Russia said it was ready for “mutually respectful dialogue” with America after Donald Trump threatened it with further sanctions. America’s president said that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, would face “high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions” if he did not “make a deal” to end the war in Ukraine. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andriy Sybiha, said the “strong” message was “welcome”.
Ireland’s lawmakers elected Micheál Martin as prime minister after one day of deadlock. The centre-right coalition government is bracing for trade tensions with America. Mr Trump is threatening higher corporate taxes and tariffs on Ireland, which hosts several multinational companies. Mr Martin, who returns to office, has pledged to fend off the fallout to protect the country’s economic model.
Firefighters battled a new wildfire north of Los Angeles, which has spread to more than 10,000 acres (40 square km) since breaking out on Wednesday. About 50,000 people were told to evacuate. Gusting wind spread the blaze, as it did earlier in January, when five fires killed at least 28 people and destroyed thousands of buildings. Two of those fires—the Palisades and Eaton—are still burning.
Regulators in China instructed state-owned insurers and mutual funds to invest more in the country’s struggling stockmarkets. After the announcement China’s CSI 300 index rose by as much as 1.8%, before settling slightly lower. The index soared in September after the government announced economic-support measures, but has fallen by 15% from its October peak.
Britain’s defence secretary sent a shot across Mr Putin’s bow, after the Royal Navy revealed that its warships had shadowed a Russian spy ship in waters close to the English Channel earlier this week. John Healey said Russian ships were “mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure”, accusing the Kremlin of growing aggression. “We see you,” he told Mr Putin.
People with ADHD live shorter, according to a paper published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers studied the health records of more than 300,000 people in Britain, and found the average life expectancy was 6.8 years shorter for men with the neurological condition, and 8.6 years for women. People with ADHD tend to binge eat, smoke and undertake risky activities more, which could explain the difference in longevity.
Iceland’s new government is crowd-sourcing ideas on how to save public money. Consecutive governments have grappled with budget deficits. High inflation has made that gap more expensive—Iceland has western Europe’s highest borrowing costs, at a rate of 8.5%. So far some 3,500 people have submitted suggestions to the government’s online portal, representing almost 1% of the country’s population.
Figure of the day: $1.3trn, the accumulated fortune of the billionaires who turned up at Donald Trump’s inauguration. Read the full story.
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