Daily Briefing

The US criticizes Israel's conduct in Gaza, China-Taiwan tensions ratchet up, and why legacy automakers are dashing to make affordable EVs.

Plus, beyond rizz? Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl joins the Reuters World News daily podcast to talk about the words that shaped 2023.

By Linda Noakes

Today's Top News

Smoke rises over Gaza as seen from southern Israel. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

ISRAEL AND HAMAS AT WAR

Israel sharply intensified its strikes on the Gaza Strip, pounding the length of the Palestinian enclave and killing hundreds in a new, expanded phase of the war that Washington said contradicted Israeli promises to do more to protect civilians.
Arab states have renewed their push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, with the United Arab Emirates asking the U.N. Security Council to vote today on a draft resolution.
The Israeli military, responding to a Reuters investigation that determined its forces killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah in southern Lebanon on October 13, said the incident took place in an active combat zone and was under review.

IN OTHER NEWS

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened to prosecute any doctors involved in providing an emergency abortion to a woman, hours after she won a court order allowing her to obtain one for medical necessity.
The Department of Justice filed new criminal charges against US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, accusing him of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes while spending millions of dollars on a lavish lifestyle.
Donald Trump is readying what may be his best shot at avoiding spending much of next year in a courtroom facing criminal charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat, kicking off an appeal that could go to the Supreme Court.
Volunteers waded through stagnant water to hand out food and supplies, and some manufacturing plants remained shut in India's southern tech-and-auto hub district of Chennai, four days after cyclone Michaung lashed the coast.
Taiwan said that 12 Chinese fighter jets and a suspected weather balloon had crossed the Taiwan Strait's sensitive median line, in a ratcheting up of tensions about a month before the island's presidential election.

Business & Markets

Recent weakness in consumption has emerged as a fresh source of concern for Bank of Japan policymakers who are eyeing an exit from negative interest rates, sources familiar with its thinking said, suggesting market expectations of an imminent rate hike may be over-blown.
Federal Reserve officials will look at new wage data due out today to confirm what many have come to suspect: That rising worker pay at this point is helping to keep the US economy growing at a modest pace without fanning the inflationary pressures they are trying to squelch.
India's central bank raised its fiscal year growth forecast on the back of a robust economy and flagged continuing tight monetary policy while it keeps watch over inflation risks.
Alphabet shares ended 5.3% higher as Wall Street cheered the launch of Gemini, saying the new artificial intelligence model could help narrow the gap in a race with Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
The rise of inexpensive Chinese electric vehicles has upped the pressure on legacy automakers who have turned to suppliers, from battery materials makers to chipmakers, to squeeze out costs and develop affordable EVs quicker than previously planned.

The Week Ahead

The last big central bank push of the year is here with the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England among the big hitters meeting while markets try to discern if a US recession is unavoidable or a distant prospect.
China's policymakers will set direction for next year while Bitcoin enjoys a stellar rally. Here's a look at the week ahead in financial markets.
This year's final European Union summit takes place next week amid financial bickering and with Hungary blocking any more aid for Ukraine.
Javier Milei will be sworn in as Argentina's president on Sunday, sealing the abrupt rise of a political outsider who is pledging "shock" therapy and deep spending cuts to fix the South American country's worst economic crisis in decades.

Year in Review: The Taylor Swift phenomenon

Taylor Swift attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in Newark, New Jersey, September 12, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kell

Taylor Swift rocked concert stages, cinemas, local economies - and even the Earth - in 2023. A Swift concert in Seattle caused a small earthquake as thousands of dancing fans set off a nearby seismometer.