Reuters News Now

Highlights

It seems that President Trump is finally beginning to stick to the script, with his first State of the Union address devoid of many surprises whilst painting a relatively coherent policy picture. Alongside stressing his commitment to keeping the Guantanamo Bay detention center open, Trump pushed a hard line on immigration and insisted on a border wall and other concessions from Democrats as part of any deal to protect the children of illegal immigrants.

On the business side of things, Trump took credit for U.S. economic gains including a soaring stock market and a low jobless rate. Indeed, world stocks were eyeing their second best start to a year ever, but the dollar came under renewed pressure ahead of the Federal Reserve’s first meeting of the year. The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged while signaling a gradual tightening of monetary policy later this year as the U.S. economy continues to expand and job gains remain solid.

It’s an early start for many skywatchers who awoke before dawn to see a rare type of lunar eclipse called a “Super Blue Blood Moon.” A number of celestial factors are combining to deliver the particularly unusual spectacle, not seen in North America since 1866 according to the meteorological forecaster AccuWeather.

World

After declaring they were ready to fight sexual harassment on university campuses, Chinese authorities now appear to be seeking to contain a nascent #MeToo movement. While authorities have been slowly acknowledging there is a systematic problem of sexual harassment on Chinese college campuses, there has been censorship of online postings and some universities have warned students to tone down the campaign, according to women rights activists and students.

Three days of deadly clashes between southern Yemeni separatists and an internationally recognized government based in the port of Aden subsided after fighters handed back two military bases they had seized, according to residents.

Commentary: A melting Arctic has opened previously frozen northern trade routes and created new strategic challenges for the United States, which is lagging behind Russia and China in the jostle for influence in the High North. The Pentagon has been reviewing its Arctic strategy, writes columnist Peter Apps. But with only one aging icebreaker against Russia’s forty, the United States may soon “find itself eased out of what could become an important region without any fight at all.”

Brazil's Lula leads presidential poll despite upheld conviction http://reut.rs/2BFYav2

12:22 AM - JAN 31, 2018