WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces capture two villages in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv acknowledges Russian pressure

Russian forces have captured the villages of Serebrianka and Mykolaivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday, as military blogs reported Russian advances near key frontline towns.

Ukraine's military made no acknowledgement of either village falling into Russian hands, but said both areas of the front were gripped by intense fighting.

Bloggers on both sides reported an intense Russian drive on the town of Selydove.

The Ukrainian General Staff said its forces had repelled all 12 Russian attacks undertaken in an area around Serebrianka just inside the northern border of Donetsk region.

It said heavy fighting gripped towns on the approach to Pokrovsk, the next key logistical town in the Russian military's steady push westward in Donetsk region.

The popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState said Ukrainian troops were facing overwhelming odds defending Selydove - which lies southwest of Mykolaivka. Capturing Selydove would pave the way for a Russian advance on Pokrovsk.

DeepState said Russian forces with "the advantage of endless resources of infantry and equipment" were putting pressure on Ukrainian defences and advancing from both north and south.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports from either side.

Russian military blogs earlier in the day reported fighting around Selydove and three other towns - Kurakhove and Hirnyk further south and Toretsk to the northeast.

Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, said Russian forces had seized the central, eastern and southern districts of Selydove, once a town of 20,000. He posted a video he said showed a Russian flag atop a high-rise building.

Russian forces, sent into Ukraine in February 2022, advanced in September at their fastest rate since March 2022, according to open source data, despite Ukraine taking a swath of territory after an August incursion into Russia's Kursk region.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Seven NATO members oppose Ukraine membership – Politico

A group of NATO members led by the US and Germany are reluctant to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the military bloc anytime soon, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

Last week, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky presented his ‘victory plan’, which included a demand for immediate NATO membership. However, four unnamed US and NATO officials have reportedly told Politico that Berlin and Washington are “slow-walking” the request, adding that “key alliance members are worried about getting ensnared in a war with Russia.”

US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told Politico that the bloc “has not, to date, reached the point where it is prepared to offer membership or an invitation to Ukraine.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier said that it was his duty to prevent the Ukraine conflict from spiraling into a full-scale war between Russia and NATO, adding that Kiev would become a part of the bloc only when certain conditions are met.

Hungary and Slovakia – which have been critical of the Western approach to the Ukraine conflict and have insisted on an immediate ceasefire – are two other holdouts. Politico described their leaders as following “a generally pro-Kremlin line.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Zelensky’s plan outright “terrifying,” while his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico warned that Ukraine’s accession to NATO could lead to World War III.

Furthermore, one NATO official told Politico that “countries like Belgium, Slovenia or Spain are hiding behind the US and Germany” when it comes to the issue of Ukraine’s membership, describing them as “reluctant.” Another source noted that while those nations support Kiev’s NATO aspirations “in the abstract,” they would voice their opposition when push comes to shove.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Kiev’s desire to join NATO – which Moscow has described as an existential threat and an “enemy” – was one of the key reasons for the current conflict in the first place.

Officials in Moscow have also said that Ukraine’s membership in the bloc “in any territorial form is absolutely unacceptable to Russia and cannot be part of any peace plans or mediation initiatives.”

Reuters/RT

Three – maybe three and a half – stories go to the heart of why Nigeria appears stuck in a rut. And for some strange reason, all of them are rooted mainly in energy and power. 

The first is about a project, the Mambilla Hydroelectric Project. If you live in Nigeria – except you’re the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu – there’s a good chance you would have heard about this project, which is located in Gembu, Taraba State. 

In that case, there’s a chance you might also have heard that the national power grid, more in the news for collapsing than for generating power, collapsed three times last week, plunging most parts of the country into darkness. The Minister of Power is too busy making excuses to notice. 

Mambilla, rolling grid collapse

But he doesn’t have to worry. Others are counting the number of grid collapses for him. In its lead story on October 21, PUNCH reported that the national grid has collapsed 105 times in 10 years despite the government's $1.4 billion in loans to fix the problem. If the government still has the appetite for more loans to waste, the report said an additional $2.9 billion from the World Bank could indulge its irresponsibility. 

But that’s just the beginning of the Mambilla story. I’d be foolish to claim there’s one single Mambilla story. There isn’t. But this is a version from several trusted, ringside sources. Sometime in 2003, President Olusegun Obasanjo visited the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest power station in China, with an installed capacity of 22,500 MW. 

He liked what he saw and wanted the company to replicate something on a smaller scale in Mambilla. At the time, it was estimated that the dam would generate an additional 3,050 MW for Nigeria, a chronically underpowered country struggling to generate 2,500MW for over 200 million people. The project was divided into three lots at a contract sum of roughly $6 billion to be delivered in five years.

Sunset on a contract

Since the word “contract” and Nigeria are made for trouble, trouble started. Sunrise Power and Transmission Company, promoted by Leno Adesanya, teamed up with North China Power and China Hydroelectric to bid for Mambilla. It seemed, however, that that was not the original plan, which was to have China Three Gorges Corporation, the China state-owned power company that built Three Gorges, build Mambilla, or at least build Lot 1.

One thing led to another, and the Minister of Power at the time, Olu Agunloye, who said he believed he was acting on behalf of the Nigerian government, awarded the contract, as turnkey, at $6 billion to Sunrise through “a letter of intent” in 2007. 

Sunrise and its Chinese partners turned up at Mambilla, as did China Three Gorges, based on Obasanjo’s invitation: two significant contractors, two separate invitations, one task, and one divided government. But the government soon changed hands. Obasanjo was out, and President Umaru Yar’Adua was in. 

Sorry, we can’t pay

In 2009, Adesanya pressed Yar’Adua to cancel Lot 1, which was awarded to the Chinese because it was a turnkey project for Sunrise. The government did, but funds were not released for the project to commence. Meanwhile, China Three Gorges backed off at the first smell of trouble, leaving Nigeria to stew in its misery. 

In 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari came in and cancelled the project. Adesanya was furious and went to the International Court of Arbitration in Paris, demanding $2.3 billion and $400 million in two separate arbitrations for the government’s alleged breach.

Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, doing what he did fantastically well, renegotiated the penalty with Adesanya to $200 million. Buhari refused to pay, and as Adesanya headed back to Arbitration, the EFCC dragged him and Agunloye, charging the latter with seven counts of forgery, contract award without approval, disobedience to presidential orders, etc. 

Long story short, 12 years after Mambilla was supposed to have been completed with all its transformative promises in power, rail, roads, infrastructure, and jobs (not to mention the missing N30 billion Obasanjo left in the project account), the country is still in a rut, stewing deeper and deeper in the misery of rolling blackouts and collapsing grids.

Isn’t it possible, for God’s sake – and the sake of the bigger picture – for this government to end the drama around the project and save Baby Mambilla from the stale, disposable bathwater?

Wilbros war

This second story illustrates how such a missed opportunity never ends well. It’s the story of Wilbros, one of the biggest things in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in its heyday. In 2008/2009, when the ego war between Obasanjo and his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar, was at its peak, the EFCC, never missing a chance to outdo itself, said Wilbros senior officials had paid $6 million in bribes to top members of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). 

A director of the company 

pleaded guilty to the charge in a US federal court, and the EFCC pounced. Fair enough, but what was the company, Wilbros, doing, and was it not possible to prosecute the errant directors without destroying the company? At the time of the blowout, Wilbros, a US-Nigerian-based company, was building the West African Gas Pipeline. 

Dream deferred

It was Nigeria's biggest oil and gas construction company, competing with Saipem and having over 3,000 workers. The gas pipeline was massive. According to the World Bank, completion of the project would have improved the competitiveness of the energy sectors in Ghana, Benin, and Togo by promoting cheaper and environmentally cleaner gas from Nigeria instead of solid and liquid fuels for power generation and other industrial and commercial uses.  

Wilbros was at 80 percent completion of the gas pipeline project when the EFCC struck. The matter dragged and dragged. By 2013, Wilbros’ massive pipeline coating plant was rotting, among other valuable assets worth billions of naira. The company was wrecked by its inability to finish the project, yet nothing emerged from the prosecution of the big names bandied about as suspects, including former GMDs of NNPC. Wilbros sold off its remnant to Ascot, and the rest is history. 

Pan Ocean’s troubled sea

Pan Ocean is the third story. Pan Ocean, an indigenous oil and gas exploration company, embarked on one of the most audacious projects of its life. Under Festus Fadeyi, its chairman at the time, the company invested over $500 million in a gas project to feed the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System and the West African Gas Pipeline. 

It was supposed to have an impact similar to what Wilbros attempted to do. But there was a problem. The chairman, also a significant shareholder in Skye Bank at the time, had allegedly overborrowed from the bank, forcing it to over-leverage. He had reportedly borrowed about N240 billion, over half of the bank’s total loan exposure.

When Buhari’s government pounced in 2015, some of the funds had found their way into oil mining leases, including OML 98 managed by Pan Ocean, which was among the seven revoked. The critical point is that all mining leases that reverted to NNPCL, ostensibly in the public interest, have served neither the public interest nor those of the original owners. They have become NNPCL’s ATM. 

Mother of them all

The half of the three stories, actually the mother of them all, is the Ajaokuta Steel Company. It’s the story of a wasting N4 trillion asset for another day. It competes with the four state-owned refineries in demonstrating how ego, primordial greed, and monumentally poor judgment could lead to state collapse.

Yet, carefully and thoughtfully managed, these cases could have helped lessen the current misery the country is facing. 

One man willing to go on the record on this matter, Dan D. Kunle, power and energy expert and professional of over 30 years, told me last week, “It’s an irony that Nigeria is suffering amid these great opportunities when presidential intervention could turn the page and bring this country the relief it needs badly.”

Three stories, one message: Who will bell the cat?

** Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It.

Jodie Cook

Saying yes to everything might seem like the path to success. But the most accomplished people know that saying no is often more powerful. They guard their time fiercely and focus on what truly matters.

You’re not being antisocial, unhelpful or rude. You’re simply closing off the options that don’t align with your priorities. Being smart with your most precious resource: time. Here’s how successful people master the art of saying no.

How to protect your time like it's your most valuable asset

Set clear priorities

Successful people know exactly what they want to achieve. They are laser-focused on their goals. This clarity makes it easier to say no to things that don't align. Tim Ferriss, podcaster, author and entrepreneur, uses a "not-to-do list" to avoid time-wasters and maintain focus on what's truly important.

Write down your top goals. Be ruthless in cutting the list down to the most important ones. When opportunities come up, ask yourself if they truly help you achieve these goals. If not, it's a no.

Create boundaries

High achievers set clear boundaries around their time and energy. They know when they work best and they don’t give those hours away. Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, practices "monk mode" mornings. For the first three hours of her day, she doesn't check email or social media. She uses this time for deep work and strategic thinking.

Set your own non-negotiable boundaries. Maybe it's no meetings before 10 am, or no work emails on weekends. Communicate these boundaries clearly to others and stick to them.

Be direct and honest

Successful people don't beat around the bush when saying no. They're clear and honest about why they're declining. Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and internet personality, openly states, "I put zero weight into anyone's opinion about me because I know exactly who I am. Can you say the same?" He’s not scared of what someone might think. His boundaries are more important and he communicates them upfront.

Practice being direct. Instead of making excuses, simply say, "I can't take this on right now because it doesn't align with my current priorities." People respect honesty more than vague excuses.

Offer alternatives when possible

Sometimes, a flat no isn't the best option. Successful people often offer alternatives or solutions when they can't say yes. This shows they care and want to help, even if they can't do exactly what's asked. Maybe it’s offering a team member’s help. Signposting a resource. Recording a Loom instead of booking a call.

If you can't take on a project, you probably know someone who can. Or perhaps you can help in a smaller way. Suggest these alternatives. It maintains good relationships while protecting your time.

Guard your schedule

Top achievers are intentional about how they structure their day. Lauren Eskin, owner of LoLa Design Co, starts her day by creating a to-do list divided into tasks for herself, her team, and those that can wait.

Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and investor, says, "I try to be as responsive as possible, but I don't let email control my day. I check it first thing in the morning and then every two hours." Two hours is a big batch of time to be focused on one thing.

Prioritize personal time

Successful people understand the importance of personal time for their overall productivity and well-being. Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta, leaves the office to have dinner with her kids. She responds to emails only after her kids are asleep..

Sallie Krawcheck, co-founder and CEO of Ellevest, schedules her workouts like she schedules her meetings. It's a non-negotiable part of her day.

Simplify decision-making

Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, tries to eliminate or automate any decision that he has to make on a repeated basis. This frees up mental energy for more important decisions.

You can apply this principle by creating systems for routine tasks. Set up email filters to sort your inbox automatically. Use a meal planning app to decide what to eat each week. Wear similar outfits each day to reduce decision fatigue. By simplifying these small choices, you'll have more mental space for the big decisions that really matter.

Create space between tasks

Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of Bumble, tries to avoid scheduling back-to-back meetings. She needs time in between to process information and prepare for the next one.

This gap isn't just about catching your breath. Use it to record key takeaways from your last task, prepare for the next one, or simply clear your mind. Even five minutes between activities can help you refocus and be more present. Try scheduling 25 or 50-minute meetings instead of the standard 30 or 60, giving yourself that crucial buffer.

Take extended breaks

Some successful people take saying no to the extreme. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, took months off every year when he ran the company, to recharge and pursue outdoor activities. He saw it as essential for his creativity and leadership.

While this might not be feasible for everyone, the principle remains valid. Regular, significant breaks can boost your productivity and creativity. Take time off to get fresh perspectives and renewed energy when you return to work.

Say yes to saying no: cultivate selective focus

When you know which doors you’re going through, closing the wrong ones doesn’t matter. Master the art of saying no to have zero regrets. Focus your energy on the things that will move you closer to your goals.

Copy the strategies of successful entrepreneurs when you set clear priorities, create strong boundaries, be direct and honest, and offer alternatives when you can. Guard your schedule, prioritize personal time, simplify your decision making and create space between tasks. Your time and focus are your most valuable assets. Act accordingly.

Forbes

President Bola Tinubu has reshuffled his 48-member cabinet, naming seven new ministers, sacking five and reassigning 10 others to new portfolios, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The ministers of finance, defence, national planning and two junior energy ministers all retained their positions.

The reshuffle includes renaming the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development, the winding up of the Ministry of Sports, and the merger of the ministries of tourism and arts and culture.

Tinubu's controversial reform push after taking office last year had sparked hope that his administration would be an antidote to mounting economic troubles facing Africa's top energy producer.

But 16 months on, the key planks of his economic overhaul - devaluing the naira and slashing petrol and electricity subsidies - have sent inflation soaring to 32.70%, triggering a cost-of-living crisis.

Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said in the reshuffle, Tinubu appointed new ministers for humanitarian and poverty reduction, trade and investment, labour, livestock development and junior ministers for foreign affairs, education and housing.

The ministers for education, tourism, women affairs, youth development and the junior housing minister were sacked, Onanuga said.

Tinubu's cabinet remains bigger than that of his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari, who had 43 ministers in his second term in office, despite calls by critics to streamline government bureaucracy and trim costs.

Reuters

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says only 58 percent of households in Nigeria are connected to the national grid.

In its ‘Nigeria Residential Energy Demand Side Survey (NREDSS) 2024,’ on Wednesday, unveiled in Abuja, NBS said nine states; Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ekiti, Oyo, Enugu, Kwara, Plateau, Kano, and Sokoto, were selected across the six geo-political zones of the country for the survey.

According to the bureau, households from each state were interviewed, making a total of 8,100 households across urban and rural areas.

NBS said 86.6 percent of households connected to the grid had electricity supply, 85.2 percent of them used an estimated billing system, while 14.8 percent used a pre-paid billing system.

The average monthly expenditure of households on electricity, according to NBS, was estimated at N4,155.8 during the survey period.

In 2024, the national grid has collapsed eight times, with the first recorded on February 4.

The national grid collapsed again on March 28, April 15, July 6, and August 5.

Nigerians experienced another system failure at the grid on October 14,October 15, and October 19.

‘67.8 PERCENT OF HOUSEHOLDS USE FUELWOOD’

The bureau said 67.8 percent of Nigerian households use fuelwood as a source of energy for domestic, agricultural, commercial, cultural, or religious purposes.

NBS added that about 41 percent of the households purchase the fuelwood, while 39 percent collect it themselves.

“While 18.9 per cent of households used other means such as barter, gift, and borrowing,” the bureau said.

“More than half of the fuelwood are cut or collected by households, 55.3 percent were branches, stems, and trees.”

Furthermore, NBS said one in every five households, an average of 22 percent, used charcoal, with 21.6 percent purchasing the product.

The bureau added that 19.4 percent, about one in five households, use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas.

“The average monthly expenditure on LPG was N10,239.7 across the surveyed states,” NBS said.

In addition, NBS advised the government to promote the re-planting of trees, given the wide use of fuelwood. and encourage the use of clean energy such as LPG, wind, and solar.

“This will help to reduce environmental problems such as air pollution, water pollution, climate change, thermal pollution, and solid waste disposal,” it said.

NBS also recommended that the government encourage the establishment of more LPG stations while promoting local production of gas cylinders to lower the end-user’s cost and optimise electricity generation by decentralising the national grid through mini-grids.

The Cable

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a loan of $618 million from a consortium of financiers for the acquisition of six Italian-made M-346 attack jets and ammunition for the Nigerian Air Force. 

This Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this Wednesday while briefing reporters after the council’s meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.  

The Air Force had said that the first three jets are anticipated to arrive by early 2025, with subsequent deliveries expected to continue through mid-2026. 

In recent years, the Federal Government has significantly increased defence and security spending to combat various security threats across the nation, allocating about N3.3 trillion to the defence sector for the 2024 fiscal year. 

Despite some successes, challenges remain as Boko Haram and other armed groups continue to operate in the Northeast and other regions.

FEC also approved contracts of N44.2 billion for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to procure vehicles and construct residential accommodations.

The council also endorsed the procurement of one million science textbooks for distribution to the 774 local government areas, 104 unity schools, and 122 special schools across the country. 

The construction of digital libraries by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in 1,000 schools was also approved.

Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources said the textbooks will be funded through the PTDF’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) initiative.

Daily Trust

Nigeria’s biggest beer maker, Nigerian Breweries, plunged deeper into loss in the nine months to September compared to the same period of last year as the brewer’s net loss soared by more than 161 per cent according to its earnings report issued Wednesday.

A mix of factors ranging from the country’s galloping inflation, exchange rate volatility and accelerating input costs drove the less impressive performance.

“The increase in Net Loss was again significantly influenced by FX loss due to the devaluation of the Naira and high borrowing costs arising from higher interest rates,” the company said in a separate statement.

Net revenue was up by 76.9 per cent at N710.9 billion. Cost of sales more than doubled to N500.1 billion for Nigerian Breweries, 40 per cent of whose input costs comes from imports, making it particularly vulnerable to exchange rate volatility.

Selling and distribution expenses rose to N143.1 billion from N101.6 billion a year ago, with distribution costs jumping by 63.2 per cent.

With the monetary authority in Nigeria weakening the naira by 31 per cent in January, the beverage manufacturer incurred N160.5 billion in net loss on foreign exchange transactions compared to N86.8 billion a year earlier.

Pre-tax loss expanded 159.7 per cent to N203 billion, while after-tax loss scaled up to N149.5 billion from N57.2 billion.

The local unit of Netherlands-based Heineken NV said early last month in response to a PREMIUM TIMES email query that it was looking to its parent company to fully take its allotment from its just concluded rights issue.

The proceeds of the share offering, which targeted N600 billion in fresh capital from existing shareholders, would help clear the foreign currency overdue which threw shareholders fund into negative at half year after liabilities outran assets, Nigerian Breweries said at the time.

“The rights issue will allow the company to strengthen its balance sheet and significantly reduce FX exposure. This is part of the business recovery plan aimed at accelerating a reinstatement of the company’s profitability,” the brewer said in the statement.

Its financial position has much deteriorated in the quarter to September, with shareholders’ fund surging more than fourfold to -N84.5 billion from -N19.5 billion three months earlier.

Nigerian Breweries’ shares have depreciated by more than 22 per cent this year, underperforming the Nigerian Exchange’s Consumer Goods Index, which has returned more than 40 per cent.

The manufacturer of top beverage brands including Gulder, Star Lager, Martina, Amsterdam Malta and Fayrouz this year acquired a majority stake in Distell Wines and Spirits Nigeria Limited, adding spirits, wines and flavoured liquors to its broad range of products.

PT

Israel strikes Damascus, military site near Homs, Syrian defence ministry says

Israel launched strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus and a military site near the western city of Homs on Thursday, the Syrian defence ministry said, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken toured the region pushing for a halt to fighting.

The Israeli strikes targeted the central Damascus neighbourhood of Kafr Sousa and a military site in the Homs countryside, killing one soldier and injuring seven other people, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the strikes caused "material damage", but did not elaborate. Earlier in the day, Syrian state media said explosions were heard in Damascus after Israel struck a residential building in Kafr Sousa.

Israel typically does not comment on specific reports of strikes in Syria.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iranian-linked targets in Syria for years, but it has ramped up raids since last year's Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

On Wednesday, Israeli strikes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah said it fired precision guided missiles for the first time at Israeli targets.

The strikes on the edges of Beirut sent thick columns of flames shooting up into the night sky one after the other, shortly after an Israeli military spokesman issued evacuation warnings for the neighbourhood.

Another strike came with no warning, hitting the nearby office of pro-Iran broadcaster Al-Mayadeen, the station said. It said the office had been empty since the conflict began. Lebanon's health ministry said one person was killed and five others, including a child, were wounded.

Hezbollah said in a statement late on Wednesday that it had escalated its attacks on Israel, using "precision missiles" for the first time and launched new types of drones on Israeli targets, without offering further details.

The Israeli military said four projectiles were identified as having been fired from Lebanon, two were intercepted and two fell to the ground.

The intensifying exchanges of fire come as Washington makes a final major push for peace between Israel and Iran-backed groups Hezbollah and Hamas before the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election that could alter U.S. policy.

Blinken, who has travelled to the Middle East regularly during the war, is making his first trip since Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, its most wanted enemy, whose death Washington hopes can provide an impetus for peace.

Washington is also aiming to head off a widening of the conflict in anticipation of Israeli retaliation for an Iranian Oct. 1 missile attack. Blinken said Israel's retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.

CONFLICT SPREADING

But the conflict appeared to be spreading, with new strikes around midday on Wednesday on Tyre, a UNESCO-listed port city in south Lebanon, which also came after Israeli evacuation orders.

Tens of thousands of people have already fled Tyre as Israel steps up its campaign to destroy Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, both close allies of its arch Middle East enemy Iran.

The port is typically bustling - with fishermen, tourists and even U.N. peacekeepers on a break from deployment. Israel's evacuation orders this week have for the first time encompassed swathes of Tyre, right up to its ancient castle.

"We are better off dying with dignity than living on the street," said Batoum Zalghout, 25, who fled the latest evacuation zone for another part of the city. She said she had been already displaced with her two children five times.

The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah command and control centres there, including its southern front headquarters. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

In Gaza, where Israel has intensified an assault on the northern edge of the territory since killing the leader of Hamas last week, health authorities and residents reported 42 people killed in fresh Israeli strikes, most in the north.

Among the dead were Mohammed and Bilal Abu Atwi - a driver for U.N. aid agency UNRWA and his brother - killed in a strike that blasted their U.N.-marked vehicle in Deir al-Balah.

"Our children have become martyrs as they were serving their community and people," their father Marwan said at the hospital where their bodies were laid out in white plastic bags.

The U.S. has written to Israel, giving it 30 days to boost humanitarian aid access in Gaza, which has seen almost daily bombardments, or risk having some US military assistance cut.

Arriving in Lebanon for talks on ending hostilities, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said providing arms to Israel posed a dilemma.

"On the one hand, Israel is attacked every day and not supporting it would mean that people are not (being) protected ... On the other, it is also Germany's responsibility to stand up for international humanitarian law."

Blinken said it was now time for Israel to turn its military victories into "an enduring strategic success", to bring home hostages taken by Hamas and to end the conflict with a clear postwar plan.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon over the past month have killed nearly the entire leadership of Hezbollah, blows without precedent in the four decades of Israel's battles against the group.

In the year since fighters directed by Sinwar rampaged through Israeli towns killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, Israel has laid Gaza to waste to root out Hamas, killing nearly 43,000 Palestinians. The past month's strikes on Lebanon have displaced at least 1.2 million Lebanese.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

US defense chief promises Ukraine what it needs to fight Russia but goes no further

The United States “will get Ukraine what it needs” to fight its war with Russia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday, but he gave no hint that Washington might endorse key planks of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s so-called “victory plan.”

The United States will provide Ukraine with what it requires “to fight for its survival and security,” Austin said in a speech at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. He noted that the U.S. has delivered more than $58 billion in security assistance for Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion, making it Kyiv’s main backer.

That includes a new $400 million package of military aid that the Biden administration announced Monday, including munitions for rocket systems and artillery, mortar systems and rounds, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons. It comes just days after the U.S. said it was sending $425 million in military assistance to Ukraine.

But Zelenskyy has asked Ukraine’s Western allies to go a few steps further, notably inviting Ukraine to join NATO and letting it use Western-supplied longer-range missiles to strike military targets deep inside Russian territory. Those steps have met with a lukewarm response.

Ukraine is having difficulty holding back a ferocious Russian campaign along the eastern front that is gradually compelling Kyiv’s forces to give up a series of towns, villages and hamlets. It faces a hard winter after Russia targeted its power grid.

Austin’s remarks were notable for what they did not include — an endorsement of Ukraine being invited into NATO, or any indication the U.S. will support Ukraine becoming more aggressive in its defense with longer-range attacks on Russian soil.

With the U.S. presidential election about two weeks away, U.S. officials are treading carefully. President Joe Biden has balked at measures that might escalate the war and bring a confrontation between NATO and Russia.

Austin said “there is no silver bullet. No single capability will turn the tide. No one system will end Putin’s assault.”

He added: “Make no mistake. The United States does not seek war with Russia.”

“What matters is the way that Ukraine fights back,”Austin told the assembled diplomatic and military personnel at the academy. “What matters is the combined effects of your military capabilities. And what matters is staying focused on what works.”

Zelenskyy said in a Sunday evening video address that his ‘victory plan’ had won the backing of France, Lithuania, Nordic countries and “many other allies” in the European Union, which he didn’t name.

Zelenskyy said he had received “very positive signals from the United States,” but he stopped short of saying he had secured Washington’s blessing for the plan.

Analysts say the U.S. is unlikely to make a decision before the Nov. 5. presidential election.

Russian strikes highlight Ukraine’s need for weapons

The latest Russian strikes on Ukraine, targeting Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, rammed home the urgency for Kyiv officials of clinching guarantees of more support, particularly large amounts of ammunition for the war of attrition the sides are engaged in.

A Russian missile attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia killed two people and injured 15 in the city center and caused huge damage to civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten and more than 30 residential buildings, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.

Russia conducted a ballistic missile strike at Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, injuring five people, city administration head Oleksandr Vilkul wrote on social media.

According to Vilkul, Russia has conducted ballistic missile attacks on Kryvyi Rih for three consecutive days, injuring the total of 21 people and damaging dozens of residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

Machine gunfire and the noise of drones’ engines was also heard in Kyiv’s center throughout the night. Authorities reported minor damages to civilian infrastructure caused by falling drone debris in three districts.

Russia fired three missiles and more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight from Sunday to Monday, Ukraine’s air force said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Monday to discuss cooperation between their countries.

According to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, the meeting focused on strengthening strategic relations, defense cooperation and addressing global food security through Black Sea grain shipments from Ukraine that pass through Turkey’′ Bosphorus Strait.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to steer a balanced line in his NATO-member country’s close relations with both Ukraine and Russia. He has previously offered to host a peace summit between the two countries.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian troops liberate Serebryanka, Nikolayevka communities in Donetsk area over past day

Russian forces liberated the settlements of Serebryanka and Nikolayevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"Battlegroup South units liberated the settlement of Serebryanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic as a result of active offensive operations… Battlegroup Center units liberated the settlement of Nikolayevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic and kept advancing deep into the enemy’s defenses," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicts 100 casualties on Ukrainian army in Kharkov Region

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicted roughly 100 casualties on Ukrainian troops in its area of responsibility in the Kharkov Region over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup North units inflicted casualties in the Kharkov frontline area on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 57th motorized infantry and 92nd air assault brigades in areas near the settlements of Liptsy, Kotovka and Volchansk in the Kharkov Region," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 100 personnel, a 152mm Msta-B howitzer, a 122mm Gvozdika motorized artillery system and a 122mm D-30 howitzer, it specified.

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicts over 510 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted more than 510 casualties on Ukrainian troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup West units improved their tactical position and inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 44th and 60th mechanized, 74th and 77th airmobile, 3rd assault, 125th and 103rd territorial defense brigades near the settlements of Boguslavka, Lozovaya, Zelyony Gai, Novoplatonovka, Podliman and Pershotravnevoye in the Kharkov Region, Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic. They repelled six counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 14th and 63rd mechanized, 1st National Guard and 119th territorial defense brigades," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to more than 510 personnel, four armored combat vehicles, nine motor vehicles, a 155mm Braveheart self-propelled artillery system and two 105mm L119 artillery guns of British manufacture, two US-made 155mm M198 howitzers, a 152mm D-20 howitzer, a 122mm Gvozdika motorized artillery system, two 122mm D-30 howitzers, an Anklav-N electronic warfare station and a Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station, it specified.

Russia’s Battlegroup South strikes nine Ukrainian army brigades over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicted casualties on nine Ukrainian army brigades in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup South units inflicted losses on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 10th mountain assault, 23rd, 54th and 60th mechanized, 5th and 79th air assault, 81st and 46th airmobile and 37th marine infantry brigades near the settlements of Semyonovka, Zvanovka, Vasyukovka, Seversk, Dachnoye, Slavyansk, Chasov Yar and Kurakhovo in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicts over 800 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South repulsed two Ukrainian army counterattacks and inflicted more than 800 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

Battlegroup South units "repulsed two counterattacks by units of the Ukrainian army’s 56th motorized infantry brigade," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to more than 800 personnel, an armored personnel carrier, 10 motor vehicles, two Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery systems, a 152mm Msta-B howitzer, two 152mm D-20 howitzers, two 122mm D-30 howitzers and a US-made 105mm M119 artillery gun, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed two Anklav-N electronic warfare stations and five field ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts 450 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center repelled 13 Ukrainian army counterattacks and inflicted roughly 450 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

Battlegroup Center units "inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 24th and 32nd mechanized, 38th marine infantry and 12th National Guard brigades in areas near the settlements of Leninskoye, Dimitrov, Dzerzhinsk, Sukhoi Yar, Kurakhovka and Shcherbinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They repelled 13 counterattacks by formations of the Ukrainian army’s 23rd, 93rd and 100th mechanized, 68th and 152nd jaeger and 5th assault brigades, 49th and 425th assault battalions, 37th marine infantry brigade and Ukraine’s Lyut national police assault brigade," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 450 personnel, two infantry fighting vehicles, a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier, seven armored combat vehicles, including Kozak armored vehicles and US-made HMMWV armored vehicles, two pickup trucks, a 152mm Msta-B howitzer, a 152mm D-20 howitzer, a 122mm Gvozdika motorized artillery system, three 122mm D-30 howitzers and a 100mm Rapira anti-tank gun, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian warehouse of unmanned aerial vehicles, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicts 115 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup East improved its frontline positions and inflicted roughly 115 casualties on Ukrainian troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup East units improved their forward edge positions and inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 58th motorized infantry, 72nd mechanized, 46th airmobile, 110th and 113th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Dobrovolye, Alekseyevka and Novoukrainka in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Temirovka in the Zaporozhye Region," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 115 personnel, two motor vehicles, a US-made 155mm Paladin self-propelled artillery system, three 155mm M777 howitzers and a 155mm M198 howitzer of US manufacture, it specified.

AP/Tass

Each time another minister of the FCT declares yet another war on the beggars in the nation’s capital, I am reminded of Aminata Sow Fall’s famous novel, The Beggars’ Strike. The plot is built around a government that wants to get beggars off the streets so they can effectively promote tourism. The task of ridding the city of beggars falls on Mour Ndiaye, the Director of the Department of Public Health and Hygiene. He develops interest in the post of the vice-president of the country and consults a marabout who tells him he would need to give charity to beggars so the coveted post could be his. The same man who expelled the beggars not only realises how intricately the moral economy of his Islamic society is interwoven with begging, but he must also negotiate with those same beggars who, by now, had realised the powers they wield even as the so-called dregs of the society.

So, the latest man of power to declare an anti-beggar stance is the chief agbèrò of the Bola Tinubu cabinet, Nyesom Wike. On Tuesday, he lamented that Abuja city was turning “into a beggar city” and that “we have declared a war.” Let us set aside the question of who constitutes the “we” that joined Wike in his declaration of war and ask what his administration intends to do differently from his predecessors who had towed similar paths. He is not the first—and will certainly not be the last—public official who thinks street beggars are an abject nuisance that must be removed by fire by force.

Nigeria is a nation of beggars. We beg everywhere. From the international airports to the streets where uniformed men have mounted their infamous “checkpoints,” begging is routine. People do not just ask for money; they beg for it. Before you can blink an eye, they have given you their bank details to wire them money. It is tempting to think that people beg because they are poor, but then, Nigeria’s leaders too spend the better part of their tenure as beggars. They get into high-priced aircraft to go beg for everything—from money to high-interest loans, foreign aid, foreign investment, attention, and even dignity! Begging is a prerequisite skillset for a leader in this part of the world.

While begging is part of our culture, street beggars are a different beast. According to Wike, “It is embarrassing that people will come in and the first thing they’ll see are just beggars on the road.” Given that beggars are not a strange sight to the average Nigerian, who are the “people” coming into the FCT and whose outsider gaze upon them embarrasses Wike? Let me guess, he must be thinking of his foreign guests for whom the sight of a city overrun with street beggars must be a shocking realization that all the figures of “Nigeria Rising” that government officials peddle around in their search for the precious “foreign investors” to the country must be blatantly false.

Nobody likes beggars, and the mere sight of them stirs visceral impulses. They represent a stubborn reality, the truth of what has not changed despite all pretenses of economic advance and social empowerment. As fully fleshed, living and breathing subjects, they irritatingly embody a material humanity that cannot be subsumed into the data that can be pompously touted as proof of managerial competence. It is the irreducibility of street beggars to mere abstractions that makes the likes of Wike so strongly resolute to get rid of them. Look at the language he uses, “from next week…we will take them out.” I do not think he was planning a massacre, but the choice of words is quite telling.

Before he declared a war on beggars, did he pause to ask why and how they keep pouring into the city, or he is just another public official that thinks even a complex problem can be resolved if one applied enough violence? Wike’s immediate predecessor, Muhammad Bello, once also linked beggars from neighbouring states with security breaches in the FCT. He also directed beggars be sent back to their home states. In 2022, the FCTA reportedly repatriated 150 beggars back to their states. Even though the FCTA said some of the beggars would be camped in some centers to be properly documented, I doubt that they are not back on the streets happily plying their trade in cognito. Nigeria is hardly a country that keeps a viable record of either its citizens or its own activities. It beggars belief that some bureaucrat has a record of those evacuated to check the progress of their efforts at keeping them out of the FCT.

Before Bello was Bala Mohammed, who also once ordered beggars―along with street hawkers and commercial sex workers— to leave the FCT urgently or face immediate arrest, detention, and prosecution. Preceding Bello was Adamu Aliero, who not only vowed to “clean” Abuja within six weeks but even went further to engage Peace Corp members to arrest beggars―and destitutes—and relocate them. Before Bello was Aliyu Modibbo Umar who also removed 395 beggars from Abuja and relocated them back to their respective states. Umar’s predecessor was Nasir El-Rufai who also did his own share of cleaning up the city and ridding it of street beggars.

The thing is, despite efforts by each minister, the beggars never stop streaming into the city. From different interviews with the beggars by journalists, one sees―and understands—why both the able-bodied and the disabled resort to begging. Those who speak range from people who have been poor victims of circumstances of terrorism and banditry, natural disasters, bad governance, and several historical injustices, to the disabled who has resolved to turn their physical condition into a spectacle that can commandeer alms from the guilt-tripped onlooker.

With the multi-dimensional poverty that the T-Pain economy has exacerbated, Wike will soon know that he has not even started to see the cringey sight of humans who must beg before they can eat. It remains to be seen how the will of the armed officials Wike directs to “take them out” can stand against that of a people whose instincts are geared towards survival. I envisage there would be a lot of brutality to get them off the streets, but there will not be enough power to keep them off. The best Abuja people will enjoy will be a moment’s respite.

If there is another way Wike will mirror his fictional counterpart, Mour Ndiaye, it will be through running against moral economy of almsgiving and Islamic culture. As one beggar astutely observed in The Beggars’ Strike, how would the rich and the powerful live if the poor did not beg? “Who would people give alms to, as they have to give alms to someone, religion tells us so?” The beggar’s question was well-reflected. By making themselves into a receptacle of the generosity of the rich—who must regularly offload their conscience somewhere— the beggar also performs a religious duty. Without the poor who have strategically positioned themselves to receive the charity of the rich as religion mandates, the rich would be imperiled. Ethical balance in the society is based and sustained through this interaction.

Wike will eventually realise that the political-religious culture of the city he superintends preponderantly relies on the economy of exchange between social groups divided by a wide class gulf, yet intricately intertwined through an ethical system of religious beliefs. The rich and powerful in Abuja exist because the beggars—frequently trotted out to vote for the vultures who will feast on their destinies for the next four years—exist. If Wike’s peers in Abuja have not succeeded in chasing away those beggars, it is because they realise that even these “dregs of the society” have voting thumbs they can always exploit. The beggars too understand the uneven calibration of power; they know they let them express their nuisance because they have something the rich wants. Wike had better be careful and not yell at them too much. If they go on strike against the APC in 2027, his behind will land painfully on the cold hard shores of Rivers state.

Punch