Israel says plenty of food in Gaza, UN says that's ridiculous

The United Nations on Tuesday dismissed as "ridiculous" an assertion by Israel that there was enough food in the Gaza Strip to last for a long period of time, despite the closure of all 25 bakeries in the enclave supported by the World Food Programme.

No aid has been delivered to the Palestinian enclave since March 2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has said it would not allow the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza until Hamas releases all remaining hostages.

Then later in March Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza after a two-month truce and sent troops back into the enclave.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid deliveries, said on Tuesday that during the truce some 25,200 trucks entered Gaza, carrying almost 450,000 tons of aid.

"That's nearly a third of the total trucks that entered Gaza during the entire war, in just over a month," COGAT said in a post on X. "There is enough food for a long period of time, if Hamas lets the civilians have it."

When asked about the statement, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters: "As far as the UN is concerned, that's ridiculous ... we are at the tail end of our supplies."

"You know, WFP doesn't close its bakeries for fun. If there's no flour, if there's no cooking gas, the bakeries cannot open," Dujarric added.

AID DIVERTED?

Before the two month ceasefire, global food security experts warned in November that there was a "strong likelihood that famine is imminentin areas" of northern Gaza.

Throughout the war, the U.N. has described its humanitarian operation in Gaza as opportunistic - facing problems with Israel's military operation, access restrictions by Israel into and throughout Gaza and looting by armed gangs.

"The UN aid was less than 30% of the total amount of aid that entered. Meaning, when the UN say they have 2 weeks worth of aid left in Gaza, there are plenty of other aid organizations and other actors with food aid," COGAT said.

COGAT said it continues to monitor and assess the humanitarian situation in Gaza in coordination with the international community. It also said much of the aid delivered to Gaza during the ceasefire had been diverted.

"The U.N. has kept a chain of custody and a very good chain of custody on all the aid it's delivered," Dujarric said.

Hamas said Gaza has reached a "famine phase," describing it as "one of the worst humanitarian crisis in modern history." It said it held Israel full responsibility for the "catastrophic human consequences increasing by the hour."

The war in Gaza was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia says it cannot accept U.S. proposals on Ukraine 'in current form'

Russia cannot accept U.S. proposals to end the war in Ukraine in their current form because they do not address problems Moscow regards as having caused the conflict, a senior Russian diplomat said, suggesting U.S.-Russia talks on the subject had stalled.

The comments by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov suggest Moscow and Washington have so far been unable to bridge differences which President Vladimir Putin raised more than two weeks ago when he said U.S. proposals needed reworking.

They come as U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be growing increasingly impatient with what he has suggested might be foot-dragging over a wider deal by Moscow.

Trump in recent days has said he is "pissed off" with Putin and has spoken of imposing sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Moscow is blocking a deal.

Ryabkov, a specialist in U.S.-Russia relations, said Moscow was not yet able to move forward with a deal however.

"We take the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously, but we can't accept it all in its current form," Ryabkov was quoted by state media as telling the Russian magazine "International Affairs" in an interview released on Tuesday.

"As far as we can see, there is no place in them today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict. It is completely absent, and that must be overcome."

Putin has said he wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO, Russia to control the entirety of four Ukrainian regions it has claimed as its own, and the size of the Ukrainian army to be limited. Kyiv says those demands are tantamount to demanding its capitulation.

'VERY COMPLEX'

Asked about Trump's latest remarks about wanting Putin to do a deal on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier on Tuesday that Moscow was "continuing our contacts with the American side".

"The subject is very complex. The substance that we are discussing, related to the Ukrainian settlement, is very complex. This requires a lot of extra effort."

Russia also said on Tuesday it was fully complying with a U.S.-brokered moratorium on attacking Ukraine's energy facilities.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state TV that Defence Minister Andrei Belousov had briefed Putin on alleged Ukrainian violations during a meeting of Russia's Security Council on Tuesday. Russia passed a list of the violations to U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lavrov said.

Before the weekend, Trump had taken a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has unnerved the United States' European allies as he tries to broker an end to the conflict in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

But in recent days, and amid lobbying by Europeans such as Finland's president urging him to hold Russia to account, he has adopted a tougher tone.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

‘Progress’ emerging in US talks – Lavrov

Moscow and Washington are making progress in removing obstacles in diplomatic relations and plan to meet for the next round of talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

Speaking to journalists, Lavrov noted that both presidents had approved the continuation of negotiations.

“There was a meeting in Istanbul, and a second round is being prepared,” Lavrov said, noting that the sides are “in contact by phone and video conference.”

Lavrov said he did not want to make predictions, but cited “some progress and a willingness on the part of our American partners to lift these completely unacceptable obstacles to the normal work of diplomats in both capitals.”

Russia and the US have imposed various restrictions on each other in recent years, including limiting the number of diplomatic personnel, constraining banking access, and seizing diplomatic properties.

A major flashpoint came in late 2016, when the administration of then-President Barack Obama restricted Russian diplomats’ access to residences in New York and Maryland and later seized additional Russian properties.

Relations deteriorated further under former President Joe Biden, with heightened tensions over the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, prompting further diplomatic and economic restrictions. These included the suspension of flights and closure of US airspace to Russian carriers in coordination with Washington’s Western allies.

Lavrov insisted that Moscow was not the one that initiated such measures, saying Russia responded “according to the principle of reciprocity, which no one has abolished” in diplomacy.

US President Donald Trump has moved away from many Biden-era policies, calling for a swift resolution to the Ukraine conflict and a reset in bilateral ties.

The two countries have held several rounds of high-level talks since Trump took office in January. A meeting in Riyadh on February 18 focused on restoring embassy operations and easing restrictions. The follow-up round in Istanbul on February 27, addressed diplomatic funding and Russia’s proposal to reinstate direct flights between the two countries.

Last week, expert delegations from both sides met again in Saudi Arabia, where, after 12 hours of negotiations, they agreed to revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Following the talks, Trump signaled Washington could consider lifting certain sanctions to advance the deal, which is seen as a step toward resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Reuters/RT

Smokers are being urged to kick the habit for 2025 after a fresh assessment of the harms of cigarettes found they shorten life expectancy even more than doctors thought.

Researchers at University College London found that on average a single cigarette takes about 20 minutes off a person’s life, meaning that a typical pack of 20 cigarettes can shorten a person’s life by nearly seven hours.

According to the analysis, if a smoker on 10 cigarettes a day quits on 1 January, they could prevent the loss of a full day of life by 8 January. They could boost their life expectancy by a week if they quit until 5 February and a whole month if they stop until 5 August. By the end of the year, they could have avoided losing 50 days of life, the assessment found.

“People generally know that smoking is harmful but tend to underestimate just how much,” said Dr Sarah Jackson, a principal research fellow at UCL’s alcohol and tobacco research group. “On average, smokers who don’t quit lose around a decade of life. That’s 10 years of precious time, life moments, and milestones with loved ones.”

Smoking is one of the world’s leading preventable causes of disease and death, killing up to two-thirds of long-term users. It causes about 80,000 deaths a year in the UK and a quarter of all cancer deaths in England.

The study, commissioned by the Department of Health, draws on the latest data from the British Doctors Study, which began in 1951 as one of the world’s first large studies into the effects of smoking, and the Million Women Study, which has tracked women’s health since 1996.

While an earlier assessment in the BMJ in 2000 found that on average a single cigarette reduced life expectancy by about 11 minutes, the latest analysis published in the Journal of Addictionnearly doubles the figure to 20 minutes – 17 minutes for men and 22 minutes for women.

“Some people might think they don’t mind missing out on a few years of life, given that old age is often marked by chronic illness or disability. But smoking doesn’t cut short the unhealthy period at the end of life,” Jackson told the Guardian. “It primarily eats into the relatively healthy years in midlife, bringing forward the onset of ill-health. This means a 60-year-old smoker will typically have the health profile of a 70-year-old non-smoker.”

Although some smokers live long lives, others develop smoking-related diseases and even die from them in their 40s. The variation is driven by differences in smoking habits such as the type of cigarette used, the number of puffs taken and how deeply smokers inhale. People also differ in how susceptible they are to the toxic substances in cigarette smoke.

The authors stress that smokers must quit completely to get the full benefits to health and life expectancy. Previous work has shown there is no safe level of smoking: the risk of heart disease and stroke is only about 50% lower for people who smoke one cigarette a day compared with those who smoke 20 a day. “Stopping smoking at every age is beneficial, but the sooner smokers get off this escalator of death the longer and healthier they can expect their lives to be,” they write.

The Department of Health said smokers could find advice, support and resources on the NHS Quit Smoking app and the online Personal Quit Plan, which tailors its advice to individual’s preferences.

Prof Sanjay Agrawal, a special adviser on tobacco at the Royal College of Physicians, said: “Every cigarette smoked costs precious minutes of life, and the cumulative impact is devastating, not only for individuals but also for our healthcare system and economy. This research is a powerful reminder of the urgent need to address cigarette smoking as the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the UK.”

The Guardian, UK

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported that Nigerians took out a staggering N470 billion in personal loans from banks in just three months (October–December 2024), underscoring the deepening financial strain on households due to skyrocketing inflation and stagnant wages.

According to the CBN’s Fourth Quarter 2024 Economic Report, total consumer credit surged by 11.06% to N4.72 trillion, with personal loans alone jumping by 21.27% to N3.82 trillion — making up 80.98% of all consumer credit.

Meanwhile, retail loans (typically used for business or property) dropped sharply by 18.18% to N900 billion, signaling that Nigerians are borrowing more for survival rather than investment.

Analysis: A Desperate Response to Tinubu’s Harsh Economic Policies

This surge in personal borrowing reflects the devastating impact of President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, which have plunged millions into financial distress. Key factors driving this trend include:

1. Fuel Subsidy Removal & Hyper-Inflation – Since Tinubu scrapped petrol subsidies in May 2023, transport and food costs have spiraled, with inflation hitting 33.2% in March 2024. Many Nigerians now rely on loans to afford basic necessities.

2. Naira Devaluation and Shrinking Purchasing Power – The freefall of the naira (now N1,550/$ on the parallel market) has made imports unbearably expensive, forcing families to borrow just to keep up with prices.

3. Collapse of Small Businesses – The decline in retail loans suggests that even entrepreneurs are struggling to access credit, as banks deem them too risky in this volatile economy.

A Growing Debt Trap?

While the CBN frames this as "increased access to credit," the reality is that Nigerians are borrowing to survive, not to thrive. With lending rates up to 40% in some cases, many risk falling into long-term debt cycles, especially as repayment becomes harder amid job losses and inflation.

Conclusion: A Symptom of a Failing System

The N470 billion loan spike is not a sign of financial empowerment but a red flag for Nigeria’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The borrowing frenzy is less about economic growth and more about desperation — a clear indictment of policies that prioritize market reforms over citizen welfare.

The Kogi government has placed a ban on rallies and public gatherings in the state over “credible security reports”.

In a statement on Monday, Kingsley Fanwo, commissioner for information, said the move is to prevent any form of security breach that might destabilise the state.

The development comes amid the homecoming ceremony of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Kogi central senator, scheduled for Tuesday.

Fanwo said Kogi has witnessed a peaceful sallah celebration, but some security threats are threatening the peace of the state

He added that the intelligence reports indicate that some persons are planning to “stage some violent rallies in the guise of political and religious agitations” in Kogi central.

The commissioner noted that the state government has directed that any individual entering Kogi with a convoy of security personnel must “obtain prior clearance from state commands of the deploying services”.

“In Kogi Central, intelligence at our disposal points to the fact that some elements are planning to stage some violent rallies in the guise of political and religious agitations,” the statement reads.

“This is to create a platform for wanton destruction and breakdown of law and order. These flashes of disturbances are raising tension in the state and threatening to breach public peace and security.

“In view of this, and effective immediately, the Kogi State Government has placed a total ban on all forms of rallies or public gatherings that have the potential to disrupt public peace.

“This decision has been necessitated by intelligence reports indicating that certain individuals are plotting to infiltrate the state under the guise of organizing rallies, using fake security personnel to foment trouble and compromise the security of law-abiding citizens of our dear state.

“While the government recognizes the constitutional rights of citizens to gather and express themselves, security considerations must take precedence in the interest of public safety.

“As such, no individual, group, or organization is permitted to hold any form of rally within the state until further notice.”

Recently, Akpoti-Uduaghan has been making the headlines following her six-month suspension from the senate and the sexual harassment allegations she levelled against Godswill Akpabio, senate president.

On March 26, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) notified the Kogi senator of the petition by constituents seeking her recall from the national assembly.

Some members of her constituents had submitted the recall petition to the INEC after reportedly collecting signatures of 250,000 voters from 488,000 registered voters in Kogi central.

The Cable

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have introduced a 0.5% import duty on goods from Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member nations, further straining relations between the three junta-led nations and the regional bloc they exited earlier this year.

The three countries, now part of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), initially formed a security pact in 2023 but have since expanded their cooperation into economic and military affairs. In a joint statement last week, the AES announced that the levy, which took effect on Friday, is intended to generate revenue for the alliance’s activities. The tax applies to all imports from ECOWAS nations, except for humanitarian aid.

This move effectively disrupts the free trade system that once connected West African economies under ECOWAS and marks a further shift away from regional integration. Economists warn of potential consequences, including higher consumer prices, supply chain disruptions, and increased economic instability in the region.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, among the world’s poorest countries, have been grappling with a decade-long Islamist insurgency linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State, which has killed thousands and displaced millions. The juntas in these nations accused ECOWAS of failing to provide adequate security assistance and have sought to strengthen their own economic and military alliances instead.

ECOWAS, which had imposed political and financial sanctions to push the juntas toward a return to constitutional rule, has kept diplomatic channels open despite announcing their permanent expulsion from the bloc earlier this year. The regional body has signaled that discussions will continue until July in an effort to prevent further division in West Africa.

Three killed in Israeli strike targeting Hezbollah militant in Beirut

At least three people were killed and seven wounded in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs early on Tuesday, the Lebanese health ministry said, further testing a shaky four-month ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday in a statement that it attacked a Hezbollah militant "who had recently directed Hamas operatives and assisted them."

The attack took place a few days after a previous strike by Israel on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh.

There was no immediate statement from Hezbollah on the identity of the target.

The strike appeared to have damaged the upper three floors of a building in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Reuters reporter at the scene said, with the balconies of those floors blown out. The glass on the floors below was intact, indicating a target strike. Ambulances were at the scene to recover casualties.

There was no evacuation warning issued for the area ahead of the strike, and families fled in the aftermath to other parts of Beirut, according to witnesses.

The ceasefire agreement halted the year-long conflict and mandated that southern Lebanon be free of Hezbollah fighters and weapons, that Lebanese troops deploy to the area and that Israeli ground troops withdraw from the zone. But each side accuses the other of not entirely living up to those terms.

However, the U.S.-brokered truce has looked increasingly flimsy lately. Israel delayed a promised troop withdrawal in January and said that it had intercepted rockets fired from Lebanon in March, which led it to bombard targets in Beirut's southern suburbs and southern Lebanon.

The Iran-aligned Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the rocket firings.

The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that Israel was defending itself from rocket attacks that came from Lebanon and that Washington blamed "terrorists" for the resumption of hostilities.

"Hostilities have resumed because terrorists launched rockets into Israel from Lebanon," a State Department spokesperson said in an email, adding Washington supported Israel's response.

The Israeli-Lebanese conflict, in which thousands of people have been killed, was ignited by the Gaza war in 2023 when Hezbollah started firing rockets at Israeli military positions in support of its ally Hamas.

The Gaza war, in which Palestinian health authorities say more than 50,000 people have been killed, was triggered when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia pounds Kharkiv for second night in row, Ukraine says

Russia has attacked the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine for a second consecutive night, injuring three people, sparking fires at industrial buildings and damaging two kindergartens, Ukrainian officials said early on Monday.

The attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, lasted most of the night and hit the city's largest and oldest district, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

"Five industrial buildings of one of the research and production enterprises were damaged," Terekhov said on Telegram.

Emergency crews said they battled a large fire which spanned 3,900 square meters after the strike. The drone assault on the city also damaged 11 apartment buildings, Terekhov said.

The attack came a week after a U.S.-brokered partial ceasefire on strikes on energy and Black Sea infrastructure. Both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium.

The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 57 of 131 drones launched by Russia during the overnight attack that also used two Iskander-M ballistic missiles.

Another 45 drones did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic countermeasures, it said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia had fired more than 1,000 drones over the past week and he called for a response from the U.S. and other allies. Russia said Ukrainian drones attacked its energy facilities last week.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has waged a bloody and brutal three-year war. Both sides deny targeting civilians, saying their attacks are aimed at destroying each other's infrastructure crucial to war efforts.

Over the weekend a Russian drone strike on Kharkiv killed two people and wounded 35, a Ukrainian official said.

Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said on Monday that the overnight attacks followed a Sunday guided aerial bomb strike on the city of Kupiansk that left five injured and damaged an apartment building.

Kupiansk, east of Kharkiv, was seized by Russia early in the invasion of Ukraine and recaptured by Ukrainian troops later that year. It has now come under new, intense Russian pressure.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the attacks.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine again violated energy strike ceasefire – Russia

Ukraine has again violated the moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure by launching two attacks on the power grid in Russia’s border Bryansk Region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days following a phone call with his US counterpart Donald Trump earlier this month, an agreement later confirmed by Kiev.

Moscow, however, accused Ukraine of violating the ceasefire almost immediately, with several similar breaches occurring in the following days.
In a statement on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry signaled that Kiev did not change its approach to the moratorium. “Over the past 24 hours, despite the Kiev regime’s statements about not striking energy facilities, the Ukrainian armed forces continued to attack Russia’s energy infrastructure.”

One attack, which took place on Sunday evening, targeted a facility in Bryansk Region and involved an artillery shelling of a branch of energy company Rosseti Centre – Bryanskenergo, the ministry said. “Due to a break in the wire on the support, the high-voltage line was disconnected, and household consumers in the Suzemsky district were cut off from the energy supply.”

Less than half an hour later, a Ukrainian drone attacked an electricity substation in the same area, also leading to energy disruptions, officials added.

“The continued deliberate attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian energy facilities indicate the complete inability of the Kiev regime to abide by any of its obligations regarding the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine,” the ministry stressed.

While Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of violating the moratorium on energy strikes, it has signaled that it intends to uphold its end of the bargain because the deal serves as a sign of progress in improving US-Russian bilateral relations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned, however, that Moscow may retaliate symmetrically for Kiev’s violations.

Reuters/RT

Tendayi Viki

You don’t ever have to make your case.

You don’t have to beg, coerce or plead with people to join your movement.

You don’t need to host a massive event to announce the start of the transformation.

There is only one thing you need to do… createmomentum.

Invite the right people to your movement at the beginning. Then work with those people to create the gravity that will attract the rest of the organization.

Over time you will get to a tipping point where the momentum you have created makes organizational change inevitable.

Find Your Tribe

Forget about walking around the company with a PowerPoint deck trying to convince everyone. That’s a losing game.

Find your tribe and invite them to join you.

Everett Rodgers’ work on the Diffusion of Innovation shows that change starts with a small group of people (i.e. innovators and early adopters). These are the people who embrace new ideas without needing social proof. They make up around 16% of any organization, but they are your bridge to the rest of the company.

If you don’t find early adopters, it is difficult to create momentum for your initiative.

At the beginning, when you have zero evidence of traction, look for people who:

• Already believe that change is needed
• Have been actively looking for solutions
• Have tried to come up with their own solutions
• Are willing to invest time and resources to support you.

Early adopters who become champions have been the strategic heartbeat of every successful innovation and transformation program I have worked on.

Get Early Wins

Now that you have found your tribe, work with them to get early wins.

Getting early wins is the first step in creating momentum; and I am often surprised by how many transformation leaders ignore this fact.

Here is something you need to understand.

Change makes people nervous. People fear uncertainty. So your colleagues are not evaluating your idea on its merits. They are paying attention to who else in the company is supporting your idea or whether you have early successes.

They are looking for social proof before they are comfortable to get onboard.

Usually the positive results of our transformation will take time to show. But this should not be used as an excuse for not getting early wins.

Get the latest news on special offers, product updates and content suggestions from Forbes and its affiliates.

You can work with your early adopters to solve their most pressing problems using your process. You can also break up your transformation into small chunks of work that can produce early results for your champions. To be effective, your early wins should be:

• Visible: People can see the impact
• Valuable: It solves a real business problem
• Verifiable: You can measure success and quantify the impact

Getting early wins for your champions is a great way to further cement their buy-in. Those early successes help them justify their decision to join your movement. This will make them happy to stick with you for the long haul.

Tell Your Story

Those early wins are the starting motions of the flywheel of change. You have created momentum. You are on your way.

Now it’s time to share your story with the rest of the organization.

Don’t use facts and data. Use narrative to help people develop an emotional connection to your transformation.

Make your champions the centre of the story. Put the spotlight on them and not yourself. Have them tell the story of how you helped them succeed.

People connect with a story when they can see themselves in the narrative.

This is how you attract the next group of people to your movement.

Getting To The Tipping Point

Research by Damon Centola shows that change becomes inevitable when at least 25% of a group embraces a new idea.

That’s right—you don’t need to get to 51% of the group.

Once your early adopters generate enough traction, the early majority will start paying attention. These are the people who weren’t ready at first but are now intrigued by your success stories.

Map each of those stakeholders and make a plan to engage with them. This is the time to start explicitly asking for what you need for success. You may want them to:

• Endorse your initiative
• Advocate for it publicly
• Contribute financial resources
• Send their teams to work with you
• Have a conversation with a key function on your behalf

Your early adopters and champions can also help you with the conversations you are having with this next group of stakeholders.

The ultimate goal is to push your initiative to the point where more than 25% of the people in your company actively support your idea. When you get there, you will have created the momentum that will make change inevitable.

A Final Thought

Transformation is not about having good ideas and selling them to people.

Transformations succeed when they create momentum.

Finding your early adopters and getting early wins is the first turn of that flywheel.

Telling your stories and recruiting the early majority will get you to the tipping point.

Forbes