Daily Briefing

Israeli forces and Hamas fighters appear to be abiding by a truce, the West's de-risking starts to bite China's prospects, and Ukraine strains to bolster its army as war fatigue sets in.

Plus, Thais give a digital spin to the ancient 'floating basket' festival.

By Kate Turton

Today's Top News

Eitan Yahalomi walks with his mother after being released from Gaza where he was kept hostage. Spokesperson unit of Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTER

ISRAEL AND HAMAS AT WAR

An Israel-Hamas truce in the Gaza Strip stretched into a fifth day as the two sides completed the release of Israeli hostages and detained Palestinians and looked poised to free more as the pause in fighting was extended.
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to resume fighting Hamas when the ceasefire ends. Who are the main targets? Listen to Samia Nakhoul on Reuters World News daily podcast.
The US is asking Israel to take greater care to protect civilians and limit damage to infrastructure if it launches an offensive in southern Gaza.
Drone footage shot over Gaza before and after the start of Israel's assault on the Palestinian enclave show a busy urban area, with children playing and people going about their chores - then an eerie moonscape of crumpled buildings.

IN OTHER NEWS

North Korean state media said leader Kim Jong Un had reviewed spy satellite photos of the White House, Pentagon and US aircraft carriers at the naval base of Norfolk.
Indian rescuers drilled through rocks and debris to reach 41 workers trapped for 17 days in a collapsed tunnel in the Himalayas and were set to pull them out one by one to safety, officials said.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused his British counterpart Rishi Sunak of cancelling a scheduled meeting in London in a diplomatic row over the status of the Parthenon Sculptures.
One year after "white paper" protests flared across China against stringent COVID restrictions, Yicheng Huang fears this rare show of public dissent may eventually be forgotten by the Chinese public amid state censorship.
Twenty people were killed and nearly 2,000 inmates escaped during Sunday's attack on a military barracks, a prison and other locations in Sierra Leone, officials said.

Business & Markets

Foreign investors have been sour on China for most of this year, but data released over the past month has provided clear evidence of the negative impact of de-risking strategies on the world's second-largest economy. China has hit back at the West's de-risking strategy.
The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence could reduce wages, but so far is creating, not destroying jobs, especially for the young and highly-skilled, research published by the European Central Bank showed.
A US appeals court handed 3M and other manufacturers of toxic so-called "forever chemicals" a big win in their fight against legal liability for the substances.
Texas has closed the majority of its public oyster reefs for harvesting due to declining populations. Wildlife officials say these dwindling numbers are caused by extreme weather events fueled by climate change, as well as by overharvesting. Sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter.
Rolls-Royce aims to become much more profitable with a goal to increase its civil aerospace margin to 15-17% from 2.5% last year, in boss Tufan Erginbilgic's new masterplan for Britain's most prestigious engineering company.
Join us for a Reuters Newsmaker featuring Emma Walmsley, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline. Reuters Global Industry Editor, Health & Pharma, Michele Gershberg will lead a discussion with Walmsley on GSK’s strategy as global health priorities evolve. The event will take place on Nov. 30 at 1500 GMT/1000 ET.

'At what cost?' Ukraine strains to bolster its army as war fatigue weighs

Antonina Danylevych, whose husband Oleksandr has been fighting against Russia’s invasion on Ukraine since March 2022, attends a protest in Kyiv. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

When Antonina Danylevych's husband enlisted in the Ukrainian army in March 2022, he had to line up at the draft office alongside crowds of patriotic countrymen.

There are no crowds now, she says.

The psychological toll is growing on the families of soldiers in Ukraine, as the war grinds on towards the two-year mark.

Read more: Darker mood seen creeping into Ukrainian society

And Finally

A Buddhist monk collects waste in a river after the Loy Krathong festival. REUTERS/Napat Wesshasartar

Thai children crafted virtual rafts and sent them floating down digital rivers, in an environmentally friendly version of an ancient festival.

Over the centuries, people have sent 'krathongs' - small, baskets made from plants and loaded with flowers, candles and bamboo - down waterways to make wishes and pay their respects to water spirits.

The beautiful 'floating basket' or Loy Krathong festival lights up Bangkok's canals and rivers at night - but often leaves organizers scrabbling to clear canals clogged up with hundreds of thousands of soggy vessels the next morning.