Netanyahu says Israel will end Gaza ceasefire if hostages not returned on Saturday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday the ceasefire in Gaza would end and the military would resume fighting Hamas until it was defeated if the Palestinian militant group did not release hostages by midday Saturday.

Following Netanyahu's ultimatum, Hamas issued a statement renewing its commitment to the ceasefire and accusing Israel of jeopardizing the ceasefire.

The Israeli announcement came after Netanyahu met with several key ministers, including defence, foreign affairs and national security, who he said gave the ultimatum their full support.

After nearly 16 months of war, Hamas has gradually been releasing hostages since the first phase of a ceasefire began on January 19, but on Monday said it would not free any more until further notice over accusations Israel was violating the deal.

"If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon - the ceasefire will end and the IDF (military) will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated," Netanyahu said.

It was not immediately clear if Netanyahu meant Hamas should release all hostages held in Gaza or just the three who had been expected to be released on Saturday under the ceasefire.

His office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking comment on the prime minister's remarks.

U.S. President Donald Trump, a close ally of Israel, has said that Hamas should release all of the hostages by Saturday.

The prime minister also said he had ordered the military to gather forces inside and around Gaza, with the military announcing shortly after it was deploying additional forces to Israel's south including the mobilization of reservists.

A Hamas official earlier said that Israeli hostages could only be brought home if the ceasefire was respected, dismissing the "language of threats" after Trump said he would "let hell break out" if they were not freed.

"Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to bring back the (Israeli) prisoners," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Hamas has said Israel has violated the ceasefire with several deadly shootings as well as by holding up some aid deliveries and impeding the return of Gazans to the strip's north.

Israel denies holding back aid and says it has fired on people who disregarded warnings not to approach Israeli troops.

So far, 16 of 33 hostages have been freed as part of the ceasefire deal's first phase due to last 42 days. Five Thai hostages were also let go in an unscheduled release.

In exchange, Israel has released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks and others detained during the war and held without charge.

An Israeli group representing families of hostages urged Netanyahu to stick to the ceasefire agreement.

"We must not go backwards. We cannot allow the hostages to waste away in captivity," the hostages forum said.

There are 76 hostages still held in Gaza, more than 35 of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli media.

TRUMP'S PLAN FOR GAZA

Gaza, one of the world's most densely populated areas, has been devastated by Israel's military offensive. The enclave is short of food, water and shelter, and in need of billions of dollars in foreign aid.

More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, the Gaza health ministry says, and nearly all of Gaza's pre-war population of 2.3 million has been internally displaced by the conflict.

Some 1,200 people were killed in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities and about 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Trump said last week the U.S. should take over Gaza and move out more than 2 million Palestinian residents so the enclave can be developed into the "Riviera of the Middle East". Netanyahu praised the plan and said on Tuesday the security cabinet endorsed it.

Trump's plan has enraged Palestinians and Arab leaders and upended decades of U.S. policy that endorsed a two-state solution in which Israel and a Palestinian state would coexist.

The forcible displacement of a population under military occupation is a war crime banned by the 1949 Geneva conventions.

Trump restated his position as he met Jordan's King Abdullah on Tuesday at the White House amid widespread opposition to his plan among Washington's Arab allies, including Jordan.

Trump said on Tuesday that he believed there would be a parcel of land in Jordan, Egypt and someplace else where Palestinians can be resettled.

Egypt rejected any proposal to allocate land to Gaza residents, the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reported on Tuesday, citing Egyptian sources.

North Korean state media on Wednesday denounced Trump's Gaza proposal and accused Washington of extortion.

"The world is now boiling like a porridge pot over the U.S.' bombshell declaration," KCNA said.

Palestinians fear a repeat of what they call the Nakba, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven out during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel's creation. Israel denies they were forced out.

For Jordan, Trump's talk of resettlement comes dangerously close to its nightmare of a mass expulsion of Palestinians from both Gaza and the West Bank, echoing an idea long promoted by ultra-nationalist Israelis of Jordan becoming an alternative Palestinian home.

Gazans interviewed by Reuters criticised Trump for saying he would be prepared for "hell" to break out if all the Israeli hostages were not released by noon on Saturday.

"Hell worse than what we have already? Hell worse than killing? The destruction, all the practices and human crimes that have occurred in the Gaza Strip have not happened anywhere else in the world," said Jomaa Abu Kosh, a Palestinian from Rafah in southern Gaza, standing beside demolished homes.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia's missile attack on Kyiv kills one, sparks fires, Ukraine says

Russia's early morning missile attack on Kyiv killed at least one civilian and sparked several fires throughout the city, Ukrainian officials said.

"Russia carried out a missile strike on Kyiv and the Kyiv region," Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

"This is how (Vladimir) wants the war to end."

U.S. President Donald Trump, who had vowed to end the conflict in Ukraine, said over the weekend that he has been in contact with Kyiv and Putin and was "making progress" in negotiations to end the war that Russia launched on Ukraine nearly three years ago.

Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that at least one person was killed as a result of the attack and emergency services were called to at least four districts of the Ukrainian capital.

The military administration said that fires broke out at several residential and non-residential buildings.

Air raid alerts were imposed only at the start of the attack at around 0227 GMT. It was not immediately clear what missiles were used, but the late launch of air raid alerts suggests they were difficult to detect by radar.

Reuters' witnesses reported hearing a series of explosions in what sounded like air defence systems in operation.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Moscow confirms strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure

Russia has carried out a wave of strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure that supports the country’s military-industrial effort, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has confirmed.

In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry said that its forces had conducted a “group strike using long-range high-precision land,- air- and sea-based weapons as well as attack drones”on targets in Kiev-controlled territory. According to officials, the strikes were aimed at “gas and energy facilities supporting Ukraine’s defense industry, military airfield infrastructure, and sites for storage and preparation of attack drones.”

“The objectives of the strikes have been achieved,” the statement read.

Ukrainian officials have also confirmed the attacks, acknowledging that temporary localized blackouts had to be imposed to minimize the impact on the power grid. The Energy Ministry clarified, however, that the restrictions would not affect residential consumers, critical infrastructure, or businesses importing more than 60% of their electricity.

Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned gas company, reported damage to production facilities in northern Poltava Region, adding that there were no casualties. Local officials also confirmed that nine settlements in the Mirgorod district were left without gas supply following the strikes.

In Kharkov Region, Russian drones damaged power lines and transformers, leading to localized blackouts, Strana.ua reported, while the local prosecutor’s office confirmed that critical infrastructure, residential buildings, and businesses had sustained damaged, but no injuries occurred.

Moscow has for months launched long-range strikes on Ukrainian military installations and energy infrastructure linked to defense operations, stating that these attacks never target civilians. Meanwhile, Russia has frequently accused Ukraine of conducting strikes on its civilian infrastructure, including residential areas as well as on oil processing plants across the country.

Reuters/RT

Renee Onque

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, there has been a steady increase in the number of healthcare workers quitting their jobs. And though the industry is focused on hiring, the burden on the remaining doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals is still a heavy one.

“We have fewer and fewer people in healthcare. We saw a huge attrition of doctors and nurses post-Covid, and our patients and our community’s getting older,” says Nishit Patel, the vice president and chief medical informatics officer at Tampa General Hospital.

“The math doesn’t work unless you have something that can augment and turbo-charge our physicians or nurses and others to be even more accurate, even more efficient [and] drive costs down.”

Patel and other healthcare professionals believe that aid can come in the form of generative artificial intelligence, AI that turns user inputs into new content. At TGH, generative AI is already supporting nearly 300 physicians and providers, he told CNBC Make It in October.

Here are two uses of AI that physicians say are helping to lighten the load on healthcare workers and patients.

2 uses of AI that help reduce the burden on doctors, nurses and patients

1. To catch cases of sepsis early on

Sepsis is “the body’s extreme response to an infection,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The life-threatening condition is “the number one reason that someone might not come out of a hospital after they’re admitted,” Patel said.

By using generative AI, doctors at TGH have been able to spot early signs of sepsis more quickly, and create a step-by-step process that is easy to track for them to deliver “antibiotics within a certain time, the hanging of fluids, and all these things,” more effectively. It better supports healthcare workers and patients because “if something’s falling out of that one-hour timeline, we have a whole process to manage it,” he says.

Patel and his team have been able to “reduce our mortality rate in sepsis using these generative AI technologies by over 30%,” he told CNBC Make It late last year.

“If we can manage that type of transformation of care delivery, we are going to make healthcare far safer for every one of our patients.”

2. To transcribe patient notes in real time

Using ambient AI, which takes audio recordings and quickly transcribes them then structures the notes, can make charting easier for doctors, Patel said.

The service is basically a scribe that gives doctors the opportunity to “walk out with not a transcript, but an actual thoughtful, structured note shell that then I can tweak and edit around,” immediately after appointments, he said. This gives doctors more time with their patients, and cuts the time they spend charting.

LaTasha Seliby Perkins, a family physician at Georgetown University, was training to use generative AI for support with her charting when she spoke to Make It in October.

She expected some of her patients to be skeptical about the technology.

“I take care of baby boomers and the underserved,” Seliby Perkins said. “There is some mistrust in the medical system, as it should be for a lot of Black and brown patients, right? And so when you introduce something new, you have to definitely be mindful of that.”

Heading into the change, she decided that she would support any patient’s decision to opt out of having their appointments recorded using the service. “It’s okay to say no, that that’s not how you want your medical information managed,” Seliby Perkins said. “Express that.”

AI can be used by doctors ‘even in a fun way’

Dr. Nathaniel DeNicola didn’t use ambient AI in his practice when we spoke to him last year. The board-certified OB-GYN, who runs his own practice in southern California, hadn’t found a generative AI service for transcription that fit what his team was looking for, he said.

But when DeNicola and his wife were expecting their first baby last year, they were struggling to land on the perfect name for their daughter.

“We went through, I mean, hundreds of names through baby books, from social media influencers, from family, friends. We spent a lot of time thinking about it,” he said.

“At a visit with our OB, she was curious what the name was going to be. And she said, ‘Well, let’s see what ChatGPT says about it.’”

Their OB-GYN added parameters into the AI service based on the qualities the couple wanted in a name, and “ChatGPT came up with five names that were all high on our list, and were all pretty close to what we were looking at.”

AI can be used by doctors “even in a fun way,” to connect with patients, DeNicola said.

CNBC

Africa's largest oil refinery is set to achieve full operational capacity within a month, according to senior management. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which can process 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily, is currently running at 85% capacity, Head of Refinery Edwin Devakumar announced Monday.

The Lagos-based facility, owned by Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, has gradually ramped up operations since beginning crude processing in January 2023. While initially focusing on diesel, naphtha, and jet fuel production, the refinery expanded to petrol manufacturing in September.

Despite having an agreement with the federal government to purchase crude oil using local currency, the refinery has had to rely on imported crude due to domestic supply constraints. Nevertheless, the facility is actively pursuing market expansion, with Dangote recently revealing successful jet fuel shipments to Saudi Aramco.

The refinery's imminent full-scale operation positions it as a significant competitor to European refineries, though securing adequate local crude supplies remains a challenge. "We are actively exploring all available markets to expand our reach," Devakumar said.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), in collaboration with APM Terminals, has officially launched freight services to transport cargo from Apapa Port in Lagos to the NRC’s Moniya freight yard in Ibadan, Oyo State. The initiative, which began with a flag-off ceremony on Monday in Apapa, Lagos, marks a significant step in improving logistics efficiency and reducing congestion at the Apapa port.

During the event, NRC Managing Director Kayode Opeifa emphasized the corporation’s commitment to strengthening the rail system, stating that no effort would be spared to ensure its success. He highlighted the partnership’s goals, which include increasing rail transport capacity, providing a more sustainable and cost-effective solution for cargo movement, and alleviating pressure on the Apapa port.

The freight service will operate three times weekly—on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—with each trip capable of carrying 35 wagons. These wagons can accommodate either 35 by 40ft containers, 70 by 20ft containers, or a combination of both. Opeifa noted that the collaboration builds on a long-standing relationship between NRC and APM Terminals, which has previously focused on narrow-gauge rail services to destinations like Kaduna and Kano.

The standard-gauge rail service for container movement between APM Terminals and the Moniya freight yard in Ibadan began in September 2023, with companies such as Bueno Logistics and Transco Africa Logistics among the early adopters. Opeifa also revealed that two additional rail lines within the APMT standard-gauge corridor are nearing completion, which will expand the total number of lines to three, further enhancing operational capacity.

This initiative is expected to significantly improve cargo transportation efficiency, reduce road congestion, and support economic growth by providing a reliable and sustainable rail freight solution.

Trump says ceasefire should be canceled if hostages aren't released by Saturday: 'Let all hell break out'

President Donald Trump said if Hamas does not return all hostages by noon on Saturday, he will call for the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to be canceled and "let all hell break out." 

Trump made the comments after signing executive orders in the Oval Office Monday evening. 

When asked if he felt the ceasefire deal should be canceled, the president said that is "Israel’s decision." 

"If all the Gaza hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire," Trump said in the Oval Office. "Let all hell break out; Israel can override it." 

Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release "all of them—not in drips and drabs." 

"Saturday at 12pm and after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out," Trump said.  

A Hamas spokesperson said Monday that the terrorist group will delay the next planned release of hostages in the Gaza Strip after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

"Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership has monitored the enemy's violations and failure to fulfill its obligations under the agreement; including the delay in allowing the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with direct shelling and gunfire in various areas across Gaza, and denying relief supplies of all kinds to enter as agreed, while the resistance has implemented all its obligations," Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, said. 

"Therefore, the release of the Zionist prisoners next Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice, and until the occupation commits to and provides compensation for the entitlements of the past weeks retroactively," he said. "We reaffirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement, as long as the occupation remains committed to them."

Israel and Hamas are in the midst of a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas has committed to releasing 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange, scheduled for next Saturday, calls for three more Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
"Hamas’ announcement to stop the release of Israeli hostages is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and the hostage release deal," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday. "I have instructed the [Israeli Defense Forces] IDF to maintain the highest level of readiness for any possible scenario in Gaza and to fortify the defense of Israeli communities. We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7."

Hamas released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages – civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56 – on Saturday after forcing them to speak at a handover ceremony. Israel in turn freed 183 Palestinian prisoners that day. 

On Sunday, Trump commented on the conditions of the released Israeli hostages, saying they "looked like Holocaust survivors" and "like they haven’t had a meal in a month."

"I don’t know how much longer we can take that," Trump said, referring to the treatment of the hostages, adding, "You know, at some point, we’re gonna lose our patience."

Fox News

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia launches drone attacks on Kyiv, Sumy, Ukrainian officials say

Overnight Russian drone attacks sparked a fire in Kyiv and injured a woman and damaged several houses in the northeastern city of Sumy, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.

The Ukrainian military said on Monday that it had shot down 61 out of 83 drones with 22 more likely downed by electronic warfare.

No injuries were reported in the attack that sparked a fire at a non-residential building in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

But a 38-year-old woman was hospitalised after Russia launched drones at Sumy, which is the administrative centre of the broader Sumy region, Ihor Kalchenko, governor of the region said on Telegram.

Five houses were also damaged, he added.

The photos posted by the emergency services from the site showed cars engulfed in flames next to a high-rise building with damaged windows.

The emergency services said the attack knocked out more than 300 windows and prompted evacuation of 65 residents from the damaged homes. There was no comment from Russia.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the full-scale invasion Russia launched in February 2022. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces pound Ukrainian military airfields over past day — top brass

Russian forces struck Ukrainian military airfields over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

"Operational/tactical aircraft, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces struck the infrastructure of military airfields and amassed enemy manpower and equipment in 142 areas," the ministry said in a statement.

Reuters/Tass

It is tempting to want to see the world as a funny place, or perhaps as a joke, going by the level of foolish things that are not just pursued as valuable, but are presented as important to life and social actions and relations. Imagine that in spite of historical antecedents and the extensive reality of human action and inaction within the context of natural interventions, that in spite of the number of people tending toward evil in the world being such a great and high one - or what some people sometimes describe as the general inclination of humans toward evil, it has always been the lot of the good people to keep the world functioning - in which case, good almost always triumphs over over the bad and the evil in the last analysis, such that good and being good should recommend itself over and above bad behaviour at all times in an arena of wisdom and clear thinking because of its long-lasting effect and overall ability to trump badness in the long run. But what  do we have and what do we see in the world? - rampant pursuit of badness with so much fondness for the immediate but ephemeral pleasure and giddy satisfaction associated with such course of action.

You would be forgiven to think about the funny feeling it must elicit for humans to focus themselves on the unprofitable business of pursuing dead ends even where history and evidence point out the truth of such bad ends. We know that bad actions could temporarily lead to benefits, but that those benefits would eventually and ultimately disappear and lead to nothing. There is no history of bad actors sustaining their badness indefinitely as they would eventually be overtaken by the reality of truth. Let us take the example of Blaise Compaore in Burkina Faso.

Blaise was the childhood and close friend of the revolutionary Burkina leader, Thomas Sankara who pretended that they were together in the task and desire to positively transform their country. Blaise later engineered the gruesome killing of Thomas in order to set himself up as the new leader, burying him in unmarked grave to stave off public outrage and inquiry. The man managed to hold on to power after this betrayal of his country and people and the bosom friendship between him and Thomas for another 27 years before the people rose against him, forcing him to flee the country, leading to the reemergence of the true feelings about Thomas even while the government is poised to ensure that Blaise pays for all his atrocities through the full wrath of the law. In the end, Thomas is having the last laugh even from the grave while Blaise’s name has become a reproach!

Or the case of the butcher of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad, who rather than work to address the grievances of his people, preferred to enact and impose a reign of terror ad infinitum on them as if that would solve and address the grievances. With the backing of the murderous military machine and forces of superpower, Russia, it would have been difficult to imagine that the gruesome rule of Assad would ever end. But to assume that is to miss the essence of the position and theory that there is no good end in the long run to bad actors and their actions. After delivering and operating all the tricks in his bag for years, the only reason why there is still Assad alive was his being spirited away from Syria by Russia’s Putin in the dead of the night!

So when I see people labouring fastidiously on illegitimate runs, I am amazed and amused by the joke of people wanting to continue digging even after finding themselves in an improbable ditch. Dictators know that they are bad actors and those of them who do not win any election and rigged themselves into political power know the true reality of their illegitimacy. Yet, many of them continue to carry on normally as if that would be the most natural thing to do, expanding the scope of their illegitimate actions and behaving as if they are the ones really in charge of life with their gruesome and dictatorial actions. In truth, it would look like humans are fated to the joke of pursuing nothing as if it is something of substance; to believe that whatever happens to other bad actors would never happen to them no matter their own level of badness; every dictator or bad actor would think that he/she would not come to bad end even when history teaches otherwise. It is an inexorable joke that we see play out again and again with many still aspiring to be part of the cacophony going forward. Which is why I am not unduly bothered when I see people celebrate the so-called political sagacity of a political overlord without any pedigree or verifiable resume, and whose stock in trade is the rigging of elections, knowing that the joke must be on here too!

** Olaitan, Professor of Political Science, was Vice-Chancellor, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.

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Kimberly Zhang

The internet is getting excited about the prospect of AI. After the release of ChatGPT 3.5 last November, we're still very much in the early stages of people working out what's possible with the technology. Everyone wants to know how far it can be taken.

The prospect of AI becoming a superintelligence is leading many to wonder whether it could present a new form of entrepreneurship. Historically, business leaders would leverage a combination of people and capital to push their enterprises forward. In the last twenty years, that's expanded to "networks," but in the future, it could involve AI, too.

You can understand why AI has so many people excited. As some commentators are putting it, it's like having legions of highly intelligent grad students at your fingertips, ready to work for you for free.

But, of course, it's not quite that simple. While AI might be impressive, it can't replace people yet. Plus, there's an argument to suggest that many consumers don't want it to replace people. Having a human in the loop is beneficial and makes them feel like they are getting a better service.

For this reason, we're still very much back at square one. While AI might be useful in some circumstances, it is not a wholesale replacement for labor.

Emotional intelligence

One of the reasons humans still need humans is the emotional intelligence they offer. People tend to be excellent at getting on the same wavelength as other people and understanding their needs.

That's what live virtual receptionist services, such as Go Answer, specialize in doing. These services believe in the power of having a real person available to speak with customers. It's a key differentiator.

"The whole point of our services is to ensure businesses have somewhere there to take their calls, even when the owner or senior management is asleep," the company says. "Having a human in the loop enables firms to display their emotional intelligence even in the middle of the night instead of forcing customers to speak to robots, which they might not want to do. The great thing about human agents is their flexibility. General intelligence lets them understand even the most convoluted customerrequests. A machine might not be able to do that, or use its executive function to contact someone who knows the answer."

While machines are developing a theory of mind and getting to grips with human emotions, they tend to lack the intelligence that a person could offer. Knowing what to say and how to say it remains a challenge.

Complex decision-making

Related to this, human beings can also better make complex decisions. Members of staff can weigh up all their options and ask which is the best from a range of alternatives, given some available options.

Machines can do something similar, but, again, they may lack relevant context. They might also misunderstand various stakeholders' objectives and requirements which could skew their decision-making in the wrong direction.

Again, entrepreneurs require humans for these purposes. So-called "agentic" AIs simply aren't at the stage where they can direct production or manage business processes. Bottlenecks in their functionality and lack of embodiment mean that we're still years away from these kinds of applications.

Corner cases

Entrepreneurs still need human beings for corner cases, too. AIs depend heavily on a normal distribution of outcomes, but the real world doesn't always behave in that way. Instead, there are extremes of the distribution and corner cases with qualitatively different solutions.

Humans are great at these "exception to the rules" scenarios, but machines are not. While they can handle the former, they do a poor job of the latter.

"We found that when customers talk to robots, they break easily," Go Answer says. "Even minor deviations from standard questions produce frustrating replies that don't really deal with customers' concerns. Eventually, many become so frustrated that they simply give up and quit the service entirely. But with humans in the loop, this simply doesn't occur. A person can tell that a customer is becoming frustrated and they feel emotionally compelled to resolve it. If a query isn't being resolved, they find ways to approach it from different angles or arrange callbacks once they have more information. AIs don't have this proactivity or short-term memory."

Personalized customer experience

Human agents may also be better at providing customers with a personalized experiencecompared to AIs. Colleagues can better understand the types of interactions clients want based on their character profiles and conversation history.

"This is something our agents focus on from the start," Go Answer says. "It's why we offer a personalized service to the businesses we work with. Virtual assistants understand that they should apply a flexible and almost improvised approach to customer conversations depending on subtle cues and their requirements. Simply reading a script and saying the same thing every time isn't an endearing approach and it doesn't serve companies well."

Better innovation

Entrepreneurs also still need people to spearhead innovations. While AI might be cutting-edge, it tends to regurgitate the best of human ideas instead of developing its own concepts and novel approaches (though this might be changing).

Innovation validation is a critical aspect of a high-functioning business that AI simply can't replace. You can't hand software a new prototype product and gather meaningful feedback, simply because AIs don't derive any pleasure or services from using most consumer products designed for humans. Therefore, entrepreneurs will always need people in these circumstances. Having individuals with whom they can bounce off ideas is essential for iterating on products and making them better.

Making ethical decisions

Finally, entrepreneurs need people to make ethical decisions. Unfettered, machines will often make psychotic recommendations to achieve certain ends if they are the most rapid approach for doing so.

Making ethical decisions requires moral judgment and nuance. While some engineers believe AI might be conscious, most agree that it can't and doesn't view morality through the same lens as people. As such, it is up to humans to make the best choice for the direction in which to send a business.

Entrepreneur

Despite Nigeria’s oil production increasing to over 1.4 million barrels per day, domestic refiners, including modular refineries, continue to face severe challenges in accessing crude oil, with allocations remaining virtually nonexistent. This has prompted refinery owners to urge the Federal Government to prioritize crude supply to local refiners before allowing exports, as the lack of access has crippled their operations and limited their contribution to the energy sector.

The Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) highlighted this issue on Thursday, revealing that many refiners have resorted to importing crude to sustain operations. Eche Idoko, CORAN’s Publicity Secretary, stated in an interview that domestic refiners have been marginalized for months, receiving no allocations under the Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation (DCSO) framework or through any special arrangements.

“Local refiners, especially modular refineries, have not been getting crude—zero allocation under the DCSO or any other arrangement,” Idoko emphasized. The DCSO, a key component of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, mandates the supply of crude oil to domestic refiners. However, approximately 500,000 barrels per day intended for local refining are being diverted to the international market, as producers and traders prioritize foreign exchange earnings over domestic obligations.

Industry experts note that oil companies prefer selling crude to international buyers for higher profits, bypassing statutory allocations for local refiners. In response, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has banned the export of crude oil designated for domestic refineries. NUPRC Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe stressed that such diversions violate the law and warned that export permits for crude meant for local refining would be denied.

Despite this directive, producers argue that the domestic crude market remains unviable without significant reforms. CORAN’s Idoko revealed that many refiners have turned to private arrangements, including imports, to source crude, a process he described as “herculean.” He expressed hope that the NUPRC’s directive would be enforced, urging international oil companies (IOCs) to cooperate.

Idoko also called on President Bola Tinubu and his economic team to support domestic refiners, particularly modular refineries, which are investing heavily in the economy and helping to stabilize the naira. “We appeal to Mr. President and the government’s economic team to prioritize local refineries, especially modular ones,” he said.

In a recent report, the NUPRC disclosed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and seven other domestic refineries will require 770,500 barrels of crude per day for processing in the first half of 2025. These refineries include the OPAC, WalterSmith, Duport Midstream, Edo Refinery, Aradel, Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries. The NUPRC emphasized that this allocation, representing 37% of the projected daily production of 2,066,940 barrels, aligns with Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and aims to optimize domestic refining capacity.