Russia detains man over general's killing

Plus, Honda and Nissan move to deepen their ties.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Edson Caldas Japanese carmakers Honda and Nissan are in talks to deepen their ties, according to sources, including a possible merger. Today, we look at what this move means, compare the two companies and hear from industry experts. But first, we cover the latest on the killing of a top general in Moscow. Today's Top News   Igor Kirillov is the most senior military officer to be assassinated in Russia by Ukraine. Handout via REUTERS War in Ukraine Russia detained an Uzbek man who had confessed to planting and detonating a bomb which killed a top general, Igor Kirillov. In a video, the unnamed suspect is shown saying he had come to Moscow at the orders of Ukraine's intelligence services. Separately, Moscow has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian forces battling to hold an enclave in Russia's Kursk region and increased pressure in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine's top army commander said. Follow the latest. Middle East An international war crimes prosecutor said that evidence emerging from mass grave sites in Syria has exposed a state-run "machinery of death" under Bashar al-Assad. On today's Reuters World News podcast, we discuss the prosecutor's estimates that more than 100,000 people were tortured and killed since 2013. The United States, joined by Arab mediators, sought to conclude an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt the 14-month-old war in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, medics said Israeli strikes killed at least 20 Palestinians overnight. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have tightened their grip on the country's oil industry and control up to half the exports that generate most of Tehran's revenue and fund its proxies, according to Western officials, security sources and Iranian insiders. In other news South Korea's foreign minister said he was devising a roadmap to prepare for US President-elect Donald Trump's potential reopening of nuclear talks with North Korea, conceding Seoul's political turmoil had disrupted ties with Trump's team. The death toll from Cyclone Chido's rampage through the French overseas territory of Mayotte remains unclear. Mayotte was already struggling with overcrowding, illness and poverty before a devastating cyclone hit over the weekend. Business & Markets   Honda and Nissan are in talks to deepen their ties, sources say. It is the clearest sign yet of how Japan's once seemingly unbeatable auto industry is being reshaped by challenges from Tesla and Chinese rivals. A merger would be far from a cure-all, writes Breakingviews' Antony Currie. Here is how Nissan and Honda stack up against each other and what experts are saying.  British inflation hit an eight-month high in November, but the rise in services prices – watched closely by the Bank of England as an underlying measure of inflationary pressures – held steady, offering the central bank a little bit of relief. The Federal Reserve is expected to lower borrowing costs later today in what some are calling a "hawkish cut" set to be delivered alongside updated interest rate outlooks and economic forecasts covering the first months of the Trump administration. Bitcoin's soaring value has caught the attention of high-end fashion brands and retailers, prompting further interest in offering cryptocurrencies as a means of payment to tap in to fresh pockets of wealth and build loyalty with crypto investors. Nestle is launching protein shots in the United States which it says help suppress appetite for people looking to shed pounds, the latest effort by the world's biggest packaged food maker to tap the booming market for weight-loss products. The Wider Image   2024: the stories behind the photos. Across the globe in 2024, Reuters photographers took hundreds of thousands of images of our changing world. Here are some of the most interesting, along with the back-stories from the photographers who took them. Read the stories And Finally...   Here comes Santa Claus. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo From a fish tank in Budapest to a race in Mexico City to the streets of Brasilia, in the lead-up to Christmas, Santa is making appearances all over the world. See our photo gallery Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement © 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036