Our daily morning stroll around the world

🇪🇹 Ethiopian Julie Mehretu broke her own world record for the most expensive painting sold by an African-born artist. Mehretu’s abstract painting “Walkers With the Dawn and Morning” sold for $10.7 million at Sotheby's in New York last week, eclipsing her previous record of $9.3 million set last month. Mehretu painted the artwork for an exhibition created to showcase the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.

💥 Israel-Hamas war update: On Saturday, WaPo reported that Israel, the US, and Hamas reached a tentative agreement to free 50 or more Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting. However, a US spokesperson later denied claims that any hostage-exchange deal was reached, and said negotiations are still ongoing. Separately, Hamas-led health authorities in Gaza say at least 12,300 Palestinians, including 5,000 children, have died since the war began seven weeks ago. Israel’s government recently revised its official estimated death toll from Hamas’ October 7 surprise attack, lowering the total from over 1,400 to about 1,200 people.

🌏 Global sugar prices are rising due to dry weather from El Niño. Sugar worldwide is currently trading at its highest price in over a decade, at $0.27/pound, after recent dry spells in India and Thailand – the world's second- and third-largest sugar exporters, respectively – caused a decrease in global supplies. The UN predicts a further 2% decline in global sugar production over the current 2023-24 season ending in July, which would raise the risk of food insecurity in many sub-Saharan African countries where sugar is used as a cheap source of calories.