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Daily Briefing

Israel refuses to break the Gaza siege unless hostages are freed, China bans new offshore brokerage accounts in a capital-control move, and Gazans bombarded by Israel have no hope and no escape.

Plus, food is scarce in a Guatemalan village at the climate-change frontier.

By Kate Turton

Today's Top News

More than 175,000 Gazans have fled their homes. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Israel said there would be no humanitarian break to its siege of the Gaza Strip until all its hostages were freed, after the Red Cross pleaded for fuel to be allowed in to prevent overwhelmed hospitals from "turning into morgues." Follow the latest updates from the Israel-Hamas war.
Hear Crispian Balmer talking to reservists preparing to return to Israel after getting the call to fight. "Everyone is coming. No one is saying no," said Yonatan Steiner, 24, who flew back from New York.
With bulletproof vests, socks and soap, US Jews are rushing to aid Israel's 300,000 reservists - some of whom live in the US - called up by the Israel Defense Forces following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

ELSEWHERE

Steve Scalise, the Republican nominee to lead the House of Representatives, faces a test of whether he can gain enough support from his splintered party conference to be elected speaker on the chamber floor.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian troops were holding their ground in the eastern town of Avdiivka, where fighting with Russian forces has intensified. The Czech Republic and Denmark will jointly supply heavy military equipment to Ukraine, the Czech Defence Ministry said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has had a tough year at home and on the global stage, pushing his support as low as it has ever been, but his backers still see him as the Liberal Party's best chance to secure a historic fourth term in the next election.
Google, Amazon and Cloudflare say they have weathered the internet's largest-known denial-of-service attack and are sounding the alarm over a new technique they warn could cause widespread disruption.
The number of births in China tumbled 10% last year to hit their lowest level on record - a drop that comes despite government efforts to support parents as Beijing's alarm grows over its ageing population.

Business & Markets

China has for the first time issued a notice prohibiting domestic brokerages and their overseas units from taking on new mainland clients for offshore trading.
The UAW shut down Ford's biggest plant globally, halting production of pickup trucks, in a sharp escalation of its four-week strike.
NATO will discuss damage to a gas pipeline and data cable running between member states Finland and Estonia and will mount a "determined" response if a deliberate attack is proven.
Britain's economy partially recovered in August after a drop in July, but the bigger picture remained one of sluggish growth after last year's surge in inflation and 14 back-to-back interest rate hikes by the Bank of England.
High levels of inflation and increased costs of living are contributing to worldwide hunger, according to a survey of 16 countries commissioned by the humanitarian group World Vision International.
Talks between Hollywood studios and negotiators for the SAG-AFTRA actors' union were suspended after the union presented its most recent proposal.

Gazans bombarded by Israel have no hope and no escape

People in Gaza described the worst violence they'd ever seen. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Most of the 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip have no electricity and no water. And, with hundreds of Israeli strikes raining down on their tiny enclave, they have nowhere to run.

The Palestinian territory, one of the most crowded places on Earth, has been under siege since Saturday as retaliation for a devastating attack on Israel by Hamas, which the Israeli military says has killed more than 1,200 people.

More than 175,000 Gazans have fled their homes

Food is scarce in Guatemalan village at climate-change frontier

Indigenous women gather on the riverbank in El Aguacate. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

Maria Concepcion Rodriguez woke early and lowered herself to the ground from one of the hammocks her family of eight uses to sleep.

She washed her hands and started a fire, preparing to make breakfast from scarce supplies. Some leafy greens, perhaps some eggs.

There might be enough corn to make tortillas from a small patch of land the family rents to grow food only to feed themselves.

But it hasn't been enough, especially lately. Usually, the rainy season begins in May or June, but there wasn't much this year, she said.

Our special report from the frontlines of climate change

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