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BusinessDay www.businessday.co.za Wednesday 31 January 2024

INTERNATIONAL Hamas studies ceasefire plan as Hong Kong leader pushes for three assasinated in West Bank sharper, clearer security laws LEGISLATION

• Israeli commandos hit hospital Agency Staff West Bank/Gaza/Doha Hamas said on Tuesday it will study a new ceasefire proposal in the war with Israel in Gaza, hours after Israeli commandos killed three Palestinian militants in a raid on a hospital in the occupied West Bank. The raid underscored the risk of the Gaza war spreading to other fronts, while Israeli forces fought new battles with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave. Clashes in northern Gaza forced more Palestinian residents to flee to safer areas, and southern parts of the coastal enclave were hit by Israeli air strikes. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the group has received a ceasefire proposal put forward after talks in Paris. He said he will study the plan and visit Cairo for discussions on it. The priority for the Palestinian militant group is to end the Israeli offensive and achieve a full pull-out of Israeli forces from Gaza, he said. Haniyeh gave no details of the ceasefire proposal but it followed talks in Paris involving CIA director William Burns, Qatar’s prime minister, the chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and the head of Egyptian intelligence. While the West Bank — an area that Palestinians envisage as part of a hoped-for independent state — had seen increased violence even before the outbreak of the Gaza war in October, the hospital raid could fuel a

more intense phase of unrest. CCTV footage appeared to show about a dozen troops, including three in women’s garb and two dressed as Palestinian medical staff, pacing through a corridor in Ibn Sina hospital in the city of Jenin with rifles. Hamas said one of the dead was a member of the militant Islamist group. The allied faction Islamic Jihad said the other two killed were brothers who belonged to it. Ibn Sina said one of the brothers had been receiving treatment for an injury that paralysed his legs. The Israeli military said one of those killed had a pistol, and that the incident showed militants were using civilian areas and hospitals as shelters and “human shields”. Hamas has previously denied such allegations.

CRIME

Palestinian sources said the three were not engaged in any fighting. They said one, Basel alGhazzawi, was wheelchairbound after being wounded in his back in January, and was in the hospital for treatment. His brother Mohammad was staying at the facility to help him, and the third man was a friend, the sources said. The Israeli undercover squad broke into the hospital, headed to the third floor and killed them using silenced pistols, hospital sources said. Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila called the incident a war crime and urged the UN and international rights groups to put an end to such actions. Israel has

Moving again: Palestinians flee Khan Younis past Israeli military vehicles towards Rafah in southern Gaza on Tuesday. /Reuters previously denied committing war crimes. The Israeli military identified one of the slain men as Mohammed Jalamneh, 27, from Jenin, who it said had contacts with Hamas headquarters abroad and was planning an attack inspired by the Hamas rampage in southern Israel on October 7. Israel unleashed its assault on Gaza in response to that attack in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 253 taken hostage. More than 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza. Since then, 26,751 Palestinians have been killed and 65,636 wounded by Israeli actions in Gaza, the Gaza health ministry said. About 114 Palestinians were killed and 249 injured in the past 24 hours, it said. Israel says its forces have killed about 9,000 Palestinian

combatants in Gaza, and that 221 of its soldiers have been killed in the fighting. The war has created a humanitarian crisis, with wide areas of Gaza flattened, hundreds of thousands of people left destitute, and supplies of food, water and medicines almost exhausted.

TANKS

The World Health Organisation said the population of Gaza is on the verge of famine. “It’s getting worse by the day,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told a briefing in Geneva. She said one convoy tried to reach the Nasser Hospital on Tuesday morning but people helped themselves to supplies before they could be distributed. Israel mounted a new push in northern Gaza after earlier

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reporting successes against Palestinian militants there. The militants’ presence in the area suggests Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hamas is not going to plan. Hamas appears to have been able to regroup in Gaza City as the war drags on and international concern over the plight of civilians mounts. Much of Tuesday’s action in Gaza was focused on the Beach refugee camp and near the alShifa hospital, residents said. Israeli tanks broke into one shelter site and soldiers rounded up dozens of men. Residents and health officials also said an Israeli tank opened fire on dozens of Palestinians near al-Kuwaiti Square on the southern edge of Gaza City where aid trucks unload their shipments, killing two people and wounding others. The fighting caused more people to flee within Gaza City and to the south towards Deir alBalah in the centre. Heavy bombing also hit western and southern suburbs of Gaza. In the south, Israeli forces kept up pressure in Khan Younis, maintaining their encirclement of the city’s two main hospitals. Palestinian health officials said at least 10 Palestinians were killed in two separate Israeli air strikes in Khan Younis and in Deir al-Balah. The Israeli military said in a summary of overnight operations that action continued in the western part of Khan Younis, where militants were killed and many arms seized. In northern and central Gaza, soldiers killed “numerous” militants, including a rocket-propelled grenade squad. /Reuters

early as possible to maximise returns, writes Lynette Dicey

t was Albert Einstein who called compound interest the “eighth wonder of the world”, saying that “he who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.” In a nutshell, compound interest is a mechanism that allows investors to make the most of their money and reap the rewards of patience, perseverance and consistency. Understanding and leveraging its power, says Nirdev Desai, head of sales at PSG Wealth, can be a game-changer. Simple (or fixed) interest is a straightforward concept in finance that involves the accumulation of interest on a principal amount over a defined period. Unlike compound interest, simple interest is calculated only on the original principal amount and not on the growth of the principal amount over time. If a client invests R100,000 in an account that pays simple interest of 10% on their capital for a period of three years, at the end of the investment period the simple interest earned on the investment will be calculated as follows: R100,000 x 10% x 3 (years), which amounts to R30,000. The total value of the investment would then be R130,000. Desai explains that if the client were to invest the same amount of capital in an account that pays compound interest, the value of the investment would be greater than in the

Nirdev Desai … it all adds up. case of scenario A. “After the first year, the interest earned would amount to R10,000 (R100,000 x 10%). In the second year, the client would earn 10% interest, but not on the same, original principal amount. Instead, compound interest would be calculated on the original capital value plus the interest earned in year one, in other words R110,000 as at the end of the first year. In the second year, the interest earned would amount to R11,000 (R110,000 x 10%), bringing the investment’s total value at the end of year two, to R121,000. Likewise, in the third year the compound interest would amount to R12,100 (R121,000 x 10%), bringing the total value of

the investment to R133,100.” The client earned R3,100 — or just over 10% more in cumulative returns — by opting for an investment with compound interest, he says, adding that it compounds even further with time. “The underlying concept is that you earn interest on an ever-increasing base, instead of only on the original amount. While the differences may seem small in the short run, they can add up powerfully in the long run,” he says. The true power of compound interest is time, says Desai, adding that the more an investment is left to grow and earn compound interest, the greater the earning potential becomes. This can have major implications on investments that are made towards saving for retirement or for other longterm goals with retirement annuities and tax-free savings accounts offering some of the easiest ways to benefit from compound interest. “These investments are also both exceptionally tax-efficient — if investors can commit themselves to having the discipline to make regular contributions, compound interest will do the rest,” he says. He explains it using the

Hong Kong Hong Kong’s leader confirmed on Tuesday his intention to pass tighter national security laws to build on sweeping legislation Beijing imposed on the city in 2020, saying the city cannot “afford to wait”. Some business people, diplomats and academics are watching developments closely, saying that the prospect of new laws targeting espionage, state secrets and foreign influence, known as Article 23, could have a deep impact on the global financial hub. CEO John Lee said the government will attempt to pass the laws “as soon as possible” but did not give a precise timetable for them to be approved by the city’s legislature. “We can’t afford to wait. It’s for 26 years we’ve been waiting. We shouldn’t wait any longer,” Lee said, describing it as the city’s constitutional responsibility dating back to its 1997 handover to China from British colonial rule. “While we, society as a whole, looks calm and looks very safe, we still have to watch out for potential sabotage, undercurrents that try to create troubles,” he said, saying some foreign agents could still be active in Hong Kong. Lee said freedoms would be safeguarded and the laws would meet international standards. A 110-page consultation document was submitted to the legislative council on Tuesday afternoon, and the consultation will end on February 28. The document outlines the

need for new and updated laws covering the theft of state secrets, espionage, treason, sedition and sabotage, including the use of computers and electronic systems to conduct actions that endanger national security. Tighter control of foreign political organisations linked to the city is also advocated. The consultation document warns that Hong Kong is under threat from foreign espionage and intelligence operations, and cites the months of pro-democracy protests that rocked the city in 2019. China and Hong Kong are “unavoidably subject to acts and activities endangering national security conducted by the agents or spies of external forces (including external political organisations or intelligence agencies)” in the city, it notes. It defines a list of state secrets in Hong Kong, including economic, scientific and social secrets, but says to be classed as such they would have to endanger national security if released. While Chinese and Hong Kong government officials said the 2020 law was vital to restore stability after the protracted 2019 demonstrations, the new package has long been required under the mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law. That document guides the former

THE CONSULTATION DOCUMENT WARNS THAT HONG KONG IS UNDER THREAT FROM FOREIGN ESPIONAGE AND INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS

British colony’s relationship with its Chinese sovereign after 1997, and Article 23 stipulates that the city “shall enact laws on its own to prohibit acts and activities that endanger national security”. Some legal scholars say the new legislation could sharpen the at times vaguely worded 2020 law, and older colonial-era laws considered unworkable. “It almost certainly will set red lines where the existing laws are vague, particularly in defining state secrets and espionage,” said Simon Young, a professor at the University of Hong Kong’s law school. For example, the colonial-era espionage law refers to an “enemy” — a term the document describes as too restrictive, preferring to expand the law to cover peacetime “external forces” as well, including foreign governments, organisations and individuals. Lee said he believes the new laws will create a more stable and safe city and ultimately serve the interests of individuals, businesses and private organisations. “Our legislation, of course is subject to scrutiny by both Hong Kong people and international people,” he said. “We are confident, we are proud, and we stand high because the principles we adopt conform with the international standard.” The document cites similar laws in Britain, the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore. A previous government attempt to pass Article 23 laws was shelved after an estimated 500,000 people staged a peaceful protest in 2003, forcing the resignation of the then security minister. /Reuters