Let Your peace flow in us like a river.
Lord God Almighty, we want to thank you this morning for Your everlasting love.
We want to thank You, Father, that it is You and no one else, who is God.
For our God is love and You love us with an everlasting love.

Lord, we are so grateful that it pleased You to give to us, not another spirit, but Your Holy Spirit, the Most Wonderful Person in the Universe.
Spirit of the living God, You are our most precious diadem.
You are the crowning glory of the manifestation of the love of God in our lives.
You are the confirmation that we are accepted in the beloved.
You are God with us and in us.
You are our hope of glory.

We thank You and we bless You because You are the One inscribing the word of God, not on tables of stone but on the tables of our hearts and minds.
We ask You, precious Holy Spirit, that You give us the grace to bear Your fruit.
We know that by Your fruit in us shall men know that we belong to Jesus.
Therefore, we ask that you give us the heart that will bear your fruit and let your fruit remain in us.
To the praise and glory of Your Name.

Love

O God who has prepared good things for those that love Him, pour into our hearts the Spirit of filial affection; so that loving You in all things and above all things we may obtain Your promises which exceed all desires, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

We profoundly adore You, O Lord our God.
We humbly beseech You to fill our hearts with Your Divine Love – your first and most necessary Fruit – so that we may be enabled to love You, our God, above all things for Your own sake.

May we also love our neighbour for the love of You.

May the precious Fruit of love continue to grow and ripen daily in our hearts till it attains maturity and perfection in your blessed kingdom, where the God of love and the love of God reign forever more. Amen.

Let our love be without dissimulation.
Because we love You, Lord, let us hate evil.
Let us love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Let us not love worthlessness, O Lord.
Let us not love the world and the things of this world.
But let us love You, Lord, passionately and fervently.
Let our love for You be the guiding principle of our lives.
Let us be known, O God, as sons of love.
Let all those who love Your Name rejoice in You.
Let us love you Lord and keep Your commandments.

Joy

Father, we thank You that in Your presence is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand are pleasures for evermore.
We are here this morning, O Lord, to joy and rejoice in You.
Let our joy, O Lord, be full.
Let our joy be fulfilled in ourselves.
Let us ever shout for joy.
Let us rejoice in the Lord always, knowing that while weeping may endure for a night, joy always comes in the morning.

Father, we ask that You and You alone be our exceeding joy.
We rejoice in You this morning with joy inexpressible and full of glory.
Father, the city of our God is beautiful in its loftiness.
It is the joy of the whole earth.

Restore to us this morning, the joy of Your salvation.
Let us draw water with joy from Your well of salvation.
Increase, O God, our joy in the Lord.
Let us come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on our heads.
Make us hear joy and gladness once again.
We have sown in tears, O Lord, cause us to reap with joy.
Give us this morning, the joy of the harvest O God.
Make us an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations.

Give us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning.
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
That we may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.
That the Name of the Lord our God may be glorified.

And we will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; we will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Peace

Father, the heritage of Your sons is Your peace.
Lord Jesus, on Your departure to the cross, You left us Your peace.

You said:
Peace, I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Let Your peace permanently banish all fear from our hearts.
Let Your peace flow in us like a river.
Let it flow from the city of God.
Let it flow and remove all worries and concerns from us.
Let us be anxious for nothing for he who has You has nothing to fear.
Yea, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
we will fear no evil; for You are with us.

Father, we ask this morning that You establish us as sons of peace.
You say: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Enable us to speak Your peace to every situation and circumstance before us.
Let us speak Your peace to every storm and let peace be established.
We are asking specifically for Your peace that surpasses all understanding.
The peace that mounts guard and garrison in our hearts.
The peace that You gift to those whose hearts are stayed on You.

Lord, we speak that peace right now to our homes.
We decree Your peace to our families.
We ask that Your peace be established in our marriages.
Let Your peace descend on this nation Nigeria.
Let it confound those who say we cannot peacefully establish a righteous government.
Let all our enemies be at peace with us.

Longsuffering/Patience

Patience is the Siamese twin brother of faith.
It is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises of God.

The testing of our faith produces patience.

Help us Lord to endure to the end.
Let us not give up or give in at the last minute at the edge of victory.

Your word says those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles.
They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint.

Renew our strength, Lord.
Give us the grace to endure hardship as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Father those who trust in You, wait for You.
Those who believe in You do not make haste.
Give us the grace to wait for Isaac so we do not end up with Ishmael.

Let our patience and longsuffering come with joy.
Let us be longsuffering with joyfulness and not with grumbling and complaining.

Give us the grace to suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
Give us the grace to suffer shame for the Name of Christ.
Give us the grace to suffer reproach because we trust in the living God.

CONTINUED

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“When she actually found out our ages and things like that, it broke her heart,” Jennifer Flewellen’s son Julian, now 17, tells PEOPLE

It's a miracle — and it all started with a joke.

As Jennifer Flewellen, of Niles, Michigan, lay motionless in a hospital bed last year, stuck in a nearly five-year coma caused by a car crash, her mother Peggy Means told her a joke. Then the impossible happened: Flewellen, 41, laughed.

"When she woke up, it scared me at first because she was laughing and she had never done that," Means tells PEOPLE. "Every dream came true. Today's the day I said, 'That door that was closed, that kept us apart, had just opened. We were back.'"

The August 2022 breakthrough was just the first step in a long battle for Flewellen, who is working hard to regain her speech and mobility after being in a cocoon state where time ceased as her brain slowly healed.  

“She woke up, but she didn't completely. She couldn't speak, but she was nodding,” Means, 60, says. “She would still sleep a lot right at first, but then as the months would go by, she would get stronger and be more awake.”

“This is so rare,” Ralph Wang, her physician at Michigan’s Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, tells PEOPLE. “Not just waking up, but making progress. Maybe 1-3% of patients wake up and make progress this far out.”

The feisty mom reached another big goal in October when she was able to participate in a senior night football celebration with youngest son Julian, 17, at a Niles High School football game.

“She was my biggest supporter,” says Julian, who was 11 when his mom fell into a coma. “So to have my biggest supporter back on the sidelines cheering me on, it was a surreal moment."

After news hit about her attending her son's football game, Flewellen was able to secure additional therapy through Mary Free Bed, a local rehabilitation hospital.

In a PEOPLE video interview with her mom from the rehabilitation hospital, an animated Flewellen, who can only string a few words together, nods yes and no to questions and sits up almost straight in a portable hospital bed.

Flewellen's nightmare-turned-miracle began with a typical morning on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. Then a 35-year-old wife and mother of three young boys in the small town of Niles, Flewellen had just dropped off her three sons at school and was heading to work at Bittersweet Pet Resorts.

It was the last typical morning she would have.  At 8:23 a.m., she hit a utility pole, according to a news report from local radio station WSJM. (Neither speed nor alcohol appeared to be factors in the crash that left her unresponsive.)

Flewellen remained in a coma for almost five years, during which time her mom Peggy — who only recently retired from her job — stayed by her side, visiting almost every day in the chance that her daughter would one day respond to her.

When it finally happened, Means recorded the moment and quickly sent the video to family and friends. The next day, Julian and his brothers went to the hospital.

“I told her I was Juju and her eyes lit up like, 'Wow, it's my Juju bean,'" Julian says, noting his nickname. “But when she actually found out our ages and things like that, it broke her heart. She started to cry.”

Julian says it wasn’t easy for his mom to learn he was a junior and that his brothers Skylar, now 21, and Daeton, 19, had already graduated from high school.

“We've talked about the time that she's missed, and we try not to, because it makes her upset,” Julian says. “But my grandma always tells her, 'You can't sit here and be sad because being sad is not going to get you moving forward.'"

Although Flewellen wasn't aware of her mom's near-daily visits, Means says that her during her daughter's recovery, she played her an audio book about a woman who had been in a coma and described it as a euphoric, peaceful and calming place.

“Jenn cried and said that’s how she felt, so that was nice to know,” Means says. “There were times I wanted to believe she knew I was there, but something just told me this was what I’ve got to do.”

At first, most friends and family didn’t believe Means when she said her daughter had come out of the coma. Worse, she says, were the hospital staff who didn't think Flewellen would progress much past simply waking up.

“I asked for therapy and they thought I was crazy, but she got speech therapy,” says the persistent mom. 
“You have to be a strong advocate,” she adds.

At first Flewellen couldn’t make a sound, but with the help of a little whistle, she was able to bring air up.

Next were vowels. Last Christmas, while her daughter was still living at the hospital, Means gave Flewellen a kitty named Huey “because it was vowels,” Means says with a smile as her daughter also grins.

This is just the beginning of Flewellen's new, post-coma life. Even though she still needs assistance in "almost everything," Dr. Wang says she's already exceeded expectations.

“If she can take a few steps, feed herself and communicate more, those would be huge wins,” Wang says. “Both she and her mom are wonderfully driven. In six months, if she was a 10 before, if we can get her to a four or five. That would be tremendous.”

Means believes her daughter will be walking soon and making up time with her boys.

When she's told that she looks ready to take on the world, Flewellen replies, "I am."

 

People

Recently, we shared a post about things from life in the '80s that would surprise or maybe even blow the minds of young people (like that teachers/admin could paddle badly-behaving students legally in most places).

Well, members of the BuzzFeed Community chimed in with more terrific examples of things from the '80s young people likely have no idea about, and reading them was like a trip to the past for a Gen X'er like me. Check them out:

1. "There was no caller ID, so calling people you didn't like (like teachers) or even just complete randos to make some lame joke was a regular thing. And you could find your teachers' numbers because they were all printed in a big book that everyone got a copy of."

—axj66

2. "My 17-year-old babysitter would send me — age 10 — to the corner drugstore with a note from 'my mom' giving me permission to buy cigarettes for her. I never got told 'no' by the cashier."

—Lcenvy2500
3. "When CDs first came out, they packaged them in these long cardboard sleeves. I think the stores were trying to reduce theft, because you couldn't just pocket them the way you could a regular CD. Most of the time, after you bought the CD, you just had to rip through the cardboard sleeve, but sometimes, the art was cool, and I tried to preserve it as a keepsake. Wish I still had them!"

—zazupitz
​Note: Theft was probably a concern, but the biggest reason for the long boxes was so they would fit in the bins stores already had that were configured for records.
4. "It's difficult now to believe how little oversight we had from our parents. We'd go out into the woods for an entire day and just do whatever. We all had pocket knives, and nobody was older than 9."

—joannab14
5. "Classrooms often had a single desktop computer, and you and a partner had an assigned time each week when you could use it. Early on, the monitor had a black background with white, green, or amber text and images...though color monitors did come out later in the decade."

"Programs weren’t on the computer itself but on literal floppy discs around five inches square. It was rare to save data beyond high scores on video games and such."

—baobaopanda

6. "I used to sit by my boombox and listen to the radio, ready to click 'record' to put it onto a tape. I spent hours waiting for certain songs because I couldn’t just look them up, and my mom didn’t want us having 'inappropriate CDs.' LOL."

—okthxbye

"Loving a song and waiting for the radio to play it...while having a blank tape ready to hit record! People did this unless they were wealthy and could buy a new tape or album every time they had a favorite song!"

—macram120

7. "Pay phones were everywhere. They were sometimes non-functional and always disgusting — especially when the handset was still warm...ew."

—donwa777

8. "There were 976 phone numbers where people were charged by the minute to listen to some kind of content, such as weather forecasts, horoscopes, fandom hotlines, or adult dialogue. There were ads for them on TV all of the time."

—baobaopanda

"I remember 976-SANTA!"

—kristabinetti

"Miss Cleo!!!"

—zazupitz

9. "There were astronomical long distance charges. I remember I got carried away on what was supposed to be a quick call with a friend out of town in another state, so we were on for, like, a half hour. I had to pay my parents back $15 for it, which was about what I made in four hours work at minimum wage at the time — and this wasn't even the '80s; it was 1998 or '99."

—blinden
10. "TV used to just end at night around 12 or 1 a.m. That's something people born after a certain time can’t comprehend. I remember staying up late and seeing the sign off for mainstream stations which meant no more TV for the night. Then on the weekend, you would get up, see static, and have to wait for the station call sign to come on before cartoons would start."

—omid2
11. "Watching TV was a whole different experience than it is today. Shows aired on set days at set times, and you either had to be in front of the TV (or set your VCR correctly) to catch them. Miss an episode? You better have someone catch you up on what happened or hope that the network reruns it over the summer."

"Also, channels were incredibly limited. Broadcast TV had four networks and local stations. The advent of cable was a massive deal. Your family got a little analog box with red channel numbers, and you could watch niche networks. However, a lot of those basic channels didn’t have their own content yet. For example, Nickelodeon had Canadian imports like Today’s Special and You Can’t Do That on Television and reruns of 1950s black-and-white shows like Dennis the Menace and Donna Reed. That is until Double Dare came along — and everyone daydreamed about how their family would do on that show."

—baobaopanda

12. "If you were meeting a friend, you had to be there on time. If they weren’t there, you had no idea if you were late or if they were late, so you’d have to leave the meeting point to find a pay phone and call their house phone to ask their mom or dad if they’d left yet. If they'd left already, you'd say, 'If (friend's name) calls you, please tell them I’m waiting at the meeting point.' This could go on a few times if you kept missing each other! Much better to be on time."

—lisamcsorleyd
13. "Rudeness was better hidden, as insulting someone meant doing it face to face (which, of course, could provoke a violent reaction)."

"Nowadays, you have a whole bunch of keyboard warriors thinking they're Billy Big Bollocks because they can childishly insult you from afar, and there's not much you can do about it."

—solongandthanksforallthefish1

14. "INDEX CARDS! To do a school paper in 'my day,' you’d take out relevant library books and transcribe quotes onto 3-by-5 cards. Each card had the reference, the page number, etc. Then — and ONLY THEN! — would you map out the paper."

"Man, we worked hard in those days!"

—applesauceandchops

And if the above didn't sound like a big enough pain in the butt, it gets worse:

15. "If you had an important paper to do at school, your teacher might require it to be typed. So you'd draft the whole thing longhand, then sit down at your parents' typewriter (or a library one, if your parents didn't have a typewriter) and painstakingly type the whole thing out. I still remember the distinct smell my parents' IBM electric typewriter made when you turned it on."

—axj66
16. "Maps! There was no GPS...just maps and atlases for cities, counties, states, and national highways."

—bobonbass
17. "You'd ask for directions a lot, and the ones people gave you could be wonky but wonderful ('Go past the Dairy Queen, but if you pass the hair salon, you went too far')."

"If only my GPS directions app could use its satellite technology AND descriptions like 'turn left at the gas station' or 'your destination is on the right, past the tire warehouse' instead of using estimated mileage or compass directions like 'head northwest 56 feet.'"

—zazupitz
18. "Gas stations had attendants. They pumped your gas, washed your windows, and checked your oil. No extra charge. For lots of high schoolers, that was your first job."

—westofillinois
​I remember seeing gas station attendants until at least the early '90s.)

19. "When you had to do a report and poster on another country, you'd go to travel agencies to see if they had brochures on the country for pictures for the poster."

—missrayne
20. "There were no noise-canceling headphones at the time, so whatever you were listening to on your Walkman would be heard by everyone, and if it was too loud, someone might ask you to turn it down."

—stevekubick
21. "We'd call 411 'information' for a telephone number or look it up in the white or yellow pages! Now we just search the internet!"

—macram120

Buzzfeed

Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs, has asked Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein, the accountant-general of the federation, to transfer N585 million to the bank account of an individual.

The instruction for the payment is contained in a leaked letter dated December 20, 2023.

The letter, signed by the minister, was titled: “Mandate for Payment of Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos and Ogun States Respectively”.

In the letter, Edu instructed the accountant-general to transfer N585,189,500 to the UBA account of one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.

According to the document, N219,429,750 was earmarked as “2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom state”, N73,828,750 was budgeted for Cross River state, N219,462,250  for Lagos state, and N72,468,750 for Ogun state.

The minister said the payment should be deducted from the account of the national investment office.

“I hereby approve the payment of the cumulative sum of N585,189,500. These are payments for programmes and activities of the Renewed Hope grant for Vulnerable Groups,” the letter reads.

“This payment should be made from the National Social Investment Office account with account number: 0020208461037 to the project accountant’s details listed above.”

The letter has elicited varied reactions on the social media as many Nigerians questioned the rationale behind the minister’s instruction of transferring the funds to a private bank account.

‘FRAUDULENT INTENTION’

The public sector financial regulations of 2009 prohibits the payment of public funds to the account of a private individual.

Section 713 of the law states that: “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private bank account. An officer who pays public money into a private account is deemed to have done so with fraudulent intention.”

‘N585m FUND FOLLOWED DUE PROCESS’

In a statement on Friday, Rasheed Zubair, media adviser to the minister, said the N585 million fund for vulnerable groups followed “due process”.

Zubair said Bridget, whose bank account was stated to receive the payment, is the project accountant for grants for vulnerable groups scheme.

The media adviser said it is “legal in civil service” for a project accountant to receive payments, use funds legally and retire all receipts as evidence of the project.

He added that the circulation of the document on social media is another attempt to blackmail the minister.

“It is glaring that the same sponsored disgruntled elements in the past few days have been trying to smear the Honourable Minister, Betta Edu, and stain her integrity because she alerted the Federal Government attention to the ongoing N44.8 Billion Fraud in NSIPA,” the statement reads.

“These elements have been trying to link her to a phantom fraud and are behind this latest misadventure.

“However, this latest vile effort of theirs is another infantile blackmail doomed for evisceration. For the avoidance of doubt, the said N585,198,500.00 was approved, and it is meant for the implementation of grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states.”

 

The Cable

Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has proposed N356.95 billion to the federal government as budget for 2024.

This is contained in the 2024 government-owned entities’ (GOE’s) budget proposal seen by TheCable on Friday.

According to the proposed budget of N356,951,441,648, the agency plans to spend N11,070,000,000 on long service awards, N13,617,615,408 on welfare packages as well as N4,599,450,000 on the purchase of computers while networking/communications or information technology infrastructure takes N3,715,524,465.10.

Also, the revenue agency budgeted N5,550,000,000 to purchase motor vehicles and N1,350,000,000.00 to maintain vehicles and transport equipment.

On power supply, FIRS will spend N2,480,840,000 on purchasing power generating set, N2,700,000,000 on fueling plant/generator, and N1,260,000,000.00 on electricity charges in one year.

FIRS also earmarked N15,222,000,000 on local grants and contributions to government-owned companies and N180,000,000 as grants to foreign international organisations.

Also included in the budget is N10,200,415,000 earmarked for local (N7,500,415,000) and international (N2,700,000,000) training.

In the budget, FIRS plans to spend N4,500,000,000.00 on local travel and transport, while international travel and transport is expected to gulp N1,350,000,000.00.

 

The Cable

Suspected terrorists killed 14 people in a rampage that began in a nightclub and proceeded into the surrounding neighborhood in northeastern Yobe state, residents said on Friday, two months after another attack in the state killed 40 people.

The Boko Haram and splinter Islamic West Africa Province have waged an insurgency in Nigeria's northeast for more than one decade and continue to carry out sporadic attacks against civilians and the military.

Ali Musa, a resident from the Kwari community in Yobe told Reuters by phone that the gunmen arrived around 1:00 a.m. (0000 GMT) at a nightclub and started to shoot sporadically, killing seven people there.

The armed men then went on to burn several houses and vehicles, killing five more people. Another two people were killed following an explosion, said another resident Joseph Inuwa.

Inuwa said one of the people killed was the local pastor of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, who was shot dead while he tried to escape.

"As I'm speaking to you many other people are hospitalized at Gaidam Specialist Hospital," Inuwa said.

Yobe police spokesperson Dungus Abdulkarim did not respond to calls and messages to his phone.

President Bola Tinubu has yet to disclose how he would tackle insurgency in the north and widespread insecurity in other parts of Nigeria.

 

Reuters

At least eight traders were killed while several others were injured when a group of terrorists attacked a convoy of vehicles conveying traders to a local market in Katsina State, north-west Nigeria.

The traders were going to Yantumaki weekly market in Danmusa Local Government Area when the terrorists opened fire on them Friday morning.

Eight of the traders died instantly while the wounded ones are receiving medical attention at a local hospital, the chairman of the drivers union in the area, Kabiru Dangaye, said.

Many federal, state and local highways in the North-west have become death traps as terrorists waylay travellers especially in Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto states.

In many local communities in the sub-region, motorists now drive in a convoy, sometimes with military or police escort, to avoid being attacked.

“Our drivers waited for hours as usual for other drivers and traders to come from neighbouring communities before they began the journey,” Dangaye said. “We had about 25 vehicles then called the soldiers to come and escort us as usual. The soldiers drove in their vehicle.”

The meeting point, according to the drivers’ union chairman, was Mai Dabino, one of the communities in the Danmusa area.

Dangaye said the convoy passed Sabon Garin Nasarawa and Mahuta before it ran into an ambush around Makera.

“The terrorists were in four groups and it was when the leading vehicle reached the second to the last group that they (terrorists) began shooting. When the soldiers driving in the back, aimed to move faster to the front, another set of terrorists began shooting at them. The soldiers engaged them but because they were too many and separated, the terrorists had upper hand over the soldiers,” he said.

Dangaye said a distress call was made to the Community Watch Corps who “came with more soldiers” to help the traders.

Usman Abdulmuminu, a resident of Maidabino, said most of those killed were from his community.

“One of them was my best friend, Buhari. The communities are in mourning because aside those who lost their lives, several others are still nursing serious wounds that may lead to death,” he said.

Police spokesperson in Katsina State, Abubakar Sadik, could not be reached on his regular phone number at the time of this report. An SMS sent to him about the attack was also not responded to.

This is the second time in a month that local traders are targeted in the state. Eight traders were killed last month by the terrorists in the same state.

Many states in the northwestern part of Nigeria have witnessed terrorist activities for over a decade which have led to the death of thousands of people.

 

PT

US, Europe embark on new diplomatic push to quell Gaza war

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Europe's senior diplomat Josep Borrell began a new diplomatic push on Friday to stop spillover from the Gaza war into Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Red Sea shipping lanes.

Their Middle East visits came three months since Hamas militants from Gaza attacked Israel, triggering an offensive that has devastated the enclave, uprooted 90% of its population, and killed 22,600 people, according to Palestinian officials.

Israel, which says it has killed 8,000 militants since the deaths of 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, has announced a more targeted approach under global pressure to limit civilian casualties.

But Gazans said Israeli planes and tanks had intensified attacks overnight on densely populated Al-Maghazi, Al-Bureij and Al-Nusseirat in the centre of the coastal strip.

Some 162 people were killed in the past 24 hours, Palestinian officials said earlier.

In addition to these, Palestinian officials later said that in the south, where hundreds of thousands of Gazans have moved in response to Israeli warnings, at least 22 people were killed by Israeli strikes on Khan Younis.

One Palestinian health official said these included at least 10 people killed and several wounded by an Israeli air strike on a house belonging to Al-Bayouk family.

Four others were killed in an air strike on a street in Al-Nusseirat, Palestinian officials said, while another three died and seven were injured in Israeli shelling on a house in central Gaza's Deir Al-Balah, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Separately, medics reported that two more people were killed and others injured in the same central Gaza town after what residents described as fresh Israeli air strikes after dark.

"The Israeli government claims democracy and humanity, but is inhumane," Abdel Razek Abu Sinjar said as he cried over the shrouded bodies of his wife and children killed in a strike on his house in Rafah on the border with Egypt.

In Jabalia in northern Gaza, people picked their way through ruined streets filled with sewage and garbage, video showed. Hunger and deadly diseasesare spreading.

WEST BANK DEATHS MOUNT TOO

The military said it had struck more than 100 targets in Gaza in the past 24 hours, killing gunmen who tried to attack a tank in Al-Bureij and others in Khan Younis, where Hamas' military wing said it had killed some troops.

The war in Hamas-run Gaza has stoked violence in the West Bank, which is governed by its rival Fatah and is another territory where Palestinian hopes for statehood have been dashed since the last U.S.-mediated talks on a solution to the decades-long conflict in 2014.

The Palestinian health ministry said a 17-year-old was killed and four other Palestinians wounded by Israeli army gunfire in the West Bank town of Beit Rima. Israel's military said troops shot at Palestinians who threw petrol bombs.

Some 300 Palestinians have died there since the war erupted, the United Nations says.

Blinken is due to visit the West Bank during a week-long tour starting on Friday in Turkey, which has offered to mediate. He will also visit Israel, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

"It is in no one's interest, not Israel's, not the region's, not the world's, for this conflict to spread beyond Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, was due in Lebanon.

IRANIAN BACKING

Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, is backed by Iran. Other Iranian-backed militants have hit U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and struck Israel from Lebanon in what they call revenge for Israel's avowed attempt to eliminate the Palestinian Islamist movement.

The U.S. offered up to $10 million for information on Hamas sponsors or anything leading to the disruption of the group's financial mechanisms.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the U.S. should focus on ending aggression towards Palestinians and occupation of their land. "We hope that Mr. Blinken learned lessons from the past three months and realized the extent of the mistakes the U.S. has made by blindly supporting the Zionist occupation and believing its lies, which resulted in unprecedented massacres and war crimes against our people in Gaza," he said in a speech.

The leader of Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Friday the militia had conducted around 670 military operations on the border with Israel since Oct. 8, destroying many Israeli military vehicles.

The Iran-aligned Houthis who control much of Yemen have fired on commercial vessels in the Red Sea since Nov. 19, forcing them to take longer routes in a blow to global trade.

Israel has listed 175 soldiers as killed in action since its offensive began.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said the next phase would include raids in the north to demolish tunnels and a focus in the south on rescuing some 132 Israeli hostages remaining.

A 25th hostage had been declared dead, a government spokesperson said on Friday.

The World Health Organization said hospitals and other medical infrastructure in Gaza have been attacked nearly 600 times since the conflict erupted. Some 613 people have died within facilities and more than 770 wounded, it said.

France and Jordan air-dropped seven tonnes of aid for a field hospital in Khan Younis.

 

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine unleashes more drones and missiles at Russian areas as part of its new year strategy

Russian air defenses downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in occupied Crimea and southern Russia on Friday, officials said, as Kyiv pressed its strategy of targeting the Moscow-annexed peninsula and taking the 22-month war well beyond Ukraine’s borders.

Air raid sirens wailed in Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea, and traffic was suspended for a second straight day on a bridge connecting the peninsula, which Moscow seized illegally a decade ago, with Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. The span is a crucial supply link for Russia’s war effort.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its defenses intercepted 36 drones over Crimea and one over Krasnodar, part of an emerging pattern of intensified Ukrainian aerial attacks in recent days.

A Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile also was destroyed over the northwestern part of the Black Sea, the ministry said.

The developments came after three people were injured Thursday night by other Ukrainian rocket and drone attacks on the Russian border city of Belgorod and the surrounding region, said Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.

He posted photographs on Telegram of an apartment building with some windows shattered and damaged cars. He said authorities could help those wanting to move farther from the border.

Ukrainian attacks on Dec. 30 in Belgorod killed 25 people, officials there said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pledged to hit more targets on the Crimean Peninsula and inside Russian border regions this year. The goal is to unsettle Russians as President Vladimir Putin seeks another six years in power in a March 17 election.

A Ukrainian attack on military facilities in Crimea on Thursday affected a command center and the peninsula’s air defense system, according to a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern joint forces, Nataliia Humeniuk.

She said the Russian military recently relocated its Crimean launch sites for Shahed drones.

It was not possible to verify either side’s claims.

Following a drone strike deep inside Russia last year, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had developed a weapon that can hit targets 700 kilometers (400 miles) away. He said last month Kyiv plans to produce 1 million drones, which have become a key battlefield weapon.

Other Ukrainian officials said it aims to manufacture this year more than 10,000 attack drones with a range of hundreds of kilometers, as well as more than 1,000 longer-range drones that can hit targets well behind the front line and inside Russia.

Both sides are raising the stakes of their long-range warfare as soldiers remain bogged down on the wintry battlefield. The U.K. Defense Ministry said Friday that “ground combat has continued to be characterized by either a static front line or very gradual, local Russian advances in key sectors.”

The Kremlin, meanwhile, has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and fired at least one of them into Ukraine on Dec. 30, the White House said Thursday, citing recently declassified U.S. intelligence. It also is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

British Defense Minister Grant Shapps said Pyongyang would pay a high price for supporting Russia, although he didn’t say in what way, and he accused Moscow of violating a U.N. embargo on arms shipments to and from North Korea.

“The world has turned its back on Russia, forcing Putin into the humiliation of going cap in hand to North Korea to keep his illegal invasion going,” Shapps said on X, formerly Twitter.

Asked about the development, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said in televised comments Friday that he couldn’t immediately confirm the use of the North Korean-supplied missiles, adding that experts need to study the fragments. Russian officials have refrained from commenting on previous U.S. claims that North Korea has supplied ammunition to Moscow.

Ukraine said it stopped 21 out of 29 Russian Shahed drones launched late Thursday and early Friday. The assault injured two people, including a 14-year-old, and was the latest of almost daily Russian drone attacks in the new year.

Zelenskyy thanked Germany late Thursday for a delivery of military aid, especially air defense materiel that he said “is timely and focused on our priorities.”

Ukraine “should look to continue degrading Russia’s ability to wage war by conducting an escalating campaign of airstrikes on targets far behind the front lines throughout occupied Ukraine and inside Russia itself,” according to Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies.

“This could include attacks on troop concentrations, military bases, and munitions stores along with logistical hubs and armament production facilities,” he wrote in an assessment published by the Atlantic Council, a U.S. think tank.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Air defense systems take down Neptune anti-ship missile over northwestern Black Sea

Air defense systems have eliminated a Neptune anti-ship missile over the northwestern part of the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"On January 5, around 12:30 p.m. Moscow time (9:30 a.m. GMT - TASS), an attempt by the Kiev regime was thwarted to carry out a terror attack on targets in the Russian Federation with the use of a Neptune anti-ship missile. Air defense systems on duty detected the Ukrainian missile and eliminated it over the northwestern waters of the Black Sea," the military agency said.

** Russia’s Su-25 aircraft hit strongholds, manpower of Ukrainian forces in Donetsk area

The crews of Su-25 attack aircraft of the Russian aerospace forces hit strongholds and manpower of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Donetsk direction using unguided air-launched missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"The crews of Su-25 attack aircraft of the Aerospace Forces hit enemy strongholds and manpower in the Donetsk direction. The strike was carried out by unguided S-8 air launched missiles. In addition, the attack on the target was carried out with a pitching maneuver at an extremely low altitude of 25 meters," the ministry says.

The ministry clarified that, according to the reports of the forward air gunner, all of the specified targets were successfully hit. The flight went as usual. After using aircraft weapons, the crews performed an anti-missile maneuver, released heat traps and returned to the airfield.

"We received the task of destroying an enemy stronghold. The task was carried out in pairs by flying at extremely low altitudes by launching unguided air launched missiles of the S-8 type from a nose-up position. The task was completed successfully. According to the report of the forward aircraft gunner, the target was hit," said the Su-25 pilot, call sign Farmer, as quoted by the Defense Ministry.

 

AP/Tass

Words matter. How you choose them and how you use them makes a big difference in the way people perceive you. 

Researchers have found that there are certain words, phrases and other ways of communicating that can make others think more highly of you, improve your reputation, and help create a more empathetic and compassionate workplace.

Here are 13 communication mistakes that the most likable people always avoid:

1. Not greeting people

What to do: Say “Hello,” “Good morning,” or ask “How are you?”

Greeting people, even in a casual way, pays off big time. Nowadays, many people feel that their coworkers aren’t civil or friendly enough. By being polite and starting the conversation off with a bit of humanity, you stand out as a warm and friendly person.

The same applies to emails and text messages: Open with a pleasant greeting before getting to the point.

2. Doing all the talking

What to do: Don’t just use words. Make sure you listen, too.

Psychologist Carl Rogers says active listening is at the heart of every healthy relationship. People think positively about people who take the time to listen.

It’s also healthy for the mind: A recent study found that being listened to helps prevent cognitive decline.

3. Not being present

What to do: Use body language to show engagement.

According to several studies, most of the time we aren’t listening as well as we think. So putting real effort into it can make you stand out.

Engage the speaker — make eye contact, nod and be ready to respond. In other words, let them see that you’re paying attention.

4. Not inviting the other person to elaborate

What to do: Say “That’s interesting. Tell me more!”

This is another way to engage while you listen. Again, we all like to talk, so it’s a gift when people actually invite us to do so.

Another benefit: The more you let people talk, the more you can learn from them and about them, which can be helpful in winning their favor.

5. Lacking curiosity

What to do: Ask questions.

Instead of trying to say something impressive, try asking something specific to the conversation you’re having. A 2017 Harvard University studyfound that when you ask people questions, they think of you as more likable.

6. Refusing to admit fault

What to do: If you were wrong, say “I was wrong.”

This is one of the most powerful ways to build credibility. In one survey, 84% of U.S. employees said it is important for managers to admit mistakes, but only 51% said their managers did so.

Managers or not, all too often we try to cover up our mistakes. But don’t kid yourself — usually people have noticed them by the time you have! By admitting your errors, you show you’re honest and trustworthy.

7. Not giving acknowledgement or compliments

What to do: Say “You’re right!” or “Great idea!”

Being complimented feels the same to the brain as receiving a monetary award, according to one study. And since we’re wired to seek out pleasant sensations, people are likely to repeatedly seek out people who compliment them.

8. Not letting people know when they’ve helped you

What to do: Say “I’m glad you told me about ...,” “I took your suggestion and did...,” or “Because of you, I was able to ...”

It’s important to validate people and their contributions. If they give you good advice or input, they love to hear that you actually used them.

Who doesn’t like knowing that they made an impact on someone, whether it’s suggesting a great lunch spot or giving career tips?

9. Only caring about your own opinions

What to do: Ask, “What do you think?”

After you’ve put forth your opinion on something, flip it around and draw your listener in by asking for their thoughts. This can help with team-building, while also immediately making the other person feel more positive about you.

10. Saying “Are you sure you can do it?”

What to do: Help people believe in their own abilities.

Validation is key to helping people improve themselves, so don’t question if someone has the chops to manage something. Tell them you believe in them, and they’ll believe in themselves. They’ll also remember that you’re part of the reason why.

11. Ignoring those who seem left out

What to do: Say “Let’s hear from…”

At meetings, there are always the quiet ones — the ones who may have ideas, but who are rarely heard. They’re often drowned out or intimidated by the big talkers.

By asking publicly for their input and by engaging them, your entire team could hear some great ideas — and you will gain grateful allies. 

12. Always being negative

What to do: Use positive words like “excited,” “wonderful” or “admirable.”

Here’s an interesting fact: Half of all the words we use to describe emotions are negative, according to a survey by a linguist at Penn State. Differentiate yourself from others by communicating in encouraging and positive ways.

13. Failing to express gratitude

What to do: Say “Thank you.”

These two little words carry a lot of weight in relationships. According to a publication by Harvard Medical School, managers who thank their teams may find that their employees are more motivated.

Giving thanks can boost your feelings about a relationship, too. One studyfound that partners who express gratitude feel happier and more comfortable in their relationship.

With that in mind, thank you for reading this.

Kathy and Ross Petras are the brother-and-sister co-authors of “Awkword Moments: A Lively Guide to the 100 Terms Smart People Should Know,” “You’re Saying It Wrong” and “That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means.” 

 

CNBC