711 4 pics 1 word

711 4 pics 1 word Author Michelle Prak is known for her tense outback thriller but software delivered the ultimate plot twist when AI showed up in her latest manuscript and refused to go away. or signup to continue reading The South Australian writer says Microsoft's artificially intelligent assistant Copilot swept into her workspace uninvited after a software update and, despite her best efforts, she cannot evict it. "It's a bit of an insult and really maddening that they want to offer their help every time I press enter," she said. "The sanctity of the blank page is gone." But Microsoft is not the only tech firm adding AI to its platform. Social network X recently changed its terms of service to allow tweets, photos and videos to train its AI model Grok, and Meta confirmed it is scraping data from its Australian Facebook and Instagram users. Artificial intelligence experts say these firms owe it to users to provide more clarity about their AI features and should make them optional. If companies fail to do so, they warn, laws and lawsuits will likely have the final say. Ms Prak, whose novel The Rush was published earlier this year, says seeing an AI assistant appear in her Microsoft word-processing software was a "really nasty, rude surprise". Avoiding the use of AI tools is important for authors, she says, to avoid questions about copyright, creativity and authenticity. "I really want all my work to be pure – I don't want anything to do with AI," she said. "If I submit my work to a publisher or a literary magazine, will it trip up their AI detectors? I do not like it there." But completely removing the AI feature has proven impossible, Ms Prak says. Users can opt out of allowing Microsoft Word to use their data for AI training in its privacy menu but cannot completely remove Copilot from Microsoft Word software. A spokeswoman for Microsoft Australia says existing subscribers may be able to disable the AI tool by removing updates but new subscribers will not be given that choice. The dogmatic approach to AI is concerning, RMIT information sciences professor Lisa Given says, as many people will not research new software features or read terms and conditions to find out how their data is being used. Tech firms offering AI and using customers' information need to be transparent about their intentions, she says, and give users the opportunity to activate services rather than switching them on by default. "I have concerns about people having to opt out because that requires time, knowledge and education," she says. "When you have something that's opt-in, it's a much more deliberate choice." Introducing and activating AI features without consultation can also lead to dangerous outcomes for organisations, she says, which could find their sensitive data is being shared incorrectly. Mandatory AI guardrails currently being drafted in Australia should consider opt-in provisions, she says, as data-hungry companies were unlikely to offer them. "AI is not only ahead of regulation and the lawmakers but it's also ahead of everyday workers trying to make choices," she said. "The onus is often left on us but it's a constantly moving landscape." Rules around high-risk AI use cases are currently being considered by the federal government after wrapped in October. But protecting Australians from unintended AI consequences could also involve reforming privacy laws, UNSW AI Institute chief scientist Toby Walsh says. Meta is harvesting data from Facebook and Instagram users to train its AI model Llama, for example, but will not let Australians opt out of the act like it does for users in the European Union. "There are various privacies that we don't have that they have in Europe because they have better data protection," Prof Walsh says. "Sadly, we haven't updated our privacy laws as quickly as they have in Europe and elsewhere." AI companies have been keen to push copyright boundaries, he says, as they need huge amounts of information to train their large-language models. While more are signing licensing agreements with publishers for access to work, such as a three-year deal struck with HarperCollins over non-fiction books last week, Prof Walsh says it may ultimately take lawsuits to change the industry's approach to copyright material. A contentious court battle between the New York Times and OpenAI, for example, is being fought over whether the firm scraped stories from behind its paywall to train AI without its permission. "There's a number of lawsuits in place and class action suits that will decide what's to happen but it's critical that we work out where our values are and that we appreciate the contributions of authors, musicians, painters and all the other people that add to our society," Prof Walsh said. "We have to push back against the premise that just because things are available, companies have consent to use them." DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. 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Gaming Meets Aviation! How Archer Aviation is Changing the Game

Dillard’s, Inc. ( NYSE:DDS – Get Free Report ) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st, investing.com reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 25.00 per share on Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $100.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 21.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Dillard’s has raised its dividend payment by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Dillard’s has a dividend payout ratio of 3.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Dillard’s to earn $30.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 3.3%. Dillard’s Stock Performance Dillard’s stock opened at $455.28 on Friday. Dillard’s has a fifty-two week low of $328.00 and a fifty-two week high of $476.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $421.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $398.92. The stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 2.38. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Dillard’s Dillard’s Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Dillard's, Inc operates retail department stores in the southeastern, southwestern, and midwestern areas of the United States. The company's stores offer merchandise, including fashion apparel for women, men, and children; and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Dillard's Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dillard's and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Aminu Abdullahi, the Commissioner, Higher Education, Sokoto State, who is also the Iyan Sokoto, is a highly respected titleholder of the Sultanate. Before his appointment by Governor Ahmad Aliyu, he was for nine years the Accountant General of the State. He was also at various times the Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Environment and Animal Health. In this interview, he explains why revitalizing the education sector is one of the governor’s Nine-Point Smart Agenda Honourable Commissioner, let’s talk about the Nine -Point Smart Agenda of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto. Exactly what does the governor want to achieve with his investment in education? Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto is absolutely clear about what he wants to achieve in education, which is development of human capital that’s important to the development of the state. The governor is driving the economic development of the state, so it’s important that we have indigenes that are skilled to work in the industries he is attracting. We recently graduated 80 medical doctors and being our citizens, they can operate better in our environment because they understand the language and culture of the people. He sees education as both a social and economic investment. An educated person would easily understand the need to pay his/her tax and to be law abiding. I would give you the example of an educated woman – she is a nurse, and the first teacher of her children, so if she is educated that would certainly impact on their healthcare and education because she would be able to give them proper care and teach them alphabets before they start school. Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto means business with his well thought out Nine-Point Smart Agenda. In housing he has delivered. He was recently crowned the Urban and Housing-Friendly Governor of the Year 2024 in recognition of his achievements in the sector. It’s not a joke to deliver 1,000 housing units within two years. In the area of legal reforms, he has equally done well. During our last State Executive Council meeting the Secretary to the State Government announced the execution of over 180 projects that have been completed in the last one and half years. The governor is a serious-minded person...he won’t fail himself, his father Senator Aliyu Magatarda Wamakko or the people who have stood solidly behind him. Are your institutions of higher learning running entrepreneurship courses or are their curriculum still geared towards the continued production of public servants? The National Policy on Education introduced entrepreneurship into the curriculum of higher institutions. In 2000 the Federal Government and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) partnered to incorporate Entrepreneurship Education (EEd) into Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) curricula. The main goals of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria include, preparing the students to be self-reliant and self-employed, creating employment opportunities, helping students to transition from a traditional economy to a modern industrial economy, training students to be creative and innovative in identifying business opportunities and to establish careers in small and medium-sized businesses. In Sokoto State our tertiary institutions have embraced the entrepreneurial message. I understand that even at the Secondary School Level the students are being thought Entrepreneurship. This is the way to go because the government has a limited capacity to create jobs. How has your assignment as the Commissioner Higher Education Sokoto State been? Without thinking twice about it I would say that it has been a wonderful experience unpretending over this critical sector. I am indeed very grateful that I am contributing my quota to ensuring that Sokoto State children receive qualitative education. And when you work with a governor that’s wholeheartedly committed to the development of education and that’s supportive, that definitely makes your assignment less stressful. Before we go far into the interview, I think it’s important that I explain the difference between the Ministries of Higher Education, Science and Technology and Basic Education, which in a sense shows the importance the governor attaches to the educational sector. The first reason for the creation of the three separate ministries is because the governor wants an effective supervision of the educational sector which by the way is huge. So, in Sokoto State like some other states has three ministries – Basic and Secondary, Science and Technology and Higher Education. Though we might be three ministries, we collaborate because we are dealing with essentially the same raw materials or if you like we are in a sense like the three arms of government – the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary- though distinct, we must work harmoniously to deliver development to the people. So, the ministry of Higher Education is solely concerned with tertiary education – the institutions of higher learning that offer different courses to students after their secondary level of education. We have Diploma, Certificate and Degree Awarding institutions under the ministry numbering about 10. But at the recent State Executive Council meeting the Council in its wisdom took the decision to return the School of Nursing to the Ministry of Health and the School of Legal Studies to the Ministry of Justice, for more effective supervision. The fact is that these five tertiary institutions were transferred to their mother ministries in line with the laws establishing them. We equally have 20 privately-owned tertiary institutions in Sokoto State that are also under our supervision only that the government doesn’t fund them. What was the status of the sector when you took over? Like every other sector when this administration assumed office things were at different levels of decay and the educational sector wasn’t spared which is most unfortunate. The handover note that officials of the ministry put together for me was depressing because the situation in all our institutions was alarming; the morale of the workers was expectedly low because their courses were not accredited and they were not paid their teaching incentives. For instance, the state university was without power for more than three years. Most of the lecture theatres were in a state of dilapidation. On assumption of office Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto instantly instructed the Kaduna Power Company to restore power immediately to the university and the other institutions after reaching an agreement with them on payment of the backlog. That singular act elicited wild jubilation and confirmed that a Daniel has indeed come to judgement. I am ashamed to talk about what Sokoto State suffered in the hands of Aminu Tambuwal, a man who at one time was the number four citizen and who could have been President in line with the constitutional succession process. On his own he even attempted to be President of our dear country twice. Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto has shown by words and actions that his commitment to the development of education is not political, that he in fact means his campaign promise to revamp the educational sector. He has paid all outstanding salaries, including the teaching allowances and rehabilitated dilapidated infrastructures in our higher institutions. If you visit them, you will find an environment that is conducive for learning... we can’t be blaming the students for poor performance when we haven’t provided them with the necessary tools and environment to study. We have equally gotten most courses being run by institutions accredited within one year. How on earth can any institution worth its salt run unaccredited courses? It certainly amounted to a sheer waste of everybody’s time, especially that of the students. Thankfully the examination bodies have shown an understanding which has gone a long way in resolving the issues. The governor has approved the payment of accreditation fees to the various bodies like the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). He has in all sincerity restored the hope of these students that was dashed by the past administration. As a mark of his commitment there is no memo from this ministry seeking his intervention on any urgent matter that hasn’t received his prompt response. He understands the importance of education and is determined to change the narrative. But is the creation of three separate ministries not a confirmation that the sector ... has serious challenges and that the burden of running the tertiary institutions for instance is already enough of a problem for you? It’s important that I make the point that the governor is well guided in his decision to create the three ministries. It’s backed by the decision of the National Council of Education which is the highest policy making body on education in Nigeria on the separation of the ministries for effective supervision. It is a national policy. The governor could have chosen to ignore it, but being a firm believer in the rule of law and convinced that it is the right decision he decided to go along with it wholeheartedly because it serves his purpose of the sector being vigorously supervised. And then you’ve also talked about rehabilitation ...give me an idea of the total amount spent so far on the accreditation exercise? We have spent good money on the rehabilitation of dilapidated structures in our institutions, ...to date about N3 billion. I want to take you back to the accreditation issue. Can you give me an idea of the total cost of what was spent? For accreditation the cost is huge. For some courses we paid N35 million and for others N70 million. ...it depended on the course. Thankfully accreditation is once in five years. So, we have some breathing space. So far, virtually all our institutions have had their courses accredited and the cost is running into millions of Naira. Some few months back we paid the NUC about N100 million for courses being run at the State University and they were very impressed with our governor for his efforts in running a university that is truly a center of learning and research. In fact, they followed up with a letter of appreciation to the governor. The governor on his part is extremely happy because he is seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I can tell you for free that the university surpassed the NUC conditions, and that we didn’t cut corners .... we adhered to their guidelines. Were they satisfied with the activities of Rectors, Provosts when their schools were running unaccredited courses. And did you sack them? According to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 which aims at ensuring the prudent management of resources and to promote transparency and accountability, if a public officer steals money he would be charged to court of law and tried. Also, according to that same law if an officer commits an irresponsible act, he or she is liable for persecution. But it wasn’t their fault that the Tambuwal administration refused to accredit the courses their schools were running. They didn’t commit a deliberate and irresponsible act because they kept drawing the attention of government to the problem and there is overwhelming evidence. So, it would have been heartless sacking them for a crime that they didn’t commit. So why didn’t the previous administration pay for the accreditation of these courses? I wish I could provide you with the answer considering the importance of our schools running courses that are accredited. It certainly beats my imagination that they didn’t. I am not saying this to paint the previous administration in a bad light, but just to put the facts before the public and nothing more. The governor has since moved on from what they didn’t do to doing them. Sokoto State is lucky to have a calm and dedicated governor after the disastrous eight years of Tambuwal. Considering the premium placed on education by the governor, how well has he funded education? Does his budgeting allocation to education meet the UNESCO standard of 25 per cent? I want to recall that in November 2023, several countries under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), adopted the recommendation on education for peace and human rights, international understanding, cooperation, fundamental freedoms, global citizenship and sustainable development. Today, UNESCO remains the only global standard-setting instrument that lays out how education can and should be used to bring about lasting peace and sustainable development and in positioning education as a key driver of peace and international understanding. Education in the 2024 budget was allocated the highest percentage and in 2025 it has equally maintained its number one position in terms of budgetary allocation. Sokoto State in the last two years has in fact surpassed the UNESCO budget recommendation. And what does this say about the Governor’s unwavering commitment to education? It, no doubt, clears whatever doubt about his desire to rewrite the ugly story of education in the state. As a professional accountant I prefer to talk more in terms of releases because you can be allocated a fantastic budget without it being cash backed. So, we say thank you to the governor for not only allocating funds to education, but for his express approvals and for cash backing them. Our modest achievements are due to his leadership and support. In the light of the economic situation many states have been forced to increase fees in their institutions. So, should your students expect an increase in fees and wouldn’t it affect enrollment? You know the story of Sokoto State. We remain eternally grateful to our father who by the way was my teacher and leader, Senator Aliyu Magatarda Wamakko, for laying a solid foundation for our educational system using his experience as an educationist. As Governor of Sokoto State, he put in a place several fundamental policies; free and compulsory education, he encouraged girl child education and so many other policies. We certainly won’t be increasing fees rather we would continue to encourage our students with incentives like scholarships to pursue their education to the highest level. The robust policies of our governor have continued to attract more students to enroll into schools in the state and abroad. In fact, enrollment has increased and very interestingly is the fact that students have stopped skipping school. We have achieved all these due to the policy of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto who understands the importance of education and is walking the talk. The previous government had for inexplicable reasons stopped the stipends and other privileges of the students which Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto immediately restored. I am not too sure about other states’ allocation for education meeting the UNESCO standard...but what is the relationship between your state, UNESCO and other development partners? The interesting thing about development partners is that they only come in when they see what you are doing. It’s only when they see your seriousness and enthusiasm that they would partner with you. Our budget outlook which is friendly attracted them. We are actually having a synergy with them, and several other projects with different development partners. UNESCO that you mentioned earlier linked us up with other partners because they are impressed with what we are doing. They are facilitating and augmenting what the government is doing. So, we are happy with the relationship. Are they specific interventions, for instance, for girl-child education? Yes. But that is in Basic and Secondary Education. It would be great if you equally interview the commissioner in charge of the ministry. The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), to what extent has your State University benefited from its funding? The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in its farsighted wisdom in 2011 to disburse, manage, and monitor education tax to government-owned tertiary institutions. You know that before the establishment of the agency in 2011, government-owned tertiary institutions were poorly funded, so the scheme was designed to improve the crisis in the sector through its interventions especially in the area of facilities where the decay was monumental. In fact, facilities in most schools had almost collapsed, teachers and lecturers’ morale were at their lowest. The enabling environment for conducive teaching and learning was absent. So, the government took this step to arrest the rot. This background is important so we can appreciate the seriousness of the situation and why the agency was set up. TETFund’s interventions are only for the universities. Primary schools have the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) that is saddled with the responsibility of providing greater access to, and ensuring quality of basic education throughout the country. The Universal Basic Education Programme was introduced in 1999 by the Federal Government of Nigeria to also address the rot in the sector. So has the Sokoto State University benefited from its intervention(s)? Each year TETFund intervenes based on specific requests of the concerned institution. They don’t decide for you, because you know what you need most. For example, if we need a Laboratory, we will spell out our specific needs to TETFund and they would react appropriately. So they can’t come and build hostels for us when what we need is a lecture hall or ICT facilities. Our schools have well equipped hostels, we have beds so we don’t need them, so we can’t ask them to buy beds that we have. So, the answer is a big yes. The state university has tremendously benefited from the intervention of the Fund in various areas.Jimmy Carter: Many evolutions for a centenarian ‘citizen of the world’

Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy: A Closer Look at Symptoms, Diagnosis and Clinical Research Underway

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military leader, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The announcement came as health officials in the Gaza Strip said the death toll from the 13-month-old war between Israel and Hamas has surpassed 44,000. The warrant marked the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice. The ICC panel said there were reasonable grounds to believe that both Netanyahu and his ex-defense minister bear responsibility for the war crime of starvation and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts. Israel’s war has caused heavy destruction across Gaza, decimated parts of the territory and driven almost the entire population of 2.3 million people from their homes, leaving most dependent on aid to survive. Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250 . Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here’s the Latest: BEIRUT — Israeli strikes killed at least 51 people on Thursday in towns and villages across Lebanon, according to the country's Health Ministry. In eastern Lebanon, intensified Israeli airstrikes killed 40 people in 10 different towns in Baalbek province, the ministry said. Rescuers were searching under the rubble of destroyed buildings, said Gov. Bachir Khodr, calling it “a very violent day” in his province. In southern Lebanon, five people were killed by an Israeli strike in Tyre province, and seven others were killed by a strike in Nabatiyeh province, the Health Ministry said. As of Thursday, the Health Ministry has recorded at least 3,583 people killed and 15,244 wounded in Lebanon during the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel, with the majority of casualties taking place after Israel’s escalation and ground offensive in late September. UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. humanitarian chief for Gaza is warning that the delivery of critical food, water, fuel and medical supplies is grinding to a halt throughout the territory and “the survival of two million people hangs in the balance.” Muhannad Hadi said in a statement Thursday that Israeli authorities have been banning commercial imports for more than six weeks and at the same time thefts from humanitarian convoys by armed individuals have surged. “In 2024, U.N. trucks have been looted 75 times –- including 15 such attacks since Nov. 4 alone –- and armed people have broken into U.N. facilities on 34 occasions,” he said. Last week, one driver was shot in the head and hospitalized along with another truck driver, Hadi said. And on Saturday 98 trucks were looted in a single attack which saw the vehicles damaged or stolen. The Gaza humanitarian coordinator said bakeries are closing because of lack of flour or fuel to operate generators. “Palestinian civilians are struggling to survive under unlivable conditions, amid relentless hostilities,” Hadi said. He demanded the immediate improvement of security and conditions throughout Gaza to allow the safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid “through lawful means.” Israel says it puts no limit on the supplies permitted into Gaza, and it blames the U.N. distribution system. But Israel’s official figures show the amount of aid it has let in has plunged since the beginning of October. The U.N has blamed Israeli military restrictions, along with widespread lawlessness that has led to theft of aid shipments. WASHINGTON — The White House fundamentally rejects the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. She said the Biden administration was “deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision.” The Biden administration has increased its warnings and appeals to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to spare civilians in airstrikes and other attacks, and to allow more aid to reach Gaza. However, a 30-day Biden administration deadline came and went earlier this month for Israel to meet specific U.S. targets to improve its treatment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza trapped in the war. U.S. demands included that Israel lift a near-total ban on delivery of aid to hard-hit north Gaza for starving civilians there. KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — The three children were playing outside a cluster of tents housing displaced people in the Gaza Strip when an Israeli airstrike killed them, along with six other people. It’s become a grim, near-daily ritual more than 13 months into the Israel-Hamas war, which local health authorities said Thursday has killed over 44,000 Palestinians. Israel carries out frequent strikes against what it says are militants hiding in civilian areas, and women and children are nearly always among the dead. Wednesday’s strike killed Hamza al-Qadi, 7, his brother Abdulaziz, 5, and their sister Laila, 4, in a tent camp in the southern city of Khan Younis. Areej al-Qadi, their mother, says they were playing outside when they were killed. “All that’s left of them are their notebooks, their books and a blood-stained jacket,” she said as she broke into tears. “They were children who did nothing.” The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strike. Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that 44,056 Palestinians have been killed and 104,268 wounded since the start of the war, which was ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people that day, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 people. The Health Ministry does not say how many of those killed in Gaza were fighters but says women and children make up more than half the fatalities. Israel, which rarely comments on individual strikes, says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. Hours after the ministry announced the latest toll, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military leader. Mahmoud bin Hassan, the children’s father, said he buried them on Thursday. He asked when the international community would take action to stop the war. “When the entire Palestinian population has been killed?” he said. NEW YORK — Human Rights Watch applauded the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants issued Thursday against both Israeli and Hamas officials. The warrants “break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law,” the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, Balkees Jarrah, said in a statement. The New York-based rights group earlier this month released a report saying Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including massive forced displacements that amount to ethnic cleansing. JERUSALEM — Israeli prosecutors have charged a former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with leaking classified documents to international media, apparently to protect the Israeli leader from criticism as a hostage deal was collapsing. Eli Feldstein, a former media adviser to Netanyahu, was charged Thursday with leaking classified information with the intent of harming state security and obstruction of justice. The leaked documents are said to have formed the basis of a widely discredited article in the London-based Jewish Chronicle — which was later withdrawn — suggesting Hamas planned to spirit hostages out of Gaza through Egypt, and an article in Germany’s Bild newspaper that said Hamas was drawing out the hostage talks as a form of psychological warfare on Israel. Critics say the leaks were aimed at giving Netanyahu political cover as the case-fire talks ground to a halt. Some have accused Netanyahu of resisting a deal in to preserve his governing coalition, which includes hard-line members who have threatened to bring down the government if he makes concessions to Hamas. The leaks came at a time of public uproar over the deaths of six hostages who were killed by their Hamas captors as Israeli soldiers were closing in. The indictment said the leaks were meant “to create media influence on the public discourse in Israel in regards to the handling of the hostage situation, after the news of the murder of six hostages.” The indictment identified two other Netanyahu aides as being connected to the scheme, but only Feldstein and an unidentified reservist in Israeli military intelligence were charged. Netanyahu, who denies the accusations, has not been identified as a suspect in the burgeoning investigation. Israeli media say if convicted, Feldstein could potentially face life in prison. JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military has launched an investigation into the death of a 70-year-old Israeli man who entered Lebanon with Israeli forces and was killed in a Hezbollah ambush. Investigators are trying to determine, among other things, who allowed Zeev Erlich into the combat zone with the forces and why he was permitted to enter. According to Israeli media reports, Erlich was not on active duty when he was shot, but was wearing a military uniform and had a weapon. The army said he was a reservist with the rank of major and identified him as a “fallen soldier” when it announced his death. Erlich was a well-known West Bank settler and researcher of Jewish history. Media reports said Erlich was permitted to enter Lebanon to explore a local archaeological site. The army said a 20-year-old soldier was killed in the same incident, while an officer was badly wounded. The army announced Thursday that the chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, has appointed a team of experts “to examine and strengthen operational discipline and military culture” following the incident. It said its commander for northern Israel, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, would launch a separate “command inquiry,” while Israeli military police conduct a separate probe. Such investigations can lead to criminal charges. BEIRUT — At least 29 people were killed Thursday in Israeli strikes on different towns and villages across Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry and state-run media. In eastern Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes killed 26 people in six different towns in Baalbek province, the health ministry and the National News Agency said. In Tyre province, southern Lebanon, three people were killed in an Israeli strike, the health ministry said. The health ministry Wednesday said that over 3,550 people have been killed in the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel, the majority following Israel’s escalation in late September. The European Union's foreign policy chief has underlined that the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas officials are a legal and not political matter, and that they are binding on all 27 EU member countries and other signatories to the ICC to implement. “The tragedy in Gaza has to stop," Josep Borrell told reporters during a visit to Jordan. “It is not a political decision. It is the decision of an international court of justice, and the decision of the court has to be respected, and implemented.” “This decision is a binding decision on all state parties of the court, which include all members of the European Union," he added. ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling partyhas welcomed the decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamn Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, calling it a judgement made for the sake of “humanity.” Omer Celik, spokesman for the Erdogan’s party, said on the social media platform X that Netanyahu and Gallant would “eventually be held accountable for genocide.” Celik also criticised Israeli officials who described the ICC decision as antisemitic. Turkey is among the most vocal critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and has submitted a formal request to join a genocide case that South Africa has filed against Israel at the U.N.’s International Court of Justice. Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp, whose country hosts the International Criminal Court, has confirmed The Netherlands would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he arrived on Dutch soil. “The line from the government is clear. We are obliged to cooperate with the ICC ... we abide 100% by the Rome Statute,” he said in response to a question in parliament Thursday. Other European officials were more cautious. In France, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said he supported the International Criminal Court's prosecutor but declined to comment when asked more specifically if France would arrest Netanyahu if he were to step on French soil. “Today, combating impunity is our priority. We ratified the ICC Statute in 2000 and have consistently supported the court’s actions. Our response will align with these principles,” Christophe Lemoine told reporters at a press conference. Lemoine added that the warrants were “a complex legal issue ... It’s a situation that requires a lot of legal precautions.” In Italy, the foreign and justice ministries didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment about whether Italy, an ICC member which hosted the Rome conference that gave birth to the court, would honor the arrest warrant. Premier Giorgia Meloni hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March 2023 and has strongly supported Israel since Oct. 7, while providing humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza. JERUSALEM — Israel’s mostly ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, has called the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity.” In a post on X, he said the international court “has chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom, and turned the very system of justice into a human shield for Hamas’ crimes against humanity." Israel Katz, Israel’s new defense minister, said the decision was “a moral disgrace, entirely tainted by antisemitism, and drags the international judicial system to an unprecedented low.” He said it “serves Iran, the head of the snake, and its proxies.” Benny Gantz, a retired general and political rival to Netanyahu, also condemned the decision, saying it showed “moral blindness” and was a “shameful stain of historic proportion that will never be forgotten.” Hamas has welcomed the decision by the International Criminal Court to issue warrants against Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, calling it an “important and historic precedent” after what it said was decades of injustice at the hands of a “fascist occupation.” The statement did not refer to the warrants issued for the militant group’s own leaders. Hamas called on all nations to “cooperate with the court in bringing the Zionist war criminals, Netanyahu and Gallant, to justice, and to work immediately to stop the crimes of genocide against innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.” DEIR AL-BALAH, The Gaza Strip — Bakeries have reopened in the central Gaza Strip after being closed for several days because of flour shortages. The shortages appear to have been linked to the looting of nearly 100 truckloads of aid by armed men in southern Gaza last weekend. Associated Press footage showed a crowd of hundreds pushing and shouting outside a bakery in the central city of Deir al-Balah on Thursday. The day before the reopening, the price of a bag of 15 loaves of pita bread had climbed above $13. “In my house, there is not a morsel of bread, and the children are hungry,” said Sultan Abu Sultan, who was displaced from northern Gaza during the war. The amount of aid entering Gaza plunged in October as Israel launched a major offensive in the isolated north, where experts say famine may be underway . Hunger is widespread across the territory, even in central Gaza where aid groups have more access. Humanitarian organizations say Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order make it difficult to deliver assistance. Israel’s offensive, launched after Hamas’ October 2023 attack, has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people. Hundreds of thousands are crammed into tent camps with little in the way of public services and are reliant on international food aid. NICOSIA — The president of Cyprus says the European Union must play a bigger role in the Middle East as it can no longer stand by as an observer. President Nikos Christodoulides said the 27-member bloc needs to establish closer ties with countries that bolster regional stability like Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states. “The conflict in the Middle East is taking place on the EU’s doorstep, in an area of vital interest to the bloc’s interests, where any escalation or regional spillover will have significant consequences on its security and stability,” Christodoulides told an Economist conference in the Cypriot capital. Christodoulides said EU member Cyprus for years has tried to get this message across to Brussels. The island nation earlier this year was the staging ground for a maritime corridor delivering some 20,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The EU is wracked by members’ divisions over how peace should come about in the Middle East THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza and the October 2023 attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory. The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a cease-fire to end the 13-month conflict. But its practical implications could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court and several of the Hamas officials have been subsequently killed in the conflict. Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have previously condemned ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for the warrants as disgraceful and antisemitic. U.S. President Joe Biden also blasted the prosecutor and expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. Hamas also slammed the request. The death toll in the Gaza Strip from the 13-month-old war between Israel and Hamas has surpassed 44,000, local health officials said Thursday. The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The Health Ministry said 44,056 people have been killed and 104,268 wounded since the start of the war. It has said the real toll is higher because thousands of bodies are buried under rubble or in areas that medics cannot access. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250 . Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Most of the rest were released during a cease-fire last year. Around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times, and hundreds of thousands are living in squalid tent camps with little food, water or basic services. Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in residential areas, where they have built tunnels, rocket launchers and other military infrastructure. JERUSALEM — A rocket fired from Lebanon killed a man and wounded two others in northern Israel on Thursday, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service. The service said paramedics found the body of the man in his 30s near a playground in the town of Nahariya, near the border with Lebanon, after a rocket attack on Thursday. Israel meanwhile struck targets in southern Lebanon and several buildings south of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, after warning people to evacuate.