Israel says it carried out ground raid into Syria, seizing a Syrian citizen connected to Iran

The Israeli military said Sunday it has carried out a ground raid into Syria, seizing a Syrian citizen involved in Iranian networks. It was the first time in the current war that Israel announced its troops operated in Syrian territory.

Israel has carried out airstrikes in Syria multiple times over the past year, targeting members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and officials from Iran, the close ally of both Hezbollah and Syria. But it has not previously made public any ground forays into Syria.

The Israeli military said the seizure was part of a special operation “that took place in recent months,” though it did not say exactly when it occurred. Syria did not immediately confirm the announcement, but a pro-government Syrian radio station, Sham FM, reported Sunday that Israeli forces carried out a “kidnapping operation” over the summer targeting a man in the south of the country.

Israel has waged an escalating campaign of bombardment in Lebanon for the past six weeks, as well as a ground invasion along the countries’ shared border, vowing to cripple Hezbollah. On Saturday, an Israeli military official said naval forces carried out a raid in a northern Lebanese town, seizing a man they called a senior Hezbollah operative.

The army identified the man as Ali Soleiman al-Assi, saying he lives in the southern Syrian region of Saida. It said the man had been under military surveillance for many months and was involved in Iranian initiatives targeting areas of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria.

Body camera video of the raid released by the army showed soldiers seizing a man in a white tank top inside a building. The man was brought to Israel for interrogation, the military said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the border with Lebanon on Sunday, saying his focus was trying to keep Hezbollah from rearming itself through the “oxygen lifeline” of Iranian weapons transferred to Lebanon via Syria. Israel says its campaign in Lebanon aims to push Hezbollah away from the border and put an end to more than a year of fire by the group into northern Israel.

Israel’s strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 2,500 people over the past year. In Israel, 69 people have been killed by Hezbollah projectiles.

On the U.S. presidential campaign trail this weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged progressives and members of the state’s significant population of Arab Americans who are angry at the Biden administration for its continuation of the U.S. alliance with Israel as the Netanyahu government presses its war against Hamas in Gaza.

“I have been very clear that the level of death of innocent Palestinians is unconscionable,” Harris told reporters.

In East Lansing, Michigan, she addressed the issue soon after beginning her remarks. “As president I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza, to bring home the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination,” she said.

Some students in East Lansing voiced their opposition Sunday with audible calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. At least one attendee was escorted out after the cease-fire calls.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued an offensive in the northern Gaza Strip, where the military has said it is battling Hamas fighters who regrouped there.

Shell fire hit Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, injuring patients, including children, hospital director Hossam Abu Safiya said in a statement to the media. He said the shells hit the hospital’s nursery, dormitory and water tanks just after a delegation from the World Health Organization ended a visit.

Kamal Adwan and two other nearby hospitals have been hit by Israel several times during the fighting. Earlier this month, Israeli troops stormed Kamal Adwan, detaining a large number of people, including much of the staff, Abu Safiya said at the time of the raid. The military said those detained included members of Hamas, without providing evidence, and said weapons were found in the facility.

But the Israel Defense Forces in a statement denied striking Kamal Adwan on Sunday, blaming “an explosive device planted by the terrorist organizations in Gaza” for the attack.

“Attacks on civilians, including humanitarian workers, and what remains of Gaza’s civilian facilities and infrastructure must stop,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement Saturday. “The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza, especially children, is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine, and the ongoing bombardments.”

In southern Gaza, an Israeli strike hit a group of people gathered outside in an eastern district of Khan Younis, killing at least eight Palestinians, including four children and a woman, the territory’s Health Ministry’s emergency services said. The city’s Nasser Hospital, which received most of the bodies, confirmed the figures.

Palestinian officials said an Israeli drone strike on Saturday hit a clinic in northern Gaza where children were being vaccinated for polio, wounding six people including four children. The Israeli military denied responsibility.

Munir al-Boursh, director general of the Gaza Health Ministry, told The Associated Press that a quadcopter struck the Sheikh Radwan clinic in Gaza City early Saturday afternoon, just a few minutes after a United Nations delegation left the facility.

UNICEF and WHO, which are jointly carrying out the polio vaccination campaign, expressed concern over the reported strike. Rosalia Bollen, a spokesperson for UNICEF, said the strike occurred when a “humanitarian pause” agreed to by Israel to allow vaccinations was in effect.

Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, said that “contrary to the claims, an initial review determined that the (Israeli military) did not strike in the area at the specified time.”

It was not possible to resolve the conflicting accounts. Israeli forces have repeatedly raided hospitals in Gaza over the course of the war, saying Hamas uses them for militant purposes, allegations denied by Palestinian health officials. Hamas fighters are also operating in the north, battling Israeli forces.

Northern Gaza has been encircled by Israeli forcesand largely isolated for the past year. Israel has been carrying out another offensive there in recent weeks that has killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands.

A scaled-down campaign to administer a second dose of the polio vaccine began Saturday in parts of northern Gaza. It had been postponed from Oct. 23 due to lack of access, Israeli bombings and mass evacuation orders, and the lack of assurances for humanitarian pauses, a U.N. statement said.

Administration of the first doses was carried out in September across the Gaza Strip, including the north.

At least 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate from areas of north Gaza toward Gaza City in the past few weeks, but around 15,000 children under the age of 10 remain in northern towns, including Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, which are inaccessible, according to the U.N.

The final phase of the polio vaccination campaign had aimed to reach an estimated 119,000 children in the north with a second dose of the oral polio vaccine, the agencies said, but “achieving this target is now unlikely due to access constraints.”

They say 90% of children in every community must be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease.

The campaign was launched after the first polio casewas reported in Gaza in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in the leg. The World Health Organization said the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but aren’t showing symptoms.

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, who do not say how many were combatants but say more than half were women and children.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian drone attack on Kyiv damages buildings, power lines, Ukraine says

A Russian air attack on Kyiv damaged buildings, roads and several power lines in the city, the capital's military administration said early on Sunday, after the military said air defences were trying to repel a drone attack.

There were no injuries in the attack, which came in waves and approached the city from different directions, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Popko said there was no fire, amending the administration's earlier account that emergency crews had been dispatched to the site of a fire in the Shevchenkivskyi district that it said had been caused by the attack.

It was Russia's second drone attack on Kyiv in as many nights. According to preliminary information, all of the attack drones were destroyed, Popko added. It was not immediately clear how many drones were launched at Kyiv.

Falling drone debris damaged an entrance and windows of at least five buildings in the Shevchenkivskyi and Holosiivskyi districts, including a hostel and windows in an office building, Popko said.

The military posted several photos on Telegram showing a blown-out entrance to a building, damaged windows in another and power lines lying on the road.

Reuters witnesses reported hearing blasts and seeing plumes of smoke rising from above residential buildings.

Shevchenkivskyi district near Kyiv's centre is a busy area with a cluster of universities, restaurants and tourist attractions. Holosiivskyi district is home to a large national park. Both districts lie on the western bank of the Dnipro River.

Kyiv, its surrounding region and the vast majority of the eastern half of Ukraine were intermittently under air raid alerts for most of the night, according to alerts issued on social media by the Ukrainian military.

** Russian forces capture new village in Donetsk region, Ukraine acknowledges fighting

Russia's military said on Sunday that its forces had taken control of the village of Vyshneve in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region as they pursue their advance toward the logistical centre of Pokrovsk.

Ukraine's General Staff made no mention of the village falling into Russian hands, but reported fighting in the vicinity.

Popular Ukrainian war blog DeepState acknowledged the loss of Vyshneve and said Russian forces were moving on an adjacent village.

Ukraine's General Staff, in an afternoon report on Facebook, said Russian forces had launched 19 attacks on the Pokrovsk sector of the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line in eastern Ukraine.

"In containing the pressure, the defence forces repelled enemy attacks," it said. "The occupying forces are focusing their efforts on the villages of Promin and Vyshneve."

DeepState said Russian forces were "becoming active near Hryhorivka," a village west of Vyshneve on the way to Pokrovsk.

"They are trying, with infantry, to advance in forested areas along a rail line and they wanted to move into the village and gain a foothold," it said. "Fortunately, this attempt was unsuccessful."

Vyshneve is near Selydove, a major town whose capture was announced by the Russian military last week. On Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said it had captured two other villages on the eastern front.

Russian forces have focused on taking over all the Donbas - made up of Donetsk and Luhansk regions - after making an initial unsuccessful push on the capital Kyiv in the days after their February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In September, Russian forces advanced at their fastest rate since March 2022, according to open source data, despite Ukraine seizing a part of Russia's southern Kursk region.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Southern sector of Ukrainian defense in DPR close to collapse — The Guardian

Russian units have been advancing at the fastest rate since the beginning of 2022 with the southern sector of the Ukrainian frontline about to crumble, the Guardian said.

According to the newspaper, in October, Russian forces liberated over 500 square kilometers, mostly in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). It noted that Russian troops also took over about 40 square kilometers in the Kupyansk area.

Kupiansk military-civilian mayor Andrey Besedin described the situation as "critical" and said that approximately 1,400 people were refusing to evacuate from their homes, awaiting the arrival of Russian troops. The newspaper emphasized that since the beginning of October, the situation in Kupyansk has become dramatically worse for Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian servicemen told the Guardian that Russian forces outnumber them in artillery, military hardware and personnel.

Reuters/Tass

“The partiality that inevitably affects judges has been noted in cases with a political flavour.” – David Pannick, KC, Judges, p. 44 (1987)

The state as we know it enjoys three notional monopolies. One is a monopoly of legitimate taxation. The second is a monopoly of the legitimate instrumentality of violence; and the third is a monopoly of legitimate dispute resolution. In Nigeria, all three monopolies are now contested by non-state entities.

Of these three monopolies, many focus on the legitimate instrumentality of violence but it is the capacity of a state to resolve disputes lawfully and peacefully among those who live in it that makes the other two monopolies worthwhile. That is why courts, administrative and even traditional institutions exist.

David Pannick, KC reminds us that “as part of the function of deciding disputes, the courts provide a public service, at almost no charge to customers (who pay for their lawyers but not for the judge and the courtroom).” This is the ideal. Nigeria’s judicial system is in a profound crisis of legitimacy today because of ample evidence suggesting strongly that the requirement that litigants should not pay for the judge or the courtroom may not apply to certain categories, especially among political litigants. 

To be clear, the most important reasons for which people sometimes end up in court often are not things to which it is possible to assign any value – dignity, equity, justice, memory, safety or human life. These are all invaluable. Without them, organised society fails. Jurisprudence is the system for organising knowledge about judicial decisions that ultimately deliver and govern these invaluable public goods.

However, judicial business is not confined to these. Many disputes that end up in court involve property or things of material value, such as land, inheritance, shares, stocks, or chattels. Some others may extend to intangibles of value, such as status or reputation. There could also be cases concerning access to political power from which perch the people involved hope to reap benefits that are material in consequence. 

These are all things for which the currency of transaction or exchange is money. In Nigerian parlance, that is called “Kudi”. When a court system prioritises disputes affecting things measured in the currency of money over things that are entirely invaluable, it replaces a system of jurisprudence in favour of a preoccupation with “Kudisprudence”.

By way of full disclosure, I did not invent this expression, “Kudisprudence”. I was introduced to it by a friend and school mate of long standing who also happens to be a diligent Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He has not licensed me to disclose his identity, and I am obliged to respect his anonymity. 

Two cases occurred this past week to illustrate how this distinction between jurisprudence and Kudisprudence affects judicial decision making in Nigeria. On 30 October, the police arraigned a member of the House of Representatives, Mascot Ikwechegh, on charges of assault against a gig-economy driver working with Bolt. A now viral video clip showed Ikwechegh had assaulted the driver in words and deed. He called the driver vermin in different forms and threatened to “disappear” him without consequences, before proceeding to satiate on the driver his thirst for physical violence.

For those conversant with that Nigerian rat-killer, the material on the video clip portrayed Ikwechegh as the member representing “Otapiapia” Federal Constituency in the Rat Killers Assembly. On his arraignment, the court granted him bail on an oral application in the sum of N500,000 with sureties who only had to show evidence of utility bills for proof of their residence. The case was adjourned for one week.

Two days later, on 1 November, another court in the same Abuja was host to proceedings charging at least 114 children according to the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, with treasonable felony. These charges arose in connection with the #EndBadGovernment protests which occurred last August around the country. Arrested in different locations in northern Nigeria reportedly, these children were transferred to Abuja where they had been detained en masse for 93 days. 

On arraignment, they all looked “visibly unwell and malnourished.” In their short spell in  court, at least four of them suffered fainting feats. Having beheld all of this, the presiding judge promptly rewarded the children with bail in the sum of N10 million each or a total of N1.14 billion Naira, with two sureties each of whom must be a senior federal civil servant of at least Grade Level 15. He adjourned the case to 24 January 2025. These terms were manifestly such that none of these children can hope to comply with.

This is a court system in which material things, such as status, make all the difference between receiving justice or being on the end of the administration of law even when it is manifestly unjust. The parliamentarian received jurisprudence from a court system that was happy to serve malnourished children with anything but that.

There is an even more worrying scenario to which the expression “Kudisprudence” may be applied. That can be the case where a judicial decision follows upon a bargain – implicit or explicit – between a judge or magistrate on the one hand and a party (disclosed or undisclosed) on the other. This was the sense in which Stanislav Andrzejewski, the former Polish soldier and prisoner-of-war who founded the Sociology Department at the University of Reading in England coined the word “kleptocracy” in 1968, which he defined as “a system of government [that] consists precisely of the practice of selling what the law forbids to sell.” Among the things a kleptocracy can buy and sell in its political open market, Andrzejewski included “even judges.”

The fact that Kudisprudence in the second sense occurs in certain courts in Nigeria is not in question. Many disciplinary cases concluded by the National Judicial Council (NJC), no less, testify to this fact. The only issue left to be determined is how pervasive this is. One thing seems clear: political cases increasingly appear to suggest – very much as David Pannick writes – a higher predisposition to what look like outcomes of Kudisprudence. 

For evidence of how this system of Kudisprudence can work, a recent report by the advocacy group, Citizen Gavel, names a notorious former governor and current minister who has a long track record of “building judicial infrastructure and offering other forms of support” to the judiciary in acts of generosity that “often coincide with periods when he has faced significant legal challenges. This raises the possibility that these actions may have indirectly influenced judicial decisions.” Law professor, Fidelis Oditah, adds that in the courts in Rivers State disputes may have been “corruptly procured” and that the decision have more than a whiff of “a rat” about them.

In its nature, judicial quid pro quo does not necessarily occur on social media or with receipts. Verified cases are more likely than not to be fewer in fact than the number of actual incidents. Many more followers of the recent goings on in Nigeria’s judicial system may themselves have evidence to conclude that it has evolved from a system of jurisprudence to one preoccupied with Kudisprudence. 

On its own, that would be sufficient cause for worry; but the reason the system now suffers an overwhelming sense of crisis of credibility is because it cannot be ruled out that this preoccupation with Kudisprudence in the first sense is not the result (in a significant number particularly of political cases), of Kudisprudence in the second – transactional – sense. 

Pannick concludes that courts offer to “those who are greedy, vexatious, exhibitionist, aspiring to canonisation, or just plain impossible a platform to perform.” Every one of them has a right to a court system that regards the public interest in justice as something that money cannot buy.

** Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a professor of law, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and can be reached through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sam Rockwell

How to Create a Positive Work Environment As a Leader A leader's well-being is the cornerstone of effective team management. When leaders support their own and their team's well-being through the practice of 'Expressive Arts,' they create a positive environment that fosters self-awareness, trust, collaboration and productivity within their teams.

As a leadership development researcher and consultant, I tend to be intrigued but skeptical when I hear stories about painting as team building or writing poetry to enhance leadership performance. I then found the work of Dr. Michelle Williams, who uses something called "Expressive Arts" to help leaders and their teams increase their emotional intelligence for enhanced team performance and wellness.

I learned that Expressive Arts goes beyond painting and poetry to include a wide range of modalities such as movement, visual arts, writing, sound and music, drama and imagery. Participation in these activities interact in what the late Natalie Rogers called the Creative Connection, leading to enhanced self-awareness, personal growth, emotional intelligence and creativity. Participants have praised these methods for helping them navigate complex emotions surrounding their work life, gain clarity about career decisions, and think more creatively.

Expressive Arts is a powerful option for leaders to gain a safe outlet to process feelings that could otherwise lead to burnout and reduced effectiveness.

By integrating Expressive Arts into leadership development, leaders can develop the self-awareness and emotional intelligence at the heart of empowering leadership styles such as mindful leadership, authentic leadership and transformational leadership. These styles are known for valued organization-level outcomes ranging from enhanced trust to improved performance and decision-making.

According to Williams, the leader's well-being is the cornerstone of effective team management because it directly influences their ability to maintain emotional balance, make sound decisions and communicate clearly. When leaders prioritize their own well-being, they create a positive environment that fosters trust, collaboration and productivity within their teams.

For this reason, Williams specializes in facilitating Expressive Arts experiences for leaders and their teams. She believes that when leaders model vulnerability and creativity, their team members are inspired to do the same.

In turn, everyone gains more access to their own and each other's abilities, insights and possibilities. Understanding each other's experiences and emotions leads to better team cohesion, trust and a more supportive work environment, ultimately driving organizational success.

Williams outlined three practices to help leaders develop their skills and enhance their team's wellness through Expressive Arts:

1. Identify your creative outlet and set a regular time for creative activities

Start by identifying a creative activity that resonates with you. This could be anything from painting, writing, or playing a musical instrument. The key is to choose something that allows you to express yourself freely, whether that involves journaling, doodling or keeping an art journal.

To incorporate Expressive Arts in your team, dedicate specific times in your team's schedule for these activities. Regardless of the specific activities or timing, consistency is critical for reaping the benefits of creative exploration. Williams typically works with teams over a 6-month period, meeting with them for a 3-hour monthly session.

2. Crystallize new insights

Engaging in creative processes helps you tap into your subconscious thoughts and emotions. Therefore, after engaging in the creative activity, it is essential to reserve time to reflect on what was created and what thoughts, emotions and insights it stirred.

This reflection period enables participants to turn their access to the subconscious into deeper, actionable insights into their motivations, strengths and areas for growth. This process can be greatly enhanced if, following the reflection period, a group discussion is held where team members share their creations and insights gained.

This step converts individual experience into team bonding and collective knowledge, leading to potential takeaways. The group dialogue also builds empathy and understanding, helping team members better appreciate each other's vulnerabilities and strengths.

3. Create actionable takeaways

The final step is converting the insights gained individually and collectively into actionable goals, tactics and development plans. Each team member and the group as a whole should have a set of goals and plans, which ensures that the Expressive Arts session yields substantive outcomes and progress for the team. This exercise also helps link personal growth with professional objectives, aligning individual aspirations with team goals and boosting motivation and performance.

Embedding Expressive Arts practices into your team's routine can create a dynamic and cohesive work environment where creativity and emotional intelligence drive performance and innovation. Additionally, it is important to remember that leadership is not just about managing others — it's about nurturing yourself to lead effectively.

Integrating creative practices into your leadership routine enhances your self-awareness and emotional intelligence, which are crucial for personal and team success. Embrace this holistic approach to leadership, make it a part of your team's life together, and watch your team meet and exceed its potential.

Entrepreneur

The pan-Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere has expressed disapproval of President Bola Tinubu’s appointments, which they perceive as disproportionately favoring the Yoruba ethnic group. In a statement issued by leader Ayo Adebanjo and Justice Faleye in Ibadan, the group cautioned that this trend could jeopardize inter-ethnic relationships and the peaceful co-existence of Nigeria’s diverse ethnic groups.

Afenifere’s criticism focuses on the concentration of power among Yoruba individuals in key federal government positions, including leadership roles in the criminal justice system, economic agencies, and security forces. They argue that such “Yorubalisation” mirrors the ethnic favoritism criticized during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, which was accused of promoting northern hegemony. The group warns that endorsing a single ethnic dominance, whether Yoruba or otherwise, undermines Nigeria’s pluralistic values and historical commitment to inclusivity.

The implications of these appointments are profound for national integration and unity. A government perceived as favoring one ethnic group over others can exacerbate existing tensions among Nigeria’s diverse ethnicities, potentially leading to feelings of alienation and disenfranchisement in marginalized groups. This not only threatens the social fabric of the nation but also risks destabilizing the political landscape by fostering resentment and division.

Furthermore, Afenifere’s statement resonates with historical concerns regarding the dangers of ethnic hegemony. The group’s commitment to democratic principles and equitable representation underscores the necessity for the Tinubu administration to embrace a more balanced approach to governance. Failing to address these disparities could result in further social fragmentation, as groups like Afenifere stand firm against any form of ethnic favoritism.

While the presidency has countered allegations of bias by presenting data on the regional distribution of appointments, Afenifere remains skeptical. The perceived imbalance in key roles may not only challenge Tinubu’s legitimacy but could also hinder efforts to unify a country already fraught with ethnic and regional divisions.

In summary, the current situation necessitates urgent attention to ensure that Nigeria’s governance reflects its rich diversity. Addressing the concerns raised by Afenifere and promoting a genuinely inclusive political environment are essential steps toward fostering national unity and preventing the pitfalls of ethnic rivalry.

The UK’s battle-scarred Conservatives on Saturday elected “anti-woke” candidate Kemi Badenoch as its new head, making her the first black leader of a major UK party.

The combative former equalities minister replaces Rishi Sunak and now faces the daunting task of reuniting a divided and weakened party emphatically ousted from power in July after 14 years in charge.

Badenoch, 44, came out on top in the two-horse race with former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, winning 57 percent of the votes of party members.

She said it was an “enormous honour” to assume the role, but that “the task that stands before us is tough.”

“We have to be honest about the fact we made mistakes” and “let standards slip,” said Badenoch.

“It is time to get down to business, it is time to renew,” she added.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Badenoch, writing on X that “the first Black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country.”

Sunak said that Badenoch would be a “superb leader”, while fellow former prime minister Boris Johnson wrote that “she brings a much needed zing and zap to the Conservative Party”.

Badenoch will become the official leader of the opposition and face off against Labour’s Keir Starmer in the House of Commons every Wednesday for the traditional Prime Minister’s Questions.

However, she will be leading a much-reduced cohort of Tory MPs in the chamber following the party’s dismal election showing.

She must plot a strategy to regain public trust while stemming the flow of support to the right-wing Reform UK party, led by Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage.

Having campaigned on a right-wing platform, she also faces the prospect of future difficulties within the ranks of Tory lawmakers, which includes many centrists.

– ‘No wallflower’ –

Badenoch, born in London to Nigerian Yoruba parents and raised in Lagos, has called for a return to conservative values, accusing her party of having become increasingly liberal on societal issues such as gender identity.

She describes herself as a straight-talker, a trait that has caused controversy on the campaign trail.

Badenoch was widely criticised after suggesting that statutory maternity pay on small businesses was “excessive” and sparked further furore when she joked that up to 10 percent of Britain’s half a million civil servants were so bad that they “should be in prison”.

On immigration, she said that “not all cultures are equally valid” when deciding who should be allowed to live in the UK.

Jenrick, 42, had also staked out a tough position on the issue, and resigned as immigration minister in Sunak’s government after saying that his controversial plan to deport migrants to Rwanda did not go far enough.

Badenoch, an MP since 2017, has risen from relative obscurity just a few years ago to now lead the country’s second-biggest party.

The Brexit supporter has made a name for herself as a trenchant critic of “identity politics”.

According to Blue Ambition, a biography written by Conservative peer Michael Ashcroft, Badenoch became “radicalised” into right-wing politics while at university in the UK.

He described her view of student activists there as the “spoiled, entitled, privileged metropolitan elite-in-training”.

She has insisted criticism of her abrasive style is misplaced.

“I’m not a wallflower. And people will often take your strengths and present them as weaknesses,” she told Sky News.

She worked in IT and banking before entering politics around a decade ago, eventually winning a seat in the London Assembly in 2015.

Elected to parliament two years later, she was supported as she rose through the Tory ranks by one-time party heavyweight Michael Gove.

Badenoch held various ministerial roles during the tail end of the Conservatives’ 14-year tenure in power.

The Guardian

The high rate of inflation in NIgeria is taking its toll on hotels, forcing them to shut down operations, industry operators have cried out.

Hoteliers have called on the government to intervene in the industry to address the escalating cost of doing business.

In separate interviews with The PUNCH, the stakeholders noted that their challenges were confirmed by recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, which revealed that inflation in the restaurants and hotels division contributed 0.40 per cent to Nigeria’s headline inflation rate, which rose to 32.70 per cent in September.

The hospitality sector is hit hard by high fuel costs and erratic electricity supply, according to the President of the Nigeria Hotel Association, Patrick Anyanwu, who described the situation as “unbearable”.

He stated that hoteliers’ challenges date back to 2020 but have intensified under the current administration.

He said, “You go to buy fuel, formerly you could manage fuel at N800/litre, but now it has gone up to N1,200/litre. Members are complaining about energy. Many have started closing their establishments. If somebody feels that diesel they bought at over N20,000 only gets them a handful of customers, are they not going to close up?”

Anyanwu highlighted the high cost of electricity, worsened by an inconsistent power supply from distribution companies, which leaves hoteliers paying inflated bills.

“We are not receiving sufficient electricity. The amount the Discos (power distribution companies) are sending to our members, when you assess it against the type of bills they are bringing, you will ask yourself, ‘when did you consume this?” he said.

Anyanwu called for urgent government intervention, noting, “We are still advising those in government to consider the masses. We are the ones that brought them in. We asked them to go there and represent us.”

Similarly, the President of the Nigeria Hotel and Catering Institute, Gbenga Sumonu, painted a bleak picture of the hospitality industry.

“The economy has greatly been unstable with the hyperinflation we are facing as investors today. This situation has affected all facets of operation, from high interest rates and rising material costs to exorbitant energy expenses,” he added.

Punch

Israeli forces capture senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon, Israeli military official says

Israeli naval forces captured a senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon, an Israeli military official said Saturday, as the conflict between the Iran-backed group and Israel showed few signs of easing.

Earlier on Saturday, Lebanese authorities said it was investigating whether Israel was behind the capture of a Lebanese sea captain who was taken away by a group of armed men who had landed on the coast near the northern town of Batroun on Friday.

“The operative has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently being investigated,” the military official said, without providing the name of the person in detention.

The operation marks the first time Israel has announced it deployed troops deep into northern Lebanon to take a senior Hezbollah operative captive since the conflict between the two sides escalated in late September. Since then, Israeli forces began a ground invasion of southern Lebanon and intensified its airstrikes across the country, including southern Beirut and the eastern Bekaa valley, killing most of Hezbollah’s senior commanders.

Hezbollah issued a statement describing what happened as a “Zionist aggression in the Batroun area.” The statement did not give details or confirm whether a Hezbollah member was captured by Israel.

Two Lebanese military officials confirmed to The Associated Press that a naval force landed in Batroun, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Beirut, and abducted a Lebanese citizen. Neither gave the man’s identity or said whether he was thought to have links to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group. They did not confirm whether the armed men were an Israeli force.

Three Lebanese judicial officials told AP the operation took place at dawn Friday, adding that the captain might have links with Hezbollah. The officials said an investigation is looking into whether the man is linked to Hezbollah or working for an Israeli spy agency and an Israeli force came to rescue him.

Both the military and judicial officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were unauthorized to share details about the incident or the ongoing investigation.

Soon after Israel went public about the operation, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on Lebanon’s foreign minister to file a complaint against Israel at the U.N. Security Council.

Israel has carried out in the past commando operations deep inside Lebanon to kidnap or kill Hezbollah and Palestinian officials.

Recounting the event, Lebanese residents from the apartment building where the man was seized said the armed group introduced themselves as state security.

“We were terrified. They were breaking into the apartment next to ours,” Hussein Delbani told The Associated Press near where the man was captured. “I thought a state agency was doing a security operation,” said Delbani, who was displaced from south Lebanon a month ago when the Israel-Hezbollah war erupted.

He said he saw from his balcony people down on the coast and they screamed again for him to go inside.

Hamie told Al-Jadeed the man was a captain of civilian ships. He graduated in 2022 and in late September joined the Batroun’s Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute for additional courses. Hamie said that the man lived some 300 meters (980 feet) from the institute.

Hamie’s remarks came shortly after two Lebanese journalists posted a video on social media showing what appeared to be about 20 armed men taking away a man from in front a house, his face covered with his shirt.

Kandice Ardiel, a spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed in south Lebanon, denied allegations by some local journalists who said that the peacekeepers helped the landing force in the operation. The U.N. mission, known as UNIFIL, has a maritime force that monitors the coast.

“Disinformation and false rumors are irresponsible and put peacekeepers at risk,” Ardiel said.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles from Lebanon into Israel in solidarity with Hamas immediately after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza. The yearlong cross-border fighting boiled over to full-blown war on Oct. 1, when Israeli forces launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon for the first time since 2006.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine 'holding back' powerful Russian offensive, Kyiv top commander says

Ukrainian forces are restraining one of Russia's most powerful offensives since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbour, the top commander of Kyiv's forces said on Saturday.

Russian troops advanced in September at their fastest rate since March 2022, the month after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, according to open-source data. Ukraine in August took part of Russia's Kursk region.

"The Armed Forces of Ukraine are holding back one of the most powerful Russian offensives from launching a full-scale invasion," General Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

After failing to capture the capital Kyiv early in the war and win a decisive victory, Putin scaled back his war ambitions to taking the Donbas industrial heartland in Ukraine's east, which covers the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Donbas has since become the war's main theatre, where some of biggest battles in Europe for generations have taken place and where thousands of troops on each side have died.

On Saturday, Moscow said it has taken two more settlements along the Donbas frontline. In the week of Oct. 20-27 alone, Russia captured nearly 200 square km (80 square miles) of Ukrainian territory, according to the Russian media group Agentstvo, which analysed Ukrainian open-source maps.

The war is entering what Russian analysts say is its most dangerous phase as Moscow's forces advance, North Korea sends troops to Russia and the West ponders how the conflict will end.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been travelling the world lobbying NATO countries to allow Kyiv the use of the long-range missiles they have provided to strike targets deep inside Russia.

Ukraine is bracing for what could be the toughest winter of the war after long-range Russian airstrikes destroyed what officials say is about half of its power generating capacity.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Zelensky ‘worn and stressed’ – NYT

The sense of pessimism is growing in Kiev as Ukrainians anxiously await the outcome of the nearing US presidential election and are dealing with low morale and weapons shortages, the New York Times reported on Friday. It said that US military and intelligence officials believe that the conflict is “no longer a stalemate,” given Russia’s streak of successes on the battlefield. 

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky “looked worn and stressed, anxious about his troops’ battlefield setbacks as well as the US elections,” when he met with American officials in Kiev last week, the Times said. Ukrainian troops are forced to deal with low morale, lack of reinforcements, and the inability to outgun the Russian forces.

The Times cited an unnamed Ukrainian major stationed at the border near Russia’s Kursk Region as saying that the Ukrainians are “constantly losing previously occupied positions,” while Moscow’s forces have an advantage in men and artillery. 

According to the Times, US officials believe, however, the Ukrainians would have a chance to exploit “Russia’s weaknesses” if the aid from Washington “remains strong until next summer.” 

The Russian troops have been steadily gaining ground in recent months, having captured the heavily fortified mining town of Ugledar in the Donbass early last month. Moscow has also launched an offensive aimed at pushing Ukrainian army units from the Kursk Region, which was invaded in August.

Zelensky has appeared increasingly worried over the course of the conflict, admitting earlier this year that Kiev effectively became “a hostage” of the highly unpredictable US election. He urged Kiev’s foreign backed in July to redouble their efforts and help to end the conflict “as soon as possible.” 

The BBC reported earlier this week that soldiers and ordinary Ukrainians were closely watching the presidential campaign in America, where Republican candidate Donald Trump, his running mate J.D. Vance and several prominent Republicans proposed conditioning aid to Ukraine or canceling it altogether. 

“We should never give money anymore without the hope of a payback, or without ‘strings’ attached. The United States of America should be ‘stupid’ no longer,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in February. He repeatedly described Zelensky as “the greatest salesman on Earth”and claimed that, if reelected, he would quickly resolve the conflict between Moscow and Kiev through diplomacy. 

Reuters/RT

In a gripping but evergreen musical rendition of a Yoruba fictional folksong, late Fuji music lord, Ayinde Barrister, once deployed the canvas of the forest to paint the inequality of the world. In his Fuji New Waves album, he also depicted the acrimonies that follow the sharing of jointly hunted games. What the anecdote tells us is that, if we listen to the unspoken voices of the forest, humanity may find answers to some of its knotty matters. The narrator and about eleven of his friends, had gone on a hunting expedition in the forest. After a very tedious day-long exercise, the crew stumbled on a fleshy Àgbọ̀nrín 

(deer) which it instantly killed. Excited at having killed such a game as reward for its toil, the hunting party whistled excitedly home, the day-long hunting barely allowing them to lift their languid legs. The hapless animal was strung to the neck of one of them like a priceless necklace, blood dripping from its mouth. On getting to the village, the antelope’s furs were instantly heated with fire, derobing it of its earthly clothe. A knife was then slit into the depth of the animal’s smoked belly, making it easy to heave out its entrails. Now, it was time for sharing of the pieces of the antelope’s flesh. Like an offending cat hopping out of the window, equity immediately jumped off the sharing process, sang the musician. The animal’s body parts which hosted chunky meats were then shared among the hunting party’s most vociferous members, leaving the bony huff of the antelope’s back and head for the narrator.

Human interactions, especially when they have to do with fiscal relations, are always characterized by hostile competition, unending struggle and a survival-of-the-fittest syndrome. Since the colonial government’s Phillipson Commission of 1946 which recommended derivation and even development as criteria for distribution of revenue, fiscal interactions among ethnicities in Nigeria have been driven by acrimony. First was the battle to ensure that the fiscal exploitations of the colonial government which put the federal government at an exploitative advantage got reduced. It was followed by struggles to stop post-colonial governments’ attempts to carry on this banner of exploitation. Today, the financial hegemony of the central government over the 36 states and 774 local governments has continued, creating discontent across Nigeria.

According to Dare Arowolo in his “Federalism in Nigeria: Theories and dimensions” published in the Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences Volume 2, No. 2.2, subsequent fiscal commissions after Phillipson’s haven’t eased anger and agitations on an equitable sharing formula for Nigeria. The 1951 Hicks-Phillipson Commission did same. So also did the Raisman Commission of 1957 which recommended percentage division of 40% to the north, 31% to the east, 24% to the west and 5% to Southern Cameroon. The 1964 Binns Commission of 1964 also proposed regional financial comparability and percentage division of 42% to the north, 30% to the east, 20% to the west and 8% to the mid-west while the 1969 Dina Commission and the Aboyade Technical Committee of 1977 toed different lines entirely. In subsequence, commissions like the Okigbo Committee of 1980 recommended percentages on principles: Population (4%), equality (4%), social development (15%) and internal revenue effort (5%). On percentages for governments, it recommended Federal (53%), States (30%), Local Governments (10%), Special Fund (7%) while the 1988 Danjuma Commission recommended almost same percentages. Nigeria also made other laws and decrees on revenue allocation like the Decree 15 of 1967, Decrees 13 of 1970, 9 of 1971, 6 and 7 of 1975, with the latest being the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission of 1999. All of them were geared towards equitably sharing of Nigeria’s wealth. The above were Arowolo’s research findings.

To underscore the importance of sharing spoils and to demonstrate that the crises that come out of it are not new, let us consider the Òsè Méjì, a verse taken from the primordial divinity called the Ifá corpus system of divination. Apart from this, sonorous renditions of hunters’ poetry called Ijálá or Babaláwo ìyẹ̀rè, the poetry performance of Ifá priests also explains how fiscal battles are based on interests, and that disputes over interests, though as old as man, can set the world ablaze.

This particular dispute was personified by the Òsè Méjì as disputes by Earth and Heaven, called Àjàláyé and Àjàlóṛun, a disagreement that was cast in the mould of hunters disputing sharing of spoils.The Earth and Heaven, who were friends, struck an agreement while on a hunting expedition that, upon their success, they would half the game among each other. However, the two hunters’ guns did not spill a bullet, nor did they kill a game. As they walked home dejected, a pint-sized rodent ran across them which one of them immediately killed. Disappointed at the miniature kill, a palm-size game, when it was time to share it, the two hunters could not agree on their earlier decision to half the animal. Conflict then engulfed the two friends. Virtually all earthly creations suffered the collateral damage of the friends’ dispute. Death, barrenness, drought and other afflictions stalked the earth. Seeing this conflict’s potentials to upturn the earth, Vulture came to the rescue. She gave herself as sacrificial lamb to carry a mitigating sacrifice to God, the Olodumare. It was only thereafter that the umbilical cord that twines the Earth and Heaven was restored through a peaceful settlement of the rift.

Like the crises that usually follow sharing of spoils in a hunting expedition, last week’s 

transmission of four bills aimed at overhauling the Nigerian tax system to the National Assembly by the Bola Tinubu administration got engulfed in controversy. The bills are: the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill. The one that got mired in controversy the most was the one which proposes changes to the sharing formula of the Value Added Tax (VAT). The new bill wants states where VATs are generated to have accrued to them shares that tally with their consumption. By this, states which have less consumption will have less accruals. It sounds equitable, doesn’t it? One of the bills also reduced FG’s share from 15 to 10 percent but with a caveat that the allocation to states will consider the derivation principle. Almost immediately, the Northern Governors’ Forum rejected some of the proposals, especially the VAT sharing template. It reached this resolution last Monday after the governors’ meeting in Kaduna. Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, who read the communiqué of the meeting, said the tax bills were aimed against the interests of the North and that the northern governors would instruct northern lawmakers to reject the bills.

What are the interests of the north that the bills will jeopardize? Tax experts have said that two sets of the tax bills, which were handiworks of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, headed by Taiwo Oyedele, had revolutionary zeal similar to that of Nicholaus Copernicus. Copernicus was a mathematician, astronomer and Catholic canon whose unexampled formulation of a model of the universe placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center. Said the tax experts, as Copernicus altered centuries-old conception of the Earth and the Sun, Oyedele, by significantly altering the distribution of VAT revenues among Nigeria’s federal, state, and local governments, was revolutionizing Nigerian tax system along the path of equity. But northern governors think differently.

Under the current tax law regime, VAT is split in a 15, 50 and 35 percent model between the federal, states (including the Federal Capital Territory), and local governments respectively. The portion attributable to states (and perhaps LGAs) has states retaining 20 percent of the VAT revenue collected within their borders. Thirty percent of the VAT is distributed based on the population of the states, while the remaining 50 percent is shared equally among all states. However, the most strident criticism against this formula is that it does not give consideration to, nor does it have any regard for the principle of derivation. Don’t forget that the major kernel of advocacy against the fiscal regime being practiced in Nigeria today is that, under it, the principle of derivation is in abeyance. This led to cries against perceived inequities in the sharing of games after a month of Nigerian-wide hunting expedition. States and regions that contribute more to VAT do not receive proportional benefits from the sharing.

Talking about sharing of games, in an earlier piece I did, I submitted that hunting expeditions could fittingly explain the inequities in Nigeria, including distribution of Nigeria’s wealth. When a hunting crew embarks on this journey, it divides itself into two. The first is one that holds dane-guns; it often comprises two or three persons. There is then the other crew, usually many, as many as ten, called the “forest encircling hunting group.” The job of this group is to encircle the identified forest for game-hunting. With sticks, stones and any other objects, they make sufficient noise and discomforting howls to unsettle animals from wherever they are holed. The aim is to get the animals suddenly fleeing their holes and scampering to other parts of the forest in a hurry. In the process of fleeing, they run into the hands of the crew of about three whose guns are readied to be cocked. Then the escaping animal gets pounded by a fiery volley of bullets which immobilizes it and prepares it as a fitting gourmet for dinner.

Games successfully hunted, the hunters then heave the animal on a journey back to the village. It is time for sharing the meat, the spoil of the hunting expedition. The crew that encircles the forest, which disrupts the animal from its hole, is decidedly, actually the one that does the most herculean of the hunting expedition. It is comparatively less armed and harm could easily come its way. It also exerts the greatest energy, having to walk inside thorns, briers and thistles in the process of getting the animal to scramble off its comfort zone. The other crew merely holds the gun and shoots when the animal attempts to escape. But, in the sharing of the now dismembered animal, the sharing formula does not follow this pattern of contribution to the hunting. The shooting crew gets the chunkiest part, ranging from the thighs, the neck to even the torso while the “encircling crew” is given less meaty parts.

But, Yoruba Apala music lord, Ayinla Omowura, underscored the superiority of the “shooting crew” over the other crew. Apparently excoriating his musical adversaries, he likened his superiority to that of this crew that shoots the animal. In one of his songs which he entitled E f’àwon wèrè sílè (don’t mind the incorrigible lot) he likened his adversaries to the “bush encircling crew” whose job was “merely” to get the animals run to him, a man whose gun was cocked to shoot. Between him and them, the world should judge who was the most superior, the real hunter, he boasted. Leave the incorrigible lot alone; let them disrupt the peace of the animals in the bush (while we shoot) and let the world assess who is the greater hunter between us –  E f’àwon wèrè sílè k’ón rúgbó sí wa k’á w’aperan t’ó bá yanjú, he boasted.

Under the new Tinubu tax proposal, the VAT distribution would shift to 10 percent, 55 percent, and 35 percent for the same respective tiers of government, with a critical twist: 60 percent of the VAT revenue would be distributed based on derivation. This means that where VAT is collected becomes as crucial as the amount collected, potentially favouring regions where consumption activities are concentrated. A few years ago, Rivers and Lagos States headed for the court to seek legal interpretation of the VAT sharing formula which appears to have been temporarily settled through political means.

The Northern governors’ rejection of the VAT bill is in line with the region’s ancient resistance to the principle of derivation. Southern support for derivation also follows its forefathers’ belief that disregard for derivation approximates street wisdom’s resistance to “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop.” To those who want derivation, it will ensure equitable distribution of income but to the latter, there is the need for fiscal equalization. Before the Tax bills, the criteria Nigeria deployed for allocating resources to the tiers of government violated rational consideration, except for other primordial considerations. Allocating unearned money to states strengthens their renteer drive and weakens the revenue generation drive and capacity of other states. It makes states dependent on the monthly doll-outs from FG.

Like the two hunting categories – the “shooting” and “bush encircling” crews – when it comes to VAT, the new Tax Bill seems to preference “the bush encircling” crew, those who make the greatest sacrifices in the Nigerian hunting of game. It is obedience to that principle which the Niger Delta, where Nigeria’s crude oil is sourced, is demanding from Nigeria. The North, too, should ask that VAT be paid on cows, rams, onions and tomatoes which are within its remit. I learnt that though pasta, malted chocolate drink mixes (Bournvita and co), sugar and many others, though manufactured in the west, are consumed hugely by the north. The Northern governors should push for the domiciliation of the VATs collected from these commodities in the north where they are consumed. In that wise, we will not all be pushing for someone to eat where they did not sow.

That same philosophy was behind bandits’ vandalism of the TCN towers along the 330KV Shiroro-Kaduna lines 1&2 

recently which threw 17 northern states into darkness. The lines, enveloped by a thickly forested area infested by bandits of savage and violent inclination, was the target. These ones, like their contemporaries in the North East, the Boko Haram and the bandits, easily include transmission line vandalism among the list of their evil conducts. So, when the north made so much hoopla that it was all alone in darkness, it needed be told that the south didn’t breed power transmission bandits. Two northern states – Niger and Zamfara – are the greatest security burdens of Nigeria today. Those bandits didn’t wake up to be societal nuisances in one day. They are the neglected out-of-school children of decades back who have now morphed into a full plumule of violence. It is said that a mother who births an irresponsible child should back him – eni bí’mo òràn níí  pòn ón.

Jamaican reggae music king, Bob Marley, in his Small Axe track, reinforced this Biblical truism when he sang that, “whosoever diggeth the pit shall fall in it.” Yes, the FG has the responsibility of ensuring the welfare of all but let the north acknowledge that its leaders, past and present, coupled with an acute dependency culture, salted by religion, have brought not only the north but the rest of Nigeria into this unfavourable fiscal and security situation. Nigeria currently spends huge portion of its revenue fighting the Almajiri of yesterday who have become bandits, and Boko Haram terrorists of today. God bless Patience Jonathan. Her theory of “born trowey” which queries why the North must not take responsibility for the 10 million out-of-school children it births and throws away into the cold is still germane. The north’s poor choices of leadership in the past, at both sub-national and national levels, have hurt and are still hurting the rest of Nigeria.

Let Sango, the god of thunder’s bellowing strike hit the Bata drum and its surrounding bass accoutrements! Tinubu’s Friday refusal to agree with the National Economic Council’s (NEC) recommendation for the withdrawal of the four tax reform bills is, to my mind, a great move. If Sango must strike, permit it to strike, please. What must not be stopped is the life-saving message from the Bata drum which must forcefully enter the earlobes of the one who has refused to listen.