On May 4, 2023, I tweeted on my Twitter handle that “Given that the FINALITY of election result is decided by the Court, except where the INEC-declared result is uncontested, it’s unconstitutional to swear-in a winner whose victory has not been affirmed by the Court. Where’s the law that says such a winner must be sworn-in? None!”

Since then, I have received a barrage of direct messages and requests to publicly speak more on this. So, to those who asked me and in the public interest, below are the short answers to your many questions:

Yes, inauguration of a new President on May 29 is not absolute, neither by the provisions of the Constitution, the Electoral Act nor any other written law.

And no, there won’t be any VACUUM if a new President is not sworn-in on May 29. The Constitution envisaged such an anomalous situation and thus copiously provided for the rainy day, as follows:

First, Section 135(1)(a) of the Constitution says that “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, a person shall hold the office of President UNTIL when his successor in office takes the oath of that office”.

If you pay close attention to above provisions, you will notice that the Constitution never said “until May 29” and it used the word ‘shall’ which - by settled legal interpretation - means ‘must’. That means that the incumbent President, despite exhausting his eight years, is not going anywhere until his successor is sworn-in and such a date could overshot May 29.

Now, you can see that this is not about Bola Tinubu, because, if you strictly follow the Constitution, neither Atiku, nor Obi (in addition to Tinubu) would be inaugurated as President on May 29 and Nigeria will still have a constitutional President.

You will also notice that since 1999, a lot of ‘successors’ or winners of elections, mostly of the gubernatorial kind, had taken their oaths of office AFTER May 29. So, where did this widespread notion that May 29 is sacrosanct or absolute come from? It came from mere custom or political expediency, not from any known black letter law.

Second, Section 136(2) of the Constitution says that “Where the persons duly elected as President and Vice President die or are UNABLE for ANY REASON whatsoever to assume office before the inauguration of the National Assembly, the Independent National Electoral Commission shall immediately conduct an election for a President and the Vice-President”.

In plain terms, what the preceding Section 136 is saying is that, apart from death, there are myriad reasons that could prevent or imperil the President-elect and the Vice, standing together, from assuming office on May 29 and heavens won’t fall.

One of such other reasons that easily comes to mind is a Court order, usually of an Interlocutory kind, emanating from the Tribunal on a Motion; or from an Originating Summons (not an election petition) succeeding before a Federal High Court on interpretation of the pertinent constitutional provisions on point, including particularly the said Sections 135, 136, in addition to Section 1(2) of the Constitution vis-a-vis the absolutism or otherwise of May 29.

To be clear, the Section 1(2) of the Constitution that is pertinent to this discourse provides that “The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.”

In my view, both the Tribunal (under the Electoral Act) and the Federal High Court (under Section 6 of the Constitution) have concurrent jurisdiction to delve in the interpretation of these Sections as they impact on May 29.

Anybody saying that it is only the Election Tribunal that possesses an exclusive jurisdiction on this matter or that simultaneously and separately initiating such a Suit before the Federal High Court will abuse the process of the Election Tribunal is wrong, because the fundamental business of interpreting the Constitution (the organic law) is independent of, and should have primacy over everything else, including particularly a mere election petition before a narrowly-constituted ad hoc Tribunal.

Now, ponder this: If the result declared by INEC does not accord with the Electoral Act, it then follows that such result does not, ipso facto, accord with the Constitution, because the Electoral Act is a product of (and subservient to) the Constitution - the grundnorm. The river never flows backwards. Thus, any repugnancy in the Electoral Act must yield to the demands of the Constitution.

Thus, by virtue of the preceding Section 1(2) of the Constitution, inaugurating a new President on May 29 while the Court (as the final umpire) is yet to call the final result would mean that persons (or a group of persons) have taken control of the Government of Nigeria in a manner that does not accord with the Constitution.

The clearer and obvious way of understanding this conundrum is to think of it this way: If a new President is sworn-in on May 29 and subsequently, the Tribunal or the Supreme Court (again: the final umpire) invalidates the election, what would you say happened to the Government of Nigeria during the period the sacked President held office before the final judgment?

Unarguably, what happened is that, during such period, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and her government were taken control of in a manner that did not accord with the Constitution. This is a grave constitutional injustice that can never be undone. So, by all means, it should be avoided as the Constitution has enabled such under Sections 135 and 136.

While you ponder this, keep in mind that there is no express provision in the Constitution, the Electoral Act (the law that enables elections and transitions) or any other written law that strictly requires that a challenged winner of an election must be sworn-in on May 29.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no personal or political animus against any election winner. An election winner surely deserves the fruits of his victory but it must not be on May 29. It can be later or even not at all, if the Court - which is the final electoral umpire - fails to affirm his INEC-victory.

In the unique legal framework of Nigeria’s elections, INEC is not the end but the means to the end. That end is the Court (the judiciary) which alone possesses all the judicial powers of the Federation, including the final powers to declare winners of elections.

So, the smart framers of the Constitution, having figured that, some day, an occasion will surely arise where a winner may be unable for ANY REASON to be sworn-in on May 29, they inserted the implicit ‘tenure elongation’ in Section 135 but limited it by the provisions of Section 136 that requires INEC to ‘immediately’ conduct another Presidential election. If the intendment of this creative Constitution-making was not to ensure there’s no VACUUM, what then is its intendment?

Thus, in the clear absence of any law mandating that a swearing-in must proceed apace on May 29, the only reason (or justification) Nigeria had indulged in such crass unconstitutionality (or extra-constitutionality) since 1999 was political CUSTOM, and that’s because the country or the political class was desperate and thus minded to avoid anything that the military can latch on to continue in power.

Today, that custom, even though initially convenient and compelling is retrograde and can no longer stand because it is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. Above all, it is - by hindsight - incompatible with the Constitution and Laws of the Federation of Nigeria in several ramifications.

And mark my word: This thesis does not apply to the office of the President ALONE. It applies across the board. And until Nigeria gets its elections right or purges itself through a popular REFERENDUM, the judiciary should ensure that winners of disputed elections must not take power until the declaration of the final result by the last Court.

If politicians are made aware that power can only come after the courts (not INEC) have decided the result, it will work wonders in getting the greatest number of contestants and even INEC and political partisans to keep in line, play fair and desist from this mantra of ‘go to court’ which is a subliminal insult on the Constitution and the judiciary.

** Aloy Ejimakor, a constitutional lawyer, wrote from Abuja.

Before it gains traction and embarks on a life of its own, I wish to state clearly that the word “Reconciliation” inserted into some reports of Peter Obi’s visit to me on Sunday, 7 May, is a most inappropriate, and diversionary invocation. Let me clarify: I know the entity known as Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party. I can relate to him. I know and can relate to the Labour Party, on whose platform he contested election. There are simply no issues to reconcile between those two entities and myself. However, I do not know, and am unable to relate to something known as the “Obidient” or “Obidient Family”.

Thus, albeit in a different vein, any notion of Reconciliation, or even relations – positive, negative or indifferent – with such a spectral emanation is simply grasping at empty air.

During that meeting, attended by two other individuals only, the word “Reconciliation” was never bruited, neither in itself nor in any other form. It simply did not arise. By contrast, there were expressions of “burden of leadership”, “responsibility”, “apology”, “pleading”, “formal dissociation from the untenable”, all the way to the “tragic ascendancy of ethnic cleavage”, especially under such ironic, untenable circumstances. Discussions were frank, and creative. The notion of Reconciliation was clearly N/A – Non Applicable. It was never raised.

The following should be understood, but never underestimated. What remains ineradicable from that weekend of orgiastic rave in the social media was the opening up of the dark, putrid recesses in the national psyche that we like to pretend do not exist. It invited – into minds seeking a grasp on reality – gruesome variations on images from Dante’s Purgatorio. A fathomless pit was exposed, at the bottom of which one glimpsed a throng of the damned, writhing in competitive lust for the largest of the gangrenous ladles in a diabolical broth. To peek over the edge of that pit for a prolonged spell was to turn giddy, with a risk of falling into the tureen of inhuman pus. To attempt to navigate one’s way, however gingerly, along a mat spread across the infernal abyss, is an invitation to moral suicide.

For the serious minded, I call attention to essays I have offered on the theme of Reconciliation based on Truth, and the ethical imperative of Restitution. There will be further elaborations forthcoming in DEMOCRACY PRIMER III – Bookcraft’s INTERVENTION series, now brought forward for publication on June 12, the watershed extorted from the current regime as the nation’s Democracy Day.

If, from here on, I now comply with entreaties from several valued, genuinely concerned directions, and ignore new provocations, however vile, it is only because I also approve of Mohammed Ali’s strategy of Rope-a-Dope, where blind menace is left flailing hopelessly at the disdainful manifest of Truth.

Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness against omicron infection fell to less than 20% after six months, according to a new analysis published Wednesday.

Researchers from Italy and the United States looked at some of the most common vaccines used around the world, including Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Sinovac.

The researchers, however, did not look at the updated bivalent vaccines that target the original strain of the virus as well as BA.4 and BA.5, which are subvariants of omicron.

For the analysis, published in JAMA Network Open, the team examined 40 studies -- a combination of articles and reviews published in peer-reviewed journals and preprints.

After receiving a primary series, protection against symptomatic disease decreased from 52.8% at one month after the last dose to 14.3% at six months to 8.9% at nine months.

When it came to vaccine effectiveness against overall infection, protection fell from 44.4% at one month to 20.7% at six months to 13.4% at nine months.

There were some differences in vaccine products from Pfizer and Moderna; they had higher effectiveness than the AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines.

John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital who was not involved in the study, said the results are not surprising because researchers have known about waning effectiveness for quite some time.

"However this study provides important insights into the specific effectiveness of the original monovalent vaccines against omicron and highlights the importance of the updated bivalent booster in providing additional protection," said Brownstein, an ABC News contributor.

Studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Protection show that the updated bivalent boosters enhance levels of protection.

One study found the bivalent booster slashed the risk of visiting an emergency department, urgent care facility or hospital due to Covid-19 by at least half for U.S. adults.

Another showed the bivalent booster provided additional protection against symptomatic infection with the two variants of omicron currently circulating, XBB and XBB.1.5, for at least three months in those who received two to four doses of the original vaccine.

"While effectiveness against infection is an important metric, effectiveness against severe disease, hospitalization and death are crucial metrics when evaluating the overall effectiveness of Covid vaccines, as these outcomes have the most significant impact on public health," Brownstein said.

The analysis also looked at protection when receiving the original booster dose. Levels of protectiveness increased but eventually waned as well.

Against infection, booster effectiveness fell from 55.4% at one month to 28.9% at nine months. Against symptomatic disease, effectiveness declined from 60.4% at one month to 13.3% at nine months.

Brownstein said it's important to reiterate that vaccination is still very important -- to protect both ourselves and those who are at risk of severe disease -- and to not interpret the study to mean vaccines aren't effective.

As of March 19, the latest date for which CDC data is available, Covid-19 cases were 81.11 per 100,000 among unvaccinated people compared to 26.66 per 100,000 for those vaccinated without the updated booster and 25.81 per 100,000 for those vaccinated with the updated booster.

Death rates as of Feb. 26, similarly, had a large gap with 1.07 per 100,000 deaths for those unvaccinated, 0.21 per 100,000 for those vaccinated without the updated booster and 0.19 per 100,000 for those vaccinated with the updated booster.

"The findings from this study shouldn't detract from the importance of vaccination," Brownstien said. "While the effectiveness of vaccines against omicron infection may wane over time, vaccines still provide significant protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death."

He added, "Additionally, booster doses can help maintain protection against the virus especially when they are more closely matched to circulating variants.

ABC News

The Tesla founder's simple strategy to making decisions and leading organizational success.

Elon Musk recently sent shock waves when he issued Tesla executives an ultimatum: Return to the office or find a new job.

As one of the nation's most highly regarded employers, Tesla is a model for many business owners when navigating difficult workplace decisions. But whether you like Musk's decision or not, it's worth noting how his approach to practical decision-making and effective leadership makes decisions easier.

While copying Musk's every move certainly won't be the solution to all of your business quandaries, you'd do well to follow his path by fielding decisions with his simple leadership strategy: the "3 C's Rule." It's as simple as choices based on results, convictions based on confidence and communication with clarity.

1. Choices: Let Results Drive Decisions

Part of the surprise for many surrounding Musk's message was how inflexible the innovative company was when it came to bending to new norms. Despite the initial optics, Musk isn't blind to societal standards--even if he still uses a decades-old four-word innovation strategy. Instead, Musk looks at options in terms of results, seeing through any emotional biases or short-term benefits. With that, he can clearly identify the best long-term option that benefits the organization on the whole.

To make good decisions, leaders need to look at the big picture and remove both individual and personal elements from the equation. Look at the prospective outcomes and consider which option will help bring you closer to your overarching, long-term goals. (That approach is also part of Warren Buffett's powerful life advice for those that want to be highly successful.)

2. Conviction: Be Confident

Elon Musk's strong convictions make him a very confident leader. Since he makes decisions based on results, he can rest assured that he is making the right ones. In other words, Musk's convictions are a very powerful tool in leading his businesses--just as they can be for any entrepreneur.

Psychologically, people want to feel as though those guiding them know what they're doing, even if they can't necessarily understand why. It's what has led troops in battle, as well as professional athletes on the court. People follow the orders of others whom they trust--and they trust those who are not only experts in their field, but steadfast in their decisions.

3. Communication: Be Clear

Musk is so direct that he leaves no margin of error when it comes to communication. When it comes to his expectations and plans, he tells it exactly as it is. As abrasive as it may be for some, there's tremendous value in being straightforward.

For staff, it means never having to guess what is expected of you and knowing exactly where you stand. It takes the guesswork out and in return leads to better results and a heightened sense of job security.

By using the "3 C's Rule" anyone can make more strategic decisions and effectively lead organizations by rooting decisions in results, being convicted in our choices and being clear in our communication. In a world of indecision and anxiety, those who can make decisions confidently and communicate them clearly to others are those who become top leaders and leading entrepreneurs.

Inc

Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal in Abuja will today hold an inaugural sitting on the petitions filed by candidates of five political parties challenging the February 25 presidential election.

Officials at the Court of Appeal headquarters in Abuja had last week announced that the inaugural session by the president of the court, Monica Dongban-Mensem, will form part of the pre-hearing session of the court.

The pre-hearing session features issues such as amendment of writs, and motions, correction of typos, aligning of main issues in the petitions and outlining the hearing modalities and procedures.

Barring any last-minute change, the tribunal panel will comprise Haruna Tsammani, Stephen Adah, B.M. Ugo, Bolaji Yusuf and A.B. Muhammed.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar; Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi; Action Alliance (AA)’s Solomon Okangbuan; Action Peoples Party (APP)’s Nnamdi Osita and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM)’s Chichi Ojei are those with petitions challenging the declaration of the APC’s Bola Tinubu as winner of the election.

Under Section 239 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999, the Court of Appeal has been conferred with the original jurisdiction to determine questions as to the validity of the election of the president and vice president.

Section 132(8) of the Electoral Act, 2022, says the tribunal, which was activated in March with the approval of orders for the inspection of election materials by Atiku and Obi, will conclude the sitting within 180 days, while any further appeal will take 60 days.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu the winner of the elections with 8,794,726 votes, Atiku second with 6,984,520 votes, and Obi third with 6,101,533 votes.

Atiku demands live transmission

Presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja to grant access to the live transmission of the proceedings.

Atiku and the PDP brought the application on May 5 seeking “An order directing the court’s registry and the parties on modalities for admission of media practitioners and their equipment into the courtroom.”

The application filed on their behalf by their legal team led by Chris Uche is predicated among other grounds that the disputed election is of national and public interest, especially voters in the 36 states and the FCT.

The application is coming at a time various organisations and prominent citizens are making similar calls for live broadcasts of the tribunal proceedings.

Among those making the call is from the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau, at the NBA’s National Executive Committee meeting in Birnin Kebbi on March 23, and the Project Nigeria Movement (PNM).

PDP, APC trade words over plot to compromise judges

Meanwhile, PDP and the ruling APC have traded tackles over alleged plots to compromise tribunal judges.

Addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja Debo Ologunagba, the national publicity secretary of the PDP alleged there were “shocking revelations, reports and allegations of plots by the APC to influence the outcome of the presidential election petition currently before the tribunal.

“The alleged planned onslaught by APC leaders on eminent Nigerians and our democratic institutions, including the judiciary, stems from APC’s apprehensions given the weight of evidence against it as well as the continuing refusal by the majority of Nigerians to accept the outcome of the flawed presidential election,” Ologunaba said.

But in a swift reaction, chief spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for the March 25 poll, Festus Keyamo, described the allegations as cheap blackmail.

Keyamo said, “The allegations are infantile, lacking in substance and devoid of proof. Nigerians should dismiss them with a wave of the hand, please.

“PDP and its sister company, the LP have been the ones sponsoring surrogates to ‘speak out’ against the outcome of the largely free and fair 2023 presidential election when their cases are still pending in court. That is contempt of court and we are within our rights to correct the wrong impressions about the elections being created before Nigerians and the international community.”

In a related development, there have been requests for the transfer of governorship election petition tribunals of Ebonyi, Enugu, Rivers and Taraba states to Abuja.

Although the request by the PDP for the transfer of Ebonyi’s tribunal was approved over security concerns, other political parties are still challenging it.

Daily Trust

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has visited Wole Soyinka, the Noble laureate.

Obi, in a post on his official Twitter handle on Sunday, described his visit to Soyinka as enriching, noting that he had a useful discussion with the Nobel laureate.

“Today I visited one of Nigeria’s most revered figures and an international literary icon Wole Soyinka,” Obi said.

“Soyinka has been my father whom I hold in high esteem for what he has achieved and stands for in the struggle for a better Nigeria.

“His reputation as a fighter for justice and equity in our society has been legendary and we will NEVER ignore them.

“I had a very useful and enriching discussion about his aspirations for a better and greater Nigeria, and he shared a lot with me about his dream for a greater, and more inclusive Nigeria.

“I reminded the Nobel laureate of the huge price he paid just before the outbreak of civil war, fighting for the cause of the Igbos

“I cherish this Sunday visit which was intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the obidient family.”

The development comes days after Soyinka came under criticism on social media by the supporters base of the LP candidate, popularly known as” Obidients”.

Soyinka had in a statement said Obidients wear their refusal to “accept constructive criticism as a badge of honour”, while addressing criticism he received from supporters of the LP.

On April 5, Soyinka faulted the remarks by Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the LP, saying they contained “fascistic language”.

Baba-Ahmed had said the country has no president-elect despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announcing Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the election.

The LP vice-presidential candidate said Tinubu would be leading an unconstitutional government if sworn into office because the APC candidate “has not met requirements of the law”.

The Cable

President Muhammadu Buhari will commission the multi-billion dollar Dangote oil refinery in two weeks, a presidency spokesperson said on Sunday, setting up the plant for its first production since construction started in 2016.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, sees the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery - being built by billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote's Dangote Group - as a solution to ending the country's reliance on imports for nearly all of its refined petroleum products.

Spokesperson Bashir Ahmad said Buhari will commission the refinery, near Lagos, on May 22, a week before he is due to leave office after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution.

A spokesperson for Dangote confirmed the timing of the commissioning but did not give details.

The Dangote refinery's cost grew to $19 billion from initial estimates of between $12 billion and $14 billion, after years of delays.

Reuters

A Max Air aircraft reportedly crash-landed on Sunday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The aircraft was said to be arriving from Yola, Adamawa state when the incident occurred.

Faithful Hope-Ivbaz, spokesperson of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), confirmed the incident to TheCable but declined to give further details.

According to Daily Trust, the incident occurred after the plane’s tyre burst into flames.

The Aerodrome Rescue and Fire-fighting Service (ARFFS) at the airport reportedly put out the fire while the passengers were safely disembarked from the plane.

The runway has been temporarily shut until the evacuation of the aircraft.

Mike Ogirima, former president of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), who witnessed the incident, said the tyre burst occurred after takeoff at Yola Airport.

“We thank God. We are still on the runway and pilot has reassured us. He has called for the stairs and we are now disembarking from the runway to be evacuated to the airport building at the arrival hall,” Ogirima was quoted as saying.

“We bless God because we have witnessed the pull out of the tyre right from the airport in Yola and we went into prayer session. I never announced it as a surgeon so as not to cause any panic but we bless God.”

The airline is yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

In August 2022, an Owerri-bound plane belonging to Air Peace made an emergency landing in Lagos due to a bird strike.

The plane, which was en route to Owerri, could not land due to the impact of the bird strike, and as such, returned to Lagos for an emergency landing. 

‘WE’LL CARRY OUT FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ON PLANE’

The airline in a statement confirming the incident, said there were 143 passengers and one infant on board the plane which was to land in Abuja from Yola at 3 pm.

Max Air said the aircraft, experienced two tire bursts on landing in Abuja and the emergency team immediately responded to it.

“We are pleased to report that all passengers and crew on board the aircraft are safe and sound. The airline has taken all necessary steps to ensure that the passengers are comfortable and are being taken care of during this time,” the statement reads.

“They have been conveyed to the arrival terminal with their luggage and belongings.

“The aircraft tires are being replaced and the aircraft will taxi to the ramp for further investigations before being released for future flights.”

The Cable

Fighting in Khartoum as mediators seek end to Sudan conflict

Fighting could be heard in south Khartoum on Sunday as envoys from Sudan's warring parties met in Saudi Arabia for talks that international mediators hope will bring an end to a three-week-old conflict that has killed hundreds and triggered an exodus.

The U.S.-Saudi initiative is the first serious attempt to end fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has turned parts of the Sudanese capital into war zones, derailed an internationally backed plan to usher in civilian rule following years of unrest, and created a humanitarian crisis.

"Pre-negotiation" talks began on Saturday and "will continue in the coming days in the expectation of reaching an effective short-term ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian assistance," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia will allocate $100 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan, Saudi state-run Al Ekhbariya television said earlier on Sunday.

Battles since mid-April have killed hundreds of people and wounded thousands of others, disrupted aid supplies and sent 100,000 refugees fleeing abroad.

Manahil Salah, a 28-year-old laboratory doctor on an evacuation flight from Port Sudan to the United Arab Emirates, said her family hid for three days in their home close to army headquarters in the capital before eventually travelling to the Red Sea Coast.

"Yes, I am happy to survive," she said. "But I feel deep sadness because I left my mother and father behind in Sudan, and sad because all this pain is happening in my homeland."

Thousands of people are pushing to leave from Port Sudan on boats to Saudi Arabia, paying for expensive commercial flights through the country's only functioning airport, or using evacuation flights.

"We were lucky to travel to Abu Dhabi, but what's happening in Khartoum, where I spent my whole life, is painful," said 75-year-old Abdulkader, who also caught an evacuation flight to the UAE. "Leaving your life and your memories is something indescribable."

INTENDED AIM

While mediators are seeking a path to peace, both sides have made it clear they would only discuss a humanitarian truce, not negotiate an end to the war.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia urged the warring parties to use the latest talks to move toward "scheduling subsequent expanded negotiations to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities," the Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said.

Confirming his group's attendance, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, said he hoped the talks would achieve their intended aim of securing safe passage for civilians.

Hemedti has vowed to either capture or kill army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and there was also evidence on the ground that both sides remain unwilling to make compromises to end the bloodshed.

The conflict started on April 15 following the collapse of an internationally backed plan for a transition to democracy.

Burhan, a career army officer, heads a ruling council installed after the 2019 ouster of long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir and a 2021 military coup, while Hemedti, a former militia leader who made his name in the Darfur conflict, is his deputy.

Prior to the fighting, Hemedti had been taking steps including moving closer to a civilian coalition that indicated he had political plans. Burhan has blamed the war on his "ambitions."

The extensive use of explosive ordnance throughout the fighting has increased the danger to civilians, especially children who can mistake the munitions for toys and play with them, said the United Nations Mine Action Service.

Western powers have backed the transition to a civilian government in a country that sits at a strategic crossroads between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and the volatile Sahel region.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan was travelling to Saudi Arabia at the weekend for talks with Saudi leaders.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Kissinger makes Ukraine peace prediction

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has told CBS News that the conflict in Ukraine may be approaching a turning point, and that Chinese-brokered peace talks could begin by the end of 2023.

"Now that China has entered the negotiation, it will come to a head, I think by the end of the year," the 99-year-old diplomat told CBS in an interview broadcast on Sunday. By that time, he continued, "we will be talking about negotiating processes and even actual negotiations." 

With the release of its ‘Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis’ in February, China put itself forward as a potential mediator between Moscow and Kiev. The Chinese plan was rejected outright by the US and EU, while Russian President Vladimir Putin described some of its 12 points as “in tune” with Moscow’s position, and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky welcomed only a handful of its points, but maintains that Kiev will not compromise with Russia in any way.

Zelensky’s refusal to negotiate with Putin’s government – the Ukrainian leader banned contact with the Kremlin in a decree last October – is just one stumbling block faced by China or any other potential middleman.

Russia considers the conflict in Ukraine a proxy war between itself and NATO, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that any negotiations would not be held “with Zelensky, who is a puppet in the hands of the West, but directly with his masters.”

In Washington, the administration of President Joe Biden publicly claims that it is up to Ukraine to decide when to seek peace. Zelensky has been offered no incentives by the US to do so, with Biden offering to continue supplying him with weapons “for as long as it takes” to achieve his war aims. Among these aims is the capture of Crimea, a Russian territory since 2014. American military leaders have publicly admitted that the chances of this happening are slim to none.

Kissinger drew the ire of Kiev last year when he suggested that Ukraine should accept a return to the “status quo ante,” or relinquish its territorial claims to Crimea and grant autonomy to the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, in the name of peace. He has since suggested that these territories become the basis of negotiations after a ceasefire and Russian withdrawal.

Moscow has repeatedly said that it is open to talks with Kiev but only if Ukraine “recognizes the reality on the ground,” including the new status of the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as parts of Russia. Otherwise, the Kremlin has stated, Russia will settle the conflict by military means.

** Wagner to get ‘as much ammo as we need’ – Prigozhin

The Russian private military company Wagner Group, which is fighting Ukrainian troops in the Donbass city of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), has been promised enough ammunition to continue the battle, the company's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Sunday.

The statement comes after Prigozhin warned that his fighters would be forced to pull out of the city on May 10 unless ammunition shortages are addressed by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

In a voice message posted on his Telegram channel, Prigozhin said that Wagner received “a military instruction … in which we were promised as much ammunition and weapons as we need to continue our activities.”

“We were told that we can carry out activities in Artyomovsk as we deem necessary,” Prigozhin added.

He also said that Army General Sergey Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, was tasked with “making all decisions related to the military activities of Wagner PMC in coordination with the Defense Ministry.”

On Friday, Prigozhin said that Wagner personnel were suffering heavy losses because of what he described as a 70% shortage of ammunition. He later announced that the positions held by Wagner would be handed over to Akhmat, an elite unit from Russia’s Chechnya.

The fierce and bloody battle for the mining city of Artyomovsk, known to Ukrainians as Bakhmut, has been raging for several months. Prigozhin claims his forces have taken control of nearly all of the city, while the Ukrainians are holding out in a small area in the western part.  

Capturing Artyomovsk, an important logistical hub, would allow Russian forces to make further advances in Donbass.

** Ukraine vows to continue killing Russians worldwide

Ukrainian intelligence chief General Kirill Budanov has told Yahoo News that his organization, the GUR, will continue its campaign of terrorism against Russians “anywhere on the face of this world.” The Kremlin has vowed that such attacks will “not be left unanswered.”

Budanov – who heads the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense – was charged with terrorism offenses by a Moscow court last month, and Russian authorities have linked him with a string of sabotage and assassination operations, most recently a foiled plot to murder top Russian officials in Crimea.

In an interview with Yahoo News, held last month but published earlier this week, Budanov declared that what Russia calls “terrorism, we call liberation.” Asked whether the GUR was responsible for the murder of Russian journalist and political activist Darya Dugina in Moscow last year, he gave a cryptic answer.

“Don’t continue with that topic,” he said. “All I will comment on is that we’ve been killing Russians and we will keep killing Russians anywhere on the face of this world until the complete victory of Ukraine.”

Despite Budanov’s boasting, Washington apparently has the GUR on a short leash. Recently leaked Pentagon documents suggested that when Budanov ordered his subordinates to “get ready for mass strikes” on Russian cities in February, American spies, who had been monitoring his communications, intervened to call off the operation. 

Since Budanov spoke to Yahoo, two explosives-laden drones were downed over the Kremlin and a car bomb seriously injured Russian reporter and activist Zakhar Prilepin. A suspect in the bombing attack on Prilepin admitted to Russian law enforcement that he had been hired by an unspecified Ukrainian intelligence service, while Moscow has said that the US bears ultimate responsibility for both incidents. 

“We know full well that decisions to carry out such terrorist actions are made not in Kiev, but in Washington,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the attack on President Vladimir Putin’s office. “Such crimes will not be left unanswered,”the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that the “Kiev regime”will face “a stern and inevitable punishment.” 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia launches mass strikes on Ukraine ahead of May 9 Victory Day holiday

Russia launched a large-scale wave of strikes on Kyiv and across Ukraine sowing destruction and injuries, officials said early on Monday, as Moscow prepares for its cherished Victory Day holiday that marks the anniversary of its defeat of Nazi Germany.

At least five people were injured due to Russian strikes on Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said, while Russian missiles set ablaze a foodstuff warehouse in the Black Sea city of Odesa and blasts were reported in several other Ukrainian regions.

The fresh attacks come as Moscow prepares for its Victory Day parade on Tuesday, a key anniversary for President Vladimir Putin who has evoked the spirit of the Soviet army that defeated Nazi German forces to declare that Russia would defeat a Ukraine supposedly in the grip of a new incarnation of Nazism.

Russia intensified shelling of Bakhmut hoping to take it by Tuesday, Ukraine's top general in charge of the defence of the besieged city said, after Russia's Wagner mercenary group appeared to ditch plans to withdraw from it.

Three people were injured in blasts in Kyiv's Solomyanskyi district and two others were injured when drone wreckage fell onto the Sviatoshyn district, both west of the capital's centre, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on his Telegram messaging channel.

The Kyiv's military administration said that drone wreckage fell on a runway of the Zhuliany airport, one of the two passenger airports of the Ukrainian capital, causing no fire, but emergency services were working on the site.

It also said that in Kyiv's central Shevchenkivskyi district, drone debris seemed to have hit a two-storey building, causing damages. There was no immediate information about potential casualties.

Reuters' witnesses said they had heard numerous explosions in Kyiv, with local officials saying that air defence systems were repelling the attacks. It was not immediately clear how many drones were launched on Kyiv.

Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa military administration, posted on his Telegram channel photos of a large structure fully engulfed in flames, in what he said was a Russian attack on a foodstuff warehouse, among others.

After air raid alerts blared for hours over roughly two-thirds of Ukraine, there were also media reports of sounds of explosions in the southern region of Kherson and in the Zaporizhzhia region in southeast.

Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed local official in Zaporizhzhia, said that Russian forces hit a warehouse and Ukrainian troops' position in Orikhiv, a small city in the region. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

Separately, Russian forces shelled eight locations in Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine on Sunday, the regional military administration said in a Facebook post.

In the past two weeks, strikes have also intensified on Russian-held targets, especially in Crimea. Ukraine, without confirming any role in those attacks, says destroying enemy infrastructure is preparation for its long-expected ground assault.

Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, calling it a "special military operation" to defend Russia from neo-Nazis in Ukraine, but Kyiv and its allies say it was an unprovoked, land grab.

The invasion sparked the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two and has killed thousands and forced millions to flee the country.

RT/Reuters