By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin no longer plans to travel to South Korea, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, following South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched attempt this week to impose martial law. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said planning had been underway for a trip in the near term but it was determined now was not the appropriate time. The official said … Read more…

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland signed a $4 billion loan under the United States’ Foreign Military Financing program that will help finance the transformation of its armed forces, the Polish defence minister said on Thursday. “This is another proof of enormous trust and strong alliance between Poland and the United States of America,” Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz posted on X. Kosiniak-Kamysz said that in total the United States has provided Poland with over $11 billion to finance armament … Read more…

(Reuters) – Alphabet’s Waymo said on Thursday it will expand its autonomous ride-hailing services to Miami, Florida, adding another city to its operations as it seeks to gain an edge in an increasingly competitive market. The company plans to introduce its vehicles to Miami’s streets early next year and aims to launch services to riders in 2026, offering ride-hailing through the Waymo One app. Waymo’s expansion comes at a crucial time as the firm is … Read more…

(Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump met with the chief executives of U.S. drugmakers Pfizer and Eli Lilly as well as industry lobbying group PhRMA on Wednesday night, Axios reported on Thursday. Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the United States’ top health agency, was also present at the meeting, according to the report. Eli Lilly, Pfizer and PhRMA did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Trump and the … Read more…

By Andy Sullivan, David Morgan and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON -Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy met on Thursday with Republican lawmakers whose support they will need to win the sweeping spending cuts that President-elect Donald Trump has asked them to find. Trump has named two entrepreneurs to a task force that aims for a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. government, which spent $6.8 trillion in the most recent fiscal year. Musk has … Read more…

By Yuka Obayashi, Katya Golubkova and Ritsuko Shimizu TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nippon Steel is committed to its $15 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel and is confident of completing it by year-end, a senior executive said, despite strong U.S. opposition including from President-elect Donald Trump. “We will not give up on the deal… There is no global strategy without the U.S.,” Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori told Reuters this week, after returning from his … Read more…