with neighboring countries in order to establish peace and tranquillity in the region," he said.
UKRAINE/POL/ELECTIONS – Zelensky plans to announce spring election plan, FT reports.
https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-updates-wednesday-feb-11/live-75903701
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to announce preparations for presidential elections and a peace referendum in the spring, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing Ukrainian and European officials.
Details on the plan would be made public on February 24, the fourth anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion. Then, a vote would be held on May 15, the paper reported.
The report says Ukraine is facing increased pressure from the United States to end the war by June.
According to the Financial Times, the US will only provide security guarantees if Kyiv concedes by then. Additionally, Washington is insisting that Ukraine hand over the portion of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions it still holds.
Following that, the Trump administration plans to turn its attention to the US congressional elections in November.
According to the report, Kyiv is considering holding national elections alongside a referendum on any prospective peace deal with Russia.
EU/MARKETS – EU needs market reform, simpler regulations – von der Leyen.
The European Union must simplify its capital market and regulations in order to reduce fragmentation and boost the bloc's competitiveness, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.
"Our companies need capital right now. So let's get it done this year," she stressed. "We have to make progress one way or the other to tear down the barriers that prevent us from being a true global giant."
Von der Leyen described the current EU system as "fragmentation on steroids" and called for "one large, deep, and liquid capital market."
"Let me take the US example again: One financial system, one financial capital, and a handful of other financial centers," she said, adding that the European Union has not only 27 different financial systems but also more than 300 trading venues.
The EU has identified a key issue that could boost the bloc's competitiveness. Unlike their American counterparts, European companies have difficulty accessing the capital needed to scale up.
Comments (2)
Despite the RCMP reporting the shooter at Tumbler Ridge as “a woman in a dress with brown hair”, the fact is that the shooter, 18 year old Jesse Strang, is/was a biological male who identified as female. We Canadians have to go to the international media to find out these details.
Apparently, the Canadian press is just as unreliable as the US press. Sad.