Netanyahu says Hamas Gaza chief Mohammad Sinwar has been killed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Mohammad Sinwar, Hamas' Gaza chief and the younger brother of the Palestinian militant group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack, Yahya Sinwar, had been killed.

Mohammad Sinwar had been the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza earlier this month and Netanyahu said on May 21 that it was likely he was dead.

The Israeli leader announced that Sinwar had been "eliminated" in an address to the Israeli parliament as he listed off names of other Hamas officials that Israel had killed over the past 20 months, including Sinwar's brother Yahya.

"In the last two days we have been in a dramatic turn towards a complete defeat of Hamas," he said, adding that Israel was also "taking control of food distribution", a reference to a new aid distribution system in Gaza managed by a U.S.-backed group.

Hamas has yet to confirm Sinwar's death.

Netanyahu's announcement comes as the Israeli military has intensified its war campaign in Gaza after breaking a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March. Israel has said it aims to dismantle Hamas' governing and military capabilities and secure the release of hostages that are still held in Gaza.

The war erupted on October 7, 2023 when Hamas-led militants stormed out of Gaza, rampaging through southern Israeli communities and killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

More than 250 were captured and taken as hostages into Gaza.

Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has decimated the coastal territory, killing more than 53,000, according to health officials in Gaza, and displaced over 2 million Palestinians.

Gazan health officials have said most of those killed have been civilians but have not said how many militants have died. Israel believes it has killed tens of thousands of militants but has not provided any evidence to support those claims.

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir on May 26 said Hamas had lost many assets, including its command and control centre.

Sinwar was elevated to the top ranks of the Palestinian militant group last year after Israel killed his brother Yahya in combat.

Yahya Sinwar masterminded the October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, now in its 20th month, and was later named the overall leader of the group after Israel killed his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Work on Russian peace proposal to Ukraine ‘in final stage’ – Kremlin

Russia is close to finalizing its proposal to Ukraine that could lead to a conditional ceasefire and eventual negotiated settlement of the conflict, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.

Moscow and Kiev are working on separate versions of a memorandum outlining a framework for peace. The Russian draft is “in the final stage,”Peskov told reporters during a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

He noted that Russia continues to keep its diplomatic proposals confidential and will not release details publicly. Peskov rejected a report by Reuters claiming that Moscow wants any peace agreement to include a NATO pledge ruling out future membership for Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries, such as Moldova and Georgia.

“How do you even imagine us discussing Georgia at talks with Ukraine?” he said.

Peskov also addressed a recent call by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky for a three-way meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. While some kind of a summit might conclude the negotiations, it cannot replace them, Peskov said. Zelensky has said he is open to meeting Putin in any third country, except Belarus.

In separate remarks, Peskov underscored that diplomacy is continuing alongside military operations. He said both parties are currently working to “formulate the list of conditions for a temporary ceasefire” that should be included in the final peace memorandum.

Initially, Kiev and its European supporters insisted that no talks could occur unless Russia agreed to a 30-day pause in fighting. Moscow rejected the demand, calling it a tactic to give Ukrainian forces relief. Under pressure from Washington, Kiev revised its stance, resulting in the first direct diplomatic engagement between Russia and Ukraine since 2022.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Many Ukrainians baulk at conceding land to Russia, entangling nascent peace process

Mariupol natives Oleksandr and Liudmyla Lytvyn fled home three years ago during Russia's 86-day siege of the port city in southern Ukraine. Now they are following peace talks between the warring countries anxiously, fearing they may never return.

Mariupol, home to more than 400,000 people before the full-scale invasion, was seized by Russian forces in May 2022 when the city's last defenders were ordered to surrender, ending one of the bloodiest chapters of the war.

"We lived our entire life in Mariupol. I believe until the very last that it will be Ukrainian. I do not know how," Liudmyla, 65, a retired teacher, told Reuters.

Her longing to see occupied land back under Ukrainian control is widely shared, presenting a challenge to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he comes under pressure to consider territorial concessions under any peace agreement with Russia.

Ukraine has given no indication it is willing to do so, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed Kyiv to cede not only occupied territory but also land not controlled by Moscow, while the United States has said loss of land seems inevitable.

More than three years into its full-scale invasion, Russia controls nearly one fifth of Ukraine and its troops are making incremental but steady gains in the east.

Zelenskiy himself has acknowledged that Ukraine cannot recapture all of its lost territory through military force, but wants to settle the issue through diplomacy.

Oleksandr, 65, said the issue of what Ukraine may have to give up in return for peace depends not only on Kyiv.

"The issue here is whether there are any limits on weapons," he said, referring to doubts over whether the U.S. will continue military support for Ukraine now that Donald Trump is in the White House and moving closer to Russia.

"It depends not only on Zelenskiy but also on other matters, weapons in particular," Oleksandr added, sitting next to his wife in a dormitory in the central city of Dnipro where they have moved temporarily.

Without U.S. military backing, Ukraine's position in negotiations would be significantly weakened.

RARE DIRECT TALKS

This month Kyiv and Moscow held their first direct talks since 2022, yielding little progress on ending the war.

After a subsequent phone call between Trump and Putin, the U.S. president appeared to withdraw from efforts to mediate peace, leaving Ukraine exposed against a larger enemy.

For displaced residents of Mariupol - the largest Ukrainian city to fall to the Russians since 2022 - that raises concerns not only about territorial concessions but also over whether justice will be served.

Vadym Boichenko, Mariupol's mayor-in-exile, said his team gathered evidence showing at least 22,000 civilians were killed in nearly three months of fighting that reduced a city once famous for its vibrant port and giant steel plants to rubble.

Human Rights Watch, along with Truth Hounds and SITU Research, estimated 8,000 people died from fighting or war-related causes, although it could not establish how many were civilians and said the true count may be significantly higher.

Reuters could not independently verify estimates of the death toll.

Russia pounded Mariupol with artillery, rockets and missiles and cut off access to electricity, heating, fresh water, food and medical supplies - creating a humanitarian catastrophe, Boichenko added.

"All we ask for is recognition (of the alleged crimes) and punishment," Boichenko said in Kyiv in one of the 'IMariupol' centres set up in 22 cities across Ukraine to help displaced residents with basic needs.

Russia's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment on this article.

Russia says it liberated the city from Ukrainian "neo-Nazis", using one of the main justifications for its invasion that Kyiv and its allies dismiss as absurd.

Moscow-installed authorities have overseen a major reconstruction programme in Mariupol, and hold it up as a symbol of the benefits of Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions as well as the Crimean peninsula.

Russia blames Ukraine's armed forces for the city's destruction, alleging they used the local population as human shields. Ukraine rejects that accusation.

SWEEPING DEMANDS

Moscow has demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from four Ukrainian regions where fighting is raging, even though it does not control all of them.

The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians - 82% - reject those demands, according to an opinion poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology conducted in May.

Slightly more than half of the population - 51% - would support a compromise with a de-facto recognition of currently occupied territories in exchange for robust security guarantees from Europe and the U.S., even though the latter has indicated it would not provide them.

But about 40% considered this unacceptable, raising questions over how Ukraine and Russia can break the deadlock in a nascent peace process.

"It is not fair to leave them what they took away. It is our land," said Dmytro, 35, who had settled in Mariupol after being forced to leave the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk in 2015.

Dmytro, now also based in Dnipro but concerned he might have to flee again, declined to give his last name as his mother and grandmother still live in the occupied Donetsk region.

"What we lived through in Mariupol is horror," he said, recollecting how he shielded his son, now 10, from bombardment and cooked food on open fires in the streets. He fled Mariupol in March 2022.

RT/Reuters

Nigeria faces an unprecedented debt crisis as President Bola Tinubu pushes for another massive borrowing binge, requesting Senate approval for a staggering $21.5 billion in new external loans alongside N758 billion in domestic bonds. This alarming development threatens to push Africa's largest economy deeper into a dangerous debt spiral that could cripple future generations.

The president's latest borrowing requests, presented to the Senate on Tuesday through letters read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represent a continuation of what economists are calling a reckless fiscal trajectory that has already seen Nigeria's debt burden explode under Tinubu's administration.

A Debt Explosion Under Tinubu's Watch

The scale of Nigeria's mounting debt crisis under Tinubu is nothing short of alarming. In less than two years since taking office, his administration has added a crushing N56.6 trillion to the nation's debt burden - money borrowed from the N87.379 trillion debt stock left by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, to reach a staggering N144.67 trillion by December 2024.

This represents a catastrophic 48.58 percent increase in national debt within a single year, with external debt alone skyrocketing by 83.89 percent. The proposed new borrowing of $21.5 billion would add approximately N38.24 trillion more to this already unsustainable debt mountain, potentially pushing Nigeria's total public debt beyond N182.91 trillion by 2026.

The Dangerous Mathematics of Debt

The numbers paint a terrifying picture of fiscal irresponsibility. At the current exchange rate of N1,583.74 to the dollar, Nigeria's external debt has ballooned from N38.22 trillion in December 2023 to N70.29 trillion by December 2024. The new borrowing alone makes up around 60 percent of the total spending in the 2025 budget - a clear indication that Nigeria is essentially borrowing to survive rather than to grow.

Perhaps most troubling is that N14.3 trillion of the N54.2 trillion 2025 budget has been earmarked for debt servicing - meaning over a quarter of government spending will go toward servicing existing loans rather than providing essential services to citizens. This debt service allocation already exceeds capital expenditure, creating a vicious cycle where borrowing crowds out productive investment.

A Pattern of Borrowing Without Accountability

Tinubu's justification for the massive borrowing centers on addressing infrastructure deficits and economic shocks from subsidy removal. The funds, he claims, will target railways, healthcare, agriculture, education, and other critical sectors across Nigeria's 36 states. However, this reasoning rings hollow given the government's poor track record of accountability for previous borrowings.

Civil society leaders have raised damning questions about the fate of earlier loans, including a $3.4 billion IMF facility secured during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The government continues to borrow, and it cannot prove to Nigerians what they are doing with the borrowing," warned Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre.

Economic Experts Sound Alarm Bells

Leading economists across Nigeria are expressing grave concerns about the sustainability of this borrowing spree. Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, warned that "debt service is already far more than the appropriation for capital spending," describing the trend as deeply worrying for Nigeria's fiscal health.

Johnson Chukwu of Cowry Assets Management Limited highlighted the critical risk that inefficient deployment of borrowed funds could transform what should be growth catalysts into economic burdens. The proposed loans could increase Nigeria's foreign debt by 50 percent, making the country even more vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations and global economic shocks.

Vahyala Kwaga from BudgIT delivered perhaps the most sobering assessment: "Adding this new debt to our current total debt will push Nigeria to its self-imposed debt-to-GDP limit of 40 percent." This would place Nigeria dangerously close to debt distress levels that have plagued other developing nations.

A National Assembly Enabler?

The response of the National Assembly to this borrowing request will be a crucial test of institutional independence. Critics like Emmanuel Onwubiko of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria have already condemned what they see as a "rubber-stamped National Assembly" that fails to provide adequate oversight of presidential borrowing requests.

Senate President Akpabio has referred both requests to the senate committee on local and foreign debts, with a two-week deadline for reporting back. However, given the historical pattern of legislative approval for executive borrowing requests, there are serious concerns about whether adequate scrutiny will be applied.

The Pension Bond Diversion

Adding to the debt concerns is Tinubu's separate request for N757.9 billion in domestic bonds to settle pension liabilities under the contributory pension scheme. While addressing pension arrears is important, using borrowed money to fulfill basic government obligations highlights the administration's cash flow problems and raises questions about fiscal priorities.

The president acknowledged that the federal government has failed to comply with the Pension Reform Act 2014 "over the years due to revenue challenges," yet the solution proposed is more borrowing rather than fundamental revenue reforms or expenditure rationalization.

A Bleak Economic Future

The trajectory Nigeria is on under Tinubu's borrowing-heavy approach threatens to mortgage the country's economic future. With external debts now comprising 48.59 percent of total public debt and the Naira's continued depreciation making dollar-denominated debt service increasingly expensive, Nigeria risks falling into a debt trap that could take decades to escape.

The lack of transparency in debt utilization, combined with the massive scale of new borrowing requests, suggests an administration more focused on short-term fixes than sustainable economic development. As debt service costs consume an ever-larger share of government revenues, less money remains available for the very infrastructure and social programs that borrowing is supposed to fund.

Nigeria's debt crisis under Tinubu represents a clear and present danger to the nation's economic sovereignty and future prosperity. Without immediate course correction and genuine accountability measures, the country risks joining the ranks of heavily indebted poor countries unable to break free from the cycle of borrowing and debt service that strangles economic growth and development.

Fresh details have emerged indicating that prominent Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, was aware of the entry restriction imposed on him by Saudi Arabian authorities before he embarked on the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage.

The Cleric had on Monday claimed in a public statement on his official Facebook page titled “My Hajj 2025!” that he was turned back at the Medina airport on Saturday despite holding a valid visa.

However, an official at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), who spoke on the condition of anonymity, explained to The Guardian on Tuesday that Gumi had “since been banned from entry into the Kingdom” and was fully aware of the restriction placed on him.

The official clarified that the issuance of a visa by Saudi authorities does not guarantee entry into the Kingdom, particularly for individuals who have been flagged by security or immigration systems.

“He has since been banned from entry into the Kingdom. They normally will issue a visa, and then upon arrival, they will not allow you to leave immigration and will deport you. He is not the only person deported this year”.

When pressed further if Gumi was aware of the entry restriction placed on him, the official responded that, “Yes, he is aware.”

Meanwhile, Gumi suggested that the move by Saudi authorities was politically motivated while attributing it to his outspoken views on global affairs.

Gumi, known for his controversial stance on national and international issues, said: “For some obvious reasons, my views about the world politics, the Saudi authorities are uncomfortable about my presence in Hajj after giving me the Hajj Visa.

“Thanks to the Nigerian authorities, who have pledged to take up the matter immediately with Saudi authorities. That is the value of our cherished freedom and democracy.

“I’m now free to attend to my health and farming activities. We should continue to pray for the safe return of all pilgrims, peace, and prosperity for our dear nation.”

He quoted Qur’an 2:196 to reflect on his situation.

“And accomplish the Hajj, i.e, pilgrimage and the Umra for Allah, but if you are prevented, (slaughter) the offering available with you. (meaning, you are then free from Hajj or Umra).”

The Guardian

Fresh waves of violence have claimed at least 49 lives in separate attacks over the past few days in Nigeria’s Benue and Plateau states, heightening concerns over the ongoing security crisis in the country’s Middle Belt.

In Benue State, at least 42 people were reportedly killed in a series of coordinated assaults over the weekend in Gwer West Local Government Area. According to the council chairman, Victor Omnin, 32 bodies were recovered from Sunday’s attacks on the Ahume and Aondona communities, while another 10 people were killed on Saturday in the villages of Tyolaha and Tse-Ubiam.

“It’s a pathetic situation. As we speak, we are still recovering corpses,” Omnin told journalists on Tuesday. He also confirmed that a Catholic priest was shot during the attacks and is currently in critical but stable condition.

Benue lies in Nigeria’s volatile Middle Belt, where conflicts between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers are common, often intensified by ethnic and religious tensions. Herders, mostly from the Fulani ethnic group, seek grazing land for their livestock, while farmers—primarily indigenous Christian communities—struggle to protect their farmlands.

Meanwhile, in Plateau State, seven more people were killed on Tuesday night during an attack on Mushere community in Bokkos Local Government Area. The violence reportedly followed Monday’s deadly incident involving a failed kidnapping attempt that resulted in the death of a pastor, as well as a separate attack on a Fulani settlement.

A local youth leader, identified simply as Dafang, said the latest attack occurred as residents gathered to bury victims of the earlier violence. “Just as they were preparing for the burial, the attackers returned and people had to flee for their lives,” he said.

Security forces were said to have been contacted and later mobilized to the area. However, the Plateau State Police Command spokesperson, Alfred Alabo, said he was yet to receive full details of the incident and promised to provide updates, though none had been issued as of press time.

These latest attacks underscore the persistent insecurity plaguing communities in Nigeria’s central region, where cycles of reprisal violence, weak security presence, and deep-rooted grievances continue to fuel bloodshed.

Palestinians rush US-backed aid centre despite concerns over checks

Thousands of Palestinians on Tuesday rushed an aid distribution site in Gaza operated by a foundation backed by the United States and Israel, with desperation for food overcoming concern about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to 462,000 meals, after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave.

In the southern city of Rafah, which is under full Israeli army control, thousands of people including women and children, some on foot or in donkey carts, flocked towards the foundation's distribution sites to receive food packages.

Videos, some of which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed lines of people walking through a wired-off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked. Later, images shared on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people jostled their way onto the site.

Israel and the GHF said that Hamas, Gaza's dominant militant group, had tried to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation.

Later on Tuesday, the Hamas media office accused the Israeli military of killing at least three Palestinians and wounding 46 others near one of the distribution sites, while seven people remained missing. A GHF spokesperson said the information from Hamas was "totally false."

The foundation said at one point on Tuesday the number of people seeking aid was so great that its team had to pull back to allow people to "take aid safely and dissipate," and to avoid casualties. It said there were no casualties, no one opened fire and normal operations later resumed.

There has been no immediate Israeli comment on the allegation by Hamas. Earlier, the Israeli military said its troops fired warning shots in the area outside the compound and that control was re-established.

A U.N. spokesperson called images of the incident "heartbreaking."

SCREENING PROCEDURES

The foundation began aid deliveries on Monday, but Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites.

"As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid," said Abu Ahmed, 55, a father of seven. "I am so scared because they said the company belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance (Hamas) said not to go," he said in a message on the chat app WhatsApp.

Israel has said its forces will not be involved in distributing aid at the GHF sites.

But the endorsement of the plan by Israel and the U.S. has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday.

The Israeli military said four GHF sites have been established. One of the sites is currently distributing aid, with a second site receiving stock, GHF said.

Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Israel, at war with Hamas since October 2023, accuses Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas denies the accusations.

Humanitarian groups briefed on the foundation's plans say anyone accessing aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology that many Palestinians fear will end up in Israeli hands to be used to track and potentially target them.

Details of how the system will operate have not been made public.

AID GROUPS BOYCOTT GHF

The United Nations and other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, which they say undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict, based on need.

"Humanitarian assistance must not be politicised or militarised," said Christian Cardon, chief spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce dismissed criticism of the aid program as "complaints about style," telling reporters that assistance was being distributed despite Hamas' efforts to disrupt the process.

In New York, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters the U.N. and its partners have a sound plan "to get aid to a desperate population" and that Israel was still allowing it to deliver some relief, but with a lot of obstacles.

The Israeli military said in a statement that 400 humanitarian aid trucks were waiting in Gaza for distribution but that the U.N. was still refusing to "do its job."

In a statement late on Tuesday, U.S.-based World Central Kitchen said while Israel has allowed some of its trucks into the Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza, the aid was being held at the border.

Last week, Israel eased its blockade, allowing aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza.

But the amount of aid that has entered the densely populated coastal enclave has been a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that U.N. agencies estimate are needed every day.

"Before the war, my fridge used to be full of meat, chicken, dairy, soft drinks, everything, and now I am begging for a loaf of bread," Abu Ahmed told Reuters via a chat app.

As a small aid flow has resumed, Israeli forces - now in control of large parts of Gaza - have kept up attacks on various targets around the enclave, killing 3,901 Palestinians since a two-month ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

In all, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war, Gaza health authorities say. It was launched following a cross-border Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Air defences down dozens of Ukrainian missiles in Moscow, widely separated Russian regions

Russian air defences destroyed or intercepted well over 100 Ukrainian drones far into the night over widely separated areas of Russia, including a swarm of drones repelled while headed for Moscow, officials said early on Wednesday.

The incidents were similar to waves of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow and other cities last week.

Russia in the past week also sent waves of drones to attack Ukrainian cities, including what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as the launch of more than 900 drones over a three-day period ending early on Monday morning.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, writing in a series of posts on the Telegram messaging app, said Defence Ministry units had repelled 27 drones while they were travelling towards the Russian capital.

Sobyanin made no mention of casualties or damage, saying only that recovery teams were examining drone fragments at the sites where they hit the ground.

Russia's Defence Ministry had earlier said its units had downed 112 drones between 9 p.m. and midnight Moscow time. Fifty-nine of those drones were intercepted over the Bryansk region on the Ukrainian border, with other incidents occurring in five different regions.

The governor of Bryansk region reported no casualties, but said a house and six cars had been damaged in the attack.

In Smolensk region, near the Polish border, the regional governor said 11 drones had been downed, with no casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that more than 900 missiles had been fired at Ukrainian targets over a three-day period ending early on Monday. The numbers tapered off on Monday night to Tuesday morning.

The three-night barrage struck a series of cities and included some of the biggest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine since Russia began its full-scale war in early 2022.

The strikes on Saturday night killed at least 12 people, Ukrainian officials said.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Kiev’s actions harming peace process – Kremlin

The recent rise in the number of Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil is detrimental to the ongoing efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the two countries, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.

Over the past week alone, Russian air defenses have downed 1,465 Ukrainian drones over territories outside the active conflict zone, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Tuesday.

“At the very least, we can say that these actions by Kiev… are clearly at odds with the pursuit of the peace process,” Peskov told a press briefing shortly afterwards. “Of course we condemn these actions,” he said, adding that they “do not contribute to the advancement of the peace process.”

The Russian Defense Ministry stated on Tuesday that the “Kiev regime, supported by certain European countries, has taken a number of provocative steps aimed at disrupting the negotiation process,”which was initiated by Moscow earlier in May.

According to the ministry, there has been a spike in Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory involving drones as well as Western-made missiles. Military officials in Moscow estimated that between May 20 and May 27, air defense systems intercepted more than 2,300 Ukrainian UAVs, most of them operating outside frontline areas.

The ministry added that Russian forces retaliated with high-precision missile and drone strikes aimed “exclusively at Ukraine’s military and defense industrial facilities.”

The developments followed last week’s telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, which both leaders characterized as productive.

Earlier this month, Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks since 2022 in Istanbul, Türkiye. The two sides agreed on a record prisoner swap and discussed a follow-up meeting. As part of the ongoing diplomatic process, Moscow has said it is working on a memorandum for settling the conflict, which will be presented to Kiev in the near future. It is expected to include Moscow’s key terms for a potential ceasefire, conflict settlement, and a timeline for an eventual peace agreement.

Reuters/RT

Ashton Jackson

Plenty of people love company-wide pizza parties and generous workplace vacation packages. Just don’t expect those kinds of perks to consistently motivate people to perform their best, says leadership and workplace researcher Zach Mercurio.

To feel like they matter at work, employees — perhaps surprisingly — prefer one factor over just about everything else, Mercurio says: a boss who’s good at making small talk. Not the superficial chatter that people use to cut awkward silences, but the meaningfully personal conversations that lead to small moments of connection, he explains.

“We’ve studied people for five years in numerous occupations, and we’ve asked them this question: When you feel that you matter, what’s happening at work?” says Mercurio. “Nobody yet has said, ‘When I got a promotion, when I got a pay raise, when I got employee of the month’ ... They’ve all talked about small interactions in which someone truly sees them, hears them, is there for them, and reminds them that they’re needed.”

Questions that show a sincere interest in the other person can help you build trust and a genuine workplace rapport, Mercurio says. This could be as simple as: “I know things are a little hectic this week. How are you holding up?” Or, “I heard your son graduated this week. Congratulations! How did you celebrate?”

Without casual opportunities for personal interaction, remote workers particularly feel increasingly disconnected and insignificant at work, Mercurio notes. The same is often true of workers in underappreciated positions like janitors, delivery drivers and public transportation operators, he adds.

“We’ve used technology to manage remote and hybrid work, so a lot of our interactions are more transactional than ever. We send updates via Slack or email,” says Mercurio. “But what can’t be an email is checking in on how you’re doing because your parents are in the hospital. [Or] resolving a conflict in their ways of working or checking in on how a project is going.”

How to be a better at small talk

If you want to avoid superficial small talk, “ask clear, open, exploratory questions,” Mercurio says. He offers these examples:

• “Hey, what has your attention today? Anything I can do to make this a better week for you?”
• “What’s the most interesting insight you heard in our team meeting?”
• “Got anything you’re working on that you need some extra help with?”

Avoid inquiries like “How are you today?”and “How was your weekend?” that can result in autopilot responses, author and keynote speaker Lorraine Lee wrote for CNBC Make It in February. Instead, try “conversational threading,” asking questions that encourage more substantial conversation, Lee wrote. For example: “What are you excited to be working on?” or “What was the highlight of your weekend?”

If you’re on the receiving end of an awkward small talk question, give an answer that prompts follow-ups. If someone asks where you’re from, don’t just say “California” — say something like, “I’m from Malibu, near the beach. My family and I used to go surfing on the weekends.”

Bosses especially should take advantage of these small moments to build connections with their employees, Mercurio says: As workplace trust dwindles across the U.S., the relationships you create at work can help you keep your employees productive and engaged.

“I encourage [leaders] to track your interactions with your team, for example, over the week,” he says. “When do you interact with them? Write down, what do you talk about? How much is this talk about what they do and what they can do for you, and how much of that time is spent talking about who they are and how they’re doing?”

CNBC