Our Monday morning stroll around the world

💥 Israel-Hamas war: An Israeli military operation on Saturday led to the rescue of four Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, with one reported death of an Israeli soldier and conflicting reports on Palestinian casualties. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says at least 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 injured, which would mark one of Gaza’s deadliest days in months, while Israeli officials dispute those numbers and say the estimated death toll was “under 100.” Neither figure has been independently verified.

🇰🇷 North Korea resumed sending trash-filled balloons into South Korea, prompting retaliation. North Korea flew 300+ trash-filled balloons across its southern border on Saturday, representing Pyongyang’s third such campaign since late May. In response, South Korean officials on Sunday positioned dozens of high-powered speakers near North Korea and began broadcasting anti-regime messages up to 12 miles across the border.

🍬 US sugar tariffs are driving candy manufacturers north into Canada. In recent years, three major US candy manufacturers – Hershey, Blommer Chocolate Company, and Oreo-maker Mondelez – have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to expand their Canadian operations and shift some production away from the US. Analysts largely attribute the trend to decades-old US regulations governing raw materials needed by the candy industry, which are intended to protect farmers and prevent foreign countries from flooding the US with sugar – but critics say they’re also keeping American sugar prices artificially high, at ~2x the average global price.