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US says airstrike in Syria kills al Qaeda affiliate leader

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. military said on Sunday that it killed a senior official of an al Qaeda affiliate during an airstrike in northwest Syria the day before.

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U.S. Central Command described the person in a statement as a “senior finance and logistics official in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din.” It offered no additional details about the strike.

U.S. forces have targeted Hurras al-Din officials as part of an effort to disrupt the militant group.

Japan’s economy grows faster than expected in Q4 on strong capex

TOKYO (Reuters) — Japan’s economy expanded an annualised 2.8% in the October-December quarter, government data showed on Monday, backed by improved business spending and better-than-expected consumption.

Strong domestic demand is helping support a recovery in the world’s fourth-largest economy, even as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats fuel concerns about the export outlook.

The positive figures will also likely support the Bank of Japan’s plan to keep hiking interest rates and normalise monetary policy.

The increase in gross domestic product compared with a median market estimate of a 1.0% gain in a Reuters poll, and followed a revised 1.7% growth in the previous quarter.

Argentina’s opposition threatens impeachment trial after Milei touts crypto coin

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) — Argentine President Javier Milei could face an impeachment trial in Congress, opposition lawmakers said on Saturday, after the libertarian leader touted a cryptocurrency which crashed soon after.

Milei late on Friday posted on X recommending the little-known crypto coin $LIBRA, which soon after shot up to nearly $5 apiece.

Just hours later, the cryptocurrency plummeted to under $1.

Argentina’s fintech chamber acknowledged that the case could potentially be a “rug pull,” in which the developers of a crypto token draw legitimate investments, pumping up the value, only to later dump their stake.

“This scandal, which embarrasses us on an international scale, requires us to launch an impeachment request against the president,” said lawmaker Leandro Santoro, a member of the opposition coalition.

Powerful winds lash the East Coast as part of deadly winter storm

(NYT) — A sprawling storm that blanketed some parts of the Northeast with up to 7 inches of snow and deluged parts of the South with heavy rain and deadly flooding was delivering damaging winds from Georgia to New England that will last into Monday. Power outages, downed trees and hazardous road conditions could disrupt daily life and upend travel plans. At Kennedy Airport in New York, the winds, gusting as high as 45 mph, were expected to delay up to 200 flights Sunday. Winds were causing delays at LaGuardia International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as Ronald Reagan International Airport and Dulles International Airport in the Washington area.