Israel calls up reservists as fears for fragile Gaza ceasefire rise

Israel has called up military reservists to brace for a possible re-eruption of war in Gaza if Hamas fails to meet a Saturday deadline to free further Israeli hostages and a nearly month-old ceasefire unravels.

Concern that the truce will collapse is growing as fury mounts in the Arab world over President Donald Trump's plan for the United States to take over Gaza, resettle its Palestinian inhabitants and build an international beach resort.

Hamas said Egypt and Qatar, which with U.S. support mediated the ceasefire deal that took effect on January 19, had stepped up efforts to break the impasse and the Palestinian militant group's Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, arrived in Cairo for talks.

Hamas agreed under the deal to free three more hostages on Saturday but said this week that it was suspending the handover over what it said were Israeli violations of the terms.

Trump responded by saying all hostages must be freed by noon on Saturday or he would "let hell break out".

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the truce was meant to bring about a swift release of hostages held in harsh conditions in Gaza. "If Hamas stops the hostage releases then there is no ceasefire and there is war," he said in remarks at Israeli defence headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Katz added that "the new Gaza war" will be of another intensity altogether and "allow the realisation of Trump's vision for Gaza".

"Hamas ... will not accept the language of American and Israeli threats," Hamas spokesperson Hazaem Qassem said in a statement. "Contacts are underway with mediator countries to conclude the implementation of the ceasefire deal."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday Israel would resume "intense fighting" if Hamas did not meet the deadline, but did not say how many hostages should be freed.

Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to gather forces in and around Gaza, and the military announced it was deploying additional forces to Israel's south, near Gaza, including mobilising reservists.

Trump, in a White House meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah on Tuesday, asked him to ensure Hamas understood the "severity of the situation" if hostages were not freed by Saturday, the White House said on Wednesday.

SHATTERING WAR

The standoff threatens to reignite a conflict that has devastated the Gaza Strip, internally displaced most of its people, caused shortages of food and running water, and driven the Middle East to the brink of a wider regional war.

Gazans expressed alarm that the ceasefire might collapse and urged Hamas and Israeli leaders to agree on an extension.

"We had barely started believing that a truce would happen and that a solution was on the way, God willing," said Lotfy Abu Taha, a resident of Rafah in southern Gaza. "The people are suffering. The people are the victims."

The armed wing of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, which is also holding Israeli hostages, warned that their fate was tied to Netanyahu's actions.

"The only way to retrieve hostages and for stability to come back is through a (hostage-prisoner) swap deal," its spokesperson said on Telegram.

In a further sign of Arab anger over Trump's vision of Gaza, two Egyptian security sources said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would not go to Washington for talks if the agenda included Trump's plan to displace Palestinians.

The date for such a visit has not been announced, and the Egyptian presidency and foreign ministry did not comment.

SOME HOSTAGES ALREADY FREED

The Gaza war was triggered by the lightning Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken as hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

In response, Israel began an air and ground war against Hamas which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in small, densely populated Gaza, according to Gaza health officials.

Hamas has freed 16 Israeli hostages from an initial group of 33 children, women and older men to be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in the first stage of the ceasefire deal. It also returned five Thai hostages.

Negotiators hope a second phase of ceasefire talks will secure agreement on releasing the remaining hostages and a full Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.

Palestinians fear a repeat of the "Nakba", or catastrophe, when nearly 800,000 people fled or were driven out of Palestine during the 1948 war that led to Israel's creation. Israel denies the account that they were forced out. Trump has said they would have no right to return under his plan for Gaza.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Trump says Putin and Zelenskiy want peace; phone calls kick off talks to end Ukraine war

Donald Trump said both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him on Wednesday, and Trump ordered top U.S. officials to begin talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

The conversations came after Trump's defense secretary earlier said Kyiv would have to give up its long-held goals of joining the NATO military alliance and regaining all of its territory seized by Russia, signaling a dramatic shift in Washington's approach to the conflict.

After speaking with Putin for more than an hour, Trump said the Russian leader, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, wants the war to end and they discussed "getting a ceasefire in the not-too-distant future."

"He wants it to end. He doesn't want to end it and then go back to fighting six months later," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

"I think we're on the way to getting peace. I think President Putin wants peace, President Zelenskiy wants peace and I want peace. I just want to see people stop getting killed," he added.

Trump has long said he would quickly end the war in Ukraine, without spelling out exactly how he would accomplish this.

The Kremlin earlier said Putin and Trump had agreed to meet, and Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow. Trump said their first meeting would "probably" take place soon in Saudi Arabia.

In a post on his social media platform, he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, national security adviser Michael Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would lead negotiations on ending the war.

Trump and Zelenskiy spoke after Trump's call with Putin, and Zelenskiy's office said the conversation lasted for about an hour.

"I had a meaningful conversation with @POTUS. We... talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together ...and Ukraine's technological capabilities... including drones and other advanced industries," Zelenskiy wrote on X.

No Ukraine peace talks have been held since the early months of the conflict, now approaching its third anniversary. Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, oversaw billions of dollars of military and other aid to Kyiv and had no direct contact with Putin after Russia's invasion.

Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and has demanded Kyiv cede more territory and be rendered permanently neutral under any peace deal.

Ukraine demands Russia withdraw from captured territory and says it must receive NATO membership or equivalent security guarantees to prevent Moscow from attacking again.

European powers, including Britain, France and Germany, said on Wednesday they had to be part of any future negotiations on the fate of Ukraine, underscoring that only a fair accord with security guarantees would ensure lasting peace. They said they were ready to enhance support for Ukraine and put it in a position of strength.

'ILLUSIONARY GOAL'

Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered the new administration's bluntest statement so far on its approach to the war, saying Kyiv could not realistically hope to return to previous borders or join NATO.

"We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective," Hegseth told a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering."

Russia in 2014 annexed Crimea, which Ukraine and many Western countries consider to be occupied Ukrainian territory.

Hegseth said any durable peace must include "robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again". But he said U.S. troops would not be deployed to Ukraine as part of such guarantees.

Zelenskiy, hoping to keep Trump interested in continuing to support his country, has lately proposed a deal under which the United States would invest in minerals in Ukraine.

Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in Kyiv on Wednesday on the first visit by a member of Trump's cabinet, said such a mineral deal could serve as a "security shield" for Ukraine after the war.

Trump also said Rubio and Vice President JD Vance will hold talks about the war on Friday in Munich, where Ukrainian officials were expected to attend an annual security conference.

The new diplomacy followed a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap that got under way on Tuesday, which the Kremlin said could help build trust between the two countries.

Russia on Tuesday freed American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who was serving a 14-year sentence in a Russian prison, in exchange for a Russian cybercrime boss imprisoned in the U.S., according to a official.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Moscow confirms massive strike on Ukrainian military plants

Russia has launched a major missile strike on Ukrainian military drone production plants, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry confirmed that Russian forces had carried out a “group missile strike on workshops of Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises producing unmanned aerial vehicles and FPV drones.”

“The goals of the strikes have been accomplished, all designated facilities have been hit,” officials added.

According to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, the wave of strikes resulted in one death, four injuries and infrastructure damage.

Ukraine’s air force said that Kiev, Sumy, Poltava, and Chernigov regions, as well as the city of Krivoy Rog, were affected by the strikes. It noted that the attack involved Iskander-M ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones, and claimed that Ukrainian forces shot down six Iskanders and 71 UAVs.

According to media reports, Kiev was one of the hardest-hit cities. Russian Telegram channels cited eyewitnesses reporting a 16 explosions across the city. Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported fires in several districts, including one in the industrial zone in the northern part of the capital.

Officials in Chernigov Region reported a drone strike on critical infrastructure, resulting in two injuries and a fire.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of the Security Council, also weighed in on the strikes, mocking Zelensky’s claim that Kiev’s large-scale incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region sought to achieve “peace through strength.”

“Peace through strength, you say? Sometimes this concept really works. For example, when it showcases the real, not the imaginary balance of power. Like today in Kiev, after our missile and UAV strikes,” he said.

However, Medvedev voiced doubts that the latest attack would be able to “clear the minds of those illegitimate buffoons” who he said “talk nonsense on camera about exchanging territories. For such people, the only way to heal is to feel Russian again.”

Earlier this week, Zelensky signaled that he intends to use the areas Ukraine has occupied in Russia’s Kursk Region as leverage in possible negotiations with Moscow to return some of the territory claimed by Kiev.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has dismissed the idea out of hand, saying that “Neonazis rampaging in Kursk Region will receive land without any swap, measured a meter wide, two long, and roughly a meter and a half deep.” 

Reuters/RT

Aditi Shrikant

Jim Guinn has gotten out of 38 speeding tickets. What’s his trick? He can get along with anyone.

At least that’s the central claim of his upcoming book, “How to Get Along with Anyone: The Playbook for Predicting and Preventing Conflict at Work and at Home,” which he co-authored with John Eliot.

Guinn is the president of the Resolution Resource Group, a company that coaches other companies on how to solve conflict, and Eliot mentors professional sports teams and athletes on how to improve performance.

A common mistake people make when trying to solve a problem with a co-worker or family member is “they try to fix what they believe to be the root issue without assessing what that person’s conflict personality style is,” Guinn told CNBC Make It.

“We try to jump in and we try to fix it to get if off our plate, but we are resolving superficial issues that aren’t really the true trigger [of the conflict],” he says.

There are five conflict personality styles the two outline in their book: avoider, competitor, analyzer, collaborator, accommodator.

Here’s how to best negotiate with each one, according to Guinn and Eliot.

Avoider

This person is uninterested in minor details and does best working alone. “They view most conflict as an extraneous distraction to their goals, smarter passed than getting caught up in,” Guinn and Eliot write in their book.

To negotiate with an avoider you should:

• Be time efficient. They hate pointless meetings and small talk
• Be persistent. They will probably ignore you at first
• Focus on the issue at hand and don’t bring in other details

Competitor

A competitor is always pushing the envelope and prone to taking risks. They often have the reputation of being aggressive, but their urgency comes from a place of wanting to solve problems completely and quickly.

To negotiate with a competitor you should:

• Adhere to deadlines
• Give them an early win during the interaction
• Follow through on what you say you’ll do

Analyzer

This person is evidence-based and methodical. They will patiently gather information before acting. They are usually OK with compromise and expect you to be the same.

“Once they feel that they’ve exhaustively considered all viewpoints and have arrived at a decision, they can get attached to it,” Guinn and Eliot write.

To negotiate with an analyzer you should:

• Show them you are willing to be flexible
• Not flake on meetings
• Not rush their thinking process, but try to be part of it

Collaborator

A collaborator prides themselves on being a relationship manager. They are observant, emotionally astute, and empathetic. But they often aren’t direct about what they want.

“Their desire to dig into others’ thoughts, feelings, and perspectives can be off-putting or prompt others to put up defenses,” Guinn and Eliot write. “Collaborators will work hard to make things personal to get you to let your guard down.”

To negotiate with a collaborator you should:

• Validate their need to be part of the group
• Steer the conversation back to them, as they often try to redirect discussions to other people’s desires.
• Don’t be “all business.” They gravitate toward solving “people” problems

Accommodator

An accommodator prioritizes the achievements and well-being of those they care about over their own. They are great at empowering their teammates but are triggered when they feel underappreciated.

“Accommodators are talented at sustaining their rationality when disgruntled, frustrated, tired, and so forth,” Guinn and Eliot write.

To negotiate with an accommodator you should:

• Demonstrate that you’re reliable
• Stick to the plan they are anticipating
• Don’t take them for granted

Figuring out which conflict style your boss, colleague or partner has can help you predict their behavior.

Guinn says his quick read of a cop has saved him hundreds of dollars.

“If the cop gets out [of their car] very quickly and walks up to your window, we know we’re dealing with a competitor or a collaborator,” he says.

If the former, be direct. Apologize, but don’t make small talk. If you sense the cop is a collaborator, take the opposite approach. Ask how their day has been and chit chat.

“If they sit in their car for a long time and they’re checking your registration, license and making you wait, they are probably either an avoider or they are an analyzer,” he says. “Most likely you won’t have a traffic cop who is an accommodator.”

An avoider you treat the same as a competitor — just get to the point. And you’ll want to give as much information as possible to an analyzer.

Guinn stresses these strategies aren’t foolproof and work best with people you see more often.

Getting out of a speeding ticket, though, is a “fun little bonus,” he says.

CNBC

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has temporarily suspended its recently announced 4% levy on import values, seeking more time for stakeholder consultation.

The suspension, announced Tuesday by Assistant Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwasa, comes just days after the initial February 5 announcement of the Free-on-Board (FOB) value charge. The decision follows discussions with Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

According to Maiwasa, the timing coincides with the expiration of contracts with service providers, including Webb Fontaine, which were previously funded through the 1% Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS). "This presents an opportunity to review our revenue framework holistically," he explained.

The new charge structure stems from the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCSA) 2023, which aims to streamline previous funding arrangements. The Act consolidates funding streams to address operational inefficiencies and modernization needs, establishing a minimum 4% FOB value charge on imports.

Maiwasa highlighted the Act's focus on technological advancement, noting several digital initiatives already underway. These include the recently launched B'Odogwu clearance system, which has improved processing times and transparency. The legislation also authorizes various technological improvements such as:

- Single Window implementation

- Enhanced risk management systems

- Non-intrusive inspection equipment

- Electronic data exchange facilities

The suspension period will allow Customs to refine implementation strategies and engage more thoroughly with stakeholders before proceeding with the new levy structure.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the elimination of the three free monthly ATM withdrawals that customers previously enjoyed when using other banks' machines. The new policy takes effect March 1, 2025, as outlined in a circular dated February 10, 2025, signed by John S. Onojah, Acting Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department.

Under the new guidelines, customers will pay fees for every withdrawal at other banks' ATMs. While transactions at your own bank's ATM remain free, withdrawals at other banks will incur the following charges:

- On-site ATMs (within bank premises): N100 per N20,000 withdrawal

- Off-site ATMs (outside bank premises): N100 per N20,000 withdrawal plus N500 surcharge

The CBN mandates that ATM operators must disclose any surcharges to customers before withdrawal. For international ATM transactions, fees will reflect the exact amount charged by international acquirers.

This policy change comes amid shifting trends in Nigerian banking. ATM usage has declined, with active machines dropping 3.82 percent from 17,377 in late 2023 to 16,714 in mid-2024. Meanwhile, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals have seen explosive growth, increasing 127.07 percent to reach 5.56 million terminals by the end of 2024.

The CBN cited rising operational costs and the need to improve ATM efficiency as key factors behind the policy change. The bank expects these new charges to encourage financial institutions to deploy more ATMs and implement appropriate fee structures for their services.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

A new report from the Middle East Forum, a U.S. think tank, alleges that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided millions of dollars in funding to organizations with ties to extremist groups.

According to the report published February 4, the think tank's multi-year study identified $164 million in approved grants to what it describes as radical organizations, with at least $122 million allegedly going to groups aligned with designated terrorist organizations and their supporters.

The report specifically highlights several cases, including:

- A reported $900,000 grant to Bayader Association for Environment and Development, a Gaza-based organization that the report claims operates in coordination with Hamas authorities.

- A $12.5 million grant approval to the American Near East Refugee Agency, which the report describes as a "long-standing partner" of Bayader.

- A $125,000 payment that allegedly reached the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA) in 2015, despite ISRA being designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Treasury in 2004.

The funds to ISRA were reportedly channeled through World Vision, an evangelical charity working on water access in Sudan. When contacted about the allegations, a World Vision representative stated that they suspended the grant upon learning of ISRA's potential banned status and emphasized their commitment to compliance with U.S. regulations.

Sam Westrop, director of the Middle East Forum's counter-extremism project, Islamist Watch, described the findings as "horrifying" in a social media post highlighting various examples from the report.

USAID, established in 1961 under President Kennedy, operates as an independent agency working closely with the State Department to manage civilian foreign aid. The agency's oversight of grant recipients and vetting procedures are likely to face increased scrutiny following these allegations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TRUMP'S PLAN FOR GAZA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Moscow confirms strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reuters/RT

Renee Onque

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. To catch cases of sepsis early on

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

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

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

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

2. To transcribe patient notes in real time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CNBC

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

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

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

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