US President Donald Trump has called for unity in a divided Congress but didn't back down on his core demand. He used his second State of the Union address to renew his appeal for a wall at the Mexican border, the very issue that triggered a 35-day government shutdown. Trump touted his job performance and insists all is well with the economy, but Democrats aren't convinced. Laila Humairah has more. TRT World Editor-at-large Craig Copetas in Miami and head of political risk at research firm IHS Markit, John Raines, in London joined us to discuss the story.

#BorderWall #shutdown #Trump

More than 260 million Chinese travelers visited international destinations in 2018, making it the world's largest source market for the tourism industry. Our Senior Business Producer, Mobin Nasir, caught up with the head of the Chinese association of small and medium enterprises, Marcus Lee, in Istanbul to discuss the tourism industry.

An app created by a Kenyan start-up is helping people who need urgent medical treatment. Adesewa Josh reports on how the ambulance-hailing app was used to improve emergency response during last month's terror attack in the capital.

#AmbulanceApp #ambulance #Kenya

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is working on formalising an alliance with a Russian-led group of nations. Their goal is to have a better hold on the global supply of oil and how much money they make off the commodity. OPEC and a Russian-led alliance will hold a debate this month in Vienna. To drill down to the core of this story, we spoke to Ellen Wald, president of the energy consulting firm Transversal Consulting. She also wrote the book Saudi Inc.

#OPEC #Russia #Saudi

The war in Yemen has destroyed infrastructure, devastated the economy and forced many educated people to look for work outside of their fields of study. For some, that has meant becoming butchers, a profession that is looked down upon in Yemeni society. Caitlin McGee reports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is on a two-day visit in Tokyo, where she met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two leaders pledged to defend free trade in the face of rising protectionism. They also discussed the impact of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. Seijiro Takeshita, dean of the School of Management and Information at the University of Shizuoka, says both Germany and Japan hold similar roles, when it comes to trade wars and Brexit.

#Brexit #Germany #Japan

Australia is still reeling from a financial industry scandal that’s wiped out more than 43 billion dollars in value from the nation's top financial stocks. Shocking accounts of misconduct have been uncovered.. But, the good news is that, it could result in sweeping reforms that benefit millions of customers. Paolo Montecillo reports and Australian economist, Steve Keen weighs in on the matter from Amsterdam.

#Australia #FinancialSector #reform

Spain, Britain, Germany, France and Sweden have joined the United States in recognising Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president. The move comes after President Nicolas Maduro rejected a deadline they had set to call early elections. Meanwhile US president Donald Trump isn't ruling out a military intervention, that could further worsen the country’s economic crisis. Laila Humairah reports and Editor-at-large Craig Copetas joins the discussion from Miami.

#PresidentMaduro #Maduro #Venezuela

With the UK due to leave the European Union at the end of March, it still has no approved deal on how the divorce will take place. Prime Minister Theresa May is battling to break the deadlock after last week's crushing defeat of her Brexit deal raised the prospect of crashing out of the EU. In a step that could overturn centuries of constitutional convention, some MPs are trying to grab control of Brexit from the government, to prevent what they say would be an economically disastrous no-deal departure. Taking questions in parliament, May sparred with Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn, rejecting the idea of delaying the UK's withdrawal while refusing to rule-out a no-deal scenario.

#Brexit #TheresaMay #UK

Tech stocks have been extending their best rally in almost a month, with some of the biggest players in the sector releasing their earnings. While Apple and Facebook's success is mainly consumer-led, Amazon and Microsoft are one step ahead with their cloud computing businesses. The two have been racing for the title of the world's most valuable company in recent weeks. Here's a look at how big tech has bounced back..

#Facebook #tech