A Japanese man’s personal life has recently become the talk of the internet after he revealed that he is perfectly ok with his wife of three years having a boyfriend and even bringing him into the family home.

Prince Soy, a young Japanese chef and blogger who promotes and sells additive-free okara granola online, has recently been drawing a lot of attention for very different reasons. On July 8th, he took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that his wife Seira would be returning home after spending six months studying abroad and that she would be bringing her new boyfriend along. The controversial post quickly went viral, sparking a heated online debate about Prince Soy’s marriage and the three-way relationship. The controversy didn’t seem to bother the married man who actually documented the visit of his wife’s boyfriend through short clips and multiple social media posts.

“My wife and her boyfriend are going to live together. My wife is studying abroad and has a new boyfriend. She is coming back to Japan with him, and he is coming to stay with us,” Prince Soy told his followers on X, adding that he had no problem with the unusual arrangement.

The Japanese blogger explained that Seira had told him that she wanted to study in Australia last year, and he accepted even though he was surprised by her decision. She left in January 2024, and by May, she confessed that she had met another Japanese man who subsequently became her boyfriend. Because Prince Soy and his wife had previously decided to be in an open relationship, he had no objections to her new “acquisition”. He actually revealed friendly text messages he exchanged with his wife’s boyfriend and the Starbucks coupon he gifted him for his birthday.

“I’ve never met him before so I don’t know his preferences, and I thought if I gave him something too extravagant he might feel uncomfortable, so I gave him something very safe, like a Starbucks ticket,” Prince Soy said.

On July 12th, Soy posted a video of himself greeting Seira and her boyfriend at the airport, and over the past week, he continued documenting the unconventional living arrangement, with the boyfriend sharing their home. He and his wife slept in the bedroom, while her boyfriend slept on the couch. At one point, when his wife and her boyfriend got into an argument, he stepped in to mediate the situation.

“I thank him wholeheartedly as he supported my wife while she was having a hard time abroad,” Prince Soy said about Seira’s boyfriend. “He must be an interesting person, or my wife would not fall for him.”

Social media reactions to Prince Soy’s situation have been mixed, with some people applauding his willingness to defy social norms and respect the agreement made with his wife about their open relationship, while others said that they couldn’t understand how he was ok with the three-way relationship, especially considering that he never had a different partner since marrying Seira.

In response to questions like “Why do you forgive your wife for doing whatever she wants?“, Prince Soy said. “First of all, the word ‘forgive’ is wrong. My wife has not done anything wrong. I like to see my wife acting selfishly, doing whatever she wants, a wife who isn’t selfish is not attractive to me.”

The Japanese blogger added that he has always known that his wife’s hobby was “acquiring boyfriends,” but he never had a problem with it because he is happy as long as she is happy. He said that, in a way, he was sorry for Seira’s boyfriends, because they could never take his place in her heart.

 

Oddity Central

Petrol supply has continued to be on and off across the country forcing many filling stations not to dispense the product, Daily Trust investigations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and many states across Nigeria have shown.

Our investigations show that the product sells for close to N1,000 per litre at some stations belonging to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in satellite towns of the FCT; while motorists spend countless hours queuing at outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and a few Major Oil marketers dispensing in Abuja city.

The IPMAN blamed the lingering petrol scarcity on shortage of direct supply from the NNPCL.

Speaking to our correspondent yesterday, a former Chairman of IPMAN, Ejigbo Depot, Lagos, Akin Akinade, said: “Our members have no direct supply from NNPC. We buy from Third Party. We buy at DAPMAN (Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria) Depot in Abule Ado.

Abuja

Many stations in Abuja were found shut by our reporters yesterday, while there were long queues at the few that were dispensing the product. This situation started days before the #EndBadGovernance protest, which commenced on the 1st of this month, and has persisted more than two weeks after.

At Umaru Ngelzarma Filling Station in Lokogoma area of Kabusa District of the FCT, one of our reporters observed yesterday that petrol was being sold for N980 per litre.

Also, at Christee’s Petrol Station, which is also in Lokogoma area of Abuja, it was found to be dispensing the product at N950 per litre.

There were long queues at the NNPCL station at Katampe, along the Kubwa Expressway with motorists saying they would pass the night there to try to buy the product at N617/litre.

Another NNPCL outlet at the Airport Junction, Jabi, was not dispensing when one of our reporters visited yesterday. The situation was similar at most petrol outlets in Abuja and environs, owing to the unavailability of the product.

Lagos  

In Lagos, one of our correspondents reported yesterday that there were queues at NNPCL stations that sold the product for N568, as well as others like Mobil, MRS and North West stations, which dispensed for between N600 and N650 per litre. 

Commercial drivers, who spoke to our correspondent, expressed deep concerns over the prevailing scarcity, and the astronomical hike in the price of the product at the few stations dispensing the product, which are mostly on the fringes of the nation’s commercial city.  

“The hike in fuel price is the major problem we have in Nigeria. I bought N900-N950 in Calabar, that is why I have not traveled again. It is affecting our business. 

“I left my bus because some filling stations sold N1,000 per litre,” Omotayo Adenikiju, a transporter, said. 

A former chairman of IPMAN, Ejigbo Depot in Lagos, Akinade, in a chat with our correspondent, disclosed that third party vendors from which some of their members source the product, “sell to us N840, N850; and by the time you add transportation to that, there’s no way our members would sell less than they’re selling.

“If they bring down their price, we’re also going to bring down our price. We’re in business to make money”, he said. 

Kano

Motorists in Kano said they bought the product for N950 per litre at independent oil marketers’ stations and N620 at NNPCL stations, including those located around Kano Line, Kofar Nasarawa, Club Road by Murtala Muhammed Way and Tal’udu Sabon Titi. 

A commercial driver, Habibu Sani said he would rather join the queue at the NNPCL station than pay over N900 for a litre.

Another motorist, Kabiru Yakasai, said he parked his car because he could not afford a litre of fuel for over N900.

At an AY Maikifi outlet around Maiduguri Road, it was discovered that the station was selling the product for N900; while at A.A. Rano  Station at Gyadi-Gyadi Zaria Road, it was being dispensed at N730.

An independent oil marketer in Kano, Bashir Umar, attributed the supply shortage to marketers’ reluctance to bring fuel from Lagos because of the possibility of the price crashing  when Dangote Refinery begins supply to the market.

According to him, marketers buy fuel for N900 per litre in Kano and sell for N950 after factoring transportation cost.

Maiduguri  

Virtually all the NNPCL filling stations visited by our correspondent in Maiduguri yesterday did not open. They were those located at Bulumkutu area, along Kano Road; Mohammed Indimi Way, Off Damboa Road and Galadima Junction along Low-Cost Road.

A driver, Aminu Idris, said: “We cannot afford to buy petrol from independent marketers at N950”. 

IPMAN Chairman, Borno State chapter, Mohammed Kuluwu, said most stations in the state deliberately suspended fuel supply owing to “the crisis resulting from the #EndBadGovernance protest”.

CSO knocks NNPCL

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) yesterday expressed concern over the persistent fuel scarcity across Nigeria.

In a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA expressed frustration over the federal government’s silence on the matter. It said fuel scarcity had become the new norm across the country, with Abuja and other major cities continuously plagued by long fuel queues.

“Despite the various excuses provided by the NNPCL, the crisis persists, leading to speculations that the company may be benefiting from the situation.

“In the past three months alone, the NNPCL has churned out no fewer than five different excuses for the ongoing fuel scarcity, ranging from logistics challenges to supply chain disruptions.

“However, none of these explanations holds water, given that the crisis continues to linger unabated. If the NNPCL were serious about resolving the issue, they would have done so by now”, it said. HURIWA alleged that were the NNPCL not benefiting from the fuel crisis, it would have resolved it long ago.

It added: “The simultaneous occurrence of fuel scarcity and the reported challenges faced by the Dangote Refinery suggest an orchestrated effort to undermine the refinery’s operations, further entrenching the NNPCL’s monopoly over Nigeria’s petroleum industry.”

National oil company silent

There was no comment from the NNPCL yesterday as its spokesperson, Olufemi Shoneye, who promised to get back to our correspondent when contacted on the matter, did not do so up to the time of filing this report.

 

Daily Trust

A 22-year-old woman in Akwa Ibom State,south-south Nigeria, has been feeding her four children with chicken and fish feeds, apparently because of poverty and hunger.

The children are all girls, the oldest five years old and the youngest slightly above one year.

The woman, Grace Eseneowo, a widow, works at a small farm in Eket Local Government Area of the state. The farm, which is a fishery and poultry, is at Ikot Abia community in Okon Eket.

She lives in her father’s house in the community and earns N15,000 monthly at the farm.

Grace’s pathetic story became public a few days ago after a digital content creator, QueenPraise Uzoma, who got the story from her father, John Uzoma, who is the farm owner, posted it on her Instagram page.

The discovery

On Thursday, the farm owner, Uzoma, explained to PREMIUM TIMES how he discovered that Grace was feeding her children with animal feeds.

“We had discharged her because she wasn’t showing up at the farm regularly. But her uncle and others came to beg that we should keep her, and my wife was saying that since she lost her husband, she’ll need money to keep going on, so let her work. So, last week, I went to the farm and sent for her,” said Uzoma, an Anglican priest serving in Uyo.

“When she came, we were discussing and the other farm hand said she could come back to work but should not bring the children to the farm. I said to him, that I did not have any issue with the children coming to the farm. Are they destroying anything? He said no but that they eat the feeds for the chicken and the fish.”

Uzoma said he was shocked by what heard.

“If the boy had told me this in the girl’s absence, maybe I would have felt the boy didn’t want her to work at the farm, but the girl was there.

“So I asked the girl, is that true? She said yes. I said, why? Don’t you give them food? She said they (the children) sometimes stay for three days without food.

“My heart failed me. I am a father. I am a pastor. I felt terribly indicted. So, the little I could do was that the plantain I had cut to bring back to Uyo, I gave to her, and then I gave her the only N2,000 I had on me.”

A resident of Okon Eket, where the farm is, said that Grace usually prepared the animal feeds as akamu (fermented cereal pudding) for her children.

“I wouldn’t know about that. I didn’t go to that details,” Uzoma said in reaction. “I was particularly touched that the children were kept hungry.”

Uzoma later narrated Grace’s story to his daughter, QueenPraise, when she visited.

“We are trying to rehabilitate the girl, we have paid rent for her and have bought a lot of food items for her and the children,” he said.

QueenPraise, as of 13 August, said on Instagram that she raised N1.4 million as donations online for Grace and her children.

Akwa Ibom governor’s wife to the rescue

Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom governor’s wife, Patience Eno, has stepped in to help Grace and her children.

“While thanking QueenPraise for drawing attention to this worrisome situation and raising over a million naira overnight from empathetic and generous Individuals, organisations and others, the First Lady has directed her NGO, the Golden Initiative For All and her aides to work with the Ministry of Women Affairs and female stakeholders in Eket, to fashion out a holistic support for the young mother and her children,” Uduak Ekong, a spokesperson to Mrs Eno, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“To start with, the Governor’s wife has made an initial personal donation of Five Hundred Thousand naira only in support of plans to provide immediate accommodation, food supplies and other basic necessities for the young family of five,” the statement added.

Akwa Ibom’s poverty rate

Akwa Ibom State has one of the lowest poverty headcount ratios in Nigeria. According to NBS, the state currently has a poverty rate of 26.8 per cent, falling below the national average of 52.1 per cent.

The state is ranked 27th on the national poverty rate ladder released by the NBS in 2019. The agency has not released new data on the state poverty rate since it was last published.

The National poverty headcount in 2019 was 70 per cent; by 2020, it had increased to 72.32 per cent, according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Nigerian youths recently took to the streets to protest against economic hardship and rising food prices in the country.

“POS is our only employment now in Nigeria,” an Akwa Ibom resident saidin Uyo during the nationwide protest.

“Good jobs are reserved for children of the elites immediately after graduation,” he added, advising that the governments at all levels should do more to create jobs.

Hope for Grace

Grace dropped out of school when she was in SS1. Now, she wants to learn hair-dressing as a vocation, according to Uzoma.

“There’s a take-home to this,” Uzoma said of Grace’s story.

“These people are from a family, and a wealth-to-do family for that matter, but they abandoned these children. People should do more to help their relatives, regardless of family rivalry.”

 

PT

The recent revelation that each Nigerian senator earns a staggering N21 million monthly is not just another story of excessive greed; it is a scandalous indictment of the country's political class. In a nation where millions of citizens struggle to survive on a minimum wage of N30,000 per month, the fact that these so-called public servants are siphoning off resources at such a grotesque scale is nothing short of robbery.

This shocking figure, disclosed by Senator Kawu Sumaila, lays bare the extent of the rot within Nigeria's political elite. Each senator, according to Sumaila, pockets N21 million monthly in running costs, salaries, and allowances—an amount 700 times greater than the current minimum wage. Even when compared to the proposed new minimum wage of N70,000, this figure remains 300 times higher. This disparity is not just a number; it is a stark representation of the systemic inequality that continues to cripple the nation.

While Nigerians endure unprecedented levels of hunger and poverty, their elected representatives are living in obscene luxury, funded by the very taxes paid by the struggling masses. The recent protests that swept across the country were a desperate cry for help, a plea for dignity in the face of economic hardship. Yet, the political class has responded not with empathy or action, but with a shameless flaunting of their wealth.

What makes this situation even more intolerable is that the N21 million monthly stipend is merely the tip of the iceberg. The formal earnings of legislators are widely known to be only a fraction of the vast wealth they accumulate through corrupt practices. Under the guise of "constituency projects" and "oversight functions," these lawmakers engage in underhanded deals that drain the national coffers and enrich themselves at the expense of the people.

This grand larceny is carried out with impunity, as the National Assembly remains shrouded in secrecy regarding the actual costs and allowances allocated to its members. Despite legal frameworks like the "Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.) (Amendments) Act, 2008," which were supposed to regulate the emoluments of public officials, the reality is that the true extent of the senators' financial benefits is hidden from public scrutiny.

The silence of the Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, on the total amount a senator earns monthly only adds to the suspicion. The Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC) has been equally evasive, providing only basic salary figures and leaving out the more substantial "running costs" that inflate legislators’ earnings to such astronomical levels. Even when former President Olusegun Obasanjo accused lawmakers of illegally fixing new salaries and allowances for themselves, the response was a mix of denial and deflection, rather than accountability.

This blatant disregard for the suffering of the Nigerian people is not just an affront to democracy; it is a betrayal of the very essence of public service. The role of a legislator is to represent the interests of the people, to legislate for the common good, and to ensure that the nation's resources are used to uplift the many, not to enrich the few. Yet, what we are witnessing is a political class that has turned the machinery of the state into a personal ATM, draining the lifeblood of the nation while millions go hungry.

It is time for Nigerians to demand transparency, accountability, and a complete overhaul of the political system that allows such gross inequalities to persist. The current situation is unsustainable, and the continued plunder of the nation’s resources by those elected to protect them will only lead to greater unrest and instability. The Nigerian people deserve better, and they must not rest until this brazen robbery is brought to an end.

The Presidency is aware of the various failed attempts by a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, to take over offshore assets of the Federal Government of Nigeria through subterfuge.

The Federal Government is not under any contractual obligation with the company. The case in which Zhongshan is trying to use every unorthodox means to strip our offshore assets is between the company and the Ogun State Government.

The federal government is fully aware of efforts being made by the Ogun state government to reach an amicable resolution to the matter.

It must be said without any equivocation that Zhongshan has no solid ground to demand restitution from the Ogun State Government based on the facts regarding the 2007 contract between the company and the State Government to manage a free-trade zone.

When the contract with Ogun State was revoked in 2015, the company had only erected a perimeter fence on the land earmarked for a free trade zone.

While the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is working with the Ogun State Government on an amicable resolution, Zhongshan obtained two orders from the Judicial Court of Paris dated March 7, 2024, and August 12, 2024, without any notice being duly served on the Federal Government of Nigeria and Ogun State Government.

This arm-twisting tactic by the Chinese company is the latest in a long list of failed moves to attach Nigerian government-owned assets to foreign jurisdictions.

Material facts in the transaction between the Ogun State Government and Zhongshan point to another P&ID case in which unscrupulous and questionable individuals falsely present themselves as investors with the sole objective of cheating and scamming Governments in Africa.

Undoubtedly, Zhongshan withheld vital information and misled the Judicial Court in Paris into attaching the Nigerian government’s presidential jets, which are on routine maintenance in France. The use and nature of the Presidential jets as assets of a Sovereign entity whose assets are protected by diplomatic immunity forbid any foreign Court from issuing an order against them.

We are convinced the Chinese company misled the Judicial Court of Paris regarding the use and nature of the assets it seeks to attach and did not fully disclose to the court as required by law.

This same Chinese company had tried to enforce its questionable judgment in the UK and USA but failed.

Like the P&ID case, foreign companies are trying to defraud Nigeria with the collaboration of some bureaucrats. Zhongshan appeared to have sold the judgment they got to a venture capitalist seeking to make money by embarrassing the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu.

We want to assure Nigerians that the Federal Government is working with the Ogun State Government to discharge this frivolous order in Paris immediately.

Nigerian Government will always work to protect our national assets from predators and shylocks who masquerade as investors.

Background to the Zhongshan Fucheng Case:

A contract between Ogun State and Zhongshan to manage a free-trade zone was executed in 2007. The parties entered into a dispute in 2015, and arbitration began in 2016.

By 2019, the arbitration hearing had been concluded. The Arbitral Panel awarded over 60 million USD against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), a co-defendant, when all Zhongshan had done was build a perimeter fence around the free-trade zone.

Based on legal advice, the Ogun State Government resolved to resist the enforcement of the award. The resistance was successful in 8 different jurisdictions. There are pending appeals against recognition orders issued in both the US and UK.

Ogun State also engaged Zhongshan in settlement discussions on reasonable terms. The last meeting, held in September 2023 in London, lasted for three days and was attended by several officials of Ogun State, including Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Attorney General/Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.

Zhongshan’s initial reasonable readiness to consider Ogun State’s offer was surprisingly reversed by the second day when it insisted on the government paying the full arbitration debt. This led to a breakdown of the mediation, with parties agreeing to meet again in the first quarter of this year.

Since then, Zhongshan has been evasive. Instead, it embarked on a series of enforcement proceedings, which the legal team appointed by the FGN and Ogun State successfully opposed. In cases similar to the present one, where Zhongshan obtained an ex-parte order, Ogun State successfully set aside the orders.

Ogun State has not given up on a reasonable settlement option, with the most recent letter sent to Zhongshan last week. Zhongshan only responded after obtaining this latest illegal order.

Bayo Onanuga

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy

August 15, 2024

Nigeria's headline inflation rate fell in July for the first time in well over a year, dipping to 33.40% in annual terms (NGCPIY=ECI) from 34.19% in June, data from the statistics agency showed on Thursday.

Analysts had said June's reading could mark the peak in inflation as currency devaluation effects start to fade.

July's slowdown will bring some relief to frustrated Nigerians, who protested this month over cost-of-living pressures and governance issues in Africa's most populous nation.

Price pressures have been stoked by President Bola Tinubu's decision to remove a decades-old fuel subsidy, devalue the naira currency and hike electricity tariffs. The reforms are aimed at lifting economic growth and shoring up public finances but have sent inflation soaring, eroding people's incomes.

The last month that annual inflation fell was December 2022.

The central bank has increased interest rates four times this year to try to get inflation under control, but after the last hike in July some analysts said that could be the final act in the bank's hiking cycle.

The Central Bank of Nigeria's next rate setting meeting is scheduled for late September.

A report by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed food and non-alcoholic beverages continued to be the biggest contributor to inflation in July.

Food inflation (NGFINF=ECI) eased to 39.53% from 40.87% in June.

 

Reuters

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised concerns about the 8-15% dropout rate among adolescents in primary and secondary schools across the Southwest region of Nigeria, which includes Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Ondo, Osun, and Ogun states.

UNICEF’s Education Specialist, Azuka Menkiti, highlighted these concerns following a two-day regional stakeholders meeting on strategies for improving retention, transition, and completion rates among out-of-school children. The meeting, which took place in Ibadan, aimed to address the challenges facing education in the region.

Menkiti reported that while the completion rates for primary and secondary education among adolescents aged 10 to 18 are currently 92% and 85% respectively, the existing dropout rates pose a significant threat to the future of education in the region. She warned that if efforts to ensure full retention and completion are not intensified, the education sector could face severe setbacks.

"This meeting was focused on the Southwest zone of Nigeria," Menkiti explained. "UNICEF is working to support states in improving the retention, transition, and completion of secondary education for adolescents. This builds on a decade of successful interventions in girls’ education, which have proven effective in bringing girls to school and keeping them there."

Menkiti emphasized the importance of identifying and addressing the factors contributing to the high dropout rates. "When discussing out-of-school children, we consider those who have never enrolled, those who are unlikely to enroll, and those who have dropped out. Our focus is particularly on adolescents at risk of dropping out or failing to complete secondary education, especially in the Southwest, where enrollment rates are high but retention and completion rates require improvement."

The stakeholders' meeting brought together commissioners, SUBEB chairmen, permanent directors, and secretaries from various Southwest states to review and adapt successful intervention models to their respective contexts. UNICEF is advocating for these states to ensure adequate funding for secondary education and to develop reliable data to support efforts in improving education.

Menkiti also outlined UNICEF's focus on system strengthening, expanding access to education, and creating quality learning opportunities for children and adolescents. She stressed the need for credible data to support advocacy and for state governments to develop policies and plans that facilitate the transition to and completion of secondary education. Additionally, UNICEF is working with community and religious leaders to challenge social norms that keep children out of school.

The federal government says its dollar-denominated domestic bond will be issued on Monday.

Gbadebo Adenrele, managing director of investment banking, at United Capital Group, spoke on Thursday during a hybrid roadshow with investors organised by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

On July 25, the federal government said it would issue $500 million in domestic foreign currency-denominated bonds in August.

Adenrele said the bond is expected to offer periodical repayments at maturity in dollars and full repayment of the principal amount at the end of a five-year term and will be listed on the Nigerian stock exchange.

He said the goal is to raise $500 million from local and foreign investors.

“The auction will open next week on Monday. Next week Monday, we will have that open, and the details of that will be communicated to the market,” he said.

“One of the key aspects of this bond issuance is that it will be listed on platforms such as the Nigerian Exchange and FMDQ, making it accessible to a variety of investors.

“The principal will be repaid after five years, with interest payments made every six months. This structured repayment schedule is designed to provide confidence to investors.”

Confirming the announcement, Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said the country, alongside its financial advisors, is ready to launch the bond.

“In the financial market, you never know. When you wake up and you see an event that helps the issue, you will take advantage of it,” the minister said.

“But we can assume that we are imminently about to launch. We are eagerly looking forward to not just the funds but the experience of Nigerians taking leadership in this all-important area.

“We must also mention that it is another arrow in the quiver.”

Edun said the bond is a strategic move to channel funds into sectors that will catalyse economic growth in the country.

On her part, Patience Oniha, director-general of the DMO, said the settlement date for the domestic dollar bond auction will likely be 10 days after the auction date.

 

The Cable

Gaza ceasefire negotiations extend to another day as death toll exceeds 40,000

Negotiators were to meet in the Qatari capital Doha again on Friday in an effort to hammer out a Gaza ceasefire agreement as Israel continued to slam targets in the Palestinian enclave.

Gaza health officials reported separately on Thursday that the death toll there had surpassed 40,000 people after more than 10 months of fighting.

This round of negotiations opened on Thursday, and the talks would resume on Friday for a second day, Qatari and U.S. officials said.

A U.S. official briefed on the discussions in Doha, who declined to be identified, told Reuters that Thursday's talks were "constructive."

"This is vital work. The remaining obstacles can be overcome, and we must bring this process to a close," U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the White House.

Israel, meanwhile, pressed its assault on Gaza. Gaza health officials said at least six Palestinians were killed on Thursday night in an Israeli air strike on a house in Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli troops earlier hit targets in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.

In a statement issued late on Thursday on Telegram, Hamas politburo member Hossam Badran said Israel's continuing operations were an obstacle to progress on a ceasefire. Hamas officials did not join Thursday's talks.

Badran said the talks must move toward implementation of a framework agreement accepted previously and achieve a complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces, return of displaced Palestinians and a hostage exchange deal.

"Hamas looks at the ongoing negotiations in Doha regarding a ceasefire and a hostage exchange from a strategic perspective with the goal of ending the aggression on Gaza," he added.

Mediators planned to consult with Hamas' Doha-based negotiating team after the meeting, the U.S. official told Reuters.

The Israeli delegation includes spy chief David Barnea, head of the domestic security service Ronen Bar and the military's hostages chief Nitzan Alon, defence officials said.

The White House sent CIA Director Bill Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel also took part.

The negotiations, an effort to end bloodshed in Gaza and bring 115 Israeli and foreign hostages home, were put together as Iran appeared poised to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

ESCALATION RISK

With U.S. warships, submarines and warplanes dispatched to the region to defend Israel and deter potential attackers, Washington hopes a ceasefire agreement in Gaza can defuse the risk of a wider regional war.

The White House said late on Thursday attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank were "unacceptable and must stop," after dozens of settlers assaulted a village, killing at least one person.

With U.S. presidential elections looming on Nov. 5, Republican candidate Donald Trump criticised the Biden administration's months-long calls for a ceasefire, saying it "would only give Hamas time to regroup."

Israel and Hamas have each blamed the other for failure to reach a deal yet neither side has ruled out an agreement.

On Wednesday, a source in the Israeli negotiating team said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has allowed significant leeway on a few of the substantial disputes.

Gaps include the presence of Israeli troops in Gaza, the sequencing of a hostage release and restrictions on the free movement of civilians from southern to northern Gaza.

U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said the Gaza death toll of more than 40,000 reported by the enclave's health ministry was a "grim milestone for the world".

"This unimaginable situation is overwhelmingly due to recurring failures by the Israeli Defense Forces to comply with the rules of war," he said in a statement from Geneva on Thursday.

Separately, Israel's military said it had "eliminated" more than 17,000 Palestinian militants in its Gaza campaign.

In shattered Gaza where the war has driven almost all of its 2.3 million population from their homes, there was a desperate desire for an end to the fighting.

"We are hopeful this time. Either it's this time or never I am afraid," Aya, 30, sheltering with her family in Deir Al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip, told Reuters via a chat app.

The war started after a Hamas raid on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which Israel says the militants killed some 1,200 people, prompting Israel to attack Gaza in retaliation.

 

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine racks up gains with Russia incursion, faces challenge holding territory

Ukraine has chalked up a string of victories more than a week since blindsiding Russia with a lightning cross-border assault, but the risks are piling up as its troops make plans to hold territory and Russia recovers its footing.

Ukraine poured thousands of troops into the western Russian region of Kursk last week, pulling down Russian flags in towns seized by its soldiers and wresting the war initiative from Moscow for the first time in months.

On Wednesday, officials in Kyiv said Ukraine would use seized Russian territory as a "buffer zone" to shield its north from Russian strikes. Oleksandr Syrskyi, head of the Ukrainian armed forces, said on Thursday that Kyiv had set up a military commandant's office in the occupied part of Kursk, suggesting ambitions to dig in.

The occupied area exceeds 1,150 sq km, Syrskyi said.

Ukraine's goals in Kursk include distracting Russian forces from the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, where Russia has made steady advances for months and which it is seeking to take in its entirety, former Ukrainian defence minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk said in an interview.

There is, however, no sign of that happening for now.

Apart from a reputational blow to President Vladimir Putin, the biggest invasion of Russia since World War Two has destroyed Russian forces, captured soldiers who can be traded and created a sore on Russia's flank, said Polish military analyst Konrad Muzyka.

The Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ukraine's defence ministry referred questions to the armed forces, which did not immediately respond.

Russian officials have said the Ukrainian attack on Russian territory is a "terrorist invasion" and that civilian infrastructure was targeted, which Ukraine denies.

Putin said that Russia will deliver a "worthy response" to the attack but that the immediate task is to eject all Ukrainian troops from Russian territory.

Ukraine, which has not said how long it might remain, was "not interested" in permanently taking Russian land, a foreign ministry spokesperson said this week. Putin has said Ukraine wants the territory as a bargaining chip in eventual peace talks.

Serhiy Zgurets, a Kyiv-based military analyst, predicted Ukraine would seek to retain control of the land between the towns of Rylsk, Korenevoye and Sudzha and the border, giving it control of a roughly 20-km-wide strip of Russian territory.

The area, he said, could be defended by a small force using long-range artillery systems and air defences.

"This line is not difficult to defend, given there are few roads and a large number of rivers," Zgurets said, adding that the area could be easily supplied from the Ukrainian region of Sumy across the border.

He said he didn't expect troops to press towards the Russian regional capital of Kursk, something that could expose them to attacks from the flanks.

Muzyka was more circumspect, warning that trying to hold a swathe of Russian land could open up Ukrainian forces to potentially heavy losses, pointing to manpower problems that have dogged Ukraine for months in its war with a much larger foe.

The counter-invasion was "a massive gamble" that in the short term was paying off, Muzyka said.

"But there may soon come a time when costs associated with the attack in the Kursk region will outweigh the benefits, especially given the steady pace of Russian advances in the Donetsk region," he said.

RUSSIA RESPONSE

After a shambolic response to the early days of Ukraine's assault that saw tanks and Western-supplied armoured vehicles among convoys that carried troops across the border, Russia finally appears to have slowed the advances. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said forces had advanced a few kilometres on Wednesday.

A senior Russian commander said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces had been pushed out of one village in Russia's border region but that Kyiv's forces were still probing along the front.

Satellite images from Planet Lab and Maxar showed multiple, apparently new, Russian-built trenches further from the border in Kursk region.

Russia has so far relied on military units from near Kursk to try to push back the Ukrainian forces, said Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with Finland's Black Bird Group, which studies publicly available footage from the Russia-Ukraine war.

By bringing the war to Russia, Zelenskiy faces the risk of weakening Kyiv's defences along the front in Ukraine while Russia has already sent in thousands of reserves in a bid to expel the Ukrainian soldiers.

Moscow should have enough reserves, Paroinen said, to respond without pulling troops from the most active frontline of the war in the Donbas region.

Russia has been advancing slowly there for months, deploying gliding bombs in huge numbers as well as assault groups that take heavy losses but make small steps forward, former defence minister Zagorodnyuk said.

Far from a letup in fighting in the east, Ukraine on Thursday reported the heaviest fighting in weeks near Pokrovsk and said there was no sign Russian military pressure was receding along the eastern front inside its borders.

In a tacit acknowledgment of mounting pressure, Zelenskiy ordered his top commander on Wednesday to send more weapons to Pokrovsk and Toretsk, another embattled town that Russia is trying to capture.

Ukrainian soldier Dmytro, 36, who was deployed to the Ukrainian side of the Sudzha border during the incursion, said he wanted the war to end quickly, and he hoped the attack on Russia would put Ukraine on a more equal footing in any negotiations.

He said he viewed the incursion as a necessary step to ward off a Russian attack on Ukrainian territory across the border from the Kursk region, but that he also felt uncomfortable with invading foreign territory.

"Honestly, it does not feel great to do what they (the Russians) did," he said.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

West involved in planning of attack on Russia’s borderline Kursk region — Kremlin aide

Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s borderline region of Kursk was planned with the participation of NATO and Western special services, and was prompted by Kiev’s realization of its imminent collapse, Russian presidential aide Nikolay Patrushev said.

"It was the West who brought the criminal junta to power in Urkaine. NATO countries sent weapons and military instructors to Ukraine, they continue to provide them with intelligence data and they control actions of neo-Nazi groups," he said in an interview with the Izvestia daily. "The operation in the Kursk Region was also planned with the participation of NATO and Western special services."

"This criminal undertaking was prompted by the neo-Nazi Kiev regime’s realization of its looming imminent collapse," the official added.

Patrushev dismissed the US Department of State’s claims of non-involvement into the matter.

"It’s common for the United States to say one thing and do just the opposite. Without their participation and direct endorsement, Kiev would have never dared to set its foot on the Russian territory," he said.

Ukrainian forces started a major attack on the Kursk Region on August 6. Missile attack warnings have been issued repeatedly in the region since then, and the government declared a federal-level emergency there. Most residents were temporarily resettled from the border areas and are now out of harm’s way, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said. More than 720 people have been evacuated over the past day alone, according to the ministry.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has already lost up to 2,640 troops, 37 tanks, 32 armored personnel carriers since the beginning of the hostilities on the Kursk direction. The operation on elimination of Ukrainian troops continues.

 

Reuters/Tass