The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas Brigade al-Qassam have reported multiple incidents in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

According to IDF reports:

1. Overnight, two anti-tank missiles were fired toward the Dovev area, falling in open areas without causing injuries or damage. The IDF retaliated by striking the sources of fire.

2. IDF fighter jets targeted Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon, specifically in the areas of Kfarkela and Khiam.

3. The IDF conducted airstrikes on operational tunnel shafts, an anti-tank missile launch post, and terror infrastructure responsible for launching toward Sderot. Additionally, the IDF continued operating in central Gaza, striking terror targets including a terrorist cell and weapons storage facility.

4. Launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel, causing damage but no injuries. The IDF responded by striking the sources of fire and targeting Hezbollah military structures in southern Lebanon.

 

Hamas Brigade al-Qassam's reports include:

1. A statement from Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishq emphasizing unity against the "Zionist entity" and commemorating a Turkish martyr.

2. The claim that the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance targeted and destroyed an Israeli Merkava tank attacking Palestinian villages near the Metulla site.

3. The targeting of an Israeli "radar" site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms by the resistance in Lebanon.

 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian missile kills three in Ukrainian port of Odesa

A Russian missile attack killed three people and injured three others in the Ukrainian port of Odesa early on Wednesday, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.

Kiper, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the attack damaged civilian infrastructure.

He said the strike was carried out by a ballistic missile, but provided no further details.

Kiper and Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov had reported a series of loud explosions.

Reuters could not independently confirm the accounts. Russia says it does not deliberately target civilians.

On Monday, a Russian missile struck an educational institution in the city, killing five people.

Odesa has been a frequent target of Russian forces in the more than two-year-old war, with many attacks aimed at the city's port facilities.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

One woman killed, another one wounded in Ukraine’s shelling of Kursk Region village

A woman was killed and another one was wounded as a result of Ukraine’s shelling attack on the village of Kozino in Russia’s Kursk Region bordering Ukraine, the region’s governor, Roman Starovoit, said.

"Today, the village of Kozino came under shelling by Ukrainian troops gain. Two women received wounds. One of them died instantly, the other one was taken to hospital," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to Starovoit, two civilians were wounded in the shelling attack on the village in the morning.

 

Reuters/Tass

 

One common type of good boss really sticks out from the rest, says workplace culture expert Tom Gimbel: the people person.

Traditionally, good bosses have skills in areas like time management, constructive criticism and simply being able to help co-workers through day-to-day tasks. A "people person" additionally uses soft skills like communication, empathy and compassion to strengthen their rapport with their employees and foster a workplace culture that people actually want to be a part of, says Gimbel, the CEO of Chicago-based employment agency LaSalle Network.

"The more authentic you are, the more people are going to connect with you and enjoy your company," Gimbel tells CNBC Make It.

This workplace trait isn't just for bosses. Anyone can tap into their people skills to establish relationships, improve teamwork and boost workplace morale — all of which can help you climb the career ladder.

Here's how you, too, can become a "people person" at work, experts say.

Be comical — only if you're actually funny

Some people use humor to connect with others. The key at work, says Gimbel: Don't force it.

"Humor is a great connector of people of different backgrounds," he says. "The art of being funny in a business setting is probably a bigger challenge [now] than ever before. But if done correctly, and done well, it can be a great unifier for a culture."

Sometimes, the bosses you see on television — like Michael Scott from NBC's "The Office," or Ava Coleman from ABC's "Abbott Elementary" — crack jokes that make their colleagues feel uncomfortable. In real life, that usually backfires, Gimbel says.

Instead, you could add a note of levity at work by telling a relatable story, making a lighthearted joke or even something more subtle like a chuckle-worthy email signature or displaying a "joke of the day" on your desk.

"Authenticity is really the key, because humor usually derives from real-life situations," says Gimbel. "So when you share a story about how your car broke down, and when you got out to change the tire, you got splashed by water or something, that's a funny story."

Sharing stories with the people around you shows that you want to build a relationship with them, and reminds them that they can "laugh a little bit and enjoy our work," Gimbel adds.

Show up, even when you aren't required to

Just being present can often speak louder than words: Employees appreciate bosses who make an effort to be there, workplace culture expert Bonnie Low-Kramen told Make It last year.

Often, showing up only takes an investment of your time. You could make an effort to contribute ideas in team meetings, help your colleagues with tasks you know they don't enjoy, set up coffee chats to get to know your peers or raise your hand for upcoming assignments and responsibilities.

Being present lets people know that you care enough about them to make yourself available, even when you don't have to. In other words, it's an element of being a people person.

Professionals who make themselves visible in this way "really show what they're made of," Low-Kramen said.

Put yourself in someone else's shoes

Your colleagues will find you more reliable and relatable when you're kind and empathetic to them.

That's especially true for managers — and future managers — according to a 2020 Gallup survey, which found that workers have "four universal needs" when it comes to their bosses: trust, compassion, stability and hope.

During your next conversation or interaction with a co-worker, ask for their opinion or pose an open-ended question like "How was your vacation?" or "Are you working on any exciting projects?"

Then, pay attention to their answer. "Listen both for the words being said and the feeling behind them," psychologist Daniel Goleman wrote in a 2017 LinkedIn post. "Respond accordingly, with a sign that you understand, or offer a helpful comment."

"Over time, exercising your curiosity and listening closely to others will help you sense more accurately how others think and feel" and cultivate relationships with them, Goleman added.

 

CNBC

 

 

In a circular issued on Monday by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the deregulation of meter prices under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme for end-user customers has been announced. This move, effective May 1, entails determining meter prices through competitive bidding processes, providing customers with a choice of authorized vendors.

Previously, in September 2023, NERC approved price increases for single-phase and three-phase electricity meters. However, under the new directive, all meter prices will be subject to competitive bidding to adapt to changes in macroeconomic parameters, particularly exchange rates.

NERC emphasized the need for efficient pricing to enable end-users to acquire meters from MAPs of their choice based on competitive open market prices established through transparent bidding frameworks.

Furthermore, all MAP permit holders are now permitted to provide services and transact for meter provision and metering services with any Electricity Distribution Company (DisCo) in Nigeria, subject to compliance with specific DisCo requirements.

NERC has mandated that all DisCos ensure the effective integration of smart meters deployed by MAPs with DisCo head-end systems and meter data management systems to ensure seamless operations.

Following a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), four Nigerian fintech companies, Opay and Moniepoint, Palmpay, and Kuda have suspended the enrollment of new customers.

An official from one of the fintech firms, speaking anonymously, confirmed compliance with the directive. Another fintech official suggested the directive is linked to foreign exchange (FX) transactions, an area unrelated to their business. Attempting to open a new account with one of the fintech platforms resulted in a message indicating inability to complete the process.

This development coincides with CBN’s efforts to combat illicit foreign exchange transactions, including those involving cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso disclosed that $26 billion flowed through Binance Nigeria from unidentified sources in one year, prompting collaborative efforts with various agencies to address illicit financial flows.

On April 23, the EFCC announced the freezing of over 300 accounts linked to illicit FX trading, with a federal high court in Abuja granting an interim order to freeze 1,146 bank accounts, predominantly operated by commercial banks, along with some fintechs, over unauthorized FX transactions.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has declared a new minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants in the state. This is a 133 percent increase on the current national minimum wage of N30,000.

The announcement was made during the inauguration of the Labour House, which has been named after Adams Oshiomhole, the Senator representing Edo North and former governor of the state.

Effective from May 1, 2024, the new minimum wage regime aims to alleviate the financial burden on workers. This decision follows the persistent advocacy by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) for improved wages nationwide.

The economic challenges exacerbated by recent economic policies of the federal government, including the removal of petrol subsidy and forex unification in 2023, have heightened the need for enhanced wages. Despite the national minimum wage being set at N30,000 since April 18, 2019, it has been widely criticized as insufficient in light of current economic realities.

Obaseki's initiative to raise the minimum wage in Edo State signifies a proactive step towards addressing the financial well-being of civil servants.

Israeli strikes kill at least 40 Palestinians in Gaza, as ceasefire talks begin

Israeli airstrikes killed dozens of Palestinians on Monday as Hamas leaders visited Cairo for a new round of truce talks, with more than half the dead in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which foreign leaders have urged Israel not to invade.

Hours after the strikes on Rafah, where almost half of Gaza's 2.3 million population have sought refuge from months of Israeli bombardment, Egypt's state-affiliated television said the Hamas delegation left Cairo for Doha and would return at an unspecified later date with a written response to the ceasefire proposal.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas to swiftly accept what he called an "extraordinarily generous" Israeli proposal for a truce in the Gaza war and the release of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke by phone to discuss developments in negotiations regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and dangers of military escalation.

Bombs hit three houses in Rafah on Monday. And in Gaza City, in the north of the strip, Israeli warplanes struck two houses, killing at least six people and wounding several others, health officials said.

With nightfall, an Israeli air strike on a house in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed three Palestinians, including a journalist, medics and Hamas media said. Six other people were killed in other central Gaza areas in separate Israeli air strikes, they added.

Israel's military on Monday said two soldiers were killed in central Gaza on Sunday.

The armed wing of the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad said it fired rockets into Israel on Monday, signaling the group was still able to launch rocket attacks after nearly seven months of the Israeli air and ground offensive.

Asked about the Rafah strikes, an Israeli military (IDF) spokesperson said fighter jets had "struck terror targets where terrorists were operating within a civilian area in southern Gaza," declining to give details.

At a Rafah hospital, relatives of those killed in the strikes came to take the bodies away for burial. Women and men cried as they paid farewell to slain relatives wrapped in white and black shrouds.

'THEY'RE ALL GONE'

"His name is Deif-Allah (meaning guest in Arabic) and he was indeed a guest. He came as a guest after (his parents) longed for (him) for so long, after 10 years," said Abu Taha, holding the body of his baby boy.

"Ten people (were killed), the mother, her daughter, her granddaughters, her grandson, her son-in-law, their daughters and relatives, everyone. They're all gone, all 10 of them."

Speaking on Monday at a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Egypt was hopeful about a proposal for a truce and the release of hostages, but awaiting responses from Israel and Hamas.

"We are hopeful the proposal has taken into account the positions of both sides, has tried to extract moderation from both sides, and we are waiting to have a final decision," Shoukry said.

A Palestinian official close to mediation efforts told Reuters: "Things look better this time," but declined to say whether an agreement was imminent.

Israel's military operation to eradicate Hamas has killed 34,488 Palestinians and wounded 77,643, according to Gaza's health authorities. It has displaced most of the Palestinian enclave's 2.3 million people and laid much of the area to waste.

The campaign was triggered by the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

'PERIOD OF SUSTAINED CALM'

An assault on Rafah, which Israel says is the last Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip, has been anticipated for weeks. Foreign governments and the United Nations have expressed concern that such action could result in a humanitarian disaster given the number of displaced people crammed into the area.

Two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters did not disclose details of the latest proposals, but a source briefed on the talks told Reuters Hamas was expected to respond to Israel’s latest truce proposal delivered on Saturday.

The source said this included an agreement to accept the release of fewer than 40 hostages in exchange for releasing Palestinians from Israeli jails, and to a second phase of a truce that includes a "period of sustained calm" - Israel’s compromise response to a Hamas demand for an end to the war.

After the first phase, Israel would allow free movement between south and north Gaza and a partial withdrawal of its troops, the source said.

In Tel Aviv, the families of two Israeli hostages who appeared in a video issued by Hamas over the weekend held a press conference, calling for an immediate deal that would secure the release of some 130 hostages still held.

"I want to ask everyone to stop the talking and start the actions. We are losing people that are alive now and there is no time to waste," said Elan Siegel, daughter of Keith Siegel, a 64-year-old dual U.S. citizen taken captive with his wife Aviva, who was released during a brief November truce.

A senior Hamas official told Reuters the Monday talks in Cairo would take place between the Hamas delegation and Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

"Hamas has some questions and inquiries over the Israeli response to its proposal, which the movement received from mediators on Friday," the official told Reuters.

Those comments suggested Hamas might not hand an instant response to mediators over Israel's latest proposal.

 

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine running out of troops for US to train – WaPo

The number and frequency of Ukrainian soldiers receiving training in US bases in Western Europe has dropped to almost zero in the last months, suggesting that  Kiev is running out of men to fight Russian forces, US officials have told the Washington Post.

American instructors began training Ukrainian troops in April 2022, with drills taking place at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. Some 3,100 Ukrainian soldiers had received US training by the end of 2022. The program was expanded in January 2023 to train 12 brigades in the runup to Kiev’s disastrous summer counteroffensive.

In addition to these 12 brigades, three brigades were trained by other European nations, while American instructors taught combined arms tactics to a tank battalion and two national guard battalions. 

However, the last brigade trained in Germany left Grafenwoehr, the largest US ovcerseas training command, in January or February, anonymous officials told the Washington Post on Saturday. None have been trained in the months since, “suggesting a depletion of the personnel pipeline,”the newspaper paraphrased.

Ukraine’s manpower issues have been covered by Western news outlets since late last year, although Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky insisted in February that his forces had suffered only 31,000 fatalities in two years of fighting. American and Ukrainian officials know that this figure is a gross understatement, but admitted Zelensky must find a way to “inspire more Ukrainian men to come to the front lines,” one US source said.

“We see so many deaths and so many wounded,” a Ukrainian lawmaker said. “If they go, [troops] want to know how long they will be there.”

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine lost more than 160,000 troops during last summer’s counteroffensive, out of nearly half a million during the entire conflict to date. Zelensky’s former presidential adviser, Aleksey Arestovich, has claimed that Ukraine has lost up to 300,000 men so far.

In December, Zelensky announced that his military had asked him to mobilize an additional 500,000 troops and embarked on a flurry of legislative activity in a bid to boost mobilization. After weeks of parliamentary debate, Zelensky signed two bills earlier this month, one of which lowers the age of conscription for men from 27 to 25, while another stiffens penalties for draft-dodging and denies some civil rights to service evaders.

Last week, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry banned all men between the ages of 18 and 60 from receiving or renewing documents, including passports, at consular offices outside the country unless they are properly registered for mobilization.

 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

NATO chief, on unannounced Kyiv visit, says arms flows to Ukraine will increase

NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg told Ukrainians on Monday that his alliance’s members had failed to live up to their promises of military aid in recent months, but said the flow of arms and ammunition would now increase.

In an unannounced visit to Ukraine, the secretary general of the transatlantic military alliance held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and was due to address Ukraine’s parliament, the Rada.

His visit – the third since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - comes at a difficult time on the battlefield for Ukraine. After a failed Ukrainian counter-offensive last year, Russian forces have gained the initiative – at least in part due to a dearth of arms and ammunition from Kyiv’s Western partners.

“I will also be very honest with President Zelenskiy and also with the Rada that NATO allies have not delivered what we have promised over the last months,” Stoltenberg said on the train taking him into Kyiv on Monday.

“The United States spent six months to agree a package and European allies have not delivered the ammunition we promised. But now I’m confident that things will change,” he said.

Stoltenberg pointed to the U.S. Congress now having approved a Ukraine aid package worth more than $60 billion, swiftly signed into law by President Joe Biden, and an announcement last week by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of a “record high” commitment to Kyiv.

He also noted Germany had agreed to provide a new Patriot air defence system to Ukraine and the Netherlands had boosted its aid to Kyiv. He said he expected other "new commitments to come".

"This will make a difference – as the lack of support made a difference,” he said, alluding to Ukrainian setbacks on the battlefield.

He said the Russians had paid "a high price for marginal territorial gains" and Ukraine could still turn things around.

"It's not too late for Ukraine to prevail. But that’s why it's so urgent that NATO allies now actually do what we had promised and that we turn those commitments into real deliveries of weapons and ammunition and I’m now confident that will now happen.”

 

On April 18th, 2024, I ran into Mohammed Kuta Yahaya, a distinguished professor of Agricultural Extension, at the airport in Abuja; he was going to Ibadan, and I was on the way to Sokoto. He demonstrated the respectful side of him, as he always does whenever we meet, three times in recent times at University Convocations. He facilitated my appointment as a Professor Emeritus at one of the universities in Niger State. It was at Abuja he also showed his respected side of him when he told me that he would be receiving the Fellowship Award from the National Executive Council of the Agricultural Extension Society of Nigeria. As he sat by me while drinking coffee at the airport lounge, I began to reflect more on him as an administrator and scholar, but more so on his passion to uplift Nigeria. Our relationships are episodic encounters. I did not even know until I was doing research for this piece that he is the Magatakarda, the Chief Scribe of the Nupe Nation.

One of the defining characteristics of valuable individuals is their dedication to a course they believe in and their commitment to grinding results out regardless of the challenges they face. Whereas facing challenges is almost synonymous with success in every area of human endeavor, result-oriented individuals always differentiate themselves from others by making their efforts count in areas of collective good. Professor Yahaya, as he is fondly called, belongs to the category of individuals with foresighted ideas whose dedication to rigorous academic engagements is impressive. For scholars like him, evidence of their academic propositions and claims does not lurk in an unending circle of verbal validation of their quality but is demonstrated in scientific arguments and postulations made through publications of reputable global images. Thus, Prof.’s diligence is illustrated by the numerous publications associated with his name in agricultural extension, thereby making him an important figure in the intellectual environment where debates on agricultural activities are generated, distributed, or transmitted. The contributions of this outstanding scholar to quality intellectual debate have proved to be transcendental, given the widespread influence of his academic research underscored by the allotment of national responsibilities that are imposed on him. These come from the awareness that the Professor has undertaken extensive research, and it is important that the quality of knowledge he has must be benefited from at a larger stage.

As an expert in agricultural extension that he is, Yahaya has undertaken research engagements whose findings reveal the ineluctable significance of communication in the enhancement of extensive production of food crops, which would bring about the eradication of food scarcity in the country and the world and, by extension elevate the people from the pit of economic depravity. This uncommon egghead has authored numerous academic publications that reveal to us the critical importance of the media in the enhancement of information transfer to people as a means of educating them on the clinical significance of modern technology in the practice of agriculture. Suffice it to say that through that engagement, he gives very pragmatic solutions to otherwise intransigent challenges faced by the people in the farming sector to ensure that they combat head-on the challenges that have prohibited them from taking maximum advantage of the agricultural potentials of the country. This underscores why he concludes in one of his research projects that women are very crucial to productive agricultural activities in the rural environment as they are very active in the preservation of farm produce, and for that reason, they should be related, especially on issues that bother on the promotion of increased productivity for the benefit of themselves and humankind. Therefore, Yahaya concedes that such agents would facilitate the rapid development of the county’s agricultural industry by offering extension services.

Yahaya understands that the possibility of exponential advancement in agricultural engagements depends largely on the sharing of available information, which consolidates what farmers already know and encourages them to operate their agricultural engagements in different formats. As an expert, there is no contention about his ideas, especially those that boil in food and animal production. Through cognate experience, this intellectual has spearheaded very many educational and informative undertakings that will see to the optimum upholding of sound agricultural principles, which will bring about the expected and desirable results. On several occasions, he has stated that one of the predominant concerns around farmers’ lack of effective agricultural business is the enduring conflict that farm activities have been circumscribed in because of the sensitive politics associated with land management and procurement. It is noteworthy to learn that when farmers invest their time and resources in agribusiness, they are often browbeaten by superior hands who sometimes exchange their worth for political correctness. When such problems are to be combated, the Scribe of Nupe Nation suggests that methodological structures and fluidity should be an important strategy used both by the enraged farmers and the forces that have brought destructive possibilities to their farms. Such ideas, therefore, have helped farmers to a considerable degree. They have come to the awareness that their undertakings deserve different operational strategies so that their effort would not be strangulated by whatever forces and for whatever reason.

Our resourceful professor has been involved in many programs where efforts are made to educate people on the importance of agricultural investment in the current age. The focus of such academic engagement is to expose the younger generation to the unending available opportunities that come with farming. They have always concentrated on other engagements apart from agriculture, given the fact that they are mostly undereducated about the operations of farms and their potential. Instead of continuing their evasion of agricultural engagements, they are thereby informed by this resourceful individual about the inexhaustible potentials that are lurking in agricultural activities. Meanwhile, that is effectively done through consistent information exchange between a source and the target audience. He has suggested that making a fortune in agricultural businesses and activities does not necessarily require active involvement in many agricultural services. In line with his experience, he has educated people that many agricultural businesses require individuals to commit to deciding how they would partake in the engagement. They should seek knowledge on the best agricultural practices they find useful and begin to invest their resources there so that they would benefit maximally in the end. In essence, he has been able to educate us all about how greatly valuable it is to pick specific aspects of farming and make necessary investments where needed.

More than one could have imagined, this very resourceful educator has always been an advocate for the adoption of technology in the conduct and promotion of agricultural engagements. Beyond what has already been noted, he states that the role of technology in the development of agricultural products, services, and activities cannot be overemphasized. The ICT has a lot to offer farmers in that it has very innovative methods to spread across their products while simultaneously being able to share information of values to the farmer community. Especially for the dwellers of the rural environment, the adoption of technology would magically increase their innovative drives to improve production and profits. He has highlighted a body of policies that could help transform the lives of people in rural environments. When the technology is adopted effectively in the agricultural sector, it would immediately reduce the penchant for rural-urban migrations that have ultimately contributed to the monumental decline of African social and economic lives. In essence, he has been a frontier for the advocacy of technological farming and activity that would principally involve communications of new ideas for the benefit of all. While he has always been an integral part of Nigeria’s agricultural extension campaign, he has also stated the potential challenges that could arise from it when it is not appropriately handled or taken care of. However, the professor has no hidden motive when he argues that farm engagement will flourish only when communication becomes more prioritized among farmers.

One cannot but celebrate the outstanding contributions of Yahaya to quality intellection, for his academic strides are imposing and intimidating. No wonder, therefore, that his genius is being recognized from time to time, which has, among other things, facilitated his appointment to serve in greater positions so that he can use his cognate knowledge and experience to advance the collective aspirations of the people. When he served as a coordinator for the Northern States’ Governors’ Forum, he introduced ideas that helped in the rapid advancement of the Northern societies to the extent that they absorbed much of his ideas and helped them to achieve stellar success within a very short period. Yahaya has never limited himself to state services; he has taken key positions in academia, where he functioned in its administrative and knowledge distribution system. No wonder, therefore, that his exemplary leadership is recognized in developing the Niger State University, where he offered contributions as a member of their committee. Having performed with credibility in both the public and educational sectors, there has been a general acceptance of his beautiful character of service demonstrated in his unwavering dedication to issues of collective progress. He has mentored several youths and continued to inspire a generation of agricultural scientists who now dedicate themselves to issues that bring value and resources to people. Nigeria is blessed with brilliant minds, and Yahaya has earned his place in the country’s intellectual community.

Congratulations!