Latest Jobs in Nigeria

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• Channel Development Manager Job at Ideate Technologies
• HSE Officer Job at JAGAL Group
• Construction Business Development Manager Job at JAGAL Group
• Android Developer Job at Hays
• P6 Planner/Scheduler Job at Orion Group
• Senior Commercial Operations Turbo Machinery Solutions Job at General Electric
• Sales Manager Subsea Systems Job at General Electric
• Senior Account Director Job at COM FU
• Wireline Superintendence Services (F/M) Job at SPIE Oil And Gas Services
• Base Company Site Representative (F/M) Job at SPIE Oil And Gas Services

Channel Development Manager Job at Ideate Technologies Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:33 PM PDT Job Title: Channel Development Manager Company: Ideate Technologies Location: Nigeria . Ideate™ Technologies is an authorised pan Africa IT distributor of Autodesk design software, with a footprint across Africa. We distribute the Autodesk product range of software which provides CAD solutions to the engineering, architectural and multimedia industries. Market development and penetration is our business – we take combined offerings to market through a specialised channel network across the continent. Ideate Technologies is a Mauritian based business with offices in Kenya & Nigeria, and with offices opening in Casablanca, Morocco in September 2014. We are looking for an applicant that will be able to drive the Autodesk Channel Development within Nigeria. . Job description: . Salary: Market related (₦10m to ₦12m per annum) . We are looking for a Channel Development Manager, who will be responsible for driving the channel sales growth in Nigeria The successful candidate will be. responsible for working and developing the current partners, ultimate responsibility for deciding on the best channel sizing for Nigeria, as well recruiting and developing new partners (if required), to increase sales in Nigeria . Desired Skills and Experience: The successful candidate must have the following experience and qualifications: . – Have a business degree, or a non business degree with an MBA postgraduate degree. – Has work several years work experience in the IT channel environment working with one of the major distributors or OEM’s. – Can demonstrate how they have developed a reseller channel. – Can demonstrate a track record of record of working with teams in dispersed geographic locations. – Has had direct management responsibilities for staff. . Key Performance Areas: 1. Establish a Channel Engagement and Development Framework with the current reseller channel, with the objective of developing marketing, sales and pre and post-sales technical expertise within those resellers 2. Build and Execute a channel model that maximises sales growth, but also maximises profitability for the Autodesk resellers that are committing to Autodesk, and developing their business. 3. Recruit and Develop new resellers in industries and geographies where they are required. 4. Though marketing ensure sufficient. leads are being created in the right industries and geographies to satisfy the reseller requirements as per the channel partners that you have motivated are optimum per industry and geography. 5. Driving a channel sales culture of renewing annual maintenance (Subscription) agreements, aggressively executing on Autodesk sales and marketing campaigns , and driving new seat sales with new and current customers. Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

HSE Officer Job at JAGAL Group Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:31 PM PDT Job Title: HSE Officer Company: JAGAL Group Location: Lagos, Nigeria . About the Company: The construction industry in Nigeria is one of the fastest growing in the world. While the main areas of development are infrastructure and housing, the key sectors that attract top tier contractors are the commercial and residential developments in the private sector where quality, safety and on-time delivery are essential. . Jagal Nigeria Limited (JNL) is a leading design and build main contractor and a key player in the construction industry. We have significant experience in infrastructure and building projects and works across a broad spectrum of sectors, including, commercial, industrial, marine, residential and technology projects. . Headquarted in Lagos and established 40 years ago, Jagal Group operates across a number of sectors including: Oil & Gas, Construction, Manufacturing, FMCG and Technology industries. Our performance is measured against world class standards across all our business activities. We possess profound knowledge of operating in Nigeria and have deep local experience. . Job description: Are you looking for a new opportunity in a challenging but rewarding environment? Would you like to become part of a diverse multicultural conglomerate where you can develop your skills and gain development? . About the Role: – To provide Project HSE support to our clients on all Construction Projects. . Key responsibilities Include: – Understand and ensure the Project SHE Plan is effectively implemented and meets set performance standard – Conduct regular HSE inspections with, and discuss all site specific HSE issues with the HSE Coordinator on a continual basis – Ensure that equipment and systems formally meet the relevant safety standards – Ensure that the Company’s HSE Policies are complied with – Report HSE issues to the HSE Coordinator – Ensure sites compliance – Health and Safety, Environmental Management, Administration, Subcontract Management, Quality Control . Desired Skills and Experience: What we are looking for: – 2 years + working in a Construction environment HSE role and a member of either IOSH, NISP or equivalent – Minimum Level 3 in NEBOSH – IT Literate in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc – Excellent written and verbal English skills – Team worker – Customer focused – Motivated. Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Construction Business Development Manager Job at JAGAL Group Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:27 PM PDT Job Title: Construction Business Development Manager Company: JAGAL Group Location: Lagos, Nigeria . About the Company: The construction industry in Nigeria is one of the fastest growing in the world. While the main areas of development are infrastructure and housing, the key sectors that attract top tier contractors are the commercial and residential developments in the private sector where quality, safety and on-time delivery are essential. . Jagal Nigeria Limited (JNL) is a leading design and build main contractor and a key player in the construction industry. We have significant experience in infrastructure and building projects and works across a broad spectrum of sectors, including, commercial, industrial, marine, residential and technology projects. . Job description: Are you looking for a new opportunity in a challenging but rewarding environment? Would you like to become part of a diverse multicultural conglomerate where you can develop your skills and gain development? . About the Role: – You will be responsible for developing the company’s market position by assisting with strategic goals, identifying business opportunities, networking, cold calling and not limited to assisting with marketing strategies. You will develop approach and pitches to potential clients, assist with negotiating and closing business deals, as well as retaining existing key accounts. . Key responsibilities Include: Market research, business development planning, new business development, client retention; – Actively and visibly promote the company, The Jagal Group and other Jagal Group Companies. – Increase company turnover. – Manage Business Development effectively across the Company. – Maintain a Professional Relationship with Clients. – Maintain a high level of understanding of the company capabilities and capacity. – Promote Discipline, Professional conduct and respect across the Company. – Maintain high standards in documentation submitted to Clients. – Maintain a professional relationship with company departments and functions. – Set a professional example to all Company staff. – Identify and seek support from the Managing Director where this is required to achieve Business Development success. . Desired Skills and Experience: – Educated to Degree Level – At least 7+ years’ experience in a similar role and the Construction sector – Proven Sales ability against KPI’s – Excellent written and spoken English – Knowledge of the local Nigerian markets – Must be computer literate in Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint. Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Android Developer Job at Hays Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:25 PM PDT Job Title: Android Developer – (Sales/IT) Company: Hays Location: Nigeria . POWERING THE WORLD OF WORK, HELPING PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS ACHIEVE LASTING IMPACT. . Hays is a leading global professional recruiting group, the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. . Hays operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. . With over 7,979 staff operating from 240 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms, last year we placed around 53,000 candidates into permanent jobs, and around 182,000 people into temporary assignments. . For more information about our global network, strategy and Group financial results, visit www.hays.com. . Job description: Our client is a major manufacturer and distributor of soft drinks and beverages and Pepsi Cola’s largest bottler in Sub-Sahara Africa. The company operate across Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and Kenya. In Nigeria there largest operation, where they currently operate (9) manufacturing plants and market there products to over (200) distribution centres throughout the company. They now have a requirement for an Android Developer to work within there IT sales department . Reporting to the Software Research & Solutions Implementation Manager, you will be responsible for developing enterprise-level android solutions including a sales force automation application working both on the mobile device and the required web services to read/save data to central databases. . Desired Skills and Experience: Specific duties & Responsibilities: – Design and implement custom made software for android services – Design system architecture – Software development – Maintain the solution and manage Distributor and trade promotions – You will need to be experienced on Android development (minimum 2 years) and have some working knowledge of Web Services. – Good SQL knowledge (any vendor/version) minimum (1) year experience – Working experience on developing web services (any platform) – Academic or working experience in C# Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

P6 Planner/Scheduler Job at Orion Group Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:24 PM PDT Job Title: P6 Planner/Scheduler Company: Orion Group Location: Lagos, Nigeria . Established in 1987 Orion Group achieved consistent growth over the ensuing 25 years to become an international leader in providing contract and permanent staff to the Engineering Industry: Oil & Gas, Power & Utilities, Renewables, Aerospace, Rail, Construction, IT & Telecoms, Office & Commerical and Mining. . Orion has offices located in 30 countries worldwide including, Australia, PNG, Philippines, Singapore, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Azerbaijan, Russia, Canada, USA, Nigeria, Angola and Gabon. . Orion Group supplied over 3,500 personnel in the last year with an estimated turnover for the current year of £360+ Million. . Job description: – An experienced P6 Planner/Scheduler is required to join our client’s team in Lagos on a rotational contract basis. . Skills & Experience: – Extensive project planning/schedule development with emphasis on use of P6 for an offshore gas concept development. – Major Capital Project experience is critical, with preference of experience in international/offshore projects. – Experience working with engineering contractor and project team in developing Level 3 schedule consistent with Company methodology, with preferred working background and knowledge of company requirements. – Adept at interfacing across project leadership to deliver project objectives. – Broad experience developing cost estimates for major/mega projects, in overseas remote locations is important. Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Senior Commercial Operations Turbo Machinery Solutions Job at General Electric Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:22 PM PDT Job Title: Senior Commercial Operations Turbo Machinery Solutions – NG Company: General Electric Location: Lagos, Nigeria . GE works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and helping to cure the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. . Role Summary/Purpose: – The candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing a strategy to build the Commercial Operations function for Turbomachinery Solutions in the SSA region, starting in Nigeria. . Essential Responsibilities: Responsibilities: 1.Manage all aspects of bid preparation efforts in accordance with the TM business rules and Inquiry to Order (ITO) processes and liaise with regional and global leadership on bid related matters with an extended scope of work focused on C&MS and Technology Services. Ensure all pertinent bid related data for the region is accurately and entered into salesforce.com. 2.Develop, lead, coach and retain key talent within Turbomachinery Commercial Operations providing clear direction, feedback and developing suitable career paths within the region. Provide training/mentoring of new team members as required. 3.Work closely with the SSA regional management team on the region’s bidding strategy, risk management, local sourcing, contract negotiations help develop long term strategies to increase “Speed to yes”, improving win rates and comply to local content regulations and policies. 4.Lead change management processes to challenge the current commercial systems/processes in order to reduce cycle time, improve service quality and reduce costs. Drive employee accountability to agreed and implemented changes 5.Develop strong working partnerships with the other functions (Legal, Finance, Applications, Sourcing etc.) to enable effective communications, on-time responses, improved information flow to help shape winning and profitable bids 6.Own and manage DoA, R-tables process for TM in the region – enforce and facilitate deal and risk reviews, and manage contract negotiations. Implement rigorous, balanced risk mitigation measures in bid preparation phase to enable regional growth while avoiding unknown, un-quantified risks. 7.Support in the development and introduction of appropriate metrics for the Commercial Operations team 8.Ensure compliance with all corporate commercial practices and standards. Understand all 3rd party relationships in the region, including local requirements (such as certifications and/or norms) and enforce compliance requirements and policies. 9.Updating Vendor List according to our product line. . Qualifications/Requirements: 1.B.Sc. University degree or equivalent – preferably in an engineering or commercial discipline 2.Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills – ability to effectively influence and negotiate with all levels of people 3.Excellent communications skills both written and verbal, with the ability to communicate complex information in a simplified fashion 4.Excellent organizational skills and ability to simultaneously manage multiple bids projects. 5.Financially & commercially astute – a strong understanding of contracts, business financials and reporting. 6.Positive, mature, can-do approach to work and to problem solving 7.Results orientated, self-driven individual with passion, drive and energy and ability to influence without authority in a multi-disciplinary, matrixed environment 8.Prior experience in analysing, translating & completing complex bids/proposals 9. Overall Experience of minimum 5 years in Commercial and Sales Roles with exposure to Oil & Gas / Energy Market. . Desired Characteristics: 1. Oil & Gas / TM industry commercial experience or exposure 2. Salesforce.com tool expertise. Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Sales Manager Subsea Systems Job at General Electric Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:21 PM PDT Job Title: Sales Manager Subsea Systems – Nigeria Company: General Electric Location: Lagos, Nigeria . GE works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and helping to cure the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. . Role Summary/Purpose: – The Sales Manager is responsible for the effective and profitable management of assigned customer accounts. In this role he/she will be primarily focused on growing and maintaining existing accounts. He/she will also work with current customers to provide value and meet service needs. . Essential Responsibilities: • Outline, present and sell the value of our products and services that can benefit our customer needs • Monitor rig activity in the region (deep water exploration / appraisal / development ) for market assessment and alignment with customer needs • Identification, qualification, pursuit and capture all sales opportunities with the objective of maximizing sales. • Support the preparation, submission, tracking and closing of quotations and proposals. • Support to develop and implements strategies for key accounts, tenders and strategic deals • Make sales presentations to senior level customers & internal GE management • Actively engage in New Product Initiatives and relate this to sales • Develop, maintain and nurture relationships with customers • Effectively coordinate relationships and interfaces with Commercial Operations, Technical Marketing, Product management and other functions • Monitor and benchmark our performance on OTD. Coordinate with relevant support functions to improve on time deliveries. • Actively maintain update all electronics sales tools and present result to the periodic team conference calls • Manage working time according to business needs and customer/projects requirements or constrain • Actively shares information about competitors and discusses with team • Creates and implements processes solutions with customer viewpoint and impact in mind • Challenges self and others to continuously come up with new and better ways of doing things • Offers solutions to eliminate bureaucratic/non- value added work processes • Assess and communicate to organization project structure required to execute contract • Develop preliminary commercial risk register and link with Tender manager • Feed tender manager on all applicable business intelligence of the region (customer, competitor, market, etc….) • Identify and communicate on customer critical to success factors of the project (schedule, safety, financials, quality, etc…) • Understand geographical requirement for customer (i.e. in country project team required or not, etc..) • Seamless communication with ITO team and processes. . Qualifications/Requirements: • A proven background in the oil & gas industry of around 5 years, with a minimum of 3 years in preferably within a similar sales role • Proven sales record or show that he/she has the aptitude to succeed in a technical and relationship driven business • Minimum of a B.Sc. degree preferably in a technical engineering qualification/degree • Excellent written and oral skills and confidence with client presentations • Effective team contributor and member • Ability and willingness to travel within territory • Fluent in English • Strong work ethics. . Desired Characteristics: • MBA • Ability to communicate at all levels within customer organizations as well as GE • Strong interpersonal and leadership skills • International Experience. Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Senior Account Director Job at COM FU Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:19 PM PDT Job Title: Senior Account Director Company: COM FU Location: Nigeria . On a stormy night, in a shabby bamboo hut, a young warrior was born; his name was Fu. . Since childhood, Fu was destined to become a great warrior; he was fascinated by books that taught the art of Kung Fu and for long hours, he would practice it, in hopes of becoming an accomplished Sensei one day. . After years of rigorous training, Fu decided to embark on a quest- a quest that will change the World Wide Web as we know it! . A symbol of matchless wit and power, Fu will utilize his unique skills in Web Design, Development & Social Marketing to assume his position as a leader of the Ultimate Warriors of the Web, creating from the art of Kung Fu…the art of COM FU! . Job description: – Young & dynamic person in Lagos – Victoria Island Area – Serve as day-to-day account lead between internal agency teams and client contacts to manage assigned projects – Local market and consumer know-how – Planning skills – Manage project budgets, participate in forecasts projections and support account development growth – Monitor all categories of spending for projects and ensure projects are delivered within the approved budget and proactively escalate to departmental budget owners where projects are not on track and operating within budgets. . Desired Skills and Experience: – Requires a BA in advertising, marketing or related field – 4 years experience in advertising and communication field – Has experience in foundations of digital and integrated marketing and is able to facilitate and steward agency work in these domains – Participate in creative development – Maintains effective working relationship with client – Builds good relationship with media creative team – Interprets research data for creative briefing – Acts as quality control for the account – Demonstrates good client handling – Computer literate with Presentation skills. Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Wireline Superintendence Services (F/M) Job at SPIE Oil And Gas Services Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:17 PM PDT Job Title: Wireline Superintendence Services (F/M) Company: SPIE Oil & Gas Services Location: Rivers, Nigeria . SPIE Oil & Gas Services, a specialist subsidiary of the SPIE Group, is an international company providing services to the oil and gas industry. . Job description: SERVICES Objectives: – Planning, writing Programmes and supervision of all Wireline operations onshore and offshore including well Completions. Well count over 220 wells. – Manage and control all Wireline equipment in COMPANY’s stock. . SERVICES Description: ROTATIONAL 4×4: Activities: – Supervision of Wireline operations onshore and offshore, receiving and filling reports from the field and writing of daily reports in the file and Data base. Writing of Wireline programme, weekly report and planning for the job. – Upgrading of Wireline data base – Supervise some special operations in the field, like fishing jobs. – Audit contractors in the location to ascertain compliance to COMPANY rules. – Take stock of tools in the Ware house and Geoservices Base – Hold well review meetings with GSR and well productivity group concerning Wireline programme – Follow up of Wireline jobs during Completion of wells. – Prepare call for Tender for Wireline operations. – Take monthly Wireline equipment inventory in Contractors’ base. – Prepare and follow up Purchase Request – Participate in well review meetings with well productivity group and GSR – Occasional on-site supervision of wireline operations onshore and offshore. . Safety: – Inspect Wireline equipment – Organise Monthly HSE meeting with contractors in their base and field. – Audit Wireline equipment – Convene Service Quality meetings when necessary. – Ensure service companies comply with FP and EXP rules. . Others: – Maintain good communication with Contractors. . Accountabilities: – Ensure that the Wireline operations in the wells are safely done and to increase production. – Limit incurring Fishing operations as this could kill the well. – Work on weekends and public holidays as position is rotational – Optimize Wireline intervention . Desired Skills and Experience: SERVICES PERSONNEL profile: – Minimum of Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Mechanical Engineering plus : – Minimum of 10 years experience in Wireline operations. – Good knowledge of equipment is required to be able to supervise and co-ordinate effectively. – Demonstrated ability to work independently and make decisions, and ability to solve technical problems. – Good oral, written presentation and communication skill in English language. – Have a PC literate with word processing and spread sheet applications in a Window environment. – International Well Control (IWCF) Certificate. – Excellent knowledge of Wireline tools from main contractors (Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker, etc) – Trainings / Certifications: Must possess current IWCF, BOSIET or SAS / HUET (as a minimum) & Medical certifications. Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Base Company Site Representative (F/M) Job at SPIE Oil And Gas Services Posted: 03 Aug 2014 02:16 PM PDT Job Title: Base Company Site Representative (F/M) Company: SPIE Oil & Gas Services Location: Rivers, Nigeria . SPIE Oil & Gas Services, a specialist subsidiary of the SPIE Group, is an international company providing services to the oil and gas industry. . Job description: The SERVICE holder will supervise administer the execution of the Service Support and Life of Field Service elements of the EGINA Development Subsea Production System (SPS) Contract with Contractor, based at Contractor’s Supply Base in Onne Port. . The SERVICE holder will be the Client Representative and focal point for Company at the SPS Contractor premises (workshop / operational base) with regards to all Contractor base workshop service support related activities. . SERVICE holder sphere of activity will include management of Contractor base/workshop service support related activities along with liaison with a number of interfacing packages namely:- . – Company Drilling and Completions team for offshore installation, repair / replacement and routine servicing activities – UFR Contractor for offshore installation and onshore support activities – Company Commissioning team for support during commissioning and start-up activities – Company Field Operations team for supply and support during Life of Field . He/She will be have a leading role in promoting Company’s core HSE values through all stages of onshore and offshore activities, ensuring that Contractors operations are conducted in compliance with procedures:-: The SERVICE will will require management and monitoring of Contractor’s In-Country service related activities as per the following: . Operations: GENERAL: – Oversee Contractor activity for the delivery, inspection, receipt testing (SRT), installation, commissioning and maintenance activity as well as associated storage, materials management, spares (spare part lists includes all consumables and replaceable parts + back-up equipment / technology), documentation, logistics, accommodation, base and workshop services necessary for the deployment of Contractor equipment* and services to Company in compliance with contractual obligations to Company. . *Equipment include: – Wellhead, PGB Gasmat & associated equipment – Wellhead running tools – Xmas tree & running tools – Kits for Xtree assembly – Tubing hanger & running tools – IWOCS & tools – ROV & intervention tools – Jumper, Steel flying Leads (SFL), & associated tools – FPSO installed equipment . – Maintenance – Spares – Operational Tooling – Personnel – Interfaces – Equipment receipt – Procurement/Services – Reporting . Desired Skills and Experience: – Engineering degree (generalist, mechanical,) with experience in deepwater drilling / subsea / field operations or manifold fabrication / installation; and experience with service contract management. – 7 to 10 years cumulative experience engineering, fabrication or operations. Apply to this job This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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TOP NEWS Israel, Palestinians accept Egypt's 72-hour truce bid

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement agreed on Monday to an Egyptian-proposed ceasefire to end four weeks of fighting in the Gaza Strip, while Jerusalem was rocked by two attacks that appeared to be a backlash to the violence.

Egypt's plan called for a 72-hour-long truce to begin at 0500 GMT (1.00 a.m. EDT) on Tuesday and then for representatives of Israeli and Palestinian factions to attend talks in Cairo to negotiate a longer-term agreement.

Palestinian groups, including envoys of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, met the head of Egyptian intelligence in Cairo earlier on Monday to formulate a plan to end the violence.

A few hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet agreed to accept Egypt's proposal, an official in his office said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Israel has notified Egypt of its acceptance of its proposal for a ceasefire," the official said.

Afterward, Hamas Islamists who dominate Gaza announced their agreement to the truce as well.

"Hamas told Egypt a short while ago of its acceptance of a 72-hour period of calm," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Israel launched its offensive on July 8 following a surge in Hamas rocket salvoes. It escalated from air and naval barrages to overland incursions centered on Gaza's tunnel-riddled eastern frontier, but also pushed into densely populated towns.

Gaza officials say 1,834 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed, and more than a quarter of the impoverished enclave's 1.8 million residents displaced. As many as 3,000 Palestinian homes have been destroyed or damaged.

Israel has lost 64 soldiers in combat and three civilians to Palestinian cross-border rocket and mortar fire that has emptied many of its southern villages. "Iron Dome" missile interceptors, air raid sirens and public shelters have helped stem Israeli casualties.

Tensions from the fighting seemed to spread on Monday to Jerusalem, where a Palestinian driving an excavator ran over and killed an Israeli and then overturned a bus in what police described as a terrorist or nationalistically motivated attack.

Israeli police shot the excavator driver dead; there were no passengers on the bus. Several hours later, a gunman shot and wounded an Israeli soldier a short distance away before fleeing on a motorcycle, police said.

FAILED CEASEFIRES

Several previous truces barely held with each side refusing to accept terms put by the other, while this time, Egypt plans to convene the parties in negotiations for a longer term deal.

Earlier on Monday, Palestinians said Israel had bombed a refugee camp in Gaza City, killing an eight-year-old girl and wounding 29 other people, in an air attack they said disrupted the start of a previous truce effort.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said there had been no air strikes in Gaza for seven hours on Monday, during which time Israel said it was abiding by a humanitarian ceasefire to free up aid and allow some of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the war to go home.

Israel said Gaza militants continued firing rockets and mortars during the truce period. There were no reported casualties.

Italy said it was sending 30 tonnes of supplies, including tents, emergency generators and water purification kits, to ease living conditions in Gaza. Media in Britain reported that a British aid worker was killed on Sunday during an Israeli strike in Rafah while he was delivering supplies to a hospital. The British Foreign Office said it was looking into the report.

The military was wrapping up the main objective of the ground assault, the destruction of cross-border infiltration tunnels from Gaza, and it has told residents of some towns they could return home.

A military spokeswoman said some forces were still in action inside Gaza, but the operation was drawing to a close. Media reports said troops had destroyed the last tunnel on their list of targets.

(Additional reporting by James Mackenzie in Rome; Editing by Giles Elgood, Mark Heinrich and Jonathan Oatis)

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WAR NEWS Ukrainian troops cross into Russia to avoid fighting, talks underway

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Monday it was in talks with Moscow over the return of 311 Ukrainian soldiers and border guards who had been forced by fighting with separatists to cross into Russia, but Russian border authorities said the troops were seeking asylum.

Both sides seemed set to use the fate of the troops to score propaganda points as Ukrainian government forces extended steady gains it has made against the pro-Russian separatists since a Malaysian airliner was downed over a rebel-held area on July 17.

Ukrainian defence spokesman Andriy Lysenko said a group of soldiers and border guards, who had been caught between the Russian border to the east and rebel positions in the west, had crossed into Russia in the early hours of Monday.

He put their number at 311, telling a news briefing they had retreated into Russia for safety reasons after helping their comrades break through rebel lines.

Kiev, he said, was now negotiating with Russian authorities for their return.

In Moscow, authorities acknowledged that Ukrainian troops had crossed into Russian territory - though they put the number at 438 - and Russian border guards said they had crossed during the night seeking asylum.

"They were tired of the war and wanted no further part in it," Vasily Malayev, spokesman for the border guards in the Rostov region of Russia, told Reuters by telephone. However, he added that 180 would be returned to Ukraine later on Monday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking to Itar-Tass and Rossiya24 TV, said Russia would facilitate the return of the Ukrainian soldiers but suggested they would be vulnerable to prosecution for desertion once they returned home.

"I expect Ukrainian authorities to understand that it is absolutely unacceptable, when Ukrainians ... are forced to fight with their own people, to treat those who refuse to do so as traitors to the motherland," Lavrov said.

RAILWAY HUB

Ukrainian government forces recaptured the important railway hub of Yasynuvata on Sunday from the rebels, Lysenko said, adding that five soldiers had been killed and 15 others wounded in fighting in the 24 hours up to Monday.

However, the rebels, who seized Yasynuvata - which lies just north of the city of Donetsk - in May, denied that government forces had retaken the railway hub.

Government troops, who have been battling the rebels since April, have now all but encircled the separatists' second-largest stronghold of Luhansk and rebels have declared a "state of siege" in Donetsk, the largest city they hold.

Luhansk has been left without electricity or running water and the mobile network is also down, local officials said.

At the crash site of the Malaysian Boeing, international experts resumed their recovery and investigative work on Monday.

"After a delay due to fighting, the team of Australians, Dutch and Malaysian experts began work," a statement by the Dutch mission said.

A large group of international experts began work there on Friday after a lull in fighting in the area allowed them finally, after lengthy delays, to reach the site. The victims included 196 Dutch, 27 Australians and 43 Malaysians.

(This version of the story edits headline to clarify the situation.)

(Additional reporting by Alexei Anischuk in Moscow and Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam, Writing by Richard Balmforth and Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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TOP NEWS Lebanese army advances in border b

OUTSKIRTS OF ARSAL Lebanon (Reuters) - The Lebanese army advanced on Monday into a border town attacked by Islamists at the weekend in the most serious spillover of the three-year-old Syrian civil war into Lebanon, and the Beirut government said the deadly assault would not go unpunished.

With army reinforcements arriving in Arsal, Prime Minister Tammam Salam, a Sunni Muslim, said there could be no political deal with gunmen identified as members of the Nusra Front and the Islamic State, which has seized parts of Syria and Iraq.

"The only solution proposed today is the withdrawal of the militants from Arsal and its environs," said Salam, the most senior Sunni in the Lebanese government.

Flanked by the rest of the cabinet, Salam accused the militants of seeking to "move their sick practices to Lebanon".

"We confirm that the attack on Lebanese national dignity will not go unpunished," he said.

Lebanon, still rebuilding from its own 1975-1990 civil war, has been buffeted by violence linked to the Syrian conflict, including rocket attacks, suicide bombings and gun battles.

But this was the first major incursion by hardline Sunni militants who have become leading players in Sunni-Shi'ite violence that has unfolded across the Levant, destabilising Lebanon by inflaming its own sectarian tensions.

The army said 14 soldiers had been killed, with 22 others missing and 86 injured in the fighting, which erupted after security forces arrested a Syrian Islamist rebel commander, Emad Jumaa, on Saturday.

Soldiers advancing into Arsal found the bodies of 50 militants, a security official said. A cleric in Arsal said at least 50 civilians were dead and more were buried in rubble.

More than a dozen other members of the security forces have been taken hostage. The army described the Islamists' incursion as a long-planned attack. Local politicians say it marks an attempt to extend the Islamic State's footprint into Lebanon.

Rebels said dozens of fighters from Syria's Qalamoun area just across the border had moved to Arsal on Sunday to reinforce gunmen there. Syrian warplanes repeatedly struck the nearby mountainous border area used by the militants to access Arsal.

The militants have been beaten back in the border area in the past year by Syrian government forces backed by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim political and military movement. Some 3,000 fighters are estimated to be in the border zone.

Indicating that Iranian-backed Hezbollah stood ready to help the army, one of its senior clerics said the military would not be left on its own and urged people in areas near the clashes to be prepared to "confront the bats of the dark night".

Hezbollah forces have deployed near Arsal, and Syrian activists say they are already involved in the fighting. The group has not announced any role. Analysts believe Hezbollah would keep quiet about any involvement to avoid further inflaming sectarian tensions.

"To those who would threaten to divide the army and leave it, we say: Lebanon and the Bekaa are not Mosul," said Mohamed Yazbek, the Hezbollah cleric, in comments reported by Hezbollah's al-Manar website, referring to a northern Iraqi city overrun by Islamic State militants in June.

NO REFUGE

Thick plumes of black and grey smoke billowed from the tops of the hills where Arsal lies. Intermittent bursts of gunfire could be heard from the surrounding areas as troops moved in.

A dozen armoured personnel carriers were seen advancing towards the town, together with a similar number of other military vehicles including trucks and Humvees. Soldiers armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades sat atop the vehicles as they moved along the main road towards Arsal.

Video footage released by the army showed seven bodies of men purported to be militants, as well as about two dozen men kneeling with their hands bound against a wall, and rifles, ID cards and cell phones said to be seized from the gunmen.

Arsal is a mainly Sunni town located on the Lebanese side of the border between Syrian government-controlled territory and Lebanese Shi'ite areas sympathetic to Hezbollah.

More than 100,000 Syrian refugees are estimated to be living in and around Arsal in camps that Syrian activists said had been badly damaged and evacuated during the fighting.

"There is no place of refuge for the refugees," said one Syrian activist in the area reached by text message.

"The residents are terrified."

Two army trucks were seen bringing several dozen civilians including women in headscarves and young children out of Arsal.

"What are we expecting? Our houses are being destroyed. God knows if our families are alive and well or dying," said Mohamed al-Fleti, a 25-year-old Lebanese man from Arsal as he sat in the shade of a tree by a gas station down the road from Arsal.

The war in Syria has deepened rifts between Shi'ite Lebanese allied to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Sunnis who have mostly been supportive of the uprising against him. Political divisions have left Lebanon without a president since May.

"THEY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO WITHDRAW"

Salam said the government, drawn from across the political spectrum, stood behind the army. He said he had asked France to speed the delivery of weapons due to be supplied in a Saudi-financed deal.

"The government has decided to mobilise all official Lebanese institutions and apparatus to defend our country."

Lebanon's most influential Sunni politician, former prime minister Saad al-Hariri, said Arsal must be "liberated" from the militants.

"They have no choice but to withdraw from the town, and neither the state, nor we, will stand idle in the face of the plots of these groups," Hariri, who is backed by Saudi Arabia, said in comments to the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper.

But despite wide backing for the army among politicians, Lebanon's Muslim Clerics Association urged Sunnis to protest until the army halted its bombardment of Arsal.

Its demands, published in a statement, included the opening of "a secure humanitarian corridor to Arsal".

Mustafa al-Hujairi, a leading Sunni cleric in Arsal, blamed deaths in Arsal on Hezbollah. He said matters were now in the hands of the gunmen. "Hezbollah want to turn Arsal to rubble like they did to Qusair," he said, referring to a town in Syria that Hezbollah helped Syrian government forces capture from rebels last year.

(Additional reporting by Laila Bassam, Tom Perry and Mariam Karouny; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Paul Taylor and Will Waterman)

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TOP NEWS Iraqi PM orders air force to help Kurds fight Islamic State

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered his air force for the first time to back Kurdish forces against Islamic State fighters after the Sunni militants made another dramatic push through the north, state television reported on Monday.

Tens of thousands of people have fled one of the districts seized by Islamic State fighters in the offensive and are now surrounded, the United Nations said on Monday. The Sunni militants often execute people in areas they have captured.

Kurdish peshmerga fighters, who gained experience fighting Saddam Hussein's troops, were regarded as one of the few forces capable of standing up to the Sunni insurgents, who faced almost no opposition from Maliki's U.S.-trained army during their lightning advance through the north in June.

Then on Sunday the Islamic State inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Kurds with a rapid advance through three towns to reach the Mosul Dam, acquiring a fifth oil field to fund its operations along the way.

State television and witnesses said the Islamic State had seized Iraq's biggest dam. Kurdish peshmerga officials said they had pushed militants from the dam area and were in control of it. This could not be immediately confirmed.

Despite predictions from Kurdish commanders that their forces would launch a successful counter-offensive, one senior Kurdish official urged the United States to step in and provide weapons "for the sake of fighting terrorism".

Kurdish commanders whose units came under attack from Islamic State fighters told Reuters they faced overwhelming firepower, were taken by surprise, and that militants had in many cases started shooting from villages where they had formed alliances with residents.

The areas that the Kurds lost were not part of their semi-autonomous region, but had been seized in the north after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Maliki has been at odds with the Kurds over budgets, oil and land, and tensions deepened after the Islamic State seized control of large swathes of land in the north and west of OPEC member Iraq.

HOSTILITY

In July, the Kurdish political bloc ended all participation in Iraq's national government in protest over Maliki's accusation that Kurds were allowing terrorists to stay in Arbil, the capital of their semi-autonomous region known as Kurdistan.

Opponents accuse Maliki of being an authoritarian ruler with a sectarian agenda whose alienation of Sunnis fueled the insurgency. Currently ruling in a caretaker capacity after an inconclusive election in April, he has defied calls by Sunnis, Kurds and even some fellow Shi'ites to step aside to make room for a less polarizing figure.

The Kurdish region is pressing the Obama administration for sophisticated weapons it says Kurdish fighters need to push back the Islamic State fighters threatening their region. The requested supplies include tanks, sniper equipment, armored personnel carriers, artillery and ammunition.

The move is likely to further anger Maliki, who may see it as an attempt to circumvent the Baghdad government in a long-standing drive for independence.

For now, however, Maliki seems to have put aside his hostility with the Kurds to try to prevent further gains by the Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria it controls and threatened to march on Baghdad.

"The general commander of the armed forces has ordered the air force command to provide backup for the Kurdish peshmerga forces against the terrorist gangs of the Islamic State," state television quoted Maliki's military spokesman Qassim Atta as saying.

OVERSTRETCHED

Tens of thousands of residents of Sinjar fled the district after it was taken over by Islamic State fighters.

Previously, an estimated 308,000 people lived in the district of Sinjar. As the insurgents advanced, many fled to Sinjar mountain, or Jebel Sinjar, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in a statement.

"The exact number of displaced people on Jebel Sinjar is unknown; however, reports indicate that some 35-50,000 people displaced in nine locations, reportedly surrounded by ISIS (Islamic State) armed elements. There are reports, to be verified, of children already dying for lack of water and other assistance among those trapped," the OCHA statement said.

A further 30,000 people, mainly women and children, have made their way to Dahuk governorate in Kurdistan, with more expected in coming days, OCHA said.

The insurgents control the two roads down the Sinjar mountain and are attacking families moving along the roads, which lead to Sinjar town and the Syrian border crossing at Rabia, OCHA said.

The senior Kurdish official said the Kurds had been overstretched because they had to watch over a vast territory. "The Islamic State has also been intimidating people by carrying out beheadings," he said, asking not to be identified.

After thousands of Iraqi soldiers fled their initial advance in June, the group then known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized tanks, armored personnel carriers, anti-aircraft guns, mortars, artillery and vehicles.

"It is a very dangerous situation for the region. Something needs to be done soon," the senior Kurdish official said.

Despite the odds, Kurdish commanders were talking tough.

One colonel said the Kurdish withdrawal was tactical and forecast that several Kurdish brigades would take back all territory lost on Sunday and even win back Mosul, Iraq's biggest northern city which is firmly in the hands of the Islamic State.

"We will attack them until they are completely destroyed. We will never show any mercy," he told Reuters. "We have given them enough chances and we will even take Mosul back. I believe within the next 48-72 hours it will be over."

But commanders who had lost men in battle were not as optimistic. Kurdish peshmerga Brigadier Mashia Ramazan Fattah said the base where he was stationed came under Islamic State mortar fire for 12 straight hours through the night.

He was surprised to find that 500 peshmerga forces were outnumbered by Islamic State fighters who forced them to flee.

Another commander who asked not to be named said the Islamic State took everyone by surprise and had deployed snipers in addition to heavier weapons and that, in many cases, the Kurds had simply run out of ammunition.

"We can no longer carry on fighting with just Kalashnikov rifles," he said.

(Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva; writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Gunna Dickson)

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TOP NEWS WTO failure points to fragmented future for global trade

GENEVA (Reuters) - India has dealt a potentially fatal blow to the World Trade Organization's hopes of modernizing the rules of global commerce and remaining the central forum for multilateral trade deals.

In the short term, this is a setback for freer commerce. In the longer run, it means trade liberalization may advance -- if at all -- among narrower groups of countries, denying dissenters a chance to block progress.

While the unwieldy 160-member, Geneva-based WTO will survive as a body for enforcing existing multilateral agreements, smaller clubs of like-minded nations are trying to move ahead faster to update the trade rules among themselves.

"Without a serious shakeup, the WTO's future looks like that of the League of Nations," said Simon Evenett, a professor at the Swiss Institute for International Economics. "Perhaps ultimately that's what some governments want."

Last week India vetoed the adoption of a treaty to simplify, standardize and streamline the rules for shipping goods across borders, having previously agreed to its terms at a ministerial conference in Bali last December. It blocked the text because it wanted more attention paid to its concerns over food security.

After drawing widespread condemnation, the world's second most populous nation now says it wants to keep the treaty alive, with stronger assurances about protecting its food security needs, until a permanent solution is found.

But the genie is out of the bottle. India's tactics reawakened a ghost from the WTO's past that many diplomats hoped to have put behind them: the idea of "linkages".

Linking unconnected negotiations was a major reason why the Doha round of trade talks that began in 2001 collapsed. As more and more states parlayed a concession here into a pledge there, the weight of interwoven bargains eventually caused paralysis.

The draft treaty on customs rules, known as "trade facilitation", was supposed to be something that everyone could agree on -- "low hanging fruit" that might reinvigorate a WTO laid low by a grinding decade of failed negotiations.

But there were few illusions about the WTO's overall health.

"The Doha Round has been dead at least since the last big push in 2011 failed," said Richard Baldwin, professor of international economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. "The Bali package was just a way of putting fresh flowers on the grave to remind people of what passed away.

"The big trading nations like India, the United States, the European Union, China and Brazil all went along with it since they wanted to keep the WTO looking relevant."

THE WTO GOES DARK

For several years, many of the bigger economies have been pouring their energies into new clubs aiming to liberalize trade in particular regions or in specific sectors of the economy.

"What WTO promoters fail to understand is that their forum competes with other vehicles for reform. Through poor design, bad luck and bad tactics, the WTO has handicapped itself in this race," said Evenett.

Of all the big economies, India has perhaps bet most on the WTO, with little progress in opening up bilateral or regional ties. Despite its role as a offshore services hub and its vast population, it has yet to sew up a bilateral trade agreement with the EU and an investment treaty with the United States.

The 28-nation EU and the United States, which are trying to negotiate a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, are among pioneers of the smaller clubs, but China is also involved.

Beijing is a member of groups trying to develop new standards for information technology products and environmental goods, and it wants to join one that is working to liberalize trade in services.

Last week's veto prompted some countries to discuss moving ahead with the customs treaty without India.

The last world trade agreement, known as the Uruguay round, was concluded in 1993 and came into force in 1995.

For businesses based on globally mobile funds, data and intellectual property, WTO rules that essentially pre-date the Internet era are hopelessly out of date. Proponents of the new deals think India's new government risks relegating its economy to bureaucratic backwardness if it won't join such reforms.

Some of the existing groups, such as the one on information technology, include the bulk of world exporters and can promise to share the benefits of freer trade with the entire WTO without fear of non-members gaining much from being free-riders.

Others, such as the one on services, will not share the benefits with non-members, at least until a critical mass of countries are inside the club. That could lead to a two-tier WTO in which the leading reformers have the best terms of trade.

Even if it benefits in the end, India will have missed the chance to shape the rules by not being from at the start.

India is also trailing in regional trade agreements, with the United States setting the pace by negotiating simultaneously a 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and a potential deal with the EU, which faces obstacles on both sides.

While such mega-regional agreements grab the headlines, Evenett said they may be almost as hard to clinch as WTO deals.

"Instead, watch out for more unilateral reforms by emerging markets and deals done directly between foreign firms and national governments -- all done a million miles from the WTO."

Informal groups such as the G20 might also be more active in promoting trade, although India is a member there too. Current G20 chair Australia said on Monday it wanted the grouping to do more to remove barriers to commerce. [ID:nL4N0QA215]

Before India's veto, U.S. WTO Ambassador Michael Punke said the Bali deal had turned the lights back on at the WTO, but if India blocked the accord, it would "flip the lights in this building back to dark", with no return to business as usual.

"Many Members, including developing country members, have noted that, if the Bali package fails, there can be no post-Bali. It's with regret that we agree with them," Punke said.

(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Paul Taylor)

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GREAT DISCOVERY: Female octopus species that dwells almost a mile below the sea surface spends about 4-1/2 years brooding and protecting their eggs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If someone were to create an award for "mother of the year" in the animal kingdom, a remarkably dedicated eight-limbed mom from the dark and frigid depths of the Pacific Ocean might be a strong contender.

Scientists on Wednesday described how the female of an octopus species that dwells almost a mile below the sea surface spends about 4-1/2 years brooding her eggs, protecting them vigilantly until they hatch while forgoing any food for herself.
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It is the longest known egg-brooding period for any animal, they wrote in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

The scientists used a remote-controlled submarine to monitor the deep-sea species, called Graneledone boreopacifica, off the coast of central California.

They tracked one female, recognizable by its distinctive scars, that clung to a vertical rock face near the floor of a canyon about 4,600 feet (1,400 meters) under the surface, keeping the roughly 160 translucent eggs free of debris and silt and chasing off predators.

This mother octopus never left the oblong-shaped eggs - which during the brooding period grew from about the size of a blueberry to the size of a grape - and was never seen eating anything. The octopus progressively lost weight and its skin became pale and loose. The researchers monitored the octopus during 18 dives over 53 months from May 2007 to September 2011.

Bruce Robison, a deep sea ecologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, California, said this species exhibits an extremely powerful maternal instinct.

"It's extraordinary. It's amazing. We're still astonished ourselves by what we saw," Robison said.

Most octopus females lay a single set of eggs in a lifetime and die shortly after their offspring hatch. The newborn of this species are no helpless babies. The long brooding period enables the hatchlings to come out of their eggs uniquely capable of survival, emerging as fully developed miniature adults able to capture small prey.

At this tremendous depth, there is no sunlight - the only light comes from bioluminescent sea creatures - and it is very cold - 37 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius). "It may seem nasty to us, but it's home to them," Robison said.

During the brooding period, the mother octopus seemed to focus exclusively on the welfare of the eggs.

"She was protecting her eggs from predators, and they are abundant. There are fish and crabs and all sorts of critters that would love to get in there and eat those eggs. So she was pushing them away when they approached her," Robison said.

"She was also keeping the eggs free from sediment and was ventilating them by pushing water across them for oxygen exchange. She was taking care of them," Robison added.

This species measures about 16 inches (40 cm) long and is a pale purple color with a mottled skin texture. It eats crabs, shrimp, snails - "pretty near anything they can catch," Robison said.

(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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WAR NEWS :Israel withdraws troops, 72-hour Gaza truce begins

GAZA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel withdrew ground forces from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and started a 72-hour ceasefire with Hamas mediated by Egypt as a first step towards negotiations on a more enduring end to the month-old war.

Minutes before the truce began at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT), Hamas launched a salvo of rockets, calling them revenge for Israel's "massacres". Israel's anti-missile system shot down one rocket over Jerusalem, police said. Another hit a house in a town near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. There were no casualties.

Israeli armour and infantry left Gaza ahead of the truce, with a military spokesman saying their main goal of destroying cross-border infiltration tunnels dug by Islamist militants had been completed. "Mission accomplished," the military tweeted.

Troops and tanks will be "redeployed in defensive positions outside the Gaza Strip and we will maintain those defensive positions", spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said, reflecting Israeli readiness to resume fighting if attacked.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the Islamist Hamas faction that rules Gaza, said Israel's offensive in the densely populated, coastal enclave was a "100 percent failure".

Israel sent officials to join talks in Cairo to cement a longer-term deal during the course of the truce. Hamas and Islamic Jihad also dispatched representatives from Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his decision-making security cabinet to discuss the aftermath of the fighting, officials said.

In Gaza, where some half-million people have been displaced by a month of bloodshed, some residents, carrying mattresses and with children in tow, left U.N. shelters to trek back to neighbourhoods where whole blocks have been destroyed by Israeli shelling and the smell of decomposing bodies fills the air.

Sitting on a pile of debris on the edge of the northern town of Beit Lahiya, Zuhair Hjaila, a 33-year-old father of four, said he had lost his house and his supermarket.

"This is complete destruction," he said. "I never thought I would come back to find an earthquake zone."

Visiting International Red Cross President Peter Maurer, responding to local criticism that his organisation was late in helping some victims, said "we were insufficiently able to bridge the gap between our willingness to protect them and our ability to do so".

The head of Israel's southern command reassured residents who had fled southern Israeli towns when fighting erupted that it was safe to return home, though some remained unconvinced the threat of attack tunnels and rockets from Gaza had been wiped out.

TRUCE ATTEMPTS

Several previous truce attempts by Egypt and other regional powers, overseen by the United States and United Nations, failed to calm the worst Israeli-Palestinian fighting in two years.

An Israeli official said that in the hour before the ceasefire came into effect, the civilian airspace over Tel Aviv was closed as a precaution against Gaza rockets, delaying takeoffs and landings at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Gaza officials say the war has killed 1,867 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Israel says 64 of its soldiers and three civilians have been killed since fighting began on July 8, after a surge in Palestinian rocket launches.

Hamas said it had informed Egypt "of its acceptance of a 72-hour period of calm", beginning on Tuesday.

The Palestinian cabinet issued a statement after its weekly meeting in Ramallah welcoming the ceasefire.

The U.S. State Department also welcomed the truce and urged the parties to "respect it completely". Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington would continue its efforts to help the sides achieve a "durable, sustainable solution for the long term".

Efforts to turn the ceasefire into a lasting truce could prove difficult, with the sides far apart on their central demands, and each rejecting the other's legitimacy. Hamas rejects Israel's existence and vows to destroy it, while Israel denounces Hamas as a terrorist group and eschews any ties.

Besides the truce, Palestinians demand an end to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on impoverished Gaza and the release of prisoners, including those Israel arrested in a June crackdown in the occupied West Bank after three Jewish seminary students were kidnapped and killed.

Israel has resisted those demands in the past.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki said there was "clear evidence" of war crimes by Israel during its offensive in Gaza as he met International Criminal Court prosecutors in The Hague on Tuesday to push for an investigation.

Both sides have traded allegations of war crimes during the Gaza assault, while defending their own actions as consistent with international law.

ISRAEL: DEMILITARISE GAZA

Lerner said the army overnight had destroyed the last of 32 tunnels located inside Gaza and which had been dug by Hamas for cross-border ambushes at an estimated cost of $100 million.

Israeli officials say, however, that some tunnels may have gone undetected and that the armed forces are poised to strike at these in the future.

Netanyahu also wants to disarm Hamas and demilitarise Gaza, after guerrillas launched more than 3,300 rockets and mortar bombs at Israel in the past month. Hamas has ruled that out.

"For Israel the most important issue is the issue of demilitarisation. We must prevent Hamas from rearming, we must demilitarise the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev told Reuters television.

Since the fighting began, several previous truces barely held. Regev said Israel had accepted Egypt's terms weeks before Hamas, and expressed a wish that the truce would last: "I hope this time we see the ceasefire work that's good for everybody."

Egypt has positioned itself as a mediator in successive Gaza conflicts but, like Israel, its current administration views Hamas as a security threat.

Besides the loss of life, the war has cost both sides economically. Gaza faces a massive $6-billion price tag to rebuild devastated infrastructure. Israel has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in tourism and other sectors and fears cuts in overall economic growth this year as well.

Israel's Tourism Minister said that, while there has been a steep drop in the number of visitors to the Holy Land, he expected things to bounce back in a few months.

Palestinian officials said a donor conference to raise funds for Gaza's reconstruction would be held in Oslo next month.

In London, a British minister, Sayeeda Warsi, resigned on Tuesday, saying she could not support government policy on the war. Prime Minister David Cameron's government has been pressing for a ceasefire in Gaza, but he has been criticised by the opposition for refusing to describe Israel's military actions in Gaza as disproportionate.

(Additional reporting by Eric Beech in Washington, Ori Lewis in Jerusalem, Yasmine Saleh in Cairo, William James and Kylie MacLellan in London, Jussi Rosendahl in The Hague; Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Giles Elgood, Editing by Mark Heinrich and Gareth Jones)

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TOP NEWS Sturdy U.S. services, factory data boost growth picture

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. services sector activity hit an 8-1/2 year high last month and factory orders surged in June, bolstering expectations of solid economic growth in the third quarter.

Tuesday's reports added to employment and consumer spending data in suggesting sustained momentum in the economy that could bring the Federal Reserve closer to raising interest rates.

"The economy is normal, and a normal economy requires a normal interest rate, not a zero interest rate," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.

The Institute for Supply Management's services index rose to 58.7 last month, the highest level since December 2005, from 56.0 in June. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Activity in the sector, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the U.S. economy, was boosted by a jump in orders, which touched their highest point in nearly nine years.

A sub-index gauging services industry employment also rose as did order backlogs, but export order growth moderated.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods increased 1.1 percent in June, more than reversing May's 0.6 percent decline. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft - a measure of business confidence and spending plans - hit a record high.

Strong business investment is one of the key ingredients needed for robust economic growth and the surge will be welcomed by Fed officials as they weigh the course of monetary policy.

Interest rate futures now point to a better-then-even chance the U.S. central bank will hike overnight rates in June of next year. It has held them near zero since December 2008.

"We think the Fed will revise its guidance on the outlook for interest rates at the September policy meeting, leaving the door open for a rate hike as soon as March 2015," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.

FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

The data helped lift the U.S. dollar to a 10-1/2 month high against a basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. Treasury debt fell. U.S. stocks fell as retailer Target (TGT.N) cut its second-quarter earnings estimate.

A wealth of data have suggested the economy is firing on almost all cylinders. But businesses amassed huge piles of stocks in the second quarter, which they may need to work through before placing more orders.

That could take some edge off growth in the third quarter. The economy grew at a 4.0 percent annual pace in the April-June period, and growth estimates for the third quarter are currently around a 3 percent rate.

In June, factory orders rose across all categories, with bookings for electrical equipment, appliances and components recording their largest gain since November 2010.

In another sign of strength, unfilled orders saw their largest rise in seven months. Orders for durable goods, which are expected to last three years and more, were revised to show a sturdy 1.7 percent gain instead of the previously reported 0.7 percent advance.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft increased 3.3 percent. These so-called core capital goods orders were previously reported to have increased 1.4 percent.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos in New York; Editing by Paul Simao)

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TOP WAR NEWS: U.S. general killed, German general wounded in Afghan attack: officials

KABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. general was killed and more than a dozen people were wounded, including a German general, in the latest insider attack by a man believed to be an Afghan soldier, U.S., German and Afghan officials said on Tuesday.

The slain general, whose identity was not immediately released by the Pentagon, was believed to be the most senior U.S. military official killed in action in Afghanistan since the war there began in 2001.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters that "many were seriously wounded" and the gunman was killed in the attack, which took place on Tuesday at the Marshal Fahim National Defense University, a training center in Kabul.

The attack raised fresh questions about the ability of NATO soldiers to train and advise Afghan security forces as western nations gradually withdraw. The U.S. and German generals were on a routine visit, the Pentagon said.

A U.S. official said the gunman fired on the foreign soldiers using a light machinegun. Afghanistan's Defense Ministry described him as a "terrorist in army uniform."

The German military said its general was one of 14 coalition troops wounded in Tuesday's attack. It said his life was not in danger. Seven Americans and five British troops were among the wounded, an Afghan official said.

Past insider attacks have eroded trust while straining foreign efforts to train Afghanistan's 350,000-strong security force and prepare them to fight the Taliban once most U.S. and NATO forces depart.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke by phone with General Joe Dunford, who commands U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan, about the incident, Kirby said. He said the shooting was being investigated jointly by Afghan authorities and the international military coalition that is winding down its long mission in Afghanistan.

The Afghan president was quick to condemn the attack, saying the delegation had been visiting the facility to help build Afghanistan's security forces.

The Taliban says insider attacks reflect their ability to infiltrate the enemy. International military coalition officials say the incidents often arise over misunderstandings or altercations between troops.

In 2012, dozens of incidents forced international troops to take measures to reduce interaction with their Afghan partners. Since then, the number of insider attacks has fallen sharply.

Like other western nations, the United States is planning to leave a residual force in Afghanistan after the NATO mission ends this year, in part to support Afghan forces. But U.S. officials say that first they must sign a bilateral troop deal, which cannot be finalized until Afghanistan resolves an election dispute and confirms its new president.

In a similar attack on Tuesday, several people were wounded in eastern Paktia province when a policeman opened fire on international and Afghan forces, police chief Zalmay Oryakhil said.

Adding to the tension, a NATO air strike hit a vehicle carrying civilians in western Herat province, local officials said, killing four members of a family returning from a wedding, including two children.

(Reporting by Missy Ryan in Washington, Sabine Siebold in Berlin, Krista Mahr in Kabul, Jalil Ahmad Rezaee in Herat and Ahmad Sultan in Gardez; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Howard Goller)

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