Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) Left-wing disrupter George Galloway won a seat in the UK Parliament in a special election that underscored how the Israel-Hamas war has exacerbated community tensions and sowed division across British politics.

(2) Scores of Palestinians were killed and injured on Thursday during an outbreak of violence in which Israeli troops opened fire near a convoy of food trucks attempting to deliver humanitarian aid in northern Gaza.

(3) China's factory activity shrank for the fifth straight month in February, suggesting weak demand remains an obstacle for the economy.

(4) The Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of underlying inflation rose in January at the fastest pace in nearly a year, helping explain policymakers' patient approach to start cutting interest rates.

(5) UK retail traffic fell the most since the pandemic due to train strikes, squeezed budgets and one of the wettest Februarys on record, fueling concerns about the strength of the economy.