Gaza cease-fire talks fail to achieve a breakthrough with Ramadan just days away, Egypt says

Three days of negotiations with Hamas over a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages failed to achieve a breakthrough on Tuesday, Egyptian officials said, less than a week before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the informal deadline for a deal.

The nearly five months of fighting left much of Gaza in ruins and created a worsening humanitarian catastrophe, with many, especially in the devastated northern region, scrambling for food to survive.

“We must get more aid into Gaza,” U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday. “There’s no excuse. None.”

Aid groups have said it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies within most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent weeks trying to broker an agreement in which Hamas would release up to 40 hostages in return for a six-week cease-fire, the release of some Palestinian prisoners and an major influx of aid to the isolated territory.

Two Egyptian officials said that the latest round of discussions ended on Tuesday. They said Hamas presented a proposal that mediators would discuss with Israel in the coming days. One of the officials said that mediators would meet Wednesday with the Hamas delegation, which didn’t leave Cairo.

Hamas has refused to release all of the estimated 100 hostages it holds, and the remains of around 30 more, unless Israel ends its offensive, withdraws from Gaza and releases a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including senior militants serving life sentences.

U.S. officials have said that they are skeptical that Hamas actually wants a deal, because the group has balked at a number of what the U.S. and others believe are legitimate requests, including giving the names of hostages to be released.

“It is on Hamas to make decisions about whether it is prepared to engage,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

“We have an opportunity for an immediate cease-fire that can bring hostages home, that can dramatically increase the amount of humanitarian aid getting in to Palestinians who so desperately need it, and can set the conditions for an enduring resolution,” Blinken said.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Tuesday that his group demands a permanent cease-fire, rather than a six-week pause, and a “complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces.

“The security and safety of our people will be achieved only by a permanent cease-fire, the end of the aggression and the withdrawal from every inch of the Gaza Strip,” Hamdan told reporters in Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected Hamas’ demands and repeatedly vowed to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and all the hostages are returned. Israel didn’t send a delegation to the latest round of talks.

Israel was still waiting for Hamas to hand over a list of hostages who are alive as well as the hostage-to-prisoner ratio it seeks in any release deal, an Israeli official said. It wasn’t clear if that information was included in the latest proposal.

The Israeli and Egyptian officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media on the negotiations.

When asked whether Hamas has a list of the surviving hostages, Hamdan said that the matter wasn’t relevant to the talks and accused Israel of using it as an excuse to avoid engaging in the negotiations.

Benny Gantz, a member of Netanyahu’s War Cabinet and his main political rival, met with senior U.S. officials in Washington on a visit that drew a rebuke from the prime minister, the latest sign of a growing rift within Israel’s leadership.

Mediators had hoped to broker an agreement before Ramadan, the month of dawn-to-dusk fasting that often sees heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions linked to access to a major holy site in Jerusalem. Ramadan is expected to begin around March 10, depending on the sighting of the moon.

“The negotiations are sensitive. I can’t say there is optimism or pessimism, but we haven’t yet reached a point at which we can achieve a cease-fire,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Monday.

The war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. More than 100 of them were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.

The attack sparked an Israeli invasion of the enclave of 2.3 million people that Gaza’s Health Ministry says has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians. Aid groups say the fighting has displaced most of the territory’s population and pushed a quarter of the population to the brink of famine.

The U.N. children’s agency said Monday that at least 10 children have reportedly died in isolated northern Gaza because of dehydration and malnutrition.

“There are likely more children fighting for their lives somewhere in one of Gaza’s few remaining hospitals, and likely even more children in the north unable to obtain care at all,” Adele Khodr, the UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement.

“These tragic and horrific deaths are man-made, predictable and entirely preventable,” she added.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday that 15 children have starved to death at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza and another six were at risk of dying from malnutrition and dehydration. It wasn’t clear if the children had underlying medical conditions that increased their vulnerability.

Northern Gaza, the first target of Israel’s offensive, has suffered mass devastation. The World Food Program recently suspended aid shipments to the north, citing a security breakdown. An attempt by the Israeli military to bring in aid ended in tragedy last week when more than 100 Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces or trampled to death in a melee.

The United States and Jordan airdropped 36,800 meals over northern Gaza on Tuesday, the second U.S. airdrop since Saturday.

Up to 300,000 Palestinians are believed to remain in northern Gaza after Israel ordered the evacuation of the entire region, including Gaza City, in October. Many have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive. The U.N. says that one in six children under age 2 in the north suffer from acute malnutrition.

Israel is still carrying out strikes in all parts of Gaza. Gaza’s Health Ministry said that 97 people had been killed over the last 24 hours, bringing the overall Palestinian death toll to 30,631. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says women and children make up around two-thirds of the total casualties.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says it has sunk a Russian patrol ship near Crimea

Ukrainian sea drones hit and sank a Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship off occupied Crimea in an overnight attack, the Ukrainian military said on Tuesday.

Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said a special unit called Group 13 had fired Magura V5 maritime drones at the Sergey Kotov near the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.

It said on the Telegram messaging app that the vessel had sustained damage to the stern, starboard and port sides, at an estimated cost of $65 million.

"Right now this ship is on the seabed as a result of fire damage by unmanned boats," navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said in televised comments.

Andriy Yusov, a GUR spokesperson, said a helicopter had been on board the vessel.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made no direct reference to the reported sinking of the vessel in his nightly video address.

But he said Ukraine had "proven what we are capable of, what our strength is capable of."

"That is shown by the number of downed Russian aircraft and the capabilities of our boys against the Russian fleet. There are no safe havens for Russian terrorists in the Black Sea and nor will there be."

And there would be, he said, "no safe space for them in the sky, given sufficient Ukrainian strength".

Reuters was unable to verify the reports. Russia's defence ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Some Russian military bloggers confirmed the account. The Telegram channel VChK-OGPU reported attempts to tow the ship to port but said it eventually sank.

Ukraine has in recent months stepped up attacks in the Black Sea and on Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014. Kyiv has reported a series of strikes, including the sinking of a large landing ship by naval drones in mid-February.

Pletenchuk said the Sergey Kotov had also been hit in September 2023 and that a similar patrol vessel had been damaged in attacks since Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

"They have four similar ships, two of them are no longer in service," he said.

Reuters was unable to confirm the earlier strikes.

Train and highway traffic was temporarily stopped and later resumed on a bridge spanning the Kerch Strait and linking the Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland, Moscow-installed officials in Crimea said.

Russia controls close to one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. Zelenskiy said in November Kyiv had seized the initiative in the Black Sea and forced back Russia's fleet.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Kiev loses 500 troops in Avdeyevka area over past day — Russia’s top brass

The Ukrainian military lost roughly 500 troops in battles with Russian forces in the Avdeyevka area near Donetsk over the past day, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, reporting on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine.

Units of Russia’s Battlegroup Center continued seizing more advantageous sites and positions in the Avdeyevka area over the past day in their well-coordinated operations. They inflicted damage by firepower on the personnel and military hardware of the Ukrainian army’s 24th, 31st, 47th and 61st mechanized brigades near the communities of Netailovo, Novosyolovka Pervaya and Toretsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic, it specified.

"They also repulsed three attacks by Ukrainian army units near the settlements of Kirovo, Berdychi and Shumy and ten counterattacks near the communities of Tonenkoye, Pervomaiskoye and Orlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The enemy lost as many as 500 personnel, 4 armored combat vehicles, including a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and an M113 armored personnel carrier of US manufacture, 4 motor vehicles and a D-30 howitzer," the ministry reported.

Russian forces destroy 300 Ukrainian troops in Donetsk area over past day

Russian forces destroyed roughly 300 Ukrainian troops and four enemy armored vehicles in the Donetsk area over the past day, the ministry reported.

"The Ukrainian army lost as many as 300 personnel, 2 tanks, 2 armored personnel carriers and 3 motor vehicles. In counter-battery fire, the following targets were destroyed: an US-made M198 howitzer, two D-20 howitzers, an Msta-B howitzer, two Gvozdika motorized artillery systems, a D-30 howitzer and a Grad multiple rocket launcher," the ministry said.

Russian forces eliminate 230 Ukrainian troops in south Donetsk area over past day

Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the south Donetsk area, eliminating roughly 230 enemy troops and a UK-made air defense system over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the south Donetsk direction, units of the Battlegroup East inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the 102nd and 128th territorial defense brigades near the settlements of Vodyanoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Malinovka in the Zaporozhye Region. The Ukrainian army’s losses amounted to 230 personnel, 2 tanks, 2 armored combat vehicles, 6 motor vehicles, an Msta-B howitzer and a UK-made Stormer surface-to-air missile launcher," the ministry said.

Russian forces wipe out Ukrainian S-300, Buk anti-aircraft missile launchers in DPR

Russian forces destroyed S-300 and Buk anti-aircraft missile launchers of the Ukrainian army in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Russian forces destroyed a missile launcher of an S-300 surface-to-air missile system near the settlement of Mayaki in the DPR and a missile launcher of a Buk anti-aircraft missile system near the community of Vozdvizhenka in the DPR," the ministry said.

Over the past 24 hours, operational-tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces destroyed a Ukrainian UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) control post near the settlement of Novokalinovo in the DPR and struck enemy manpower and military hardware in 104 areas, it said.

Russian air defenses down Ukrainian MiG-29 warplane over past day

Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet and intercepted four rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Air defense capabilities shot down a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 plane near the settlement of Lyubomirovka in the Nikolayev Region. During the last 24-hour period, they intercepted four HIMARS rockets," the ministry said.

Russian air defense systems also destroyed 112 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, in particular, near the settlements of Peschanoye, Nikolskoye, Staromikhailovka and Lastochkino in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Romanovskoye in the Zaporozhye Region, it specified.

In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 576 Ukrainian warplanes, 267 helicopters, 14,305 unmanned aerial vehicles, 479 surface-to-air missile systems, 15,360 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,233 multiple rocket launchers, 8,299 field artillery guns and mortars and 19,365 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation, the ministry reported.

Reuters/Tass

Even if you’re not the boss’s favorite, getting into your manager’s good graces can improve your morale and productivity, and ultimately, boost your career.

But it takes a lot more than being a hard worker who meets deadlines to be a standout employee. 

If you want a relationship that goes beyond “we get along fine,” you’ll need to connect with your boss on a personal level, say Gensler’s co-CEOs and global co-chairs Andy Cohen and Diane Hoskins, who help manage the design and architecture firm’s more than 7,000 employees across the world.

Hoskins has noticed that younger employees — Gen Zers and millennials —are especially good at establishing strong, empathetic relationships with higher-ups. 

“Many of Gensler’s younger employees will find 15 minutes on my calendar just to grab coffee and talk, whether it’s about work or life outside of work, our hobbies and interests,” she says. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate and enjoy those conversations.”

Having that informal one-on-one time with your manager allows for more casual, free-flowing conversation, which can help build trust and give them ideas on how to better support your career goals. 

“In these kinds of conversations, most bosses are thinking, ‘What I can offer or say to help this person unlock some of their thinking about their careers, or try something new?’” she says. “These conversations can end up being really meaningful and productive.”

To develop a stronger rapport with your boss, start by scheduling the occasional coffee chat —Hoskins says you don’t need more than 15 minutes — and come prepared to ask about their interests and hobbies, in addition to current work projects they’re excited about. 

As for what not to talk about, Alison Green, in her widely read advice blogAsk A Manager, says it’s smart to avoid discussing religion, politics or money troubles with your manager. More casual conversations about your personal lives are fine, Green says, but you shouldn’t go into detail about your relationship problems or what you discuss with your therapist.

If it’s hard to find time on their calendar for a check-in, Cohen says you can still build a strong personal relationship with your boss with small gestures. 

For example: You can ask how their week is going at the top of a meeting, express appreciation for their contributions and celebrate them on special occasions, like their birthday or work anniversary.

“A lot of people are intimidated by their bosses, but a good leader likes to hear from their employees, hang out and have open lines of communication,” he says. “That’s really important for building a positive work environment.”

What most employees don’t realize, adds Hoskins, is that “as much as you want your boss to like you, they want you to like them too. So don’t be afraid to be seen, to build a close relationship with them.”

CNBC

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Monday, indicted banks as being linked to about 70 per cent of the financial crimes in Nigeria.

EFCC’s Chairman, Ola Olukayode, disclosed this while speaking in Abuja at the 2023 Annual Retreat and General Meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria.

He pointed out that the banking sector was increasingly becoming a cesspool of fraudulent activities and this had been raising considerable challenges and concerns to the commission.

Olukayode who was represented by the Director, Internal Audit, EFCC, Idowu  Apejoye, said there was a need for concerted effort by relevant authorities and professionals, especially audit executives to prevent and tackle issues of fraudulent practices in the sector.

He said, “Broadly speaking, banking fraud in Nigeria is both inside and outside related. The inside related fraud comprises outright stealing of customers’ deposits, authorising loan facilities, forgery and several other kinds of unhealthy and criminal practices.

“The outsider related ones include hacking, ATM fraud, conspiracy, among others. And then the absurd one is when both collaborate, that is collaboration among the bankers and the outsider.

“That one is the one that is really absurd because when you do that, that means you are selling out the system. It is estimated that about 70 per cent of financial crimes in Nigeria are traceable to the banking sector, this scenario is disturbing and unacceptable.”

Olukayode stated that in order to curb the anomalies, ACAEBIN should ensure proper reconciliation of accounts every month in accordance with accounting requirements.

He charged the association to monitor the financial activities of banks, comparing actual and budgeted revenue with expenses, carry out periodical review, checks, among others.

Chairman, ACAEBIN, Akamadu, said the association would work towards achieving some of the recommendations provided by the EFCC boss.

He also stated that the association was fully committed to fixing the foreign exchange challenges in Nigeria, which was one of the issues that the retreat aimed to achieve.

“That is part of the reason why we are having this retreat, to ask ourselves, to do an introspection and ask ourselves, given our position in the banking industry, or the executives of banks in Nigeria, are we doing enough?

“Have we done enough? What more can we do to help in sanitising the system? Are there things the banks could do to help in sanitising the FX in this country?”

“By the end of this retreat, we are expected to come up with a communique and we hope to address some of the issues, one way or the other, that will address the role of banks in FX  challenges in this industry,”

Akamadu further explained that banks were not resting on their oars to curb fraudulent activities, as they were putting efforts in the Know Your Customer mechanism.

“I will tell you something, I’m not aware of any institution, any sector that has done more in the area of KYC than the banking industry. But it truly goes beyond the banks.

“And I can tell you truly again that even at the bankers committee level, and even at the typical details of banks in Nigeria, these are areas we are actually looking at to see where there are leakages and to begin to block them,” he stated.

He stated that the association was working tirelessly to address these concerns and assured the EFCC boss that there would be more positive results going forward.

Punch

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has criticised policies recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), saying they cannot support the economic growth of the country.

The governor said the interest rates that are raised would hinder small business owners from getting loans to expand their businesses which are detrimental to the growth of the country.

Obaseki made this known at an event organised by the Edo Zone of Bankers’ Committee in Benin City, the state capital.

According to the governor, Nigeria needs not to worry over interest rates but to create an enabling atmosphere for Nigerians to produce the goods and services we consume and reduce reliance on imported goods.

He said, “Policies that have just been rolled out by the central bank, unfortunately, will not support the growth of our economy. Interest rates are already very high, and jacking up interest rates clearly will not allow small borrowers, small businesses to have access to credit at the price to help them grow their businesses. When an economy is in this state, it meets all the push and support.”

The governor said the motive behind increasing the monetary policy rate (MPR) cannot support economic growth, stressing that the exchange rate is not a remedy to the nation’s economic upheavals.

He empahsised that there should be job creation for the teeming Nigerian youths to transform the country into a productive economy.

“I understand the monetary rationale for increasing MPR fundamentally and fiscally, it is not going to lead to growth in our economy. We must focus on the fundamentals which are increasing production, making sure our citizens produce goods and services we consume, and depend less on imports.

“Our economic policy and monetary policy cannot be determined by exchange rate alone, so the issue of increasing cash reserves in the bid to tighten the liquidity is going to be detrimental to our economy.

“I understand the challenge the monetary authorities face, but unfortunately, you cannot clap with one hand. The economy is about fiscal and monetary policies – both must work hand-in-hand and when they don’t as they don’t in Nigeria, there can be a crisis.

“We should focus on fiscal issues so that we can grow our economy out of the challenges we had. We should not panic too much because of foreign exchange. We must focus on how we can do things within our economy, and how we can grow our economy and earn more foreign exchange if foreign exchange is our problem, but I believe creating jobs for young people should be more of a priority for us as people at this time,” Obaseki stated.

Daily Trust

Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law has sued the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over the issuance of the Central Motor Information System for vehicle owners across the country.

The police had in December 2023, unveiled CMRIS as one of the means to help the police have essential details of vehicle owners in its database.

However, according to the NBA-SPIDEL, obtaining the certificate from the Nigeria Police Force costs N6,000.

In a letter dated January 29, the NBA-SPIDEL Chairman, John Aikpokpo-Martins, and Secretary, Funmi Adeogun, described the issuance of the certificate illegal and issued a seven-day ultimatum on the IG  to discontinue its issuance.

Following the failure of the IG to oblige to their request, the NBA-SPIDEL chair and secretary filed an application seeking to stop the IG and the Nigeria Police Force from issuing the certificate.

The plaintiffs contended that no provisions under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Police Act, or any other law gave the Nigeria Police Force, under the command and authority of the IG, the right, power, or authority to maintain a motor registry or issue certificates of identification or proof/evidence of ownership called the Central Motor Registry Information System Certificate (or in any other name called) to Nigerians.

They also held that the Nigeria Police Force was not a revenue-generating agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria and as such, lacked the right to fix and collect fees for the issuance of the Central Motor Registry Information System Certificate from Nigerians.

Vanguard

UN envoy says 'reasonable grounds' to believe Hamas committed sexual violence on Oct. 7

The U.N. envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict said in a new report Monday that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas committed rape, “sexualized torture,” and other cruel and inhumane treatment of women during its surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

There are also “reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing,” said Pramila Patten, who visited Israel and the West Bank from Jan. 29 to Feb. 14 with a nine-member technical team.

Based on first-hand accounts of released hostages, she said the team “found clear and convincing information” that some women and children during their captivity were subjected to the same conflict-related sexual violence including rape and “sexualized torture.”

The report comes nearly five months after the Oct. 7 attacks, which left about 1,200 people dead and some 250 others taken hostage. Israel’s war against Hamas has since laid waste to the Gaza Strip, killing more than 30,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The U.N. says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face starvation.

Hamas has rejected earlier allegations that its fighters committed sexual assault.

Patten stressed at a press conference launching the report that the team’s visit was not to investigate allegations of sexual violence but to gather, analyze and verify information for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ annual report on sexual violence in conflict and for the U.N. Security Council.

Her key recommendation is to encourage Israel to grant access to the U.N. human rights chief and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Palestinian territories and Israel “to carry out full-fledged investigations into the alleged violations” — and she expressed hope the Security Council would do this.

Patten said the team was not able to meet with any victims of sexual violence “despite concerted efforts to encourage them to come forward.” While the number of victims remains unknown, she said, “a small number of those who are undergoing treatment are reportedly experiencing severe mental distress and trauma.”

However, team members held 33 meetings with Israeli institutions and conducted interviews with 34 people including survivors and witnesses of the Oct. 7 attacks, released hostages, health providers and others.

Based on the information it gathered, Patten said, “there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred during the 7 October attacks in multiple locations across Gaza periphery, including rape and gang rape, in at least three locations.”

Across various locations, she said, the team found “that several fully naked or partially naked bodies from the waist down were recovered – mostly women – with hands tied and shot multiple times, often in the head.”

While this is circumstantial, she said the pattern of undressing and restraining victims “may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence.”

At the Nova music festival and its surroundings, Patten said, “there are reasonable grounds to believe that multiple incidents of sexual violence took place with victims being subjected to rape and/or gang rape and then killed or killed while being raped.”

“There are further accounts of individuals who witnessed at least two incidents of rape of corpses of women,” Patten said. “Other credible sources at the Nova music festival site described seeing multiple murdered individuals, mostly women, whose bodies were found naked from the waist down, some totally naked,” some shot in the head, some tied to trees or poles with their hands bound.

On Road 232 — the road to leave the festival — “credible information based on witness accounts describe an incident of the rape of two women by armed elements,” Patten said. Other reported rapes and gang rapes couldn’t be verified and require investigation.

“Along this road, several bodies were found with genital injuries, along with injuries to other body parts,” she said. “Discernible patterns of genital mutilation could not be verified at this time but warrant future investigation.”

She said “the mission team also found a pattern of bound naked or partially naked bodies from the waist down, in some cases tied to structures including trees and poles, along Road 232.”

People fleeing the Nova music festival also attempted to escape south and sought shelter in and around kibbutz Reim where Patten said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe sexual violence occurred.

The mission team verified the rape of a woman outside a bomb shelter and heard of other allegations of rape that could not yet be verified.

At Kibbutz Be’eri, Patten said, her team “was able to determine that at least two allegations of sexual violence widely repeated in the media, were unfounded due to either new superseding information or inconsistency in the facts gathered.”

These included a highly publicized allegation that a pregnant woman’s womb was reportedly ripped open before being killed with her fetus stabbed inside her, Patten said.

Another was “the interpretation initially made of the body of a girl found separated from the rest of her family, naked from the waist down,” she said. “It was determined by the mission team that the crime scene had been altered by a bomb squad and the bodies moved, explaining the separation of the body of the girl from the rest of her family.”

Patten said further investigation is needed of allegations, including of bodies found naked and in one case gagged, at kibbutz Be’eri to determine if sexual violence occurred.

At Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Patten said, verification of sexual violence was not possible. But she said “available circumstantial information – notably the recurring pattern of female victims found undressed, bound, and shot – indicates that sexual violence, including potential sexualized torture, or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, may have occurred.”

Patten stressed that “the true prevalence of sexual violence during the Oct. 7 attacks and their aftermath may take months or years to emerge and may never be fully known.”

Patten said the team, which also visited the West Bank, received information from institutional and civil society sources as well as through interviews “about some forms of sexual violence against Palestinian men and women in detention settings, during house raids and at checkpoints.”

The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees on Monday said hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel after Oct. 7 attacks have reported a broad range of ill-treatment from having pictures taken of them naked to being threatened with electrocution.

Phillipe Lazzarini told a news conference his agency, known as UNRWA, had put together an unpublished internal report based on information from detainees returning to Gaza “completely traumatized by the ordeal.”

He said some had been detained for a couple of weeks, some for several months.

“We heard stories of people not only having been systematically humiliated,” the UNRWA commissioner general said. “People have been being obliged to be pictured naked.”

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Medvedev says 'Ukraine certainly is Russia'

Ukraine certainly is Russia, regardless of what Ukrainian politicians say, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.

"One of the former Ukrainian leaders said once that Ukraine was not Russia. This concept must disappear forever. Ukraine certainly is Russia," he pointed out in a lecture at the Knowledge First educational marathon.

Medvedev noted that there must be no more attempts to ignore Russian public opinion. "It rightfully regards Ukraine and its population as part of our all-Russian civilization. Had Ukraine escaped the stupidest trap set by the United States and its allies in order to counter our country with Ukraine’s assistance and use this very ‘anti-Russia entity,’ things might have been different," he emphasized.

According to the Russian Security Council deputy chairman, had there been no "jeering thieves, political doormats and blushful neo-Nazis" in the Ukrainian leadership, history could have gone a different way. "Had the Kiev ringleaders fulfilled the realistic conditions of the Minsk Agreements at some point, then, perhaps, there would have been no need for the special military operation, as our president has rightly observed," Medvedev emphasized.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's military: Russian forces stopped near Avdiivka, but reinforcing elsewhere

Ukraine's military said on Monday its forces had contained a Russian advance outside the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka captured last month, but Moscow's troops were regrouping in an area further south.

The capture of Avdiivka last month provided Russia with a security cushion for the regional centre of Donetsk 20 km (12 miles) to the east and prompted Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to pledge that Moscow's forces would make further advances.

Russia's defence ministry last week said its forces had captured new villages outside Avdiivka.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy, speaking on national television, acknowledged that Russian forces were in partial control of two more villages -- but their advance had been halted.

"At the same time, we are saying that in this hottest sector of the direct Russian assault, we are managing to stabilise the situation and the enemy's advance has been halted," he said.

Speaking to U.S.-funded Radio Liberty, Lykhoviy said Russian forces were focusing on an area further south, around the village of Novomykhailivka, where they were "transferring reinforcements from the depths of Russia".

The area had sustained 30 assaults on Sunday, compared to 20 near Avdiivka, the radio quoted him as saying.

"But our defence is holding," he said. "The enemy is expending tremendous efforts but making no headway at all."

An account of the fighting by the Russian defence ministry said Moscow's forces had "as a result of coordinated action continued to occupy more advantageous positions" near Avdiivka. It made no mention of the area near Novomykhailivka.

Reuters could not verify accounts from either side.

Russian forces have focused on securing control of eastern Ukraine in the two-year-old war after their initial attempt to advance on Kyiv failed.

The capture of Avdiivka after months of fighting was their biggest gain in nine months, though the front lines have undergone only limited movement in that time. A Ukrainian counteroffensive has made little headway.

Ukraine's Emergency Services reported that two firefighters had been killed near the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk -- north of Avdiivka -- when they came under Russian shelling while battling a blaze.

Tass/Reuters

Hiring the wrong person is costly on every front: money, time, energy, and the well-being of your employees. Even if you hire the right people 90% of the time, one in ten new hires being the right people can create a ton of disastrous misalignment--especially at the senior level.

Brad Jacobs is a CEO and serial entrepreneur who has founded and led seven billion-dollar companies. In his book, How To Make a Few Billion Dollars, Jacobs explains the characteristics he looks for when hiring into world-class organizations, and what all leaders should look for when building their own teams.

"When I hire key people, I'm trying to achieve a two-part goal: accomplish big things and have fun doing it," Jacobs says. "There's nothing contradictory about this when you have the right people in place--and if you can do it at scale, you'll have an organization that can pursue big goals."

Jacobs explains that CEOs tend to get credit for the accomplishments of the teams they lead, but in reality, the most important thing a CEO does is recruit superlative people who have a specific combination of impressive traits, in addition to mastery over the skills required for their role. The four qualities Jacobs requires of each new hire, no matter their role, include:

Intelligence

Intelligence is a must-have, especially in multidimensional, evolving industries. Intelligent people look at problems as opportunities for improvement and are likelier to possess the creativity required to solve complex problems. Additionally, truly smart people are humble and open to learning from others. Rigid thinkers, at any level of intelligence, are less valuable to the team because they're mired in their own points of view. You want people who can think dialectically, which means they can think from multiple perspectives and reconcile streams of information that seem to flow in different directions.

Hunger

Hungry people have tenacity and are motivated by big projects that require whatever it takes to succeed. They're resilient and don't give up when problems emerge. "My companies have always looked to hire people who actively enjoy an intense, results-oriented workplace culture, and aren't merely resigned to working hard," Jacobs says. "They want to work with us because we're giving them the chance to run hard at ambitious goals and reap significant rewards. One way I try to 'hire for hunger' is by assessing whether a potential employee has what it takes to thrive in a lean workplace. Slightly understaffed teams are generally more focused and spend less time doing redundant busywork. Those who have the right kind of hunger can do well in a high-performing environment."

Integrity

The success of any company depends on its people doing what they say they'll do. The whole machine works better when a company's culture is defined by teamwork, which takes trust. Hiring trustworthy people makes it easy for those around them to focus on their jobs instead of constantly looking over their shoulders. It only takes one integrity-impaired person to disrupt a workplace, so it's far more efficient to filter that person out in the hiring process. "Most reputations for integrity come from the cumulative effect of someone doing what they say they'll do, and being straightforward in how they speak," Jacobs says. "These are the kinds of cues we look for as someone moves through the hiring process."

Collegiality

For Jacobs, it's a big deal that the people on his teams like one another. Work becomes more fun and more productive when it's with people who "bring up the vibe." Jacobs says that requiring collegiality from his teams is partly good business and it's partly selfish. "I want to make sure that the people around me are healthy influences in every sense of the word," Jacobs says. 

When hiring is done right, the effect on individual employees is powerful-- everywhere they turn, there's a teammate who makes them feel better about who they are and what they're doing. Everyone is happier, more energized, and the entire organization is more productive.

Inc

Companies that breach the new Expatriate Employment Levy policy will pay N3m for each offence.

The offences are not submitting EEL, not registering an employee, a corporate entity not renewing EEL within 30 days, and providing false information on EEL.

The Expatriate Employment Levy is a financial contribution imposed on employers who hire foreign workers.

The levy, which is mostly on the offshore earnings of expatriates working in Nigeria, aims to balance economic growth and workforce development by ensuring equitable contributions from expatriate employment.

President Bola Tinubu launched the policy on February 28, 2024.

He stated that the EEL would close the wage gaps between expatriates and the Nigerian labour force while increasing employment opportunities for qualified Nigerians in foreign companies operating in the country.

However, the handbook sighted by our correspondent on Sunday said offences such as inaccurate or incomplete information could lead to penalties.

“Failure of a corporate entity to file EEL within 30 days is liable to a fine of N3,000,000.

“Failure to register an employee within 30 days will attract a fine of N3,000,000.

“Falsification of information on EEL is liable to a fine of N3,000,000.

“Failure of a corporate entity to renew EEL within 30 days attracts N3,000,000 fine.”

Also,  according to the handbook, companies are expected to pay $15,000 for expatriates employed as directors, and $10,000 for other categories.

“Employers of expatriates covered by the EEL are required to pay $15,000 for directors and $10,000 for other categories of expatriates,” it added.

The Ministry of Interior in a notice on its website stated that the EEL card is a mandatory document like a passport.

It added that it would be required for any expatriate to leave and enter the country.

The ministry, however,  fixed April 15 for compliance with the policy.

The notice partly read, “For further details and registration of your company and expatriates working with you, kindly go through the Handbook and User Manual available on the portal.

“The last date of compliance with EEL is Monday, April 15, 2024.

“An EEL card is a mandatory document like a passport, and will be required at the time of lawful exit and entry into the country.”

Punch