In 1989, the call of duty and pull of family  necessitated that I travel from my London partial base to New York. I was  checked in on  a British Airways flight from London to New York. We were set to leave Heathrow shortly after the usual pre-departure rituals.

I was seated on an aisle seat on row 2 in the First Class cabin courtesy of my employers then. I noticed that on both sides of the aisle in my front, the two seats on each row were unoccupied. It was a bit curious. I reckoned it was either a VIP reservation or there would be air Marshals on board. But marshals do not occupy prominent front row seats on aircraft they are protecting. Those were the days when it had become mandatory for major Western airlines on international routes to have armed Marshals on board in the event of terrorist hijack attempts.

As the pre-departure announcement was about to commence, the four ‘missing’ First Class passengers boarded. I looked up. There was a stately lady accompanied by three  smart-suited gentlemen. They allowed the lady to take her seat before they sat down in a manner that flanked the lady in a window seat on the left side of the aisle. Before the lady took her seat, she courtsied and flashed a brief plastic smile at those of us seated immediately behind her with a hardly audible “Good afternoon”.

On came the Captain’s voice: “Honorable Prime Minister and valued guests, welcome to this British Airways intercontinental service taking us straight to New York’s Kennedy Airport….Flight time is… En route weather…Mild turbulence on the Atlantic crossing….”

The female last minute passenger was none other than  the then British Prime Minister, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher. That was her penultimate year in office. She was flying a commercial airline as a passenger to New York, obviously en route Washington.

On arrival in New York, Mrs. Thatcher courteously disembarked, accompanied by her three self-effacing security escorts. They just disappeared through the crowd followed by the rest of us passengers. No limousines at the foot of the aircraft. No long assault rifles, horsewhips, combat gear and orchestrated commotion, etc.

As Chairman of the Editorial Board of the renascent Daily Times under Yemi Ogunbiyi, I went to Harare to interview President Robert Mugabe in 1992. He was scheduled for a state visit to Nigeria on President Ibrahim Babangida’s invitation. I flew to Harare via Nairobi on what used to be Balkan (Bulgarian) Airlines. After my interview, Mugabe kindly asked me how I was returning to Lagos. I told him. Then he politely offered me a seat in his jet: ‘we have a large plane and can offer you a seat.’

The next day, I showed up at the airport. After the president’s ceremonial departure rituals, his aides took me on board the aircraft and got me seated. It was an Air Zimbabwe Boeing 727 with clear commercial livery. The crew were Air Zimbabwe pilots, cabin crew and co-pilots. The president was proudly flying a commercial aircraft and was proud of it. As soon as we reached cruising altitude, the president walked round the cabin for courtesy chats. He stopped by me to express delight that I accepted his offer of a ride. He told me Nigeria trained most of their combat pilots prior to independence.

I provide these anecdotal experiences against the backdrop of a simulated debate that is brewing in the country. A few voices have been raised in the National Assembly in support of buying two new aircraft for the presidential fleet to replace the current aircraft. If the kite flies, the President and the Vice President respectively would jet around the world in brand new luxury jets. To all intents and purposes, the aim of the brewing noises in the NASS is to give legislative legitimacy to a decision that may already have been made. I am not sure whether there is any provision in the 2024 budget for these aircraft or the idea is just a whiff of presidential wish that needs some legislative stamp. It is too early to tell but clearly, the matter of new presidential jets is on the table of public debate.

Nigeria’s Presidential Jet

Those who are pushing this agenda have cited recent hiccups in the performance of the jets in use. When the president recently travelled to the Netherlands on an official visit, his follow-on trip to Saudi Arabia for the World Economic Forum had to be undertaken in a hired aircraft as the presidential jet reportedly developed problems in Amsterdam. Shortly after that, Vice President Kashim Shettima who was headed for the United States to represent Nigeria at a major foreign policy event reportedly had to make  an air return early in the flight as his own aircraft also reportedly developed a fault mid air. The conclusion is that these aircraft are either too old or poorly maintained to be trusted to ferry the two first citizens around safely.  Whatever the political nuisance value of our first two citizens, we want them alive and safe.

The matter of safety of high level aircraft in use by heads of government has been elevated by two recent air accidents that claimed the lives of incumbent high level government officials. The first was the helicopter crash in the mountains of northern Iran that claimed the life of the Iranian president, Mr. Raisi. The second is the incident that claimed the life of Malawi’s Vice President, Saulos Chilima. In the absence of detailed accident investigation reports on both incidents so far, the easy conclusion has been that faulty aircraft may be the prime causes of these unfortunate events. The lazy and convenient conclusion is of course that the only way to get presidents and their deputies to arrive their destinations in one piece is to equip them with brand new aircraft. The Nigerian  purveyors of this lazy option have spared no time for possibilities of weather, sabotage, bad maintenance or indeed human error.

Consequently, those advocating the purchase of new aircraft for Tinubu and Shettima have tacitly accused opponents of the huge expenditure on new aircraft of wishing our president and his deputy dead if they continue flying in the old aircraft.

Irrespective of such morbid thinking, opponents of the purchase of new presidential jets are predicating their contention on purely socio-economic reasons. The self evident argument is that the purchase of new presidential jets cannot qualify as a priority given the sorry state of the national economy and the avalanche of problems and hardships that Nigerians are currently living with. The facts are self-evident.

The nation is in a poor shape. Hunger and poverty are too prevalent. Everyone is unsafe as swarms of bandits and casual killers are all over the place taking lives and inflicting harm sometimes for the fun of it. Healthcare is beyond reach as the prices of essential drugs and medications have shot through the roof. The state itself has its back on the wall as most economic indicators – inflation, exchange rate, interest rates, unemployment, foreign investment etc - are all flashing red. The matter of new presidential jets in those circumstances becomes a matter of deficient prioritization. Why would we prioritize the procurement of luxury jets when the vast majority of our people are in desperate deprivation while the government is preaching sacrifice and imposing a battery of inexcusable taxes on everyone for the most essential service and public goods?

The political opposition has weighed down heavily on even the mere suggestion that any government of Nigeria in these circumstances would even dream of additional luxury jets for Tinubu and Shettima in these times. Justifiably, the opposition has pointed at recent instances of unnecessary luxurious indulgence by the administration in the 2024 budget. They point at the purchase of countless expensive luxury SUVs for legislators and high government officials, the contentious presidential yacht, the expensive new habitations for the Vice President, the expensive refurbishment of official residences and offices of the already over indulged executives, etc. The obvious conclusion is of course that a government that can prioritize unnecessary items of luxury at huge costs while the people wallow in poverty and extreme deprivation can only be insensitive and callously indifferent.

Yet the transportation of Presidents, Vice Presidents and other key officials of state have become part of the architecture of the modern nation state. The Presidential jet in particular has become an emblem of national prestige and status. In some ways, the size, functionality and opulence of a country’s presidential jet has become an unstated indicator of the diplomatic gravity of the nation in question. However, the presidential jet as an indicator of national strength and grandeur is more meaningful when the nation in question is an industrial power and therefore produces the aircraft used by the leader to project and exhibit national power and greatness. America’s Air Force One, Vladimir Putin’s clone of the American model or Mr Xi Jiping’s aircraft or that of Narendra Modi have all become emblems of the greatness and technological advancement of these countries.

As a matter of fact, Air Force One is not a badge name permanently affixed to any one aircraft. It is merely a call sign. Any aircraft in which the US President is travelling at any given time is called Air Force One! The customized Boeing 747 normally associated with the Air Force One label is merely an emblematic showpiece. It is not only one. There are more than one with the same specifications, outfitting, self-protection counter measures and communication gear such that the president of the United States can literally run his country and the world from the aircraft anywhere in the world.

On the basis of its stature as the biggest black nation in the world, the Nigerian president should not travel in dilapidated aircraft that park up at every stop. Minimally, our presidential aircraft should be air worthy and reasonably impressive without being ostentatious. The current aircraft in use is a modest Boeing 737 Executive jet that actually understates Nigeria’s stature. Any two penny American company Chief Executive owns or flies in something better and more impressive. We should do better.  But the time is wrong to even contemplate a fleet of new aircraft. It is not just enough to purchase one aircraft each for the President and Vice President respectively. Ideally the shopping list ought to be for at least two – a main and a back up – for each of them. But we cannot afford these now.

There are options that could be cost saving. The first is to fly the present Boeing 737 Business jet in use by the President back to the Boeing factory in Seattle, Washington  for a thorough comprehensive factory overhaul. That would be less expensive than ordering a brand new custom made aircraft. The overhauled and updated aircraft should serve our president another couple of years while the pressing issues in the nation’s economy are hopefully fixed. The amount of savings made on such an overhaul alternative should be made public.

A more realistic, politically savvy option would be to hire one of Air Peace’s Boeing 777 long range aircraft each time the president has to make a long distance journey. For the purpose of such a hire, the hired aircraft will carry the call sign of “Nigerian Air Force One” till it finishes the mission. For the purpose of such an arrangement, the Nigerian Air Force should have a presence in the cockpit of the aircraft in question. This arrangement would be realistic, cost effective and patriotic. The political capital would complement the economic gains and give the president a win-win dividend at home where his popularity rating is at best abysmal.

If reason fails, the Kamikaze option would be the one that is already being rehearsed. Get National Assembly approval for new jets, submit a supplementary budget to accommodate the cost of these new jets, order the aircraft but continue to hire or travel by commercial aircraft till the new jets are delivered. There will be both turbulent headwinds and violent tailwinds with this option. But for a government that can withdraw fuel subsidy, devalue the Naira, revert to the old national anthem overnight and sign the N18 trillion Lagos- Calabar Alaskan highway contract and damn the consequences, mere controversy over aircraft purchase may just be a passing noise. Heavens will not fall, so their thinking at the Villa goes. But what if Nigeria falls apart?

Taking a daily multivitamin does not help people to live any longer and may actually increase the risk of an early death, a major study has found.

Researchers in the US analysed health records from nearly 400,000 adults with no major long-term diseases to see whether daily multivitamins reduced their risk of death over the next two decades.

Rather than living longer, people who consumed daily multivitamins were marginally more likely than non-users to die in the study period, prompting the government researchers to comment that “multivitamin use to improve longevity is not supported”.

Nearly half of UK adults take multivitamins or dietary supplements once a week or more, part of a domestic market worth more than half a billion pounds annually. The global market for the supplements is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars each year. In the US, a third of adults use multivitamins in the hope of preventing disease.

But despite the popularity of multivitamins, researchers have questioned the health benefits and even warned that the supplements can be harmful. While natural food sources of beta-carotene protect against cancer, for example, beta-carotene supplements can raise the risk of lung cancer and heart disease, suggesting the supplements are missing important ingredients. Meanwhile iron, which is added to many multivitamins, can lead to iron overload and raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia.

For the latest work, Dr Erikka Loftfield and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland analysed data from three major US health studies. All launched in the 1990s and gathered details on participants’ daily multivitamin use. The records covered 390,124 generally healthy adults who were followed for more than 20 years.

The researchers found no evidence that daily multivitamins reduced the risk of death and reported instead a 4% higher mortality risk among users in the initial years of follow-up. The greater risk of death may reflect the harms multivitamins can cause or a trend for people to start daily multivitamins when they develop a serious illness. Details are published in Jama Network.

Dr Neal Barnard, an adjunct professor of medicine at George Washington University and co-author of a commentary published alongside the study, said vitamins were useful in specific cases. Historically, sailors were saved from scurvy by vitamin C, while beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and zinc appear to slow age-related macular degeneration, a condition that can lead to severe loss of eyesight.

It is also the case that vitamins may be beneficial without reducing the risk of early death. A preliminary study in 2022 found evidence that multivitamins might slow cognitive decline in old age, but more research was needed.

Yet “multivitamins overpromise and underdeliver,” Barnard said. “The main point is the multivitamins are not helping. The science is not there.” Instead of taking multivitamins, we need to eat healthy foods, he said, which provide a broad range of micronutrients, macronutrients and fibre, while limiting saturated fat and cholesterol.

Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior lecturer at Aston medical school, said: “It’s not surprising to see these do not significantly reduce the risk of mortality.

“A vitamin and mineral supplement will not fix an unhealthy diet on its own, but it can help cover key nutrients if someone is struggling to get them from food. An example of this might be vitamin D where adults in the UK are encouraged to take as a supplement in winter or vegans and vegetarians who might benefit from a supplement of vitamin B12.”

The Guardian, USA

Kenyan police fired teargas at dozens of protesters and blocked off streets leading to the presidential palace on Thursday as small demonstrations continued in several cities, even after the president bowed to pressure to withdraw a tax hike bill.

Turnout was well down from the height of the mass rallies sparked by the bill over the past week. President William Ruto withdrew the legislation on Wednesday, a day after clashes killed at least 23 people and parliament was briefly stormed and set alight.

Ruto is grappling with the most serious crisis of his two-year-old presidency as the youth-led protest movement has grown rapidly from online condemnations of the tax hikes into mass rallies demanding a political overhaul.

Lacking a formal leadership structure, however, protest supporters were divided on how far to carry the demonstrations.

"Let's not be foolish as we fight for a better Kenya," Boniface Mwangi, a prominent social justice activist, said in an Instagram post.

He voiced support for demonstrations on Thursday but opposed calls to invade State House, the president's formal offices and residence, a move that he said could spur more violence and be used to justify a crackdown.

In the capital, Nairobi, police and soldiers patrolled the streets on Thursday and blocked access to State House. Police fired teargas to disperse several dozen people who had gathered in the centre of the city.

Doctors volunteer group Medics for Kenya said its staff at the Jamia Mosque/Crescent hospital had been hit by teargas, and that it condemned in "the strongest terms possible violence meted out at on our volunteer medical teams".

Reuters reporters saw army vehicles on the streets after the government deployed the military to help police.

Elsewhere, hundreds of protesters gathered in the port city of Mombasa and in the western city of Kisumu, local television footage showed, although those gatherings appeared peaceful.

While some protest supporters said they would not demonstrate on Thursday as the finance bill had been scrapped, others pledged to press on, saying only Ruto's resignation would satisfy them.

"Right now is not about just the finance bill but about #RutoMustGo," political activist and protester Davis Tafari told Reuters in a text message. "We have to make sure that Ruto and his MPs have resigned and fresh elections are held ... We occupy State House for dignity and justice."

Eli Owuor, 34, from Kibera, an informal settlement and a traditional hotbed of protests, also said he was prepared to join a push on to State House.

"We may just need to visit Zakayo today in his house to prove that after parliament we can occupy State House," he said, using a nickname protesters have given to Ruto that references a a biblical tax collector viewed as corrupt.

DIALOGUE, AUSTERITY ARE NEXT STEPS

In a speech on Wednesday, Ruto defended his push to raise taxes on items such as bread, cooking oil and diapers, saying it was justified by the need to cut Kenya's high debt, which has made borrowing difficult and squeezed the currency.

But he acknowledged that the public had overwhelmingly rejected the finance bill. He said he would now start a dialogue with Kenyan youth and work on austerity measures, beginning with cuts to the budget of the presidency.

The International Monetary Fund, which has been urging the government to cut its deficit to obtain more funding, said it was closely monitoring the situation in Kenya.

"We are deeply concerned about the tragic events in Kenya in recent days," the IMF said in a statement. "Our main goal in supporting Kenya is to help it overcome the difficult economic challenges it faces and improve its economic prospects and the well-being of its people."

Ratings agency Moody's said the shift in focus to cutting spending rather than boosting revenue will complicate the disbursement of future IMF funding and slow the pace of fiscal consolidation.

Analysts at JPMorgan said they had maintained their forecasts for a deficit of 4.5% of GDP in FY2024/2025, but acknowledged the government and IMF targets could be revised in light of recent developments.

They said the Central Bank of Kenya was unlikely to begin cutting rates until the final quarter of this year.

BROAD APPEAL

Unlike previous demonstrations in Kenya called by political figures and often mobilised on the basis of ethnicity, the current protests have appealed broadly to those weary of rising living costs and endemic corruption.

From big cities to rural areas, most of Kenya's 47 counties saw protests on Tuesday, even in Ruto's hometown of Eldoret in his ethnic Kalenjin heartland.

At least 23 people were killed nationwide and 30 were being treated for bullet wounds, the Kenya Medical Association said. Medical officials in Nairobi said scores were injured.

Reuters

The State House spent a whopping sum of N244,654,350 for the purchase and supply of tyres in a single day, according to findings by Daily Trust.

Investigation and data gathered from govspend, a portal documenting the Presidential Villa expenditure, showed that the State House made payments for the supply of an unspecified quantity of bulletproof tyres and Westlake tyres, the week that the President Bola Tinubu government marked its first year in office.

Tinubu took over from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, on May 29, 2023.

Documents showed that N200,583,390, N38,070,000, and N6,000,960, were respectively paid for these items, on May 21, 2024.

The documents revealed that two separate payments were made for the purchase and supply of tyres (no specified quantity) for bulletproof vehicles and another five bulletproof tyres to Obi-Wealth Enterprises Nigeria Limited (RC-640684) for N200,583,390 and N38,070,000.

A quick search on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website revealed that the company is inactive.

Hommy & Fay Investments Limited, active on the CAC portal, handled the other part of the supply of an unspecified number of Westlake tyres (315/80R22) for N6,000,960.

Attempts to get reactions from the presidency over the tyre expenditure did not yield result as several calls made to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, did not go through.

The message sent to him had not been replied as of the time of filing this report.

24 hours after the tyre payments were made, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, apologised to Nigerians over the nationwide hardship.

Speaking during the ministerial sectoral update, he said the policies of the Tinubu-led government were on track despite the currency crisis and inflation which has frustrated economic growth.

“So what’s the answer to all of these? It’s to restore macroeconomic stability that will ensure that investors, both domestic and international put their face in our economy once again. And we are all doing this without a blame game. And I apologize for the pain that they may occasion, but they are necessary… Is our strategy, right? Absolutely. We believe our strategy is right, but it requires occasional calibration. Put good money to use,” he had said.

Nigeria’s inflation has risen to a 28-year high, worsening the cost of living—a stance largely attributed to Tinubu’s policies.

However, critics have accused the Tinubu administration of “frivolous spending” despite numerous pleas to the citizens over the current hardship.

There was a backlash the last time the president asked Nigerians to make sacrifice for the progress of the nation.

Tinubu had, while addressing journalists after observing the Eid-el Kabir prayer at Dodan Barracks, Lagos, stressed the need for the people to follow the path of sacrifice to make the nation great.

The comment had elicited reactions from Nigerians, civil society organisations, and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others.

An economist and lecturer at Saadatu Rimi University of Education, Kumbotso, Kano, who is also the Director, Fiscal Discipline and Development Advocacy Centre (FIDAC), Abdulsalam Kani, said the government had failed to fulfil its part of the bargain, especially promises made to Nigerians.

“The government has removed fuel subsidy and increased electricity tariff, plunging many into difficulty. Nigerians were promised that Port Harcourt refinery will begin production in December last year, and that has not happened. Despite these and the failure of the administration to fulfil promises, they are making plans to buy new aircraft for the president and vice president,” he said.

He said the government had equally failed to address rising inflation which is above 33 per cent at the moment.

Daily Trust

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a significant change in import procedures, discontinuing the mandatory use of the foreign exchange (FX) price verification system (PVS) portal. This decision, effective from July 1, 2024, marks a departure from the previous requirement established in August 2023.

W. J. Kanya, the acting director of CBN's trade and exchange department, issued a statement on Wednesday outlining the policy shift. The move is attributed to recent developments in Nigeria's foreign exchange market and aims to simplify the import process.

Under the new guidelines, importers will no longer need to obtain a Price Verification Report when submitting Form M applications. Form M, a crucial document for declaring intentions to import goods into Nigeria, will now be processed without this additional step.

The CBN emphasized that this change applies to all Form M applications moving forward. The statement clarified, "For the avoidance of doubt, by this circular, the Price Verification Report is no longer a requirement for the completion of a Form 'M'."

This policy update is expected to streamline import procedures and potentially reduce processing times for Nigerian importers. The CBN's decision reflects an ongoing effort to adapt regulations to the evolving dynamics of the national forex market.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The recent tragedy at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, where over 1,000 people have lost their lives due to extreme heat, serves as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of global warming. As temperatures soar beyond 120°F (49°C), we are witnessing the human cost of our collective failure to address climate change. This catastrophe is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves worldwide.

The responsibility for this global crisis lies squarely on the shoulders of advanced economies. For decades, these nations have driven industrial progress and economic growth through the reckless exploitation of fossil fuels and other carbon-emitting energy sources. Their actions have disproportionately contributed to the greenhouse gas emissions that are now wreaking havoc on our planet's climate systems.

While these developed countries have reaped the benefits of industrialization, it is often the less developed nations that bear the brunt of climate change's impacts. The tragedy in Saudi Arabia is a case in point, where pilgrims from various countries, many from developing nations, have fallen victim to the extreme heat exacerbated by global warming.

It is high time for advanced economies to acknowledge their historical responsibility and take decisive action. This means not only drastically reducing their own emissions but also providing substantial assistance to help underdeveloped economies transition to clean energy sources. This support should come in various forms:

1. Financial aid: Developed nations must provide significant funding to help poorer countries invest in renewable energy infrastructure and climate adaptation measures.

2. Technology transfer: Advanced economies should share their clean energy technologies and expertise to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices worldwide.

3. Capacity building: Assistance in training and education to develop local expertise in clean energy technologies and climate resilience.

4. Policy support: Help in developing and implementing effective climate policies and regulations.

The transition to clean energy is not just an environmental imperative; it is a moral obligation. The lives lost in Saudi Arabia and the countless others affected by extreme weather events around the world demand action. Advanced economies must recognize that their progress has come at a devastating cost to the global community and future generations.

As we witness the earliest heatwaves on record in places like Greece and the warmest nights in decades in cities like Delhi, it is clear that the climate crisis is accelerating. The 2023 study highlighting the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves in Saudi Arabia over the past four decades is a grim testament to this reality.

The projected "extreme danger" thresholds for heat stress during the Hajj by 2047 should serve as a wake-up call. We cannot afford to wait for such dire predictions to materialize. Aggressive adaptation measures, as suggested by researchers, are indeed necessary. However, adaptation alone is not enough. We must address the root cause of the problem – our dependence on fossil fuels and carbon-intensive industries.

In conclusion, the tragedy at the Hajj pilgrimage is a somber reminder of the urgent need for global action on climate change. Advanced economies must step up, take responsibility for their historical emissions, and lead the charge in transitioning to a sustainable, low-carbon future. The lives lost in Saudi Arabia and the looming threat of more frequent and severe heatwaves worldwide demand nothing less than immediate and decisive action. The time for empty promises and half-measures is over. Our shared future depends on the choices we make today.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The United Nations on Wednesday flagged harmful new drug concoctions, named kush, Khadafi, and Monkey Tail, as posing particular health risks across Africa because of their varying and often unknown ingredients.

The drugs are believed to contain dangerous mixtures of pharmaceuticals, alcohol and solvents, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in its annual World Drug Report.

Reports this week have documented the problems associated with drug abuse.

Sierra Leone in April declared a national emergency over the rising use of kush, a synthetic mixture of marijuana, tentanyl and tramadol.

Ivory Coast, in response to the high use of Khadafi - a mixture of tramadol and energising alcoholic beverages - last year banned the import and export of such beverages.

Monkey Tail is mostly used in Nigeria, according to the UNODC, which said it comprises homemade gin and cannabis seeds, leaves, stems and roots.

UNODC said countries must boost their scientific testing capacities to help law enforcement and health agencies to mitigate the threat of emerging drugs.

While cannabis remains the most sourced, trafficked and used drug on the continent, it cited the impact of an increase in the trafficking of other substances, such as cocaine from Latin America and heroin and methamphetamine from South-West Asia, en route to Europe and elsewhere.

"The local drug markets in Africa are rapidly diversifying, shifting from a predominance of domestically sourced cannabis to a multitude of transiting drugs," UNODC said.

"This diversification is exacerbating existing health challenges, particularly as the availability of drug treatment services are limited in West Africa."

It also noted that over 90% of global tramadol seizures occurred in Africa in the last five years.

Reuters

Amnesty International reported on Wednesday that at least 540 people were killed by armed invaders in rural communities of four local government areas in Benue State within the first two months of this year. The revelation was made by Barbara Magaji, the programme manager of Amnesty International, during a photo exhibition and press conference on the conflicts in Benue, held in Makurdi, the state capital.

Magaji stated that the killings occurred between January and February 18, 2024, in the local government areas of Apa, Otukpo, Agatu, and Guma. “As a result of the attacks, a total of 12,369 individuals from 2,105 households were displaced from their homes, forcing them to seek refuge in neighbouring communities. At least 540 people were killed and 149 injured due to the attacks,” she reported.

The programme manager also revealed that 55 schools were either destroyed by armed attackers or closed due to insecurity, leaving hundreds of children out of school. Additionally, periodic markets in rural communities have been attacked, destroyed, or closed following conflicts and insecurity.

Magaji explained that her presentation was based on Amnesty International’s research on frequent attacks in Benue State, highlighting that 18 out of 23 local government areas in the state have been affected by continuous attacks by armed herders. “Between January 2023 and February 2024, over 50 rural communities in Benue State recorded 135 attacks, leading to the deaths of 2,600 people, many of whom are women and children. This has left hundreds displaced, wounded, raped, and others kidnapped,” she added.

These attacks are significantly affecting food security and livelihoods, as the affected communities are predominantly farmers who are now unable to carry out their activities due to displacement. Amnesty International has called on Nigerian authorities to protect lives and ensure that the attacks in Benue State end. They also urged for impartial investigations into the incidents to seek justice for the victims, survivors, and their families.

Israel preparing to increase water supply for Gazans, sources say

Israel, under pressure from Western allies to ease a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, is preparing to boost electricity to a desalination plant so it can produce more water for people in the enclave, an Israeli security official and a western official told Reuters on Wednesday.

An Israeli offensive launched on Gaza in response to an October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas has left millions in Gaza with little food, scarce water, and failing sanitation, Western aid agencies say.

Washington and other allies are pressing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease the military offensive and allow in more aid and supplies to relieve the humanitarian crisis.

The Israeli plan, the details of which were shown to Reuters, is to directly supply electricity from Israel to a large water desalination facility in Khan Yunis, the two sources said.

The facility was established with United Nations funding in 2017 to provide drinking water to areas in Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis and the Mawasi area, where many Gazans have fled due to fighting.

The facility has a production capacity of about 20,000 cubic meters of water per day, while today the facility provides only some 1,500 cubic meters due to the lack of electricity. Gaza depends on Israel for much of its electricity supply. That power has been cut since the fighting started.

The Israeli source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the planned supply of electricity to the water plant could provide water for just under a million people.

The source did not give a deadline for when the power supply would come on line. Current power is coming from generators and solar.

The source said the plan has been approved by both the Israeli prime minister and the Israeli minister of defense but still requires approval from other ministers in the government.

"There are parties who are trying to cancel the process," the source said without providing details.

The Israeli prime minister's office declined a request for comment.

A Western official familiar with the plan, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said preparations were being made to restore the power to the plant.

The official said that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the reopening of the power line when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with him in Israel earlier this month.

“The Israelis are ready on their side," said the official. "Right now, Palestinian engineers are inside the strip checking the integrity of the line.”

The official said restoring power to the line that feeds the desalination plant was a crucial element in alleviating the water crisis in Gaza, but would not solve the issue.

There was still a need to get in equipment to fix the sanitation system, and this was hampered by the fighting, the official said.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia keeps up pressure on the front line as Ukraine gets a boost from Western military aid

Relentless Russian attacks on Ukrainian positions defending the strategically important eastern town of Chasiv Yar are disrupting troop rotations and the delivery of some supplies, soldiers in the area say.

Russian troops are seeking to press their advantage in troop numbers and weaponry before Ukrainian forces are bulked up by promised new Western military aid that is already trickling to the front line, analysts say.

The Kremlin’s military has been hitting civilian targets just as hard, using powerful glide bombsthat obliterate buildings and leave huge craters. Its monthslong campaign to cripple Ukraine’s electricity supply aims to sap public moraleand deny energy to Ukraine’s burgeoning arms industry.

Attacks on such civilian targets brought arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court on Tuesday for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and military chief of staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov for alleged war crimes. Judges said there is evidence they “intentionally caused great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health” of Ukrainian civilians.

For Ukrainian soldiers defending the eastern Donetsk region, the Russian ground assaults and aerial barrages allow little respite after more than two years of war.

“We work, you could say, without rest,” said a platoon commander who, in line with his brigade’s rules, identified himself only by his first name, Oleksandr.

“So no two days are alike. You always need to be ready to work day and night,” he told The Associated Press on Monday.

His platoon is part of Ukraine’s 43rd Artillery Brigade. It dashes to positions and without delay fires a Soviet-era Pion self-propelled howitzer at Russian positions before it can be targeted itself.

Holding Chasiv Yar is crucial. The town, highly sought-after due to its strategic location and elevated position but now largely in ruins, lies to the west of neighboring Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a 10-month battle.

Ukraine is racing to stabilize parts of the about 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line after badly needed military assistance was approved by the United States in April. A six-month delay in U.S. aid threw Ukraine’s military onto the defensive.

Members of the artillery brigade in Chasiv Yar reported that supplies of American ammunition have started to arrive.

The U.S. is expected to announce this week an additional $150 million in critically needed munitions to Ukraine, and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Tuesday that the first shipment of ammunition under a Czech initiative has been delivered to Ukraine.

Separately, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with Russian Minister of Defense Andrei Belousov.

Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Austin emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid the war. The last time Austin, who initiated the call, spoke to his Russian counterpart was with then-minister Shoigu on March 15, 2023. There was no immediate report of the call by Russian officials.

The Czechs are looking to acquire from countries outside the European Union at least 800,000 artillery shells that Ukraine badly needs. The war has drained stockpiles in Europe, the U.S. and Russia.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said it will take time for the effects of the new Western weaponry to be felt on the front line.

Meanwhile, it said, “Russian forces are attempting to make tactically and operationally significant gains” before it arrives.

Elsewhere, the Kremlin’s forces kept up their barrages of civilian infrastructure with three aerial strikes in the northeastern Kharkiv region Tuesday, local officials said, though nobody was injured.

Russia has pounded Kharkiv in recent months, apparently to draw some Ukrainian forces away from the defense of Donetsk while trying to create a buffer zone to prevent cross-border Ukrainian attacks.

Russian launched 42 glide bombs against the Kharkiv region in the previous 24 hours, authorities said Tuesday.

In other developments, the Russian Defense Ministry and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that each side had released 90 war prisoners to the other in an exchange mediated by the United Arab Emirates. The Emirati Foreign Ministry said it was the fifth swap mediated by the country this year alone.

The deal “is the outcome of the UAE leveraging its distinct ties and partnership with both sides, including as a reliable mediator among both parties,” the UAE said in a statement.

Zelenskyy said the swap included troops across the country’s military and its border guard, including those who fought at the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other regions.

Also Tuesday, Moscow responded to the EU’s decision to suspend the broadcasting activities of Russia’s Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta by banning the broadcasts of 81 European media outlets.

“The Russian side has repeatedly warned that politically motivated repressions against Russian journalists and unfounded bans of the Russian media in the EU won’t go unanswered,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in the statement.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces destroy 12 Ukrainian drone control centers — defense ministry

Russian forces destroyed 12 drone control centers in the zone of responsibility of the Battlegroup West, spokesman for the battlegroup Ivan Birma said.

"Seven fixed-wing reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense systems and electronic warfare tools near the settlements of Vladimirovka, Preobrazhenskoye, Ploshchanka, Torskoye, and Kremennaya. <…> Apart from that, twelve drone control centers were destroyed," he said.

According to the spokesman, Russian forces hits positions of Ukrainian troops near the settlements of Petropavlovka, Stelmahovka, Boguslavka, Stepovaya, and Novoselovka. "Two counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 3rd assault brigade were repelled near the Olgovka area. Two Grad multiple launch missile systems and five mortars were destroyed in the course of counterbattery activity," he added.

AP/Tass