WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

In Kyiv, Indian PM urges Zelenskiy to sit down for talks with Russia

India's Narendra Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and offered to act as a friend to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv.

The first visit by an Indian prime minister in modern Ukrainian history came at a volatile juncture in the war launched by Russia in February 2022. Moscow is making slow gains in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv presses a cross-border incursion.

The optics closely resembled the Indian leader's visit to Moscow last month where he called for peace and embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin, angering Ukraine, where a Russian missile strike hit a children's hospital on the same day.

"The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis," Modi said in Kyiv.

"I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that, I want to assure you as a friend," he said.

It was not immediately clear what Kyiv made of his remarks and whether they were part of a diplomatic push taking place behind closed doors with a November presidential election looming in the United States, a close ally of Ukraine.

Speaking later on Friday in his regular address to the nation after the visit had ended, Zelenskiy said it is "important to us that India remains committed to international law and supports our sovereignty and territorial integrity".

He also said he appreciated that Modi had begun the visit by paying tribute to the children killed in the July hospital strike.

India, which traditionally has close economic and defence relations with Moscow, has publicly criticised the deaths of innocent people in the war, but also strengthened its economic ties with Moscow.

Both leaders described Modi's visit as "historic" in their statements during their meeting, in which Modi spoke second and Zelenskiy had no opportunity to respond to the call for dialogue.

Zelenskiy said that "the matter of ending the war and a just peace are the priority for Ukraine".

Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants the war to end but on Kyiv's terms, not Russia's. Ukraine has been pushing to hold a second international summit later this year to advance its vision of peace and involve representatives from Russia.

The first summit, held in Switzerland in June, pointedly excluded Russia, while attracting scores of delegations, including one from India, but not from China, the world's second largest economy. Zelenskiy urged Modi to sign the summit's communique, which India has not done.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that talks were out of the question after Ukraine launched its incursion into Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 6.

Kyiv's top commander has touted the capture of almost 100 settlements in the assault, part of what military analysts see as an attempt to divert Russian troops from eastern Ukraine where Moscow's forces are making gains.

'CERTAIN INFLUENCE'

Modi's visit to Moscow prompted Zelenskiy to criticise the Indian prime minister when the trip coincided with the missile strike that hit a children's hospital in Kyiv.

As he welcomed Modi to the Mariinskyi presidential palace in Kyiv, Zelenskiy embraced him with a frowning expression before they began talks. Modi issued renewed condolences over the missile strike on X in a post written in Ukrainian.

"Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief," the post said.

In the run-up to the visit, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in Zelenskiy's office, told Reuters it was significant because New Delhi "really has a certain influence" over Moscow.

"It's extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is - and that it is also in their interests," he said.

As Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and cut trade relations with it over the invasion, India has developed its economic ties.

Indian refiners that rarely bought Russian oil in the past have emerged as Moscow's top clients for seaborne crude since Russia poured troops into Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago. Russian oil accounts for over two-fifths of India's oil imports.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces repel new Ukrainian attack in Kursk – MOD

Russia continues to repel Kiev’s ongoing attacks on settlements in Kursk Region as Ukrainian Armed Forces suffer heavy casualties, the Defense Ministry reported in an update on Friday.

In a message posted on its official Telegram channel, the ministry stated that Russian units of the North group of forces, with the support of aviation and artillery, have successfully repelled attacks by enemy assault groups near the settlements of Borki and Malaya Loknya, and have also thwarted attacks in the directions of Komarovka, Korenevo, Martynovka and Russkaya Konopelka.

Kiev’s forces lost up to 70 servicemen as well as two combat armored vehicles and one car during the operation, Moscow reported.

Meanwhile, reconnaissance and search units continue to identify and destroy Ukrainian sabotage groups hiding in thick forests as they try to penetrate deeper into Russian territory, with one such group being reportedly neutralized near the settlement of Kamyshevka, the ministry said.

The Russian military also continues to pressure enemy forces using airstrikes and artillery, and has targeted several Ukrainian brigades across the region. Over the past 24 hours, Kiev has lost an estimated 400 servicemen, 17 armored vehicles, including one tank, two armored personnel carriers, 14 armored combat vehicles, two pieces of artillery, and MLRS launcher, two mortars and ten vehicles, the ministry claimed.

Overall, since launching its cross-border assault earlier this month, which reportedly involved some of Kiev’s best-equipped and most experienced fighters, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost some 5,137 soldiers, 69 tanks, 27 infantry fighting vehicles, 55 APCs, 350 armored combat vehicles, 34 artillery units, five anti-aircraft missile systems, 11 MLRS launchers, including three US-made HIMARS, among other pieces of heavy equipment, Moscow estimates.

Kiev officials have stated that the purpose of the brazen offensive was to try to seize Russian territory in Kursk Region in order to alleviate the pressure that has been on its forces elsewhere on the front line, and to strengthen Ukraine’s position during eventual peace talks with Moscow.

Moscow had previously offered Kiev a ceasefire in exchange for renouncing its NATO membership bid and withdrawing from Russian territories. The Kremlin has taken this deal off the table following Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk Region and its “indiscriminate” targeting of Russian civilians.

Reuters/RT

As someone in their late 20s, I know firsthand that this decade can be rough , so I'm always looking for those older than me to shed some wisdom. So when redditor u/Gandalfthewhitte asked people over 30 to share the advice they'd give to younger folks, I was all ears. Here are some of the valuable life lessons they mentioned.

1. "Take really good care of your teeth. Floss religiously. In general, don't abuse your health. You are at your strongest now, and things you do to yourself will usually come back later to haunt you."

—u/DefenestrationPraha
2. "Take that trip with friends and close ones."

—u/showrov_tj

"This one hundred percent. I was that kid who was always scrimping and saving (for good reasons) and barely went or did anything. I've had to bury a good number of those friends now, and I'm only in my mid-30s. Imagine how foolish I feel. 'Sorry guys, I can't come with you on this once-in-a-lifetime worldview-changing trip. I've got to deliver pizzas.' No amount of money can buy a second of time.

—u/PunkPizzaVooDoo

3. "Your thirties feel like half as long as your twenties. Start them well."

—u/Some1_nz
4. "Stay fit. Do yoga, go to the gym, walk, run — your health is the most precious thing. And don't hold grudges; life is too short for unnecessary emotions."

—u/just_now_2021
5. "You will fail, and that is okay."

—u/Calm-Internet6926

"Adding to this because, in my 20s, I didn't understand what that meant.

Failing is good specifically because it helps you to teach your limits. If you never fail, you never know what your full potential is. While it can be comfortable never to fail, you typically live better when you are grounded in reality rather than having all the 'what if' fantasies on what you could do only because you don't want to risk proving your fantasies wrong.

Also, learn to differentiate between fantasies and goals. I can't explain this well beyond the fact that the former is passive, and the latter is active."

—u/Internep

6. "Do not fear turning 30 — that's where life begins. Everything before 30 is just your backstory."

—u/5NATCH
7. "Drink more water. At least the first and last drink of the day should be water, and make it a large glass."

—u/TwoBadRobots
8. "Call off work. Have fun. Live life."

—u/keitaro_guy2004

"This one. I'm not saying do it all the time, but if you have an opportunity to do something interesting and fun, and you've got unused sick or PTO days, fucking do it. Go to that air show, concert, or event. Perfect attendance — to school or to work — should be a badge of shame. Nobody ever lay on their deathbed thinking, 'I wish I'd gone to work more often.'"

—u/-RadarRanger-

9. "The age-old story of who you know is more important than what you know. Your education should be done in conjunction with socializing and spending time with other people (networking). So don't live your life behind a screen."

—u/sonicfluff
10. "Live now, but don't forget the future. You can live now with 80% of your income, too."

—u/the-hellrider

11. "No matter how much you love someone or how much you want to help them, if they do not want to change, it's not your fault."

—u/xaitox
12. "Do no harm, but take no shit. Do what needs to be done and have fun in the process."

—u/keshmudzis

"Gonna add a quick quote to this: Life's just a game 'til the game stops being fun. If you're not enjoying life, find a new angle, whether that's looking at it differently or doing something new. We (I'm in the young crowd) are too young to suffer all day. Enjoy what you do."

—u/SureWhyNot5182

13. "Your life isn't 'over' at whatever imagined line in the sand you think it is. You can easily accomplish a lot of things at 30 or even 40 years old in your life. Find the love of your life, change careers, learn new skills, etc."

—u/Jirekianu

14. "Contrary to popular belief, dating in your 30s is way better than in your 20s. There are way fewer games. People know what they want. Partners have done cool shit by this point in life, so just talking about life is more enjoyable. They're comfortable in their own skin, and they'll generally be more forthright about their hangups and insecurities because they know themselves better and communicate better. Red flags present themselves way earlier, so getting out of a bad relationship is easier before you're invested."

—u/PsychonautAlpha
15. "Invest your money, and save at least 15% of every dollar you earn."

—u/fff84ddd
16. "Learn how to cook decently. Buy a French knife, know how to cut a few basic ways, and know where your fingers should be. Get a few decent recipes locked in, and you can experiment later. It'll save you a lot of money not ordering delivery all the time."

—u/clem9796
17. "Don't get married until you're over 30. The amount of divorced friends with/without kids is wild. Maybe one in five are still together."

—u/poops314

"Good answer. We all change so much over our 20s. The rate of change diminishes as we get older and our views and values settle down."

—u/Sys32768

18. "Do not take out a loan or go into debt to fuel your need to buy things or spend on shit you don't need. It is a vicious cycle that takes years or decades to end. It also comes with a shit credit score and the unneeded stress of living paycheck to paycheck."

—u/3tu_KEK
19. "See a psychologist for the anxiety."

—u/asif00013

"Flat out, see a psychologist. I wasn't depressed, doing OK, felt mentally very healthy, and saw no need. I recently got diagnosed with mild ADHD in my 40s, and my god, it explains so much unnecessary stress and missed opportunities in my life. I wasn't aware since this is how my life's always been; I thought I was just impatient, spoiled, and bad at finishing things. The pills help a lot."

—u/Ninja_Thomek

20. "If you injure yourself, get it looked at straight away. Get physio as soon as possible and follow what they want you to do. You want to recover as quickly as possible, and these injuries will affect you far worse in the future if you don't get them sorted straight away."

—u/Seaworthiness_Jolly

21. "If the relationship didn't work out, it's not meant to be. Don't spend months/years stuck on it. I wasted many years pining for girls I loved, but in hindsight, none of them would be the perfect wife I have now."

—u/SleepyCorgiPuppy

22. "Stop caring about other people's opinions. You do you."

—u/razmuff
23. "Do the impromptu stuff. Once everyone in your friend group starts having kids, it's over. We had poker nights, console games, golf, etc. I have to reach out five months in advance to schedule anything anymore, and it still ends up being canceled."

—u/Leg0pc
24. "Don't worry if you have chosen the wrong profession. I'm 35 and made a career change at 33. It was the best thing I did. There is enough time and opportunities to do something different later in life."

—u/demmie0

Buzzfeed

A New Zealand woman was sentenced to two months behind bars for overfeeding her pet dog Nuggi to the point where he could hardly walk 10 meters without needing a break.

When Nuggi was rescued from his Auckland owner in October of 2021, he weighed a whopping 53.7kg and his small legs struggled to support his enormous body. SPCA officers said that he needed to pause three times to catch his breath walking just 10m from where he was kept to the rescue car. He had so much fat under his skin that doctors could barely detect a heartbeat when they performed a checkup. Nuggi also suffered from conjunctivitis and had wounds on his elbows and belly, most likely due to the time he spent lying on his stomach because he couldn’t move. His owner fed him eight to ten pieces of chicken a day, plus plenty of doggy biscuits, seemingly ignorant to the fact that he was killing the poor animal.

“Nuggi was being drastically overfed and, instead of seeking help or amending the behavior, his owner continued to overfeed him until he could barely walk. This is unacceptable,” Todd Westwood, chief executive of the SPCA, told NZ Herald. “He was so enormous that he could hardly walk and he was clearly suffering as a result of the significant amount of weight he was carrying.”

The overfed dog spent two months in the care of the SPCA, during which time he lost 8.9 kilograms, but then died suddenly due to a hemorrhage from a mass on his liver. A necropsy revealed that he suffered from other health complications, including liver disease and Cushing’s disease.

Nuggi’s owner was sued for overfeeding the poor canine and ultimately causing his demise, and last week the Manukau District Court ordered her to pay reparations of $NZ 1222.15 ($720), disqualified her from owning dogs for a year, and sentenced her to two months in prison.

Although the SPCA most often deals with cases of severely malnourished animals, the organization pointed out that overfeeding pets can be just as detrimental, if not more so, than underfeeding them. The organization’s officers said that Nuggis was one of the fattest dogs they had ever encountered.

Oddity Central

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has expressed concern over the increasing trend of bulk electricity consumers abandoning the national grid in favour of generating their own electricity. This comes in the wake of a controversial electricity tariff hike implemented last April, which saw rates increase by more than 200 percent for Band A consumers - those with 20 hours or more of daily power supply.

Adelabu emphasized that grid connection remains a more reliable power source than the captive power plants currently favored by many bulk electricity consumers. He expressed frustration that despite achieving a record generation of 5,155MW, much of this capacity is not being utilized.

Speaking at the Board retreat of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company in Lagos on Thursday, the minister said, "The majority of bulk electricity users, such as industries, are off the grid due to lack of trust and confidence in the past. They now have their own captive power plants in their industries which is more expensive."

The minister's comments come against the backdrop of widespread criticism and protests following the substantial tariff increase. Many consumers and businesses have cited the higher costs as a factor in their decision to seek alternative power sources.

Adelabu argued that despite the recent price hikes, grid electricity remains more economical than private generation. "The average cost of producing captive power is about N350 to N400 per kilowatt-hour for those connected to gas lines. For diesel, it's about N950 while petrol is about N550," he explained.

The minister outlined plans to encourage bulk users to return to the grid, stating, "Once consumers and industries see the trust, the confidence and the stability we are giving, they would be encouraged and reconnect to the grid for a cheaper source of power."

Adelabu reiterated the government's ambitious power targets, including reaching 6 gigawatts by the end of December 2024 and adhering to the Vision 30-30-30 plan, which aims to achieve 30GW by 2030, with 30 percent from renewable sources.

To address demand fluctuations, the minister proposed introducing differential tariffs for off-peak periods, leveraging smart meter technology. This approach aims to stimulate demand during low-usage hours, potentially offering some relief to consumers still grappling with the effects of the recent tariff increase.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says President Bola Tinubu and Wale Tinubu, chief executive officer (CEO) of Oando, do not have any interest in the OVH Energy acquisition.

The NNPC was, however, silent on the allegation by Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, that OVH Energy — previously owned by the national oil firm — has now acquired NNPC Retail.

“This absurd situation means that Wale Tinubu’s Oando now owns 49% of NNPC retail,” Atiku had said.

Stressing the growing lack of transparency in the state-owned oil company, the former vice-president also said the NNPC has been hijacked by “corporate cabals” around Tinubu.

Addressing some of the claims in a statement on Thursday, the NNPC said investment decisions by its management are based on national interest.

“Contrary to the false alarm raised, neither Wale Tinubu nor the President has any interest in the OVH acquisition,” the statement reads.

“We are a commercially-focused and profit-driven company managed by professionals who are committed to adding value to the nation.

“Investment decisions by NNPC Ltd Management are strictly determined on the basis of commercial viability and national interest.

“At the time NNPC Ltd acquired OVH in 2022, Oando (in which Mr. Wale Tinubu has equity interest), had fully divested its equity in OVH to the two other partners – Vitol and Helios.”

The NNPC said Oando started its divestment in 2016, with Vitol and Helios coming in as equity partners — leading to the change of name from Oando to OVH.

In 2019, according to the company, Oando fully divested its equity interest in OVH resulting in Vitol and Helios “holding 50% equity interests respectively”.

“Upon acquisition of OVH by NNPC Ltd, both NNPC Retail Ltd and OVH effectively became subsidiaries of NNPC Ltd,” the statement further reads.

“However, based on professional advice and sound commercial considerations, NNPC Ltd opted to merge NNPC Retail Limited into OVH, and thereafter retain NNPC Retail Limited as the company post-merger.”

The statement said the initial step of merging NNPC Retail into OVH has been completed and the “post-merger renaming as NNPC Retail Ltd” is ongoing.

“As a businessman, he said the former vice-president should know that effectiveness in business leadership is best measured by balance sheets and bottom lines rather than pedestrian considerations,” the national oil firm said.

“The management of NNPC Ltd, under the leadership of Mr. Mele Kyari, has done very well in growing the company’s fortunes as shown in the 2023 Audited Financial Statement (AFS), where it reported N3.3 trillion as profit after tax.

“NNPC as a commercial entity is devoid of political interest and shall continue to conduct its business full of commitment to national interest and value creation for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

The company also said it would resist any attempt to “draw its board and management into partisan politics”. 

The Cable

Israeli demands for troops in Gaza blocking truce deal, sources say

Disagreements over Israel's future military presence in Gaza and over Palestinian prisoner releases are obstructing a ceasefire and hostage deal, according to ten sources familiar with the round of U.S.-mediated talks that concluded last week.

The sources, who include two Hamas officials and three Western diplomats, told Reuters the disagreements stemmed from demands Israel has introduced since Hamas accepted a version of a ceasefire proposalunveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden in May.

All the sources said Hamas was especially concerned about the latest demand to keep troops deployed along the Netzarim Corridor, an east-west strip Israel cleared during the current war that prevents Palestinians' free movement between north and south Gaza, as well as in a narrow border strip between Gaza and Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

The sources asked not to be named to speak freely about sensitive matters.

Israel's current grip on the Philadelphi Corridor gives it control of Gaza's frontier with Egypt, the enclave's only crossing that does not border Israel.

Hamas sees Israel as having changed its conditions and parameters "last-minute," and worries any concessions it makes would be met by more demands, one of the sources, who is close to the talks, told Reuters.

The media office for the Palestinian militant group did not respond to requests for comment for this story. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's office did not respond to questions about the talks.

In a press statement on Sunday, Hamas said the proposal arising from last week's talks was too close to Netanyahu's recent positions setting new conditions. It urged the mediators to stick to the implementation of a July versionof the framework agreement, rather than starting new negotiations.

In a statement prior to the talks last week, Netanyahu's office denied making new demands, saying its position built on the previous proposal.

In the statement, the office said Israel's May proposal stated that only unarmed civilians would be allowed to return to the northern part of Gaza, crossing the Netzarim Corridor.

The office said Israel's new proposal, first presented at a meeting of mediators in Rome on July 27, was that an agreed-upon mechanism should be established to assure this, implying but not specifically mentioning an Israeli military presence at Netzarim to prevent the movement of Hamas fighters.

According to a second source close to the talks, Israel proposed that an agreement for the return of non-combatants to the north half of Gaza would be agreed upon "at a later date".

That was seen by some of the mediators and Hamas as Israel backtracking on a previous commitment to withdraw from the Netzarim corridor and allow free movement inside Gaza, the source said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a whirlwind trip to the region on Tuesday, seeking a breakthrough. After meeting Netanyahu, Blinken said Israel had accepted a new U.S. proposal aimed at narrowing differences between Israel and Hamas' latest positions. He urged Hamas to do the same.

"Once that happens we also have to complete the detailed implementation agreements that go along with putting the ceasefire into effect," he said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The sides have not released what Blinken called a bridging proposal, and Reuters has not seen a copy.

One Western diplomat, describing Israel's latest demands in the U.S.-led talks, said it appeared the United States had accepted changes proposed by Netanyahu, including on a continued Israeli military deployment in the two corridors.

One U.S. official disputed that suggestion, saying the negotiations on the "implementation" would aim to hash out disagreements over the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, the number of Palestinian prisoners and who to release among other topics.

Blinken also pushed back on any suggestion of Israeli troops occupying Gaza on a long term basis, saying at the press conference that the schedule and location of Israeli military withdrawals were very clear in the agreement.

FRESH TALKS

The next round of talks is expected in Cairo in the coming days, based around the U.S. bridging proposal.

The lead U.S. negotiator, CIA director Bill Burns, his Israeli counterpart, Mossad chief David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt's lead negotiator are expected to attend, the source close to the talks said. Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed is expected to visit Tehran before heading to Cairo, the source said. An Iranian source said Sheikh Mohammed was due to visit on Monday.

Iran's foreign ministry did not respond to questions. The CIA declined to comment in line with its policy of not disclosing Burns' travel.

Two of the Hamas officials said the U.S. proposal contained some of the Israeli changes they reject, including allowing "Israel's continued military presence" along the crossings and releasing some Palestinian prisoners into exile, rather than to Gaza or the West Bank, in any swap for hostages.

However, a senior U.S. administration official said there was nothing in the bridging proposal that changed previously agreed commitments on the Netzarim Corridor. The official said any temporary arrangements on the Philadelphi Corridor must be consistent with Israel’s May 27 text and the outline put forth by Biden, as endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.

The proposal includes "massive and immediate benefits" for the people of Gaza and incorporates a number of Hamas' earlier demands, the official said.

Two of the sources, security officials in Egypt, said Israel and Hamas appeared willing to resolve differences in all areas other than that of the Israeli withdrawal.

Israel's war objectives include "securing the southern border," Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Thursday, referring to the Philadelphi Corridor.

In response to Reuters questions on differences over the latest ceasefire proposal, Egypt's state information service pointed to recent official statements emphasising a continuing push to reach a deal at talks in Cairo and Doha.

Qatar's international media office did not comment, but pointed to a statement issued late Tuesday after the Qatari prime minister spoke to Blinken, which urged efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. In response to questions from Reuters the U.S. State Department referred to Blinken's public statements.

PHILADELPHI CORRIDOR

Control over the Philadelphi Corridor frontier area between Gaza and Egypt, along with the Rafah border crossing, is particularly sensitive for Cairo.

Egypt is prepared to take more security measures in the Philadelphi corridor but rejects the presence of Israeli troops there, the Egyptian security sources said.

Israel seized control of the strategic corridor in May, saying it was used by Hamas to smuggle weapons and banned material into its tunnels to Gaza.

The Israeli advance resulted in the closure of the Rafah crossing, sharply reducing the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, halting most medical evacuations, and potentially depriving Egypt of its role brokering access at the only border crossing into Gaza that had not been directly controlled by Israel.

Egypt says that tunnels used for smuggling into Gaza have been closed or destroyed, that a Palestinian presence at Rafah should be restored, and that the Philadelphi corridor buffer zone is guaranteed by the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty.

An Israeli troop presence along the corridors, the Hamas sources said, would amount to a continued Israeli occupation that would stop the free movement of civilians.

PRISONERS AND PEACE

The two Hamas officials told Reuters the U.S. bridging plan "does not include a permanent ceasefire".

In the May proposal, Biden said a temporary ceasefire would become a permanent cessation of hostilities, "as long as Hamas lives up to its commitments."

The Hamas officials said Israel had also imposed a veto on the release of around 100 Palestinian prisoners whose names Hamas proposed, some elderly and with more than 20 years remaining on their sentences.

The issue of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of a swap deal for hostages Hamas has held in Gaza since Oct. 7 had previously been seen as less difficult.

A main sticking point at present is an Israeli position that many of the prisoners it releases should be immediately deported and go into exile outside Israel, the West Bank or Gaza, the Western diplomat and the two Hamas officials said.

"In light of this, Hamas refused to accept the American-Israeli paper," one of the officials said.

A three-phase framework for a ceasefire deal has been on the table since late December, but the multiple disputes between Israel and Hamas over key details have made an agreement impossible.

The United States, along with mediators Qatar and Egypt, is trying to keep negotiations alive to end Israel's 10-month-campaign in Gaza and return remaining hostages seized by Hamas and its allies on Oct. 7.

The war began on Oct. 7 when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities and military bases, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. More than 40,000 people have since been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine tried to attack Russian nuclear plant – Putin

Ukrainian forces have attempted to strike Russia’s Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), President Vladimir Putin has said during a cabinet meeting.

Kiev sent thousands of troops into Russia’s Kursk Region earlier this month, attempting to reach the town of Kurchatov, where the nuclear facility is located. Moscow has declared the incursion an act of terrorism and has deployed additional troops to repel the invaders.

“Last night, the enemy attempted to strike the atomic power plant,” Putin said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon. “The International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] has been informed. They promised to come themselves and send specialists to assess the situation. I hope they actually do so.”

The IAEA already has observers working at the Zaporozhye NPP, Europe’s largest such facility. The mission was deployed in the summer of 2023, as Ukrainian troops attempted to seize the plant. Earlier this month, a Ukrainian drone attack set one of the cooling towers at the plant on fire.

Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev has discussed the situation at both power plants with IAEA director Rafael Grossi, and invited him to visit Kursk to personally assess the situation, according to the Russian media.

Grossi has accepted the invitation and is planning to visit Kursk next week, an IAEA spokesman told AFP. Afterwards, he will visit Kiev and speak with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

According to Grossi, the IAEA is very concerned about any combat operations near the Kursk NPP, since it operates the same kind of reactors as the infamous Chernobyl NPP.

“They don’t have a protective dome around them, just the normal roof, which means that the reactor’s core is pretty exposed,” Grossi said. The presence of troops within artillery range “is a source of enormous concern to me and the agency,” he added, without specifying which forces he meant.

Moscow has repeatedly criticized the international agency for never identifying the perpetrator of the attacks on nuclear facilities, even though the IAEA staff has known perfectly well that Kiev is to blame.

Last week, Russian military journalist Marat Khairullin reported that Ukraine was preparing a “dirty bomb” for a false flag attack on either the Kursk or Zaporozhye NPP. Moscow said it was taking the report seriously and warned that any such attack would be met immediately with “tough military and military-technical countermeasures.”

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia and Ukraine report gains as some Ukrainians flee strategic city

Russia and Ukraine both reported new battlefield gains on Thursday, with Kyiv hailing the capture of another village on Russian soil but hundreds of Ukrainians fleeing the eastern city of Pokrovsk as Russian forces advance on it.

Visiting the border area from where his troops entered the Kursk region in western Russia on Aug. 6, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the seizure of a new village that he did not name, and said the incursion had helped reduce Russian shelling of the northeastern Sumy region.

Russian authorities said a Russian ferry sank after a Ukrainian attack that struck southern Russia's Port Kavkaz, which supplies fuel to the occupied peninsula of Crimea. Kyiv said it had mounted a drone strike on an air base in southern Russia and carried out a raid about 240 km (150 miles) from the site of its push into Kursk region.

After returning to Kyiv, Zelenskiy said the latest Ukrainian military action was part of an effort to put an end to the war on Ukraine's terms instead of Russia's.

"This is all our systematic defence path, the path to end this war on the terms of an independent Ukraine," he said in an address to veterans.

He said that to force Russian troops out of Ukrainian territory, the Ukrainian military should "create as many problems as possible" on Russian territory.

But although the incursion is an embarrassment for Russia, Moscow's forces have continued their gradual advances of the past few months against tired Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine worn down by 2-1/2 years of heavy fighting.

Moscow said its troops had taken control of the village of Mezhove in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, and that they had beaten back an attempt by a Ukrainian force to infiltrate its border in a different region to Kyiv's Aug. 6 incursion.

Ukrainian authorities say Russian troops are now just 10 km (six miles) outside Pokrovsk, an important transport hub in eastern Ukraine, and this week started evacuating elderly residents and children.

"Everyone is in panic, people are running away," Liudmyla Sydorenko told Reuters on Thursday as she packed a 94-year-old relative's belongings into plastic bags at their apartment so that she could be evacuated.

"I went outside and was shocked: people with paper boxes there, mass evacuation. We don't want to leave, but we have to. We thought we could stay here. It's very difficult."

Moscow's capture of Pokrovsk, which lies at an intersection of roads and a railway line, would give Russia options to advance in new directions and also cut supply routes used by the Ukrainian military in the Donetsk region.

WARNING BY U.S. EMBASSY

Authorities in Kursk said they had begun installing concrete shelters to help protect civilians during the Ukrainian incursion.

President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of trying to strike Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant in an overnight attack and said Moscow had informed the U.N. nuclear safety watchdog about the situation.

But he provided no documentary evidence to back up his assertion and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm the attack or reports from the battlefield.

Ukraine has closely guarded its main aims in the Kursk region but said it has carved out a buffer zone from an area that Russia has used to pound targets in Ukraine with cross-border strikes.

Military analysts say the incursion probably aims in part to divert Russian forces to ease pressure in the east, although there is no indication Russia has pulled troops from there.

The incursion has boosted morale among Ukrainians as they prepare to mark 33 years since independence from the Soviet Union on Saturday.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, however, said there was a heightened risk of Russian missile and drone attacks throughout Ukraine in the coming days connected to Independence Day.

RT/Reuters

The #EndBadGovernance protest, which started on August 1, 2024 and formally ended on August 20, 2024 has continued to raise discussions across the country and beyond, especially within civil society groups. More than 1,400 people who took part in the protest have reportedly been arrested and detained by security agencies with indications that the government is still trying to hunt-down suspected sponsors of the protest.

One of the important lessons from the protest is that the storm clouds seem to be really gathering towards a totalitarian state – a system characterized by a strong central rule that attempts to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion and repression. In political science, totalitarianism is the extreme form of authoritarianism, wherein all power is held by a dictatorial nanny state that promotes group-think through blackmail and propaganda. Group-think, according to the American social psychologist Irving Janis who coined the term, is “the mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.”  In groupthink, loyalty to the group requires individuals to avoid raising controversial or non-conforming issues and ideas or even alternative solutions.

The first lethal blow to liberal democracy by totalitarians is the ‘chilling of speech’. This refers to a situation where individuals or groups refrain from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech (both verbal, and symbolic such as organizing peaceful protests) for fear of running afoul of a law or regulation. The ‘chilling of free speech’ is a form of ‘prior restraint’ (a form of censorship that allows the government to review the content of printed materials to decide whether such should be published or not). When free speech is successfully stifled, even an honest opinion could be construed as an incitement by the totalitarian state which then uses it as a pretext to come after purveyors of the speech it does not like. As the American jurist Wendell Holmes famously put it in Gitlow v New York (1925), “Every idea is an incitement… The only difference between the expression of an opinion and an incitement in the narrower sense is the speaker’s enthusiasm for the results”.

Totalitarians come in different guises, usually rationalizing their desire to chill free speech by hiding under higher values. A good example is the ‘end of politics’ sycophants in the Tinubu government. This is an overzealous but self-serving group which, in the wake of the Supreme Court affirmation of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President after the controversial 2023 presidential election, began an aggressive quest to muzzle free speech by those they consider as opposition elements. They did so (and still do) using various mantras such as “the time for politicking is over, it is now the time for governance” or “the President should be allowed to concentrate on governance”, the “President should not be distracted”, “those who lost elections should wait until 2027” etc. etc. The irony is that the advocates of “the end of politics” are themselves being political. They are either trying to stifle the voices of opposition or blackmail critics of the government, both of which are needed in a democracy to keep the government on its toes for optimal performance. Ironically, some members of this in-group flaunt their ‘democratic credentials’ by constantly reminding us of their roles in the struggle for the revalidation of MKO Abiola’s mandate.  The truth is that not all who partook in the noble struggle to re-validate MKO Abiola’s mandate were democrats. Some were drawn into the struggle by different motives, including defence of ethnic pride.

Just like the DSS infamously went after people who expressed an honest opinion of supporting an interim government after the 2023 elections and sought to blackmail the public into believing that such expressions of honest opinion amounted to intentions to commit treason, the ‘end of politics’ zealots, (many of who are linked to the government), are going overdrive to criminalize protest. I fail to see any crime not just in peaceful protests but also in the ‘sponsorship’ of such protests – which is actually a way of encouraging citizens to become active participants in the political process. And talking of sponsorship, are various state agencies such as the National Orientation Agencies and others that provide myriad forms of political enlightenment campaigns not also engaging in ‘sponsorship’ when they devise schemes for citizens to identify more with the government of the day, including funding pro-government or counter protests? The only difference is that while one group is presumably ‘sponsored’ to voice its displeasure with the government (which is constitutionally allowed), another group is ‘sponsored’ to identify with the government of the day. Of course supporting citizens to become active participants in the political process through ‘sponsoring’ peaceful protest must be distinguished from sponsoring an insurrection or encouraging violent protest or vandalizing   people’s property, which is condemnable.

In the run-up to the protest, Bayo Onanuga, who had in the aftermath of the 2023 presidential election in Lagos proclaimed himself a Yoruba irredentist and weaponized ethnicity, accused Peter Obi of being the secret sponsor of the #EndBadGovernance protest. Others linked to the government have also variously accused Atiku Abubakar, the North, some Senior Army officers from the North, the Igbos and foreign interest of being the sponsors of the protest. There was also a threat to start a campaign for Igbo Must Go from August 20 2024 to force the Igbos to vacate Lagos and all the states in the South-west (so far no arrest has been made about the sponsors of the genocidal campaign).  Recently, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, introduced a so-called Counter Subversive Bill 24 (now withdrawn), which proposed harsh penalties for Nigerians who refuse to recite the national anthem, destroy national symbols, or deface places of worship or who organize “an unlawful procession”. I see all these as gangster methods of chilling speech through the spreading of fear across the camps of opposition forces. Once free speech is successfully chilled, our current liberal democracy, as imperfect as it is, would be further corrupted into George Orwell’s dystopian account of a totalitarian state in his book, ‘Nineteen-Eighty-Four’. Since the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, it is important that anti-democratic forces, in whatever guises they come, are not allowed to gain an upper hand. It is germane to note that the very First Amendment to the American Constitution in 1791 was to protect freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. This is because free speech, and the marketplace of ideas which it creates, is the foundational structure of democracy. Without it, democracy dies.

** Jideofor Adibe is a professor of Political Science at Nasarawa State University, Keffi.

Deryl McKissack is no stranger to spotting toxic traits.

McKissack, 63, is the founder and CEO of Washington D.C.-based construction firm McKissack & McKissack, which she launched with $1,000 from her savings in 1990. She churned through employees who weren’t the right fit in her company’s early years and the business struggled, she says.

Finding the right talent helped grow her company, which now brings in $25 million per year in revenue, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

These three red flags stand out the most when McKissack is hiring employees or evaluating her current talent, she says.

People who lack integrity

Every boss needs to be able to trust their employees, McKissack says. People who lack integrity are a problem, especially managers who don’t give their teams proper credit.

Alarm bells go off in her head “if someone is saying ‘I did this’ the whole time, and they’re not giving credit to their team,” McKissack says.

McKissack isn’t the only person who says a lack of integrity is a red flag among employees: Heidi K. Gardner, a professional leadership advisor and distinguished fellow at Harvard Law School, similarly calls out workers who pass off other people’s work as their own. It’s unethical, and it gives off the impression that you don’t respect your colleagues, Gardner told Make It last year.

“Maybe they’re unable to actually see how much value the people around them bring to their own success,” she said. “And that inability to appreciate other people’s contributions is a huge red flag for me ... It’s anti-collaborative.”

People who are hard to be around

Nearly every team, no matter your industry, needs people who can work well with others. That’s difficult when your co-workers don’t like being around you, or vice versa.

McKissack says she needs to actually like her employees’ personalities, because if she doesn’t like to be around you, chances are, clients won’t either. “If I don’t want to be in their presence, then no one wants to be in their presence, usually” she says.

Having a warm, inviting personality at work can potentially take you farther in your career than your capabilities and credentials, self-made millionaire and entrepreneur Steve Adcock told Make It in April.

“Your personality will get you 10 times richer than your intelligence,” said Adcock. “I learned that throughout my career, slowly but surely. I worked with a lot of smart people, no doubt about it. But those smartest people in the office weren’t necessarily the ones getting the raises and promotions.”

People who don’t live up to the company mantra

McKissack has a three-word mantra for her business: humble, hungry, smart. She says she picked it up from author and business management expert Patrick Lencioni’s book, “The Ideal Team Player.”

“We have an insatiable appetite for success,” McKissack wrote on LinkedInearlier this year. “Humility drives us to make decisions for the collective good ... [and] we value emotional intelligence because we know that’s what builds strong relationships.”

Expecting employees to embody those three descriptors — humble, hungry, smart — turned McKissack’s firm into a workforce full of people dedicated to the same mission, rather than one that struggled with low employee engagement, she says.

They’re the “three virtues” of successful team players, according to Lencioni’s book.

“I kept saying, ‘We’ve been stagnant for years. Why am I stagnant?’” says McKissack. “But when I made that decision to make our mission larger than just what we do, bricks and mortar, but make it more about the betterment of mankind, is when we really started changing.”

CNBC

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has been hijacked by a cabal around President Bola Tinubu.

The opposition leader said future of the country has been “effectively mortgaged to Tinubu, his family, and associates”, saying that “even after Tinubu leaves office, it will be nearly impossible to break these shackles.”

Atiku in a statement signed by Paul Ibe, his Media Adviser, said, “Just as Alpha Beta, Primero, and others act as Tinubu’s proxies in Lagos, managing critical sectors and generating revenue for him and his family, he has begun to replicate this at the federal level.”

He also expressed surprise at the operations of the NNPC and how the government-owned oil company had put its retail arm under the control of OVH, a company in which Oando, led by Wale Tinubu, owns 49%.

Atiku regretted that his “intention to privatize the NNPC and increase its transparency has been overshadowed by what he describes as the criminal hijack of the NNPC by corporate cabals around the current president.”

He narrated that “In October 2022, just five months before the elections, the NNPC Retail controversially announced it had acquired OVH and all its filling stations. NNPCL already had about 550 filling stations across the country but claimed it was enhancing its capacity by acquiring OVH, which had only 94 stations and 100 others leased.

“The NNPC did not disclose the purchase price of OVH or the terms of the acquisition. A Freedom of Information request by an online medium was also rejected by the NNPC, which claimed to be a private company despite still being government-owned.

“Following this dubious deal, Mele Kyari was controversially retained as NNPC GMD despite his incompetence. Tinubu then appointed his former boss at Mobil, turned ally, Pius Akinyelure, as NNPC Chairman, while he himself took on the role of Minister of Petroleum.

“In a move that defies economic logic, OVH, previously owned by NNPC Retail, has now acquired NNPC Retail. This absurd situation means that Wale Tinubu’s Oando now owns 49% of NNPC Retail. Moreover, Nigeria paid Wale Tinubu a significant sum to facilitate the Tinubu family’s acquisition of the national oil company. This represents a clear case of illogical business transactions and abuse of office by Tinubu, who has prevented NNPC from becoming a public liability company as stipulated by the PIA.”

Atiku acknowledged that the NNPC and its leadership are under legislative investigation but expressed skepticism about the process’s credibility due to the vested interests of those conducting the investigation.

Atiku also commented on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project which he said is under litigation.

He said, “The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global network of investigative journalists, reported that the coastal highway project has been taken to court and revealed a close relationship between Tinubu’s son, Seyi, and Gilbert Chagoury, who was awarded the contract without competitive bidding.

“I had earlier claimed that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project was fraudulent, but the government denied it. Now, the matter is in court. It is also concerning that Chagoury and Tinubu have a business relationship, and their children are business partners, as revealed by the OCCRP.

“This indicates a conflict of interest. It is no surprise that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway, which together will cost over $24 billion, were approved without competitive bidding. It seems that whatever Tinubu wants, he gets.” Atiku said.

Daily Trust