One happy exception to this rule is Ed O’Reilly, who helped build and co-found a successful software development business after several failures of his own. And while he learned a fair amount from his own missteps, he often found answers and lessons needed in the books he read. 

The first thing he learnt to do was to pivot. His original career path was to become an actuary, but events conspired to interest him in programming. “I never used any of the complex maths from actuarial science in business, but because I was used to learning such complicated things, learning to code afterward was reasonably easy by comparison,” he explains. 

O’Reilly made the switch after realising that he didn’t want to spend his life calculating pension fund profitability. He also knew he needed an outlet for his knowledge and creativity, so he got into software development. 

With the constant need to improve himself and the business, books were a source of guidance on self and business development for him. This, combined with his eagerness to learn about marketing, automation and networking, meant that he often read and for many hours at a time. He still does. 

When the business, Nona Digital, was acquired by Yoco, O’Reilly moved into the position of head of capability for the African FinTech company. Looking back at the books that helped him on his journey, he singled out five worthy of a special mention.

Traction by Gino Wickman 

The first entry on his recommendation list is a book that is suitable for both early- and late-stage businesses. It is specific with actionable practices, rules and approaches to running a business and provides an entrepreneurial operating system. 

“Implementing Traction took our business to the next level and forever changed the way I run companies and lead people,” says O’Reilly. 

Wickman shows entrepreneurs many simple yet effective ways to run their companies with more focus, growth and enjoyment. It is certainly helpful for any entrepreneur at any stage of their business growth. 

Multipliers by Greg McKeown and Liz Wiseman

In growing any business, you need not only the right leader(s) and team but also people who are open to learning more about themselves and how they can improve. This inspired O’Reilly’s second pick. 

The core idea in this book is that brilliant people are either multipliers or diminishers of those around them. “Truly great individual performers can be bad for your business if they suppress the people around them rather than lifting them up. Focus on those that improve the people around them as the end effect will be massive,” he explains.

He reports that Multipliers taught him lessons about himself and others while reminding him to focus on raising those around him and making sure that he built a team willing to do the same. 

It focuses on what leaders can do to inspire their teams to do and be better. This practical read by leadership expert Liz Wiseman and management consultant Greg McKeown expands on different leadership styles and how specific methods can drive new ideas, organisational changes and innovation. 

After closing this book, you’ll know if you’re a multiplier or diminisher. But if you are a diminisher, you can still change by implementing the tips provided, says O’Reilly. 

Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller 

At this point, you might have the right business strategy and a team that can drive it home, but how will they do that? Knowing how to market what you’re selling takes us to his next recommendation. 

He describes this as “the best book on marketing ever,” and here’s why: It is simply written yet powerful as it makes readers think about the narrative and positioning of their business. “After reading this, we fundamentally altered our course for the better, and I will apply the lessons therein in every business I’m ever involved in,” insists O’Reilly. 

As it happens, Building a Story Brand is also recommended by Darrah Brustein, founder, author and life coach, in An Entrepreneur’s Book Guide for 2022. 

Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson

In focusing on his journey and self-development, the next book resonated with him. It covers various topics from ancient cultures to neuroscience and modern Christianity. 

While reading this, he learnt not to “casually dismiss the hard-fought lessons of the past and assume that I am an independent entity and not a product of the culture I’ve grown up in.” In doing so, he started appreciating historical efforts and approaches and used the lessons to build his own path. 

It begs the question, “Why have people from different cultures and eras formulated myths and stories with similar structures? What does this similarity tell us about the mind, morality and structure of the world itself?” If you are also intrigued, Maps of Meaning might just answer a few questions you also have. 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

It’s not often that a work of fiction makes a list of business book recommendations, but O’Reilly isn’t alone in this one. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, SpaceX and a few other companies, also named The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy a source of inspiration. 

“Adams makes this point that it’s actually the question that is harder than the answer,” explains Musk. 

For his part, O’Reilly says Adams’ classic – actually five or six books in one – provided a valuable lesson. “The world is a silly place. Don’t take things, or yourself, too seriously. Stop and laugh at all the ridiculous things around you and let your imagination run wild.” 

You might also have difficult questions that you need to answer, and the first and best place to start looking for those answers is by opening a book, as great entrepreneurs do. 

Inc

Stock investors recorded a significant loss of N671bn on Tuesday at the Nigerian equity market which had posted a strong start at the beginning of the second half of the year, signaling President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The All-Share Index closed at 60,715.04 index points, 1.99 per cent less than the 61,949.24 index points it recorded at the end of the previous trading day.

In a remarkable one-day loss, the market value of shares fell by N671bn, (1.99 per cent), to N33.06tn at the close of trading. This was from N33.731tn recorded in the previous day’s session.

CHIPLC, ETERNA, and CHAMS topped the gainers list, appreciating by 10 per cent, 9.96 per cent and 9.88 per cent, respectively.

LASACO, PZ, and WEMABANK led the losers, going down by -13.86 per cent, -10.00 per cent and –9.98 per cent respectively.

The value of shares exchanged was N12.21bn, 13.03 per cent lower than the N14.04bn recorded in the previous day’s session.

In terms of volume, 1.11 billion shares were exchanged, in contrast to 1.20 million traded during the previous session.

FCMB, STERLING and TRANSCORP ranked as the most traded stocks, with 180.75 million, 107.54 million and 105.87 million units of shares traded respectively.

Value-wise, the top three traded shares were ACCESSCORP (N1.34bn), UBA (N1.12bn), and FCMB (N981.47m).

Tuesday’s bearish trend brings to an end a market rally that saw investors record impressive gains to close the first half of the year on a positive note.

The N671bn loss eclipses the N533bn gain recorded on Monday, as investors chose to take profit following an impressive market rally streak.

Punch

MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria have emerged as the most capitalised companies in the country with N5.56 trillion and N4.49trn to lead eight other companies on the stock exchange’s 10 most capitalised companies in June. 

In a data released by the exchange yesterday, the two telecom operators’ combined N10.5trn capital base gave the ICT sector an edge over the industrial goods sector which parades Dangote and BUA with a combined capital of N7.98trn, and the consumer goods sector which has Nestle and BUA with N3.43trn. 

Data shows that the financial sector got N2.11trn while oil and gas had N823.7billion and utility sector N750bn. 

In the last three years, the ICT sector has been leading other sectors in their contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had said the telecommunication industry has recorded over $70 billion in investment in the past 22 years.

“From $500 million investments in the sector as of 2001, the telecommunications industry has recorded over $70 billion investment till date,”  the NCC said.

Daily Trust

Nigeria is leading the pack in terms of cryptocurrency awareness, a recent survey conducted by the private blockchain software company ConsenSys and YouGov has found.

The study, which polled more than 15,158 people in 15 countries, showed that 92% of the world’s population are aware of cryptocurrencies, with some 99% of Nigerian respondents demonstrating awareness of crypto.
Speaking to RT, crypto experts from the West African nation highlighted the misconception that Nigeria lacks technological prowess, saying the country has seen a remarkable increase in the exploration of the digital economy, a trend that is being embraced by both young and old people.

Crypto enthusiast Adiele Great said he lost a freelance job due to difficulties receiving payments from outside Nigeria, but the blockchain technology now lets him “collect payment easily and instantly.”

In May, Nigeria’s federal government approved the implementation of its National Blockchain Policy to assist the country in developing a regulatory framework to govern the technology’s adoption.

Blockchain expert Chukwuemeka Gerald said that, if it’s properly implemented, the policy will benefit the Nigerian economy.

“The government actually has a huge role to play,” Chukwuemeka said, explaining that the West African nation has been studying the cryptocurrency sector successes of the United Arab Emirates government.

“If you understand the likes of the United Arab Emirates, these guys are actually taxing crypto companies and Web3 companies and giving them good regulations and also a level playing ground for them to come in and establish their business,” he stated, adding that it can be a “win-win” situation for both government and operators.

Russia Today

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Tuesday, closed its defence after calling its only witness to testify in opposition to the petition filed by Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).

INEC’s lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud, announced the closure of the first respondent’s case after its witness, Lawrence Bayode, a Deputy Director in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department of the commission, finished testifying.

The electoral commission similarly closed its case concerning the petition filed by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with Bayode also testifying as its sole witness.

Atiku’s legal team took advantage of the INEC witness to tender the European Union ((EU) Observers’ final report, which was critical of the 25 February presidential election, as an exhibit in court on Monday.

Both Atiku and Obi are by their separate petitions challenging the outcome of the 25 February poll, which had President Bola Tinubu as the winner.

Before calling on Bayode to testify in Obi’s case on Tuesday, the INEC lawyer tendered some documents which were admitted and marked as exhibits.

Led in evidence by Mahmood, the witness told the court that he worked for INEC for 24 years.

Cross-examination

Under cross-examination by Patrick Ikwueto, counsel for the petitioners, the witness told the court that the testing of the software application for the election was carried out on 4 February.

He added that there was a report on the testing, but it was not with him in the court.

The petitioners tendered the e-transmission saver web and compliance form through the witness. The court admitted and marked the documents as exhibits.

The witness told the court that the pre-production test was conducted before the election.

He was asked if the hard copy of the results would differ from the ones in the IreV portal (an online portal designed to receive and display photographic photos of polling unit results in real time. He said no.

He, however, added that anything could happen when sending the results from form EC8A (polling unit result sheet) to the IreV.

He admitted that performance, functionality and vulnerability tests were conducted before the election.

The witness agreed with Ikwueto that the report of the e-transmission application identifies remediation to be undertaken to resolve the high vulnerability identified in the report.

The witness said he does not know INEC ‘s web address where its materials are published.

While also cross-examining the witness, Wole Olanipekun, counsel for President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, asked if the foundation and authenticity of any election by INEC are rooted in forms EC8A and EC8E, the witness said yes.

The witness added that blurred documents downloaded from INEC IreV would not affect the physical results in form EC8A because the image is irrelevant.

He said the election ends with the recording, snapping and sending of results to INEC‘s IreV.

Answering questions from APC counsel Lateef Fagbemi, the witness said the physical results are used for computing the election’s final results.

He said the glitches that occurred on election day did not affect the collation of the results.

He added that if what was downloaded from the IreV was not clear, the physical results could be obtained.

He told the court further that ECOWAS monitored the election, but he does not have their report.

The witness stated that the cloud trial log account of INEC can be obtained from Amazon Web Services (AWS).

INEC’s defence closed

After the testimony of the sole witness, INEC’s lawyer, Mahmoud, told the court that INEC’s defence in the Obi and Labour Party petition is closed.

Olanipekun later told the court that Tinubu and Shetimma, listed as second and third respondents in the petition, will open their defence Wednesday.

The five-member panel headed by Haruna Tsammani adjourned until Wednesday for them to open their defence.

Obi and his Labour Party (LP) are petitioners in the petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023 challenging the election which brought Tinubu to office.

Respondents are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

NAN

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday presented his academic records before the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja.

Tinubu tendered the academic records obtained from the Chicago State University in the United States of America to counter a suit lodged by Atiku Abubakar challenging his victory as Nigeria’s president.

The electoral commission, INEC, had declared President Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the presidential election, which was held on 25 February.

But Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disputed the election outcome.

Subsequently, he filed a petition before the court on 21 March, urging it to overturn Tinubu’s victory because of alleged fraudulent academic and criminal records, among other issues, including electoral malpractices.

He concluded the presentation of his case on 23 June, paving the way for Tinubu, the APC and INEC to open their defence.

At the resumed proceedings on Tuesday, Tinubu’s lead lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, tendered documents to aid the president’s case.

Olanipekun presented academic records from the Chicago State University, where Tinubu graduated.

U.S. Embassy’s letter clears Tinubu of criminal conviction

He also tendered a letter from the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, clearing Tinubu of any criminal conviction or arrest in the U.S.

In 2003, the then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, now deceased, had written to the U.S. Consular General in Lagos, requesting if Tinubu had any criminal record in the U.S.

Balogun’s enquiry was at the behest of the Alliance for Democracy, a political party on whose platform Tinubu sought re-election as governor of Lagos State in 2003.

“The screening committee of the Alliance for Democracy has written to the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, requesting confirmation of any criminal record of conviction to date against Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the United States of America,” Balogun’s letter dated 3 February 2003 read in part.

In a reply to the police’s enquiry, the American Consulate in Lagos said the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), National Crimes Information Centre (NCIC) ran a check on Tinubu.

In the reply dated 4 February 2003, a legal attache at the U.S. Consulate, Michael H. Bonner, disclosed, “The results of the checks were negative for any criminal arrest records, wants, or warrants for Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

The NCIC is a centralised information centre that maintains the records of every criminal arrest and conviction within the U.S. and its territories.

In furtherance of his quest to debunk allegations of fraud against Tinubu, Olanipekun tendered the immigration documents of Tinubu’s trips to the U.S. between 2011 and 2021.

He said the documents were certified by the Nigerian Immigration Service.

The lawyer also presented the final results of the presidential election, which declared Tinubu president-elect on 1 March.

After tendering tons of documentary evidence, Olanipekun told the five-member panel of the court headed by Haruna Tsammani that a “documentary foundation” had been laid for Tinubu’s case.

“We will continue with oral evidence tomorrow by calling witnesses,” Olanipekun said.

But Atiku’s lawyer, Chris Uche, opposed the admissibility of the documents.

Tinubu’s co-respondents – INEC and APC – did not oppose the tendering and admissibility of the papers in evidence.

After admitting the documents in evidence, the court adjourned further hearing until Wednesday.

Background

In the petition challenging Tinubu’s victory, Atiku accused the then president-elect of drugs trafficking and falsification of U.S. academic records and identity.

In the filings, Atiku’s lawyer, Uche, said Mr Tinubu forfeited $460,000 as a ‘compromise agreement’ in the U.S.

Atiku further faulted Tinubu’s victory because he “holds dual citizenship of Nigeria and Guinea, having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Guinea.”

He accused INEC of fraud and substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and the Constitution during the conduct of the 25 February election.

PT

Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, has announced the principal officers of the majority party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) – in the lower legislative chamber.

At plenary on Tuesday, Abbas announced Julius Ihonvbere, lawmaker representing Owan east/Owan west of Edo as the majority leader; and Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims, legislator representing Ankpa/Omala/Olamaboro of Kogi, as the deputy majority leader.

The speaker also named Bello Usman Kumo, representing Akko federal constituency of Gombe as the chief whip; and Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga, representing Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo north federal constituency in Ogun, as the deputy chief whip.

For the minority leadership, Abbas announced Kingsley Chinda, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Rivers as the minority leader; while Ali Madaki of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) was named as the deputy minority leader.

Ali Isa of PDP was named minority whip; while George Ebizimawo of Labour Party was announced as deputy minority whip.

Abbas said all the members of the APC in the house endorsed the selection of the principal officers from the governing party.

He prayed for wisdom for all the principal officers as they take the reins of leadership in the green chamber.

The Cable

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine reports 'particularly fruitful' few days in counteroffensive

A Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces has been "particularly fruitful" in the past few days and Ukraine's troops are fulfilling their main tasks, a senior security official said on Tuesday.

The comments by Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, were Kyiv's latest positive assessment of the month-old counterattack although Moscow has not acknowledged Ukraine's gains.

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Maliar, also reported gains around the shattered city of Bakhmut despite fierce Russian resistance. Russian forces had captured it in May after 10 months of battles.

Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, still holds swathes of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday his troops had made progress after a "difficult" week.

"At this stage of active hostilities, Ukraine's Defense Forces are fulfilling the number one task – the maximum destruction of manpower, equipment, fuel depots, military vehicles, command posts, artillery and air defense forces of the Russian army," Danilov, head of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, wrote on Twitter.

"The last few days have been particularly fruitful," he said, without providing any details from the battlefield.

Valeriy Shershen, spokesperson for the Tavria, or southern, military command, said Ukrainian troops had advanced by up to 2 km (1.2 miles) in the Berdiansk direction of southern Ukraine, despite fierce Russian resistance.

GAINS NEAR DESTROYED BAKHMUT

Deputy Defence Minister Maliar said Ukrainian forces were making gains every day in areas outside Bakhmut.

"We are advancing on the southern flank of Bakhmut. To the north, to be honest, there is heavy fighting and so far no advance," Maliar told national television.

"... Our forces are encountering serious resistance. The enemy is pouring in all its forces to stop in the south and in the east."

Russian forces, she said, were also making advances further north, near Lyman and in Svatove, where Russian troops have recently been particularly active.

In Makiivka, a town in the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk region, Ukraine's military it had destroyed a formation of Russian forces. Russia-installed officials said one civilian died and 36 civilians were injured in the attack.

Reuters has been unable to verify the situation on the battlefield. Each side says the other is suffering heavy losses.

Accounts of frontline fighting from the Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had foiled Ukraine's in five areas of eastern Donetsk region.

It also reported repelling attacks near Lyman and disrupting enemy operations in the Zaporizhzhia region, where Ukraine says its forces have captured a cluster of villages.

The General Staff of Ukraine's military reported success in repelling Russian attacks in Kupiansk in the north, Bakhmut and near the contested towns of Avdiivka and Maryinka to the south.

Russia said on Tuesday Ukraine had attacked Moscow with at least five drones that were all shot down or jammed, though one of the capital's airports rerouted flights for several hours.

** Moscow says civilians hit in Makiivka attack that Kyiv says destroyed Russian unit

Ukraine's military said late on Tuesday that it destroyed a formation of Russian forces in the Moscow-controlled Makiivka in the Donetsk region, while Russia-installed officials said that one civilian died and 36 were injured in Kyiv's attacks.

"As a result of precision firing by Defence Forces units, another formation of Russian terrorists in the temporarily occupied Makiivka ceased to exist," the strategic communication office of Ukraine's Armed Forces said.

In an accompanying video on the Telegram messaging app, the communication office showed what looked like explosions in a sparsely built-up area.

Russia-installed representatives in part of Ukraine's Donetsk region now controlled by Moscow and where Makiivka is situated said on the Telegram messaging app that one man died and at least 36 people were injured.

Denis Pushilin, the Russia-installed head of those parts of Donetsk that Moscow controls said that among the injured were a 33-month-old baby and a 7-year-old boy.

"Late in the evening, the enemy launched fierce attacks on residential areas and a hospital complex," Pushilin said on his Telegram channel.

Reuters could not independently verify either of the reports. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 16-month war that Russia has been waging against its neighbour.

On New Year's Day, at least 89 Russian troops were killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russian military quarters in Makiivka.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine shifts its counteroffensive focus

The “maximum destruction” of Russian military personnel and hardware is currently “the number one task” for Ukraine, the country’s national security chief, Aleksey Danilov, has claimed.

“At this stage of active hostilities, Ukraine’s Defense Forces are fulfilling the number one task – the maximum destruction of manpower, equipment, fuel depots, military vehicles, command posts artillery and air defense forces of the Russian army,” Danilov said in a Twitter post on Tuesday, claiming that the “last few days have been particularly fruitful.”

“Now the war of destruction is equal to the war of kilometers. More destroyed means more liberated,” he added.

Danilov’s remark is the latest in an apparent damage-control effort launched by Kiev to explain the lack of any meaningful results in its long-heralded counteroffensive effort, which has been going on for about a month already. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky acknowledged in mid-June that the progress of the counteroffensive was “slower than desired.”

Multiple senior Ukrainian officials have insisted that expectations about the campaign have been blown out of proportion, with Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov even claiming the intense warfare was merely a “preview” and totally “not the main event,” which had been hyped up for months.

The counteroffensive “preview” has resulted in heavy casualties for the Ukrainian military, which lost thousands of personnel and hundreds of pieces of hardware over the past month, including multiple Western-supplied combat vehicles such as US-made Bradley IFVs and German-made Leopard 2 tanks.

Thus far, Kiev has lost 16 Leopard 2 tanks, which, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Monday, “practically amounts to 100% of the tanks of this type supplied by Poland and Portugal.” He further alleged that Ukraine’s foreign sponsors were pressuring Kiev to continue assaults on Russian positions despite the loss of some 2,500 pieces of heavy weaponry during the conflict.

** Russian air defenses down two Ukrainian Su-25 ground attack planes over past day

Russian air defense forces shot down two Ukrainian Su-25 ground attack planes, intercepted five rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and destroyed 14 enemy drones over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Tuesday.

"Air defense capabilities shot down two Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 planes near the settlements of Georgiyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Orekhov in the Zaporozhye Region. Five rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system were intercepted over the past 24 hours," the spokesman said.

In addition, Russian air defenses destroyed 14 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Ploshchanka and Topolevka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Krynki and Sagy in the Kherson Region, Gladkoye, Nesteryanka and Inzhenernoye in the Zaporozhye Region, the general reported.

Reuters/RT/Tass

Fighting rages in Sudan's capital as army tries to cut off supply routes

Fierce battles broke out on Tuesday across Omdurman, the western part of Sudan's wider capital, as the army tried cut off supply routes used by its paramilitary rivals to bring reinforcements into the city.

The army launched air strikes and heavy artillery, and there were ground battles in several parts of Omdurman, witnesses said. The RSF said it had shot down a fighter jet, and residents posted footage that appeared to show pilots ejecting from a plane. There was no immediate comment from the army.

Conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on April 15, bringing daily clashes to the capital, triggering ethnically-motivated killings in the western region of Darfur, and threatening to drag Sudan into a protracted civil war.

The RSF quickly took control of swathes of the capital and has brought in extra fighters from Darfur and Kordofan as the conflict has deepened, transferring them across bridges from Omdurman to Bahri and Khartoum, the other two cities that make up the wider capital across the confluence of the River Nile.

Residents said Tuesday's clashes in Omdurman were the heaviest for weeks, and that as the army tried to gain ground it was also fending off an RSF attack against a police base.

"There's been very heavy bombardment for hours, air strikes, artillery and bullets. It's the first time for us that there have been continuous strikes at this level from every direction," said Manahel Abbas, a 33-year-old resident of Omdurman's Al-Thawra neighbourhood.

The conflict broke out amid disputes over an internationally-backed plan for a transition towards civilian rule, four years after the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir during a popular uprising.

Saudi Arabia and the United States brokered several ceasefire deals at talks in Jeddah that were suspended last month after both sides violated the truces.

In a move that could escalate conflict in western Sudan, tribal leaders from South Darfur on Monday declared their allegiance to the RSF. The RSF originated in the Arab militias that helped crush a rebellion in Darfur after 2003, before developing into a national and officially recognised force.

Nearly 2.8 million people have been displaced since the start of the fighting in mid-April, including almost 650,000 who have crossed into neighbouring countries, according to the latest U.N. figures.

Reuters

Jim Waterson

Elon Musk recently challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a physical cage fight – but the real battle between the two billionaires will begin on Thursday when Zuckerberg launches Threads, his company’s Twitter competitor.

Zuckerberg’s Meta believes there is a gap in the market for a Twitter-style social network for short posts that is technically stable and isn’t subject to the whims of Musk, who despite being one of the world’s richest men spends a considerable amount of time engaged in disputes on social media.

Threads was unveiled to Meta staff last week, with the chief product officer, Chris Cox, saying the company had been working on the new product since January, according to an internal briefing reported by the Verge.

Cox said the company had already approached prominent figures such as Oprah Winfrey to see if they will jump ship to the new site: “We’ve been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run, that they believe that they can trust and rely upon for distribution.”

The comment appeared to get under Musk’s skin, with the Twitter owner breaking away from preparations for his fight to comment about Threads: “Thank goodness they’re so sanely run.”

Threads is expected to have a similar feel to Twitter but is branded as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app”, with preview screenshots suggesting users will be able to use their existing Instagram login details, easing the sign-up process.

Twitter claims to have enlisted about 250 million global users, substantially fewer than the billions who use Facebook and Instagram, but has long punched above its weight in terms of global influence on the news agenda.

Yet the site is creaking since the Musk takeover. The Tesla chief executive spent much of 2022 trying to back out of his $44bn (£34.5bn) bid to buy the social network, eventually completing his debt-laden purchase of the social network last October.

Since then he has fired the vast majority of Twitter’s staff, unwound policies designed to stop hate speech, and watched as mainstream advertisers flee the platform – a problem for a company that still derives most of its money from advertising. He has also shifted to a business model where users have to pay for verified status, meaning users who refuse to cough up are less likely to find an audience for their tweets – and enabling people intent on self-promotion to essentially buy a prominent position on the site, regardless of the quality of the posts.

Over the weekend the already-unstable Twitter started to fall apart at the seams, with the site becoming inaccessible for many users. Musk said he had chosen to limit the number of posts that non-paying users could view to 600 a day in an attempt to stop unauthorised third-party access of his site. An alternative explanation is that Twitter simply was forced to take emergency steps as its servers struggle to cope with demand. Whatever the real reason, it essentially made the site unusable for most of the heavy users who produce the vast majority of the site’s content.

Attempts to seek an explanation on any of these policy moves are impossible, since Musk has fired all of Twitter’s communications staff. Journalists who ask the company to explain its actions now receive an automatic reply featuring a poo emoji.

Mike Proulx, vice-president at market research firm Forrester, said the weekend’s chaos had been “remarkably bad” for users and advertisers.

“Advertisers depend on reach and engagement yet Twitter is currently decimating both,” he told AFP.

Zuckerberg has long been fascinated by Twitter’s influence and discussed buying the site back in 2008. One challenge for his Threads products will be whether people are willing to blend their Instagram profiles – often featuring personal life updates and family pictures – with more public-facing posts on sites such as Twitter. A bigger issue is whether people who have spent years building up large followings on Twitter – giving them valuable access to an audience – can be persuaded to start again on a new site.

Other Twitter rivals have also experienced rapid growth in recent days. Bluesky, which resembles a stripped-back version of Twitter, grew its user base by 20% on Monday. But the site has struggled to cope with demand and is now operating on an invite-only basis, meaning only 250,000 people have access to the service.

Despite this, the likes of Nigella Lawson and LBC presenter James O’Brien have chosen to start posting on the network – albeit to substantially smaller audiences than they could reach on Twitter.

Still, there does appear to be a demand to try Twitter alternatives. Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former Australian diplomat, posted on Bluesky about the upstart site attracting big names: “It’s just incredible that Musk has managed to damage Twitter so badly that very large accounts are willing to abandon sometimes literally millions of followers and tweet to, like, 300 folks on here. Like, business school case study incredible.”

The Guardian, UK