A fiery State of the Union speech

Plus, US embassy warns of imminent attack in Moscow.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters Daily Briefing Biden takes on Trump and the Republicans in his State of the Union address, gunmen kidnap 227 pupils from a school in Nigeria, and Australia's Great Barrier Reef suffers a major coral bleaching.   Plus, our top photos of the week.    By Edson Caldas Today's Top News Biden delivers his State of the Union address. SHAWN THEW/Pool via REUTERS US President Joe Biden laid out his case for re-election in a fiery State of the Union speech that accused Donald Trump of threatening democracy, kowtowing to Russia and torpedoing a bill to tackle immigration woes. Here are the key takeaways from the address and the latest on the US elections. The US embassy in Russia warned that "extremists" had plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State. The embassy said people should avoid crowds and be aware of their surroundings. Sweden joined NATO, two years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced it to rethink its national security policy and conclude that support for the alliance was the Scandinavian nation's best guarantee of safety. For NATO, the accessions of Sweden and Finland are the most significant additions in decades.  Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories have expanded by a record amount and risk eliminating any practical possibly of a Palestinian state, the UN human rights chief said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will push on with its offensive against Hamas. Follow the latest. Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped more than 200 school pupils in the northern town of Kuriga, in the biggest mass abduction from a school since 2021. Amnesty International called on Nigerian authorities to safely rescue the students and hold perpetrators to account. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided an artillery firing drill by the Korean People's Army, state media reported. The drill involved units near the border that are in firing range of "the enemy's capital," KCNA said, referring to the South Korean capital of nearly 10 million residents. Australia's Great Barrier Reef has been hit by a major coral bleaching event, with the results consistent with patterns of heat stress that have built up over summer. The bleaching follows on from similar reports on reefs around the world due to elevated sea surface temperatures, a government agency said. Business & Markets The market value of Novo Nordisk has soared past Tesla after the Wegovy maker announced positive early trial data for a highly anticipated new obesity drug. European Companies Editor Jo Mason tells the Reuters World News daily podcast why this new drug is such a big deal. US job growth likely slowed in February after two months of robust gains, but the labor market probably remains too strong for the Fed to consider cutting interest rates by June. The Labor Department's closely watched employment report today is also expected to show the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.7%. The US House will fast-track a vote next week on legislation that would give ByteDance six months to divest from TikTok or face a US ban after a committee approved the measure. The Energy and Commerce Committee 50-0 vote represents the most significant momentum for a US crackdown on the app. Chinese state-owned oil and gas giant CNOOC has discovered a new reserve in the South China Sea containing over 100 million tons of oil equivalent proved in-place, the company said. The reserve is located at CNOOC's deepwater Kaiping South oilfield in the Pearl River Delta near Guangdong province. The Week Ahead Portugal holds its second snap election in two years on Sunday. And it is unlikely to produce a clear winner, opinion polls show. "Oppenheimer" appears poised to dominate Sunday's Academy Awards, validating Universal studio chief Donna Langley's bet on the period drama. Biden puts forth his proposed spending plan on Monday. It is a wish-list for how the government should spend its money in the fiscal year starting in October. Tuesday's US inflation report could help answer one of the key questions hovering over markets: when can the Fed start cutting interest rates? Russia's presidential election is held over three days from March 15-17. President Vladimir Putin is expected to easily win. And here's what investors will be keeping an eye out for. In Pictures Nikki Haley announced she was suspending her campaign. REUTERS/Brian Snyder From the National People's Congress in Beijing to the 6th European Festival of Bell-bearing traditions in Thessaloniki, we bring you a selection of some of our top news photography from around the world this week. See our photo gallery. And Finally... Akira Toriyama in 1982. Kyodo/via REUTERS Japanese manga comic creator Akira Toriyama, best known for his "Dragon Ball" series that spawned widely popular films, video games and TV shows, died from a blood clot in his brain, his production studio said. He was 68. Many fans paid tribute to Toriyama and the global influence of his work. Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.   Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Reuters Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement © 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036