Donald Trump said that Ukraine and Russia want to make peace, after speaking separately by phone with both countries’ leaders. He spoke first to Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, and said that America would “immediately” start talks with Russia to end the war. Earlier America’s defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said it was “unrealistic” that Ukraine would regain territory annexed by Russia since 2014 or join NATO.
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration can proceed with a buyout programme for federal workers. Last week the judge ordered the government to hold the scheme open, past its deadline of February 6th, while he considered its legality. After the ruling the government closed the scheme. On January 28th more than 2m federal workers were offered roughly eight months of pay and benefits to leave their jobs.
A car crashed into a crowd of people in Munich, a city in southern Germany. At least 20 people were injured in the incident, according to police. They have not yet said whether the crash was an accident or intentional. Local media reported that the driver hit a rally held by Verdi, a trade union.
Merger talks between Honda and Nissan collapsed. The tie-up, which would also have included Mitsubishi Motors, a smaller firm, would have created a Japanese carmaking titan worth some $60bn. Nissan, which expects losses of more than $530m in 2024, did not want to become a subsidiary of Honda, according to reports. The two firms said they would collaborate on developing electric vehicles.
Britain’s economy grew by 0.1% in the final quarter of 2024, according to the Office of National Statistics. That beat analysts’ expectations of a 0.1% drop and followed no growth between July and September. Last week the Bank of England halved its forecast for growth in 2025 to 0.75%.
Commerzbank said it would cut 3,900 jobs, a tenth of its workforce, in a bid to reduce costs. The lender said it would increase hiring outside Germany and raised its net-profit target to €3.8bn ($4bn) in 2027, up from €3.6bn. Commerzbank, which is being eyed as a takeover target by UniCredit, an Italian rival, hopes to reassure investors that it can thrive on its own.
Last year China’s coal-plant construction reached its highest level in nearly a decade. It built 94.5 gigawatts of coal-power projects, accounting for 93% of the global total. Xi Jinping, the country’s leader, had promised to “strictly control” coal-power projects and that carbon emissions would peak by 2030. China also installed a record 356 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity—4.5 times the European Union’s additions.
Figure of the day: 30,000. The number of troops mobilised by Ukraine every month over the past year, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Read the full story.
American politics matters intensely to the rest of the world. Read The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.