WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

US cuts intelligence sharing for Ukraine, adding pressure for Russia peace deal

The U.S. has paused intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday, piling pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to cooperate with U.S. President Donald Trump in convening peace talks with Russia.

The suspension, which could cost lives by hurting Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russian missile strikes, followed a halt this week to U.S. military aid to Kyiv. It underscores Trump's willingness to play hardball with an ally as he pivots to a more conciliatory approach to Moscow from previously strong U.S. support for Ukraine.

The pressure appears to have worked, with Trump on Tuesday saying he received a letter from Zelenskiy in which the Ukrainian leader said he was willing to come to the negotiating table.

"I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause I think will go away," Ratcliffe told Fox Business Network.

"I think we'll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that's there, but to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward," he said.

A source familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Trump administration had halted "everything," including targeting data that Ukraine has used to strike Russian targets.

A second source said intelligence-sharing had only "partially" been cut but was unable to provide more detail.

Washington on Monday halted military aid to Kyiv following a disastrous Oval Office meetingon Friday when Trump and Zelenskiy engaged in a shouting match before the world's media.

The clash delayed the signing of a deal that would give the U.S. rights to revenue from Ukraine's critical mineral deposits, which Trump has demanded to repay U.S. military aid.

Zelenskiy said on Wednesday there had been "positive movement" on the issue and officials from the two countries could meet again soon.

The White House said it is reconsidering its pause in funding for Ukraine and talks between the two countries over a minerals deal were ongoing.

A senior administration official said on Wednesday that the signing was expected to happen soon and to be the first step in a longer negotiation between Ukraine, Washington and Russia on ending the war.

The Ukrainian embassy in Washington and Ukraine's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an address to Congress on Tuesday evening, Trump said Kyiv was ready to sign a minerals deal.

Trump also said he had been in "serious discussions with Russia" and received strong signals that it was ready for peace.

"It's time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides," he said.

EUROPE SCRAMBLING

Several Democrats criticized the intelligence-sharing suspension. Senator Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said the "ill-advised decision" showed that Trump had given American power to Russia.

"Let me be clear: Cutting off intelligence support to our Ukrainian partners will cost (Ukrainian) lives," the Virginia Democrat said in a statement.

A Russian missile struck a hotel in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih late on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring seven, emergency officials said.

European countries are scrambling to boost defense spending and maintain support for Ukraine. Diplomats said France and Britain are aiming to finalize a peace plan to present to the U.S., while the Dutch government said it will reserve 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) for Ukraine aid in 2026.

The U.S. has provided critical intelligence to Ukraine for its fight against Moscow's forces, including information that helped thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin's drive to seize Kyiv at the start of his full-scale invasion in February 2022.

But in less than two months in office, Trump has upended U.S. policy, stunning and alienating European allies and raising concerns about the future of the NATO alliance.

He has also ended Putin's isolation through phone calls with the Russian leader and talks between Russian and U.S. aides in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, from which Ukraine and its European allies were excluded.

Some experts said the U.S. intelligence-sharing suspension would hurt Ukraine's ability to strike Russian forces, which occupy about 20% of the country's territory, and defend itself.

"Unfortunately, our dependence in this regard is quite serious," said Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at Ukraine's National Institute for Strategic Studies.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Berlin has run out of weapons for Kiev – German Defense Ministry

Germany has reached the limit of its capacity to supply weapons to Ukraine from its own Bundeswehr arsenals, according to Michael Stempfle, the official spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defense.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Stempfle was asked about the further transfer of Patriot systems and other weapons from German arsenals to Ukraine. He stated that while Berlin has already delivered many systems to Ukraine, there is a “natural limit to this.” He emphasized that Berlin also needed to strengthen the nation’s own defense capabilities and make sure its European allies are “well positioned.”

He said that the process of ensuring Germany’s own defenses was “running parallel to the Ukraine support.”

Germany has been one of Kiev’s most significant supporters since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 and has provided substantial military and financial aid to the country, to the tune of some €44 billion ($47 billion) according to the German government. The assistance has included Leopard tanks, Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank rockets, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled armored vehicles.

While it is unclear what Stempfle’s disclosure will mean for future German military aid deliveries, it comes at a time when Kiev may face additional difficulties on the battlefield after Trump reportedly cut off Washington’s support.

Several US outlets have claimed that Trump ordered all weapons deliveries to Kiev put on hold following his public spat with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky last week. The suspension reportedly includes critical weaponry such as battle tanks, long-range missiles, and air defense systems. Washington has also brought all intelligence sharing with Kiev to a halt, according to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Zelensky has expressed concerns over the suspension of foreign military aid, stating that Ukraine’s ability to sustain its defense without external support is limited.

Russia has consistently criticized Western military aid to Ukraine, arguing that it prolongs the conflict without altering its outcome. Moscow’s officials have repeatedly stressed that such support only escalates tensions and hampers prospects for a peaceful resolution.

Reuters/RT

On Wednesday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio finally defended himself since Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan accused him of sexual harassment. This is not the first time he has been accused of such, but this instance feels different. He denied the accusation by alluding to his record of awards as a “gender-friendly” governor and pointing out his cherished personal relationships with women that put him beyond such impropriety. Good for him, but there is also enough record of his public conduct to consider a pattern of his behaviour when dealing with women.

For instance, in 2020, when former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission Joy Nunieh accused him of corruption, he went on television to talk about how many times the woman had been married. By pulling out the woman’s personal life, he wanted to set her up for ridicule in our society that associates a woman’s virtues with her marital status. Like every bus conductor who finds himself outwitted by a woman and quickly resorts to calling her “ashewo!” Akpabio, too, deflected the shame emanating from the corruption accusation.

Akpabio might have waited until his accuser submitted an official petition, but he has not been defenseless all this time. His female proxies have been doing so, some of them even stripping themselves of either their dignity or common sense just to defend him. On Saturday, some Akwa Ibom women protested the allegations against Akpabio. Typical Nigerians that they were, they did not say anything about seeking the truth; they just wanted the accusations to go away. What is there to say about those poor old women carrying placards they probably cannot read? Looking at their hungry faces, one shrugs in pity. Our politics is as tacky as other aspects of our Nigerian lives.

If those women can be dismissed as a hired crowd, how about Akpoti-Uduaghan’s female colleague in the Senate, from whom one would expect reasonable intervention? When Ireti Kingibe, one of the three remaining women in the Senate, spoke on the issue, she came across as conservative and more invested in upholding the norms of the institution than considering how it could be oppressive. First, she claimed that they (the other three female senators) have not been sexually harassed, and I wondered why she had to assume a corporate voice. Unless, of course, she is omnipresent, how could she have known that for sure? Is she privy to the battle each woman fought privately to get to the Senate? Why not just speak about your own experience?

In the same interview, Kingibe mentioned that Akpoti-Uduaghan had once told her she was supposed to discuss some official business with Akpabio, “but he said to meet him at a hotel”. So, the woman told you that in a prior conversation, and you could still boldly claim that you were unaware that she was being sexually harassed? So, what else defines sexual harassment in Kingibe’s book? How come she did not correlate Akpoti-Uduaghan’s present predicament with that hotel incident to at least understand her frustration with the Senate rules you are still asking her to obey unquestioningly? I do not blame Akpoti-Uduaghan for snubbing Kingibe afterward. I would do the same.

Then came another woman, Senator Abiodun Olujimi, who, though well-spoken, appeared just as tone-deaf. She thought the issue was Akpabio’s sense of humour, which makes him “vulnerable”. Olujimi is a polished woman who knows what vulnerability means. Her use of the word to describe someone like Akpabio makes me suspicious of her politics. In her interview, she went further to talk about the struggles of men in the Senate and how she has had to support them when they faced challenges from the domestic front. My heart goes out to the men who experience challenges because of their public service, but is the issue at hand about what the menfolk endure? That rhetorical manoeuvre is called whataboutism. For context, please recall that Olujimi was also the one who sponsored the serially rejected bill seeking gender equality. For someone who had such a grand vision while in the Senate, her present politics is rather contradictory.

The worst of all the female politicians wading into the issue is Senator Florence Ita-Giwa. She said that once a woman becomes a senator, she has “passed that stage of your life of being sexually harassed” because you somehow become gender neutral. That is a rather curious point to make. So, do the men and women also share the same restroom since their physical differences get magically erased once they are sworn in as senators? Ita-Giwa not only argued that sexual harassment cannot happen in the Senate but that even talking about it shows weakness on the part of the woman. My impression listening to her is that she has not only spent the bulk of her life bending over backward to take in a lot of ethical compromises, but she justified what she endured as female strength. Watching a younger woman who refuses to lie down and take it comes across to her as a weakness.

Then enters Mrs Akpabio herself. You know, no woman in Nigeria can be counted upon to overreach herself any more than the wife of a powerful man whose husband has been accused of sexual impropriety. You will see the woman take off her clothes in public to defend her husband, not necessarily because she believes in his virtues, but because she cannot stand to see her privileges jeopardised. Mrs Akpabio went to the extent of suing his accuser for defamation. She knows it is not a case she can win, but a typical Naija woman wants to impress her husband. Unfortunately, all she is doing here is making him look emasculated. She even described her husband as “disciplined and respectful”. The same man who made the disparaging “nightclub” comment for which even you had to reportedly urge him to apologise? That should be the very definition of irony. Speaking of “disciplined and respectful”, has Madam seen her husband’s charge sheet with the EFCC?

Akpabio is not the only one who has made disrespectful comments about Akpoti-Uduaghan; even his aide did! The only reason that one could do so publicly and confidently is because of his boss’ loose ethical standards. Akpoti-Uduaghan is human and would naturally feel the snide comments. It should not be too much to expect men in an institution like the Senate to be respectful of their female counterparts and treat them with professional courtesy. This was the same Senate where a former beauty queen appeared for appointment confirmation and some horny old goat openly leered at her. If they can do that during their official business, you want to put it past them that those ones will sexually harass?

If there is a reason Akpoti-Uduaghan’s issues resonate with many women, it is because what we are dealing with is a general problem. The truth is, Nigerian men in professional places have a woman problem. They can be insecure, and the only way they know to manage their inadequacies is by rudely putting down their female counterparts or by putting them in their supposed place. It is a cultural problem, and one must be used to being disrespected not to see it. Some women will confront such denigration by just shutting up and taking it so as not to be taken as weak. Some others will brook no such nonsense. Akpoti-Uduaghan is the latter.

Unless this is duly investigated, we do not factually know whether Akpabio is guilty or not. Still, he needs to check himself and his professional conduct. From how he talks and what the men around him say freely, there is enough to suggest his attitude towards female colleagues is pejorative.

Punch

Ashton Jackson

If Mark Cuban were a kid again, he’d do two simple things to set himself up for success as an adult, he says.

“When I talk to kids today and they ask me what I would do if I were 12 today, my answer is always the same, read books and learn how to use [artificial intelligence] in every way, shape and form you can,” the 66-year-old billionaire entrepreneur wrote on social media platform BlueSky last week. “It is a living library that gives you responses and can help no matter who you are or where you live.”

″[It] just takes a smartphone, curiosity to experiment and a mindset to learn,” Cuban wrote in a follow-up post.

The first part of Cuban’s advice isn’t new: He’s preached the value of voracious reading for years. “I read everything I can. I don’t care what the source is,” he told CNBC Make It in 2018, adding that he dedicates “four to five hours a day” to it. That habit is a commonality among many highly successful entrepreneurs, including fellow billionaires Bill Gates and Richard Branson.

As for the AI element, 70% of the skills used in most jobs could change due to the technology by 2030, according to LinkedIn’s 2025 Work Change report. But few young Americans use AI regularly right now — 11% of Americans ages 14 to 22 say they use generative AI once or twice per week, found a 2024 report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Common Sense Media and Hopelab.

Cuban has previously likened the technology to the early days of personal computers, particularly for future entrepreneurs. “You don’t necessarily have to be great at AI to start a company, but at some point, you’re going to have to understand it,” he told “The Colin Cowherd Podcast” in 2022. “It’s just like the early days of PCs. You didn’t have to be good at PCs, but it helped. Then networks, then the internet, then mobile.”

Notably, Cuban has a financial interest in popularizing the technology: He’s an investor in multiple AI companies, including search engines DIRT and Samaya AI. But he’s not blind to at least some of its flaws, telling Wired last year that a puppy would be a better problem-solver than current AI systems.

“A dog can sense issues,” said Cuban. “Nothing about a self-driving car understands what’s adversarial or not. If it hasn’t seen it, it has no idea. Whereas a dog is going to understand. I think smart puppies are smarter than AI is today or in the near future.”

Longer term, the future of AI in business is unclear. It could range from the creation of more AI-infused services to a simpler rise in the number of employees who use chatbots to write first drafts of their emails or presentations.

Kids can benefit from getting ahead of those developments, Cuban told CNBC Make It last year. If he were a teenager in need of extra cash, he’d start a side hustle around learning how to write AI prompts, he said.

“Then, I would go to businesses, particularly small- to medium-sized businesses that don’t understand AI yet,” said Cuban. “Doesn’t matter if I’m 16, I’d be teaching them as well.”

CNBC

The Africa Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) has released a revealing report on the continent's debt situation, highlighting both challenges and potential opportunities for economic growth.

Key Debt Statistics

As of the first half of 2024, ten African nations accounted for 69 percent of the continent's total external debt, up from 67 percent in 2023. The top debt-holding countries are:

1. South Africa (14%)

2. Egypt (13%)

3. Nigeria (8%)

4. Morocco (6%)

5. Mozambique (6%)

Debt Trends and Projections

The continent's external debt has grown significantly, reaching approximately $1.16 trillion in 2023 and projected to increase to $1.17 trillion in 2024. By 2028, the debt could climb to $1.29 trillion, driven by population growth and increasing financing needs.

Debt Composition

- Long-term debt: 75% of total debt

- Short-term debt: 15.9%

- IMF debt: 8.9%

Recommendations for Debt Management

Afreximbank offers strategic advice for African countries to manage their external debt:

- Economic Diversification: Resource-dependent countries should expand their economic bases.

  - Nigeria is advised to invest in agriculture and manufacturing

  - Angola should develop its renewable energy sector

- Sustainable Borrowing: Countries should:

  - Avoid excessive reliance on commercial debt

  - Strengthen debt management institutions

  - Improve transparency and accountability

  - Establish social safety nets to protect vulnerable populations

Outlook

Despite challenges, the report suggests a ray of optimism. The region shows signs of debt stabilization, driven by:

- Improving macroeconomic conditions

- Reduced interest rates

- Better access to capital markets

The bank urges African countries to:

- Systematically reduce fiscal deficits

- Prioritize efficient public spending

- Enhance tax revenue collection

- Improve debt management transparency.

Key Highlights

- Total Decline: $1.31 billion (3.3%) in February 2025

- Starting Reserve: $39.72 billion (January 31, 2025)

- Ending Reserve: $38.42 billion (February 28, 2025)

- Decline Larger Than January: Previous month saw a $1.16 billion reduction

Reserve Trajectory: A Month of Continuous Descent

Early February Trend

- February 3: $39.60 billion

- February 4: $39.54 billion

- February 7: $39.04 billion

- February 10: $39.27 billion

Mid-Month Performance

- February 12: $39.15 billion

- February 17: $38.88 billion

- February 19: $38.72 billion

- February 21: $38.69 billion

Month-End Position

- February 28: $38.41 billion

Market Context

The persistent decline occurs against a backdrop of a strengthening naira, raising questions about the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) foreign exchange market strategy. The steady reduction in reserves suggests ongoing external economic pressures and potential interventions to manage currency stability.

Potential Implications

1. Currency Management: The reserves decline might indicate:

   - Active dollar sales to support naira valuation

   - Efforts to manage exchange rate volatility

   - Responding to external economic challenges

2. Economic Indicators:

   - Potential pressure on foreign exchange liquidity

   - Continued challenges in foreign reserve accumulation

   - Need for strategic economic policy adjustments.

Oil prices fell for a third session on Wednesday as plans by major producers to raise output in April combined with concerns U.S. tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will slow economic and fuel demand growth hammered investor sentiment.

Brent futures eased 15 cents lower to $70.89 a barrel at 0200 GMT. In the previous session, the contract fell to as low as $69.75, its lowest since September 11, and settled at their lowest since that day as well.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 40 cents a barrel, or 0.6%, at $67.86 after settling at its lowest since December. Prices fell to as low as $66.77 in the previous session, the lowest since November 18.

The "OPEC+ decision to start increasing production again is a materially bearish development, loosening markets at a time that U.S. macro data are starting to soften," analysts at Citi said in a note.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, decided on Monday to increaseoutput for the first time since 2022.

The group will make a small increase of 138,000 barrels per day from April, the first step in planned monthly increases to unwind its nearly 6 million bpd of cuts, equal to nearly 6% of global demand.

A 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico, a 10% tariff on Canadian energy and a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20% came into effect on Tuesday. The Trump administration also imposed 25% tariffs on all other Canadian imports.

U.S. President Donald Trump's self-declared trade war is seen by economists as a recipe for fewer jobs, slower growth, and higher prices, which could kill demand. The lower economic growth will likely impact fuel consumption in the world's biggest oil consumer.

U.S. retail gasoline prices are set to climb in the coming weeks as the new tariffs raise the cost of energy imports, according to traders and analysts.

The Trump administration also said on Tuesday it was ending a license that the U.S. has granted to U.S. oil producer Chevron (CVX.N) since 2022 to operate in Venezuela and export its oil.

U.S. crude oil stocks fell by 1.46 million barrels in the week ended February 28, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Investors now await government data on U.S. stockpiles, due on Wednesday.

Reuters

The Nigerian Police have provided details regarding the death of David Parradang, a retired Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, dispelling rumors that he was killed by kidnappers. According to a statement from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command in Abuja, Parradang was discovered deceased in a hotel room under circumstances that are now under investigation.

The statement, issued by FCT Police Public Relations Officer Josephine Adeh, a Superintendent of Police, revealed that Parradang checked into Joy House Hotel, located at Area 3 Junction in Abuja, at approximately 12 p.m. on March 3, 2025. He arrived in a black Mercedes Benz and paid N22,000 for a one-night stay.

Later that day, Parradang instructed a hotel attendant to escort a female guest to his room. The woman left the hotel premises around 4 p.m., and Parradang remained in his room. Concerned for his safety, a military officer who is a friend of Parradang traced him to the hotel in the early hours of March 4, 2025. Upon arrival, the officer, accompanied by hotel staff, entered Parradang’s room and found him dead, seated in a chair.

The Durumi Police Station was immediately notified, and officers arrived at the scene to secure the area, document the incident with photographs, and gather evidence to maintain the integrity of the investigation. Parradang’s body has since been transferred to the National Hospital for further examination.

The police confirmed that hotel staff are cooperating with the ongoing investigation, and efforts are underway to locate and question the female guest who visited Parradang’s room. Authorities have urged the public and media to avoid spreading unverified information, particularly claims of kidnapping, which could incite unnecessary fear or panic.

The case remains under investigation as authorities work to determine the exact cause of Parradang’s death.

Israeli forces kill West Bank Hamas commander

Israeli forces killed a Hamas commander in the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday as they pushed ahead with a weeks-long operation against militant groups in the area that has sent tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes.

The military said it had mounted a raid to arrest Aysar al-Saadi, the head of the Hamas network in the area and killed him in a gunfight in which another Hamas operative was also killed. Three other Hamas members were arrested, it said.

The Gaza-based militant group, which has also built up a powerful presence in the occupied West Bank, confirmed the death of al-Saadi but said it would not affect its commitment to fight Israel.

The West Bank operation, which began in January as fighting was halted in Gaza following a ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar and Egypt, has been one of the biggest mounted in the area in years and followed a surge in violence since the start of the war in Gaza in 2023.

Thousands of Israeli troops have swept through refugee camps in Jenin and other cities in the northern part of the West Bank, including Tulkarm and Tubas, demolishing houses and infrastructure and forcing tens of thousands to leave taking only what they could carry with them.

On Tuesday, the military pushed out of the now-deserted Jenin refugee camp and into eastern areas of the city of Jenin itself, cutting off power supplies and digging up roads.

The military says it does not forcibly evacuate Palestinians but has allowed residents who want to leave combat areas to go out through designated crossings.

Palestinians say the Israeli operations, which have cut water and electricity supplies and demolished dozens of houses, leave them no choice but to leave.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

US, Ukraine now plan to sign minerals deal, sources say

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and Ukraine plan to sign a minerals deal that fell through after a disastrous Oval Office meeting Friday in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was dismissed from the building, four people familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Trump had told his advisers that he wanted to announce the agreement in his address to Congress on Tuesday evening, three of the sources said, cautioning that the deal had yet to be signed and the situation could change.

However, when asked on Tuesday about the minerals deal, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News, "There is no signing planned," according to a post on X by a Fox reporter.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Ukraine’s presidential administration in Kyiv and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

The deal was put on hold on Friday after a contentious Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy that resulted in the Ukrainian leader's swift departure from the White House. Zelenskiy had traveled to Washington to sign the deal.

In that meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskiy, telling him he should thank the U.S. for its support rather than asking for additional aid in front of the U.S. media.

"You're gambling with World War Three," Trump said.

U.S. officials have in recent days spoken to officials in Kyiv about signing the minerals deal despite Friday's blow-up, and urged Zelenskiy's advisers to convince the Ukrainian president to apologize openly to Trump, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.

On Tuesday, Zelenskiy posted on X that Ukraine was ready to sign the deal and called the Oval Office meeting "regrettable."

“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” Zelenskiy said in his post. "Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer."

It was unclear if the deal has changed. The deal that was to be signed last week included no explicit security guarantees for Ukraine but gave the U.S. access to revenues from Ukraine's natural resources. It also envisaged the Ukrainian government contributing 50% of future monetization of any state-owned natural resources to a U.S.-Ukraine managed reconstruction investment fund.

On Monday, Trump signaled that his administration remained open to signing the deal, telling reporters in a gaggle that Ukraine "should be more appreciative."

"This country has stuck with them through thick and thin," Trump said. "We've given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us."

France, Britain and possibly other European countries have offered to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire but would want support from the U.S. or a "backstop." Moscow has rejected proposals for peacekeeping troops.

Daniel Fried, a former senior White House official and ambassador to Poland, said the path to getting the minerals deal done has been messy, but it would deliver two solid wins for Trump - Zelenskiy's statement of regret and the agreement of Britain and France to provide security and boots on the ground.

"Trump can and should take the win. He'd be able to say that he ... got the Europeans to stand up in front of an issue of European security, which they've never done before," said Fried, now a fellow at the Atlantic Council.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Kremlin responds to reports of Trump move on Ukraine aid

Halting US military aid to Ukraine would be a significant step toward resolving the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Tuesday.

Several US media outlets have reported that Washington has suspended the purchase of new weapons for Ukraine. Several reports have also suggested that US President Donald Trump has also ordered a halt to shipments of military aid.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Peskov stated that while the details of these reports have yet to be confirmed, such a move could prove to be a significant step towards de-escalation.

“It is obvious that the US has been the main supplier” of military aid to Kiev, Peskov noted, adding that if the US were to relinquish this role or suspend supplies altogether it would “probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace.”

The spokesman said that if the US had indeed stopped all military aid to Ukraine, it would mean that Kiev would effectively lose the vast majority of its ammunition, equipment and intelligence.

“If this really is so… then perhaps, without indulging in excessive optimism, we can modestly hope that this could encourage the Kiev regime to lean towards attempts to resolve the situation through peaceful means,” Peskov told Rossiya 1 TV journalist Pavel Zarubin.

According to Bloomberg, Trump has ordered a freeze on all military aid to Ukraine, which includes equipment already designated for delivery, as well as weapons in transit on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in Poland. The New York Times reported that the president’s order, which has already taken effect, affects more than $1 billion in “arms and ammunition in the pipeline and on order.”

Meanwhile, the Washington Post claimed that in addition to stopping weapons shipments to Kiev, Washington is also considering the termination of intelligence sharing and training for Ukrainian troops and pilots.

Trump’s reported order comes after a public spat with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in the White House on Friday. During the meeting, Trump accused Zelensky of ingratitude and “gambling with World War III” by refusing to work towards a halt to hostilities.

After the heated exchange, Zelensky stated on Sunday that peace between Ukraine and Russia was still “very, very far away,” prompting even more ire from Trump, who said it was “the worst statement that could have been made” by the Ukrainian leader.

Trump warned that “America will not put up with it for much longer,” and suggested that Zelensky “doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing.”

Reuters/RT

Rajeev Peshawaria

Were environmental social governance, diversity equity inclusion, and sustainability fads that have since died? It certainly feels like it in some circles, doesn’t it? I don’t believe they are dead at all. But the question is, why the current disenchantment with something we desperately need for saving ourselves and our only home?

My simple assertion, one we’ve been making for a long time now, is that we were trying to solve existential environmental and social challenges unnaturally.

1. We were asking consumers to consume less. Consumption is a basic human aspiration.Except for a few evolved souls, it is naive to expect ordinary humans to consume less. Interestingly, economies built on excessive consumption — that caused the problems in the first place — were lecturing the developing world to consume less.

2. We were asking businesses to sacrifice some profit for purpose.Humans aren’t indiscriminately altruistic, yet we condemned self-interest and demonized profit.

3. We were forcing behavior change through regulation. We tried to beat businesses into behaving responsibly even while we’ve always known that genuine behavior change comes from within. At best, regulation reduces bad behavior, it does not encourage good behavior. Doing no wrong is not the same thing as doing good.

4. We were using incentives and cheaper capital to channel inclusive prosperity. The Principle of Least Effort tells us that humans always choose the easiest option to get what they want, in this case, profit. What the world needs is innovation to maximize greater good. So, rather than drive the innovation required to produce goods and services that solve environmental and social challenges, we largely ended up creating financial instruments that many took advantage of and profited from.

5. We thought mandating measurement and reporting would do the trick. Management researchers and behavioral economists have regularly warned against the overuse of measurement and reporting, yet we have done exactly that. It is no surprise that the result was attempts to game the system through massive greenwashing, box-checking, and window dressing rather than meaningful action. Metrics and reports seem to have become the end in themselves rather than means to an end.

These unnatural tools and measures were going against basic human instinct, hence the backlash. What is a better alternative? To answer this question, one simply needs to look at the leaders and organizations that have been thriving by doing good long before the above ideas became vogue. Patagonia, Tata, Faber-Castell, Mars and many other companies have been doing well by doing good for decades, if not hundreds of years.

Were they less profit- and growth-oriented than the average company? No. Were they led by self-sacrificing servant leaders? No. Were they led by socialist leaders? No.

They wanted profits and growth as much as anyone else, but they deeply understood a concept that most people find it difficult to grasp: The more you give, the more you receive. Leaders of such companies saw themselves as stewards of planet Earth and humanity, and proactively decided that they wanted to be successful by solving human problems and making society better off. They strongly believed that if they created business models that profitably solve the most pressing social problems, their companies would be more successful over the long term.

At the Stewardship Asia Centre, we have been studying such leaders for over a decade now. It turns out that rather than incentives, regulation, or a philanthropic or socialist leaning, they are driven by a proactive choice to do well by doing good. We call it steward leadership, which is the genuine desire and persistence to create a collective better future for stakeholders, society, future generations, and the environment.

Rather than fighting human nature, steward leadership takes today’s challenges head on without compromising personal ambition, profit, or growth. In fact, steward leadership uses personal ambition and profit as tools to solve the challenges in a win-win-win way. Steward leaders make proactive choices (of creating profitable solutions to social and environmental challenges) that stem from underlying values.

CNBC