Gaza has lost telecom contact again, while Israel's military says it has surrounded Gaza City

Gaza lost communications Sunday in its third total outage of the Israel-Hamas war, while Israel’s military said it encircled Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip into two.

“Today there is north Gaza and south Gaza,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters, calling it a “significant stage” in Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group ruling the enclave. Israeli media reported troops were expected to enter Gaza City within 48 hours. Strong explosions were seen in northern Gaza after nightfall.

The “collapse in connectivity” across Gaza, reported by internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org and confirmed by Palestinian telecom company Paltel, made it even more complicated to convey details of the new stage of the military offensive.

“We have lost communication with the vast majority of the UNRWA team members,” U.N. Palestinian refugee agency spokesperson Juliette Touma told The Associated Press. The first Gaza outage lasted 36 hours and the second one for a few hours.

Earlier Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck two refugee camps, killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens in central Gaza, the zone where Israel’s military had urged Palestinian civilians to seek refuge, health officials said. Israel said it would press on with its offensive to crush Hamas, despite U.S. appeals for even brief pauses to get aid to desperate civilians.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said more than 9,700 Palestinians have been killed in nearly a month of war in Gaza, more than 4,000 of them children and minors. That toll likely will rise as Israeli troops advance into dense, urban neighborhoods.

Airstrikes hit the Maghazi refugee camp, killing at least 40 people and wounding 34 others, the Health Ministry said. An AP reporter at a nearby hospital saw eight dead children, including a baby, brought in after the strike. A surviving child was led down the corridor, her clothes caked in dust.

Arafat Abu Mashaia, who lives in the camp, said the Israeli airstrike flattened several multistory homes where people forced out of other parts of Gaza were sheltering.

“It was a true massacre,” he said. “All here are peaceful people. I challenge anyone who says there were resistance (fighters) here.”

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Another airstrike hit a house near a school at the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Staff at Al-Aqsa Hospital told the AP at least 13 people were killed. The camp was struck on Thursday as well.

Despite appeals and overseas protests, Israel has continued its bombardment across Gaza, saying it is targeting Hamas and accusing the militant of using civilians as human shields. Critics say Israel’s strikes are often disproportionate, considering the large number of civilians killed.

On the ground, Israeli forces in Gaza have reported finding stashes of weapons, at times including explosives, suicide drones and missiles. The Israeli military said 29 of its soldiers have died during the ground operation.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, a day after meeting Arab foreign ministers in Jordan.

Abbas, who has had no authority in Gaza since Hamas took over in 2007, said the Palestinian Authority would only assume control of Gaza as part of a “comprehensive political solution” establishing an independent state that includes the West Bank and east Jerusalem — lands Israel seized in the 1967 war.

His remarks seemed to further narrow the already slim options for who would govern Gaza if Israel topples Hamas. The last peace talks with Israel broke down more than a decade ago, and Israel’s government is dominated by opponents of Palestinian statehood.

Blinken later visited Iraq to meet with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani about the need to prevent the conflict from spreading, and about efforts to increase the flow of aid to Gaza, which Blinken called “grossly insufficient” at about 100 truckloads a day.

A Jordanian military cargo plane air-dropped medical aid to a field hospital in northern Gaza, King Abdullah II said on social media early Monday. This appeared to be the first aid delivered by Jordan, a key U.S. ally that has a peace deal with Israel.

Earlier in his tour, Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Sunday reiterated that “there will be no cease-fire without the return of our abductees.”

Arab leaders have called for an immediate cease-fire. But Blinken said that “would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7,” when it stormed into southern Israel from Gaza, triggering the war.

Swaths of residential neighborhoods in northern Gaza have been leveled in airstrikes. The U.N. office for humanitarian affairs says more than half the remaining residents, estimated at around 300,000, are sheltering in U.N.-run facilities. The U.N. said Sunday that 88 staff members from its Palestinian refugees agency have been reported killed — “the highest number of United Nations fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict.”

Israeli planes again dropped leaflets urging people to head south during a four-hour window Sunday. Crowds walked down Gaza’s main north-south highway carrying baggage or pets and pushing wheelchairs. Others led donkey carts.

One man said they walked 500 meters (yards) with their hands raised while passing Israeli troops. Another described seeing bodies along the road. “The children saw tanks for the first time. Oh world, have mercy on us,” said one Palestinian man who declined to give his name.

Israel’s military said a one-way corridor would continue for residents to flee to southern Gaza.

The U.N. said about 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70% of the population, have fled their homes. Food, water and the fuel needed for generators that power hospitals are running out. No fuel has come for nearly one month, the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said.

The war has stoked wider tensions, with Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group trading fire along the border.

Four civilians were killed by an Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon on Sunday evening, including three children, a local civil defense official and state-run media reported. The Israeli military said it had attacked Hezbollah targets in response to anti-tank fire that killed an Israeli civilian. Hezbollah said it fired Grad rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel in response.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, at least two Palestinians were killed during an Israeli arrest raid in Abu Dis, just outside of Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The military said a militant who had set up an armed cell and fired at Israeli forces was killed.

At least 150 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the war.

Many Israelis have called for Netanyahu to resign and for the return of roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas. Some families are traveling abroad to try to make sure the hostages aren’t forgotten.

Netanyahu has refused to take responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people. Ongoing Palestinian rocket fire has forced tens of thousands of people in Israel to leave their homes.

In another reflection of widespread anger, a junior government minister, Amihai Eliyahu, suggested in a radio interview that Israel could drop an atomic bomb on Gaza. He later called the remarks “metaphorical.” Netanyahu suspended Eliyahu from cabinet meetings, a move with no practical effect.

The U.S. military on Sunday acknowledged positioning a nuclear weapon-capable Ohio-class submarine in the Middle East, although it’s unclear if it’s armed with nuclear ballistic missiles. Several Ohio-class submarines instead carry cruise missiles and the capability to deploy with special operations forces.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Five injured, arts museum damaged in Russian strikes on Odesa, Ukraine officials say

Five people were injured in Odesa and one of the city's principal art galleries was damaged in Russian strikes late on Sunday, Ukrainian officials in the Black Sea port said.

"On November 6, the Odesa National Art Museum turns 124 years old," Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region, of which the Odesa city is the administrative centre, said on the Telegram messaging app. "On the eve of November 6, the Russians 'congratulated' our architectural monument with a missile that hit nearby."

The walls of the building were damaged, some windows and glass were broken, he said.

The museum, in one of the oldest palaces of Odesa, housed before the war more than 10,000 pieces of art, including paintings by some of the best-known Russian and Ukrainian artists of late 19th and early 20th century.

The Odesa city council published a video showing blown out windows and debris inside what it said was the Odesa National Art Museum, where paintings hang on walls.

"The situation is under control, but everything will have to be examined thoroughly so that we are sure that everything is fine," Odesa Mayor Henadii Trukhanov told the Suspilne media outlet.

On the street near the museum, the attack left a several-meter hole. According to the city authorities, one person was injured there.

Kiper said that all five of the injured, from throughout the city, were hospitalised.

** Near Donetsk front line, Ukraine artillery crew face intensifying fire

In Ukraine's war-ravaged Donetsk region, soldiers dug in near the front line described how Russian artillery had intensified significantly in recent weeks, but said it remains below peaks seen a year ago as both sides struggle to advance.

With the sound of outgoing and incoming artillery crashing in the distance around him, one of three artillerymen operating a Hiatsynt howitzer, 22-year-old Vitaliy, said he had felt the increase after coming back from leave last month.

"Probably about a month ago, that's when you started feeling it everywhere," Vitaliy said.

Reuters was asked not to reveal their exact location or name their brigade due to the recent outbreak of intense fighting on their part of the frontline.

All three crew members operating the howitzer, captured from Russia last year and still showing a "Made in Russia" tag on its tyres, said they had noticed the increase.

However, the crew of the Hiatsynt, as well as other Ukrainian soldiers on different parts of the front, told Reuters that the longer-term trend has been a significant decrease in Russian artillery shelling from a year ago.

The crew's commander, a straight-talking, gold-toothed 45-year-old named Oleksandr, said they could only guess where Russia had sourced the additional shells.

"I don't know where these shells are coming from, but they are flying in," he said, gesturing in the direction of several recent craters near his position.

The intelligence service of South Korea said on Wednesday that its neighbour North Korea has supplied over a million shells to Russia since August.

Moscow and Pyongyang have denied that arms are being transferred from the North for use in Russia's war against Ukraine.

"The fact that, if true, they received quite a few shells from (North) Korea, we definitely feel it," said Vitaliy.

Despite the increase, there has been very little movement in the front lines.

"The war became more positional than before, everybody stands on their positions, there's no movement," said Volodymyr, 43. "Neither we advance anywhere, nor do they."

** Zelenskiy pushes US for more aid, invites Trump to Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the U.S. to provide more funding to help his forces counter Russia, and invited former U.S. President Donald Trump to fly in to see the scale of the conflict for himself.

Zelenskiy said American soldiers could eventually be pulled into a greater European conflict with Russia if Washington did not step up support.

"If Russia will kill all of us, they will attack NATO countries and you will send your sons and daughters [to fight]," Zelenskiy said according to a transcript of an interview with NBC's 'Meet the Press' airing on Sunday.

U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has pressed the U.S. Congress to pass a $106 billion supplemental spending bill, with the bulk of the money going to bolster Ukraine's defenses and the remainder split among Israel, the Indo-Pacific and border enforcement.

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives has instead put forward its own funding plan. It passed a bill last week to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel, but did not include any increase in aid for Ukraine.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, majority leader of the Democratic-controlled Senate, said he would not bring the House bill to a vote and Biden has vowed to veto it.

In the interview that aired on Sunday, Zelenskiy invited former U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican, to visit Ukraine and see the fallout of the conflict initiated by Russia's President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.

Trump, who is seeking reelection in 2024 and is the leading candidate for his party's presidential nomination, has been sharply critical of U.S. support for Kyiv and has said he could end the war in 24 hours if reelected.

"If he can come here, I will need ... 24 minutes to explain to President Trump that he can't manage this war," Zelenskiy said. "He can’t bring peace because of Putin."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Western leaders know Ukrainians steal their money – Kremlin

Western countries have come to realize that Ukrainian officials are using the funds they receive from their supporters to line their own pockets, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has said.  

In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin released on Sunday, Peskov claimed that Western leaders “understand that a certain part of the money they give to Ukraine is, simply put, stolen,” adding that this reality is recognized by US policymakers at various levels.   

According to Peskov, when confronted with rampant corruption in Ukraine, American lawmakers “have to explain to their constituents why there is no proper mechanism [to oversee] the fund disbursement [and] why they turn a blind eye to this” while debating further aid packages.  

He went on to add that both the US and Kiev’s backers in Europe are “getting tired of the Ukrainian topic, the Kiev regime, and the burden that they have put on their shoulders,” referring to the massive military and financial assistance Ukraine receives from the West.   

“Even such extremely powerful economies as the United States can’t do this indefinitely. They have a lot of problems of their own… At some point, all this will become an excessive burden that they can no longer bear,” he stressed.  

Peskov’s comments come after Politico reported in early October that the administration of US President Joe Biden was “far more worried about corruption in Ukraine than they publicly admit.” A sensitive document cited by the magazine stressed that the widespread graft in Ukraine could force Western allies to abandon Kiev in its fight with Russia.  

The Politico article was echoed by a CNN report, which was released around the same time, alleging that US officials were pushing Kiev to do more to fight corruption, with a State Department diplomatic note compiled this summer linking anti-graft efforts to continued direct budget support.  

Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s request for Congress to approve a new security package, which included more than $60 billion for Ukraine, met with strong opposition from the Republicans. Some GOP lawmakers called on the president for more accountability and to clarify what he thinks the endgame in the conflict would look like.

** Russian Armed Forces intercept 9 HIMARS shells, shoot down 43 Ukrainian drones

The Russian Armed Forces intercepted 9 HIMARS missiles and shot down 43 Ukrainian drones over the past 24 hours, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

"Nine HIMARS missiles were intercepted by air defense systems during the day. In addition, 43 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down in the areas of the settlements of Tavolzhanka in the Kharkov region, Verkhnekamenka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Kyryllovka, Yalynskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Sladkaya Balka, Novofedorovka and Pshenichnoye in the Zaporozhye region," the ministry said.

The Russian Armed Forces struck an arsenal of missiles and ammunition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Chernigov region, the ministry reported. "An arsenal of missile weapons and ammunition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was hit in the area of the settlement of Priluki in the Chernigov region. A command and observation post was hit in the area of the settlement of Serebryanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces per day in the Donetsk direction reached up to 140 military personnel, a Leopard tank and two armored vehicles. "In the Donetsk direction, units of the Southern Group of Forces, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, defeated the manpower and equipment of the 42nd mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Kurdyumovka and Kleshcheevka of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Enemy losses in this direction amounted to up to 140 military personnel, a Leopard tank, two armored combat vehicles, three cars," the ministry said.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine also lost more than 55 personnel in the South Donetsk direction. "In the South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok group of forces, in collaboration with army aviation and artillery, repelled an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 102nd territorial defense brigade in the area of the settlement of Marfopol, Zaporozhye region," the ministry said.

Reuters/RT/Tass

The state of democracy is diminishing around the globe as dozens of nations experienced recent declines in democratic values, including tainted elections and restrictions on individual freedoms, according to a new study published Thursday by a Swedish political advocacy group.

The analysis by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance said democratic norms and standards were faltering in nearly half of the 173 countries it surveyed due to weakening government checks and balances, corruption, rigged elections, and a general lack of accountability from elected leaders who flout the law.

A collective focus on major crises, including inflation, climate change, and simultaneous wars in Ukraine and Israel, were continuing to divert attention from the waning state of fundamental principles that underpin democracy worldwide, the report warns.

In the last five years, 85 nations surveyed in the study witnessed eroding democracy in areas such as civil liberties and judicial independence, marking the longest continuous decline in democratic values since 1975, the report said.

The study -- conducted in five world regions, including Europe, the Americas, Africa, West Asia, and the Indo-Pacific -- ranked countries in four categories, including representation, rights, rule of law, and electoral participation.

Democratic regression spanned the globe from South Korea to Brazil, and from Canada to El Salvador and Hungary, the report says, while judicial independence and protection from political violence were continuing to slide, even in democratic nations like Austria, Hungary and Peru.

Even strong democracies like Costa Rica and Portugal have struggled to achieve effective parliamentary oversight and credible elections in recent years, adding to a disturbing global trend highlighted by a wave of political coups throughout Africa.

Respect for fundamental rights -- such as freedom of speech, expression and assembly -- was deteriorating across all regions, including countries like Austria, El Salvador, Italy, Senegal and Slovenia, the report says.

In a silver lining, there were some signs of progress as more people were engaging in the political process worldwide, especially in Ethiopia, Zambia, and Fiji, which resulted in less overall corruption.

However, challenges remain in areas like social equality, press freedoms, and equitable justice -- with major declines observed over the past five years in the United States, Austria and Britain.

At the same time, election monitors, anti-corruption agencies and independent civil rights groups have emerged recently as the new global watchdogs, holding those in power accountable.

"Many countries are struggling now even with basic aspects of democracy," said Kevin Casas-Zamora, the Secretary-General of International IDEA. "But while many of our formal institutions like legislatures are weakening, there is hope that these more informal checks and balances, from journalists to election organizers and anti-corruption commissioners, can successfully battle authoritarian and populist trends."

The report concludes by calling on world governments to promote and uphold democratic values in future policy measures, and to enact legal protections for independent institutions to protect elections, investigate corruption and supervise government programs.

UPI News

We often don’t realize when we’re making poor financial decisions. Many middle class people spend mindlessly on stuff that looks impressive but only ends up draining their savings and keeping them from growing their wealth.

“One of the most damaging habits is spending more than you earn,” said Christopher William, a CPA finance expert and founder of Balanced News Summary. “This is a common problem in the middle class, as people are often tempted to buy more than they can afford,” he explained.

William notes that this often leads to high levels of debt, which makes it difficult to save for retirement and other long-term investments. “Additionally, if someone is consistently spending more than they earn, it can be difficult to break the cycle.” Below is a list of things you shouldn’t spend money on if you’re middle class but want to become rich.

Student Loans and Other Debt

We all know that education is important, but caution is also needed, warned Jonathan Merry, finance expert at Moneyzine. “I’ve observed the student loan crisis firsthand, and I believe it’s alarming how institutions offer massive loans to young adults from middle-class families without a full grasp of the commitment.”

The main thing here is to steer clear of such massive debts while amplifying your professional skills. Merry said, “Excessive loans and debts will hold back middle-class families, so try to manage debts before taking more and more.”

Speaking on the topic of debt, Carter Seuthe, CEO of Credit Summit Consolidation, pointed out that lots of people in the middle class tend to carry a lot of it, whether that’s student loans or credit card debt. “If you’re not staying on top of this, it can quickly balloon out of your control, and represent a pretty significant drain on your resources,” he said.

“I would say one of the largest expenditures in the middle class that could be holding them back from achieving a better financial status is debt,” Seuthe continued. “Working your way up the financial ladder becomes much easier once you focus your budget and financial efforts on paying off debt and moving forward without those monthly interest payments.”

Memberships and Subscriptions

Many middle-class people today have memberships to many retail stores, or subscriptions to every online app they need, said Merry. “It might seem cheap, but when these fees accumulate, it will equate to significant expenses.” He continued, “For example, if a $50 monthly gym subscription is only used twice, that’s $25 per visit. Maybe there’s a more economical workout option?”

He added that if you’re subscribed to several streaming platforms but only tune in occasionally, you might be overspending on entertainment as well.

Investing in Depreciating Assets

Many middle-class individuals invest in items that lose value over time, Merry explained. “In my opinion, making flashy purchases, possibly to mimic the wealthier class, often misses the mark.”

He added that new purchases like cars are attractive but not always wise. A brand-new car’s value drops the moment it leaves the dealership. “Being a smart shopper means considering options like slightly older cars with fewer miles, which don’t lose their value as quickly.”

Steven Neeley, CFP and financial advisor at Fortress Capital Advisorsshares a similar opinion on depreciating assets. “Finance gurus often beat people up about spending money on things like lattes and avocado toast, but the impact is nothing compared to consistently buying expensive cars over one’s lifetime.”

Neeley also observed that way too many people in the middle class buy expensive SUVs or trucks, like $65k to $100k, drive them for three to five years, then trade them in after the value has depreciated 50% to 70% to start over again. “Doing this instead of buying a reasonable vehicle like a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Accord can easily cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of 30 years when you factor in the opportunity cost of investing.”

Covering Expenses for Adult Children

One frequent mistake that middle-class families make, according to Merry, is taking care of their grown children’s bills when nearing retirement. “Many middle-class parents fall into this trap, wanting to assist their struggling adult kids since they empathize with their struggles,” he explained, noting that this makes a huge impact on their savings.

“It’s important they learn financial independence rather than depending on you,” he advised. “It might be beneficial to stop funding your adult children and allocate that money to your retirement savings instead. I always suggest stopping financial aid to adult children, if possible, to ensure a comfortable retirement.”

Overlooking the Hidden Costs of Frugality

While frugality is a commendable trait, being excessively thrifty can lead to missed opportunities, said Percy Grunwald, finance expert and co-founder of Compare Banks. “Sometimes, spending a little more upfront on quality items or experiences can save you money in the long run. For instance, investing in energy-efficient appliances can reduce long-term utility costs.”

Living Beyond Your Means

According to Dennis Shirshikov, finance expert and head of growth at Awning, a significant barrier for the middle class in their journey toward wealth accumulation is lifestyle inflation. “As individuals earn more, they tend to increase their spending proportionally, or even excessively, which can stymie their ability to save and invest effectively,” he said.

For instance, a common misconception is that driving a luxury car or living in a bigger house signifies wealth. While these might be indicators of a higher income, they don’t necessarily translate to long-term wealth if they’re financed with debt.

“Taking on a larger mortgage just because a bank approves you for a certain amount doesn’t mean it’s financially wise,” Shirshikov stated. “Overextending on a mortgage can prevent one from investing in assets that can appreciate over time or from building an emergency fund.”

Giving Into Societal Pressure

Spending money for appearance’s sake will be your ultimate downfall, warned Shirshikov. “It’s worth mentioning the emotional spending driven by the desire to keep up with peers or societal pressures.”

In fact, the “Keeping up with the Joneses” mentality can be particularly detrimental, he observed. “I recall a colleague who, despite earning a six-figure salary, was living paycheck to paycheck due to the constant need to upgrade, be it gadgets, vacations, or even wardrobes, based on what his peers and neighbors were doing. It’s a trap that’s easy to fall into but has long-term repercussions on wealth-building.”

Yahoo Finance

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote blamed fellow tycoon Abdul Samad Rabiu for attempting to instigate a probe into alleged money laundering at companies run by Africa’s richest man.

Dangote, who runs Nigeria’s biggest cement maker and is about to start operating Africa’s largest oil refinery, in a seven-page advertisement published in local newspapers alleged that Rabiu was behind an attempt to get President Bola Tinubu’s government to embroil Dangote Industries Ltd.in a probe into the Central Bank of Nigeria. Dangote’s companies aren’t under any investigation.

A spokesman for Dangote didn’t answer phone calls or respond to messages, while a spokesperson for BUA couldn’t be reached for comment.

The allegations, which first surfaced in 2016, were resurrected when Tinubu in July ordered a probe into operations at Nigeria’s central bank over the past eight years. Tinubu alleged that several unidentified Nigerian businesses engaged in money laundering as the central bank oversaw a complex foreign-exchange regime that critics say encouraged arbitrage.

“As an organization, it is not our custom to respond to any spurious allegation,” Dangote Industries said in the advertisements published on Friday. “But to the fact that this is a rehash of a similar report peddled by a competitor masquerading as a concerned Nigerian in 2016, we are therefore constrained to provide context to this issue.”

Rabiu responded hours later accusing his rival of a litany of infractions against his business since the early 1990s, including giving him a dud cheque on one occasion.

“To Dangote and the Dangote Group, we say: Let us build, not belittle,” Rabiu’s BUA Group said in a post on X. “While we may share the marketplace, we need not share malice. We have nothing to do with your self-inflicted issues. Blame no one but yourself.”

Dangote has a net worth of $16.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, while Rabiu’s wealth is valued at $5.5 billion.

Bloomberg

Sheila Bush, a cosmetologist, was lounging in the recliner at her St. Louis-area home last winter when an advertisement from a law firm flashed up on her television screen, urging viewers to call a toll-free number if they or a loved one had used hair relaxers and been diagnosed with uterine cancer.

After seeing the ad three times, Bush, who said she had used hair relaxers every six weeks for most of her life and was diagnosed with uterine cancer about a decade ago, decided to pick up the phone.

The ads Bush saw, on television as well as on her social media feeds, were part of a nationwide effort by law firms to sign up Black women to file lawsuits alleging at least a dozen cosmetic companies, including L’Oreal and Revlon, sold hair relaxers containing chemicals that increased the risk of developing uterine cancer – and failed to warn customers.

The recruitment campaign launched in October last year, days after a U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) study found an association, though not a causal link, between frequent use of chemical hair relaxers and uterine cancer. Hair straighteners such as L’Oreal’s Dark & Lovely and Revlon’s Creme of Nature are marketed overwhelmingly to women of color, according to the lawsuits.

Some of the ads show Black women applying hair products before cutting to a summary of the NIH study’s findings.

L’Oreal and Revlon told Reuters their products are subject to rigorous safety reviews. The companies noted that the authors of the NIH study said they didn’t draw definitive conclusions about the cause of the women’s cancers and that more research is warranted.

“We do not believe the science supports a link between chemical hair straighteners or relaxers and cancer,” Revlon said. L’Oreal added that it is committed to offering the best products “for all skin and hair types, all genders, all identities, all cultures, all ages” and that its hair relaxers have a “rich heritage and history” originating with Black inventors and entrepreneurs.

Namaste, which markets ORS Olive Oil relaxers, said all ingredients in its products are approved for cosmetic use by U.S. regulators. “We do not believe the plaintiffs have shown, or will be able to show, that the use of Namaste hair relaxer products caused the injuries that they allege in their complaints,” a lawyer for Namaste and its parent company, Dabur India, said in an email response to Reuters.

The other companies named in the litigation declined to comment or didn't respond to requests.

The success of the legal claims will hinge on demonstrating the products were harmful and that the companies knew, or should have known, of the danger and failed to warn customers. But the cases face hurdles: In addition to the potential limitations of the NIH study, plaintiffs are suing multiple companies, and if women lack receipts, they may struggle to provide evidence that they used specific products.

Ben Crump, who represented the family of George Floyd, the Black man murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, and another lawyer, Diandra “Fu” Debrosse Zimmerman, filed the first hair relaxer lawsuit on behalf of a Missouri woman, Jenny Mitchell, shortly after the NIH study was published.

Since then, more than 7,000 similar lawsuits have been filed by many plaintiffs’ lawyers. The cases have been consolidated in a Chicago federal court as part of a multidistrict litigation proceeding (MDL), a procedure designed to more efficiently manage lawsuits filed in multiple jurisdictions.

Even though the legal claims asserted in the lawsuits don’t allege racial discrimination, Crump says the cases should be viewed as “essentially civil rights issues.”

For Black women, “it’s projected on them that they have to live up to some kind of European standard of beauty,” Crump, who represents plaintiffs in high-profile racial discrimination cases and is a regular on cable news, said in an interview.

Bush, aged 69, told Reuters about being mocked by the white children in the schoolyard of her St. Louis school for her “cotton” hair, a common derogatory term used for Black hair texture. “You felt as though you didn’t belong, or weren’t as good as they were,” said Bush, who was born in 1954, the year a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision found racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

The vast majority of the plaintiffs are women of color, according to Jayne Conroy, a lawyer whose firm has filed at least 550 hair relaxer cases, adding that attorneys don’t have full demographic data on their clients.

A master complaint filed in the court proceeding consolidating the lawsuits features many examples of advertisements that plaintiffs contend improperly took advantage of historical racial discrimination. One L’Oreal ad touted “how beautiful Black hair can be,” the complaint said.

The complaint seeks unspecified damages.

Framing the litigation as a civil rights issue could resonate with jurors beyond arguments over complex product liability claims, said Adam Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law who studies mass tort litigation.

The cases come at a time when Black people are increasingly embracing natural hairstyles. At least 23 states have passed legislation aimed at protecting people from hair discrimination in the workplace and public schools. The U.S. House of Representatives passed similar legislation last year that stalled in the Senate.

Twice as likely to develop cancer

Uterine cancer is the most common form of female reproductive system cancer and rising in the U.S., especially among Black women, according to the NIH.

The American Cancer Society estimates there will be about 66,000 new cases of uterine cancer diagnosed this year in the United States, less than a quarter of the number of 297,790 new cases of invasive breast cancer, and more than three times the 19,710 cases of ovarian cancer.

The NIH study of more than 33,000 women found that those who reported using hair straightening products more than four times in the previous year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer as those who did not. A total of 378 women in the study developed uterine cancer. Black women used the products more frequently than others, the study found.

The researchers did not collect information on the ingredients of specific products the women used, the NIH said. But Alexandra White, the lead author, told Reuters in response to written questions that hair straighteners have been found to include phthalates, parabens, cyclosiloxanes and metals, and may release formaldehyde when heated. She declined interview requests through a spokesperson.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to propose next April a rule that would ban formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from hair-straightening products. An agency spokesperson provided no further details on timing.

Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and has been linked to nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia, according to the World Health Organization. The NIH study said phthalates and the other chemicals are suspected endocrine disruptors, which can interfere with the body’s hormones and are suspected of contributing to cancer risk.

“Formaldehyde is not an ingredient in Namaste’s hair relaxer products,” the company’s lawyer said. The other companies declined to comment or did not respond to a Reuters query on whether their products contain or release formaldehyde.

Companies and defense lawyers have pointed to what they say are flaws in the NIH study. The companies named in the litigation asked the presiding judge in July to dismiss the lawsuits, noting that the study was the first to raise a possible association between hair straightening products and uterine cancer, undermining plaintiffs’ argument that the companies knew or should have known of any risks related to the products.

The companies also noted that the NIH study consisted of sisters of women previously diagnosed with breast cancer “who therefore may have a genetic predisposition,” they said in a court filing. Lead author White said in a statement in response to Reuters questions that there is currently no strong evidence linking family history of breast cancer to increased risk of uterine cancer.

The plaintiffs “rely entirely on vague allegations that the products, generally, contain ‘toxic chemicals,’” the companies’ defense lawyers at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind & Garrison, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer and other firms said in a court filing.

Plaintiffs believe the NIH study will persuade the judge that at least some of the cases should proceed to trial. Plaintiffs can advance their case without proving the products caused cancer, said Jennifer Hoekstra, a lawyer representing Bush. The study from a reputable government institution such as the NIH is likely enough to get cases before a jury, she said.

An FDA rule proposal wouldn’t alter the plaintiffs’ burden to prove they were harmed by the chemicals in hair relaxers, said Zimmerman, the USC law professor. But evidence regulators rely on to support a proposed rule would likely be admissible in court, he said, and FDA actions “often draw lots of attention — thus increasing the numbers of people likely to participate in any mass litigation."

In addition, the judge overseeing the litigation over the summer approved a so-called short-form complaint that makes it relatively easy for plaintiffs to file lawsuits.

Since November last year, plaintiffs’ lawyers have spent about $8 million airing more than 40,000 television ads across the U.S., with much of it concentrated in Baltimore, Houston and Washington DC, according to an analysis of marketing data compiled for Reuters by X Ante, a firm that tracks mass tort advertising for large companies, law firms and investment analysts.

Lawyers seeking hair relaxer plaintiffs have posted on social-media platforms and attended community events.

Quiana Hester said she and her sisters, Ariana and Nakisha, have been interviewing lawyers and are weighing whether to join the litigation after seeing ads on social media from plaintiffs’  law firms.

The sisters said they wanted their mother’s death last year following a battle with uterine cancer to mean something.

Patrice Hester, a former real estate agent, regularly counseled her daughters that wearing natural hair would attract unwanted attention and harm their careers. “She never wanted us to do anything to make us stand out or be a target,” said Ariana, 35, who shared a home with her mother and sister Nakisha in the San Diego area.

Bush, the St. Louis cosmetologist, joined the litigation in August, she said, because of the possibility that hair relaxers cause cancer. "If we find out that that's the case,” she said, “I would like to see that relaxers were taken completely off the market.”

Reuters

US and Arab partners disagree on the need for a cease-fire as Israeli airstrikes kill more civilians

The United States and Arab partners disagreed Saturday on the need for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip as Israeli military strikes killed civilians at a U.N. shelter and a hospital, and Israel said the besieged enclave’s Hamas rulers were “encountering the full force” of its troops.

Large columns of smoke rose as Israel’s military said it had encircled Gaza City, the initial target of its offensive to crush Hamas. Gaza’s Health Ministry has said more than 9,400 Palestinians have been killed in the territory in nearly a month of war, and that number is likely to rise as the assault continues.

“Anyone in Gaza City is risking their life,” Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said.

In the night from Saturday to Sunday, airstrikes hit the Maghazi refugee camp in the central area of Gaza, and Palestinian health officials reported multiple casualties. Maghazi is in the evacuation zone where Israel had urged Palestinians to seek refuge.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan on Saturday after talks in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insisted there could be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Arab countries want an immediate cease-fire, saying “the whole region is sinking in a sea of hatred that will define generations to come.”

Blinken, however, said “it is our view now that a cease-fire would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7.” He said humanitarian pauses can be critical in protecting civilians, getting aid in and getting foreign nationals out, “while still enabling Israel to achieve its objective, the defeat of Hamas.”

As he left church in Delaware on Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden hinted at progress in efforts to convince Israel to agree to a humanitarian pause, responding “Yes,” to reporters’ questions about any forward movement on the subject. He did not elaborate.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told reporters in Beirut that Blinken “should stop the aggression and should not come up with ideas that cannot be implemented.” The spokesman of the Hamas military wing, who goes by Abu Obeida, said in a speech that fighters had destroyed 24 Israeli vehicles and inflicted casualties in the past two days.

Egyptian officials said they and Qatar were proposing humanitarian pauses for six to 12 hours daily to allow aid in and casualties to be evacuated. They were also asking for Israel to release a number of women and elderly prisoners in exchange for hostages, suggestions Israel seemed unlikely to accept. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press on the discussions.

Israel has repeatedly demanded that northern Gaza’s 1.1 million residents flee south, and on Saturday it offered a three-hour window for residents to do so. An Associated Press journalist on the road, however, saw nobody coming. The head of the government media office in Gaza, Salama Maarouf, said no one went south because the Israeli military had damaged the road.

But Israel asserted that Hamas “exploited” the window to move south and attack its forces. There was no immediate Hamas comment on that claim, which was impossible to verify.

Some Palestinians said they didn’t flee because they feared Israeli bombardment.

“We don’t trust them,” said Mohamed Abed, who sheltered with his wife and children on the grounds of al-Shifa hospital, one of thousands of Palestinians seeking safety at medical centers in the north.

Swaths of residential neighborhoods in northern Gaza have been leveled in airstrikes. U.N. monitors say more than half of northern Gaza’s remaining residents, estimated at around 300,000, are sheltering in U.N.-run facilities. But deadly Israeli strikes have also repeatedly hit and damaged those shelters. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees has said it has lost contact with many in the north.

On Saturday, two strikes hit a U.N. school sheltering thousands just north of Gaza City, killing several people in tents in the schoolyard and women who were baking bread inside the building, according to the U.N. agency. Initial reports indicated that 20 people were killed, said spokeswoman Juliette Touma. The health ministry in Gaza said 15 people were killed at the school and another 70 wounded.

Also Saturday, two people were killed in a strike by the gate of al-Nasser Hospital in Gaza City, according to Medhat Abbas, health ministry spokesman. And a strike hit near the entrance to the emergency ward of al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, injuring at least 21, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

The World Health Organization called attacks on health care in Gaza “unacceptable.”

Also hit was the family home of Hamas’ exiled leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Shati refugee camp on the northern edge of Gaza City, according to the Hamas-run media office in Gaza. It had no immediate details on damage or casualties.

Israel has continued bombing in the south, saying it is striking Hamas targets.

An airstrike early Saturday destroyed a home in the southern town of Khan Younis, with first responders pulling three bodies and six injured people from the rubble. Among those killed was a child, according to an AP cameraman at the scene.

“The sound of explosions never stops,” said Raed Mattar, who was sheltering in a school in Khan Younis after fleeing the north.

At least 1,115 Palestinian dual nationals and wounded have exited Gaza into Egypt, but on Saturday authorities in Gaza didn’t allow foreign passport holders to leave because Israel was preventing the evacuation of Palestinian patients for treatment in Egypt, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority.

The U.N. said about 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70% of the population, have fled their homes.

Food, water and the fuel needed for generators that power hospitals and other facilities is running out.

Anger over the war and civilian deaths in Gaza sparked large demonstrations in Paris, Washington, London, Pakistan and elsewhere on Saturday. “Against apartheid, free Palestinians,” a banner in Rome read.

Turkey said it was recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultations, and Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could no longer speak to Netanyahu in light of the bombardment.

Thousands of Israelis protested outside Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem, urging him to resign and calling for the return of roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas. Netanyahu has refused to take responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed more than 1,400 people.

“I find it difficult to understand why trucks with humanitarian aid are going to monsters,” said Ella Ben Ami, whose parents were abducted. She called for aid to be halted until the hostages are released.

Thousands of people also joined a demonstration of hostages’ families in Tel Aviv.

Air raid sirens sounded Saturday evening in southern Israel as Hamas launched rockets into Ashkelon. Rocket fire has continued in the area throughout the conflict, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

Fears continued of a new front opening along Israel’s border with Lebanon. The Israeli military said it had struck militant cells in Lebanon trying to fire at Israel, as well as an observation post for Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas. Throughout the war, Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire almost daily. Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a tense stalemate.

“We are not interested in a northern front, but we are prepared for any task,” Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, said after touring the border. He said the Air Force is “preserving most of its might for the Lebanon front,” according to a video statement.

Among the Palestinians killed in Gaza are more than 3,900 Palestinian children, the Gaza Health Ministry said, without providing a breakdown of civilians and fighters.

The Israeli military said four more soldiers have died during the Gaza ground operation, bringing the confirmed death toll to 28.

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

We won’t talk to Russia – Zelensky

Ukraine is not willing to hold any talks with Russia, President Vladimir Zelensky said on Saturday during a joint press conference with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He also denied recent media reports that Kiev’s Western backers are pushing it to engage in negotiations.

“Now, none of the EU, US leaders, our partners are putting pressure on us in terms of sitting down [at the negotiating table] with Russia, talking to it or surrendering something to it,” he told journalists. “This is not going to happen,” he added.

Zelensky then said he “does not know” who even publishes such reports. He did admit, however, that he had “got an impression” that the Ukrainian media and Ukrainians themselves are speculating about the idea of potential talks with Russia and about Western nations allegedly pushing Kiev towards such a decision. The president went on to say that he was “surprised” by such sentiments.

Earlier on Saturday, NBC reported that Western officials were holding behind-the-scenes talks with Kiev about the possibility of negotiating with Russia and were even exploring potential concessions Ukraine might agree to in order to end the conflict.

The report also said that the Western nations were concerned about a potential “stalemate” in the conflict and Ukraine “running out of forces” in the future.

Russia has repeatedly signaled its readiness to engage in negotiations with Kiev but has insisted that such talks should take Moscow’s security interests and the “reality on the ground” into account. In autumn 2022, four former Ukrainian territories, including the two Donbass republics, officially joined Russia following a series of referendums. Kiev never accepted their results, branding the votes a “sham” and seeking to restore its control over the four territories, as well as Crimea, which joined Russia in 2014 following another referendum.

In October 2022, Zelensky also signed a decree banning Ukraine from holding any talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This past September, Putin said that if Kiev is willing to end the conflict it should demonstrate its intentions publicly, including by revoking the 2022 decree. “If their wish to achieve something through negotiations is genuine, let them do that,” he said at that time. “Let the Ukrainians themselves say it… announce it publicly,” the Russian president added.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine war not in 'stalemate', more air defense help needed, Zelenskiy says

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denied on Saturday that the war with Russia had reached a "stalemate", and said more work with allies was needed to strengthen air defences.

His comments came days after Ukraine's Commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, said in an article the conflict was moving towards a new stage of static and attritional fighting, a phase that could allow Moscow to rebuild its military power.

"Today time has passed and people are tired. But this is not a stalemate," Zelenskiy said during a news conference with visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"Russia controls the skies. We care about our military."

Zelenskiy acknowledged there had been difficulties in the war, now in its 21st month, and that Kyiv had yet to achieve any major successes in its counteroffensive.

But he said Ukrainian troops had no other alternative but to keep fighting and required more support from Western allies, especially with air defences.

Ukrainian forces have made slow progress through vast Russian minefields in a counteroffensive that began in the east and south in early June, but Russia has hit back hard in the east.

Russian troops were mounting numerous attacks near Avdiivka, Lyman and Mariinka in the eastern Donetsk region, the Ukrainian military said in its daily update.

Ukrainian forces were continuing their advance in the southeast towards the sea of Azov, the report added.

RT/Reuters

Apologies: Though the most trending issue at present is the yacht yaks, my offering today will not dwell on it. Nor will I want to talk about the army of deliberately befuddling narratives on the yacht from the Nigerian authority. Today’s is also not about the familial invasion of the hallowed chambers of state last week, nor the previous presidential speech from Iya L’oja, the First Daughter, with the Nigerian flag flying, warts and all. Nor is it even about the automobile palliatives for the First Family. Like the Georg Wilhelm Hegel dialectics, I believe all these are theses and antitheses which will soon form a synthesis. By the time this opening glee, the theatrical entrance song preceding the play, finally unfolds, I pray we find the encore that we have lost.

Sorry, I digressed. Today is about the duel between Nyesom Wike, the Fuhrer of Rivers State and lately, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and his godson, Siminalayi Fubara, current governor of the state. It is instructive that Wike the godfather in Rivers is, on its flipside, a godson in the FCT where he superintends as the 37th Nigerian state governor, a la the recent Nigerian Supreme Court judgment. Only recently, the FCT got approval for its pulling out from the Treasury Single Account (TSA). No minister of this humongous state economy had ever got such unexampled but suspicious exemption since the creation of the TSA. What is the dominant psychology that has kept the Wikes on the top burner of Nigerian politics? Why is godfatherism a disease that will live with us for a very long time to come? Is Wike a protege of a cancerous blight that has the dual tendencies of being evil and good in equal proportion?

In 1934, German Chancellor and Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, paid a highly publicized visit to the Friedrich Nietzsche archives at Weimar, a city in the state of Thuringia, Central Germany. Weimar was a focal point of the German Enlightenment. It was also home to leading figures of the literary genre like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. To the world, that visit by Hitler was weird and awkward.

So the Fuhrer came to the Nietzsche archives on the invitation of Elisabeth Forster-Nietzsche, younger sister of Friedrich, who became the curator and editor of the late German scholar’s manuscripts. Forster-Nietzsche was to be later accused of mal-editing Friedrich’s unpublished writings to fit her German ultranationalist ideology, as against Nietzsche’s anti-Semitism and nationalism. Hitler was accompanied on that visit by his personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann. At the reception room, Hitler held and contemplatively admired the bust of Nietzsche. No doubt calculatedly programmed, the photo that emerged therefrom was to paint the bones of Friedrich bad, even in his graveyard. He was held by some people as the godfather of Hitler’s massacre. A Hitler photograph having an incestuous conversation with Nietzsche specifically drew in the minds of those who saw it a diabolical connect between the two Germans. The photograph eventually found its way into the German press, captioned, “The Fuhrer before the bust of the German philosopher whose ideas have fertilized two great popular movements: the National Socialism of Germany and the Fascist Movement of Italy.”

As told by the duo of Jacob Golomb and Robert Wisrich in their introduction to the book, Nietzsche, godfather or fascism?, apart from Germany, the country of their birth that was the common denominator, Adolf seemed to have nothing in common with Friedrich. While Adolf was an Austrian-born German politician, dictator from 1933 to the day of his suicide in 1945, and one who initiated the World War II by his invasion of Poland in 1939, apart from Mercedez Benz, Nietzsche was one of Germany’s most enduring exports to the rest of the world. Adolf was not only central to the perpetration of the Holocaust, the genocidal rout of about 6 million Jews and millions of other victims of his brutality, he is the world’s most notorious demon ever. On his flipside was Friedrich. Globally acclaimed German philosopher, the young Friedrich, in 1869, at the age of 24, became the youngest human being to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel. His work spans philosophical polemics, poetry, cultural criticism and fiction. He was known for his love for aphorism and irony and drew inspiration from Greek tragedy, science, religion, among others.

Last week, like the Hitler of Nigerian politics that he has become, Wike would seem to be standing by the reception of the den of Ibadan political warlord, Lamidi Adedibu. Adedibu, in the life of the current republic, had engaged the ex-governor of Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja, in a godfather-godson tiff that nearly crashed the state. He was the undisputable and unforgettable godfather of the politics of Western Nigeria. Literally, Wike was simultaneously admiring the busts of Adolf Hitler and Adedibu. He didn’t seem to mind the din of noise that is the paterfamilias of the Ibadan, Molete den of Adedibu.

That same week, in his familiar gutturals, Wike’s coarse voice sounded round the length and breadth of Nigeria, grating through hearts like a load of laterites being offloaded from the quarry. It was akin to a violent downpour without any forewarning. Rivers State suddenly convulsed in the manner of a sick child. It sent Nigeria scampering for remedy for this dying-and-coming Abiku godfather-godson child birthed by Wole Soyinka. The city of Port-Harcourt literally quaked. Wike’s godson and governor of the state, Siminalayi and his loyalists, against the Wike group, got enveloped in a drama that lasted for close to 48 hours. Port-Harcourt, the capital of the state, witnessed such a seismic shake with Fubara said to have been shot at by a police team allegedly obeying the orders of ex-Governor Wike. An impeachment process was then begun against Fubara. The House of Assembly which witnessed the bulk of the drama suddenly exploded in an explosion which greatly damaged the complex. Not long after, President Bola Tinubu waded into the crisis and peace, of the graveyard ostensibly, returned to Rivers State.

The issue of godfather and godson and its effect on Nigerian politics have however remained unresolved. Though in a paper he entitled Explaining ‘godfatherism’ in Nigerian politics, Isaac Albert had provided the foundation of the concept of godfatherism in cultural and historical contexts in Nigeria, predecessor-successor godfatherism in Nigerian governmental politics actually began in Nigeria in 2007. In the process leading to the 2007 elections, exiting governors of the time, armed with stupendous wealth from administering their states from 1999 to 2007, assumed the role of godfathers, sponsoring anointed successors to take over batons of power from them. They were apparently taking their cues from Abuja where Olusegun Obasanjo had done same with Umaru Yar’Adua. From tinkering with the political process, to bankrolling elections and selections with billions of state funds, virtually all of the governors eventually succeeded in extending their stay in power through protégés.

However, no sooner had they emerged governors than these anointed godsons began to burst the bubble. And the cookies began to crumble. Some of the cookies were immediate while many took longer time to shatter into smithereens. In Lagos, the Tinubu-Raji Fashola experiment, what many saw for almost four years as matrimony worthy of example, exploded towards the end of the first term. James Ibori too succeeded in making his first cousin his successor in Delta. The godfather continued to reap dividends of his ‘investments’ in the godson. The godfather was the de facto governor, determining the political barometer of politics, its finance and what prebends to be given to political hirelings in the distribution of the largesse of power. Not until the re-election campaign of Fashola in 2011 did the cracks begin to be noticeable, revealing the godfather/godson as proverbial seeds in a walnut pod. You remember the cryptic phrase, “may your loyalty never be tested…”? The godson was between the devil and the deep blue sea.

In many other states at this time, the matrimonies suffered ruptures almost immediately. In Enugu, for instance, Sullivan Chime was still governor-elect when he started to undo all that his mentor and godfather had put in place. He spent eight years trying to pull down the Ebeano political structure that midwifed him. Orji Kalu suffered same fate in Abia, where his erstwhile chief of staff, T. A. Orji, who was in the EFCC custody while his election was taking place, eventually emerged governor. Orji spent his years in government firing ballistic missiles at Kalu who spent billions of state funds to skew the process in his favour. This was replicated in virtually all the states, even in the 2015 elections where anointed godsons, having mutated to become godfathers themselves, attempted to foist their own godsons too as successors. For example, Chime’s godson, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, eventually turned out his political pallbearer. In Anambra, Peter Obi, while shopping for a godson, sidestepped the generally accepted skewer-minded political class, and walked into the supposedly sane banking hall in search of an urbane, corporate world executive. He got Willie Obiano. Less than a year after, the strange, somber-looking Obiano had transmuted from the gentleman who couldn’t hurt a fly into a stone-hearted political principality who strenuously presided over Obi’s political funeral and nunc dimitis. Same is replicated in Kano where Umar Ganduje, erstwhile Rabiu Kwankwaso’s lickspittle, became a hydra-headed monster who eventually swallowed his ex-boss. I am told that Emmanuel Uduaghan surreptitiously did in his cousin, James Ibori, even while serving his term in the UK slammer. The story of political betrayal, otherwise known as attempts by political godsons to be men of their own, has mutated dangerously ever since.

But, who actually is the betrayer, or when is a betrayal? Is it when the godson, who feels that millions of people in the state would be in at least four-year servitude if he continues with the sworn agreement to funnel state funds into the godfather’s bottomless esophagus, and thus repudiates all his commitments to the godfather? Or the godfather, whose mindless savagery and greed was behind the concept of godfatherism ab-initio?

The truth is that godfatherism has become a major feature of Nigerian politics. It is a political process which features a deliberate corruption of the electoral process and power structure by a dominant political mentor, otherwise known as the godfather. The godfather skews the political process in favour of an anointed candidate, with the aim of securing returns in form of bribes, offices or prestige. How this is done is that the godfather deploys wealth, power and position, mostly ill-gotten, to secure party nomination for the godson, sponsors their candidacy and manipulates the electoral process to their advantage. It can be likened to a political slave trade where the godfather, after succeeding in foisting the candidature of his godson on society, sits quietly thereafter to reap dividends of his evil machination. The repercussion on society is that merit is sacrificed and state funds are funneled into repaying the “good” of the godfather.

In every election cycle since 2007, the same political malady of godfatherism has replayed itself. I forgot to state that, at the core of this scramble by governors to clone godsons to replace them is a frenetic desire to keep the skeletons in their cupboards safe from the world’s prying eyes. Many of the governors, after pillaging their states blind, so much that if the world gets to know details, they ordinarily should be tied to the stakes and shot, embark on a process of putting veils on these maggots-dripping cupboards. They would be done for if “an alien” succeeds them! So they look for the most pliable of their coterie of hangers-on and fawners to succeed them. In many cases, they choose protégés implicated in state looting, who would not play the Judas on them without also going down the drain. This is why commissioners of finance or protégés with whom governors have transacted illicit businesses during their tenures are most times the surest picks. You can thus understand a threatening statement attributed to Siminalayi against Wike during the pendency of the crisis last week. He had allegedly claimed that, Wike should not forget that he was his Accountant General. Whatever that meant.

Against the run of play, Wike had chosen Siminalayi, presumably due to an EFCC manhunt for him. At a point, the commission declared the man who is now governor, Harrisonba Betty Princewill, Lekia Bukpor and Dagogo Roderick Abere wanted in connection with what the EFCC called a case of “criminal conspiracy, money laundering, misappropriation of public funds and abuse of office” that totaled N117 billion. So those who queue behind Siminalayi today who think the issue is about Wike and Fubara and the progress or lack thereof of Rivers State are mistaken. It is about the esophagus of the godfather and his godson.

Expatiating on the hub of devilry that godfatherism is, Chimaroke Nnamani, in a paper delivered on June 2, 2003 with the title, The godfather phenomenon in democratic Nigeria: Silicon or real?, had said, “Take it or leave it, the archetypal godfather in Nigeria is more than the ruthless Mario Puzo's kingpins in the Italian Mafia setting. While the fictional godfather is characterized as 'a shadowy, dare-devil recluse, who combines immense underworld financial muscle with near mythical powers of enormous proportions', which is to attain a further greasing of the ever-increasing vast financial empire, the Nigerian type has the added characterization of conceit, ego, loquacity, pettiness, envy, strife, crudity, and confusion.” With this, you can understand Wike roaring about how he created a political structure in Rivers and how no one can be permitted to destroy what he erected. In Nigerian politics, inside that conundrum of “political structure” is buried maggots, blood and destinies of people.

To be sure, there are godfathers in every clime. According to Albert, godfatherism conjures different meanings to different people. In many parts of Europe and America, the godfather is simply a cuddly uncle and in the Catholic Church, “a young man trying to become baptized or married… is expected to have a godfather. The Catholic Church's godfather is simply chosen from among the larger congregation and need not be a relative to the godson.” He counsels the young godson on how to live a responsible life. Godfatherism also exists in France and can be found in the term 'godfather of industry' for a depiction of corporate titans. American University professor, Richard Joseph had sliced the issue with his spatula in his famous theory of prebendal politics when he said that the relationship between the godfather and godson is instrumental and extra-legal. The main goal of the transaction is for the godfather to use the client to attain selfish goals while the latter aims at the same. The godfather manifests in the politics of developed countries and Latin American countries, something in the mould of criminal underworld groups who sponsor politicians at election times, in exchange for protection and contracts.

Albert also admitted that the kind of patron/client relationships between Wike and Fubara have cultural roots among many Nigerian peoples. It began in Hausa with the maigida who received kolanuts for help he rendered; manifest in Igbo as Nnam-Ukwu (my master) and Odibo 

(the servant) and in Yoruba as baba kekere (the small father), baba isale (the father of the underground world), or baba nigbejo (a great help in times of trouble). These were developed to foster the patron-client relationship inherited by present day political class. 

In many states where it is practiced, godfatherism is sustained by black magic, occult practices and blood. Initiate godson and godfather enter into the sacristy of black practices, most times reified by human blood. It is not a turf for the faint-hearted.  

Those who think Wike’s loquacious revelation of all that transpired in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before the last elections was a mere spill will soon know that this is an understatement. Very soon, a clone of the Wike-Fubara grisly drama will come to play in Abuja. Only that this time, I pray there won’t be weeping, wailing and mourning and gnashing of the teeth, apologies to the reggae music group, The Mighty Diamonds.

By the way, why did Fubara fail to pull the trigger last week? It was a tragic mistake that he may live to regret. He had the roaring lion by its ball and a squeeze would have sequestered the king of the jungle. He could have retired the godfather and allowed Karma pounce on Wike this soon after leaving office!

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else ~ Isaiah 45:22.

Introduction

A call to look unto Jesus is the most glorious personal invitation mortal man ever received. It’s a tender and an affectionate invitation from the Creator-God Himself, opening an unusual access to all His provisions for all humanity, in Christ Jesus.

By this memorable invitation, the Almighty God has flung open the cistern of His heavenly treasures, and He’s hereby calling us all to partake of His abundant life, offering total salvation from sin, sicknesses, poverty, limitations, stagnation and demonic oppression.

The invitation equally assures us of God’s majestic illumination, banishing shame and all concurrent evils (Psalm 34:4-5). When we look unto God in the face of Jesus Christ, we will see the glory that enlightens the mind, and casts rays of comfort into our awakened heart.

This reminds us of the experience Moses had when he went up Mount Sinai, and was there in God’s presence for forty days and forty nights. When he came down, his face took on a certain brilliance to the effect that the people could not gaze into his face.

A true glimpse at the Maker of all things, may well suffice for all our troubles, and banish our reproaches while running in the race of life. Illuminated by His glory, cheered by His Voice, and empowered by His Spirit, we may stand very privileged as we advance with His abiding presence, even till our race is fully run.

Now, the critical truth to know is that no man has ever looked to Jehovah-God, as He is, and found ease as it were! Why? Just as the mortal eye cannot fix its gaze upon the sun, so no human intellect could ever look unto God and find light, for the brightness of God would strike the eye of such mind with eternal blindness.

Typically, God dwells in an unapproachable light, often referred to as “shekinah glory”. And, trying to see His “bare face” is much harder than trying to gaze into the glare of the sun at midday! If we dared to look at His face, we would be blinded, for the Light of the Godhead is most insufferable to behold.

When Moses was in the atmosphere of God’s presence on Mount Sinai, he requested to see God’s face (Exodus 33:18-20). But, God responded, "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see Me, and live”.

Yes indeed, the Almighty God, in His characteristic dizzying glory, can afford no comfort whatsoever to a troubled heart, for He "is a consuming fire" (Deuteronomy 9:3; Hebrews 12:29).

Happily, He shrouded, tempered, veiled or encapsulated Himself in Jesus Christ. This, the Most High God did, just to make Himself available and accessible to humanity, especially as a part of the redemption story (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Only in Jesus Christ can man, with steady gaze, behold God Almighty, who came down to us and died for us on the Cross, so that our poor finite intelligence can understand Him, and our frail bodies can embrace and accommodate His glory. This is great mystery of godliness (1Timothy 3:16)!

As it stands today, and as it’s forever settled in heaven, it is only through Jesus that humanity can ever get privileged access to God. Looking unto Jesus is the only way to see the Father-God in practical terms. He is the mediator between God and man (1Timothy 2:5).

Moses requested to see God’s glory, but God told him: "l will make all my goodness pass before thee" (Exodus 33:19). As our only valid access to God the Father, Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s goodness, and it’s only through Him that we can enjoy the goodness of God, maximally.

When the divine light and power of God flow into our lives, we become enabled to see beyond the surface into depths of spirituality, and we receive the authority to act in the name of Jesus Christ, even as He abides with us everywhere we go.

Never forget: you have no business looking hither and tither, but unto Jesus! It is to the extent that we truly focus on Jesus Christ that we can see the world for what it really is, and enjoy the fullness of God’s glory.

Why We Must Look Unto Jesus Christ

Basically, to look unto someone is to turn to the person, expecting assistance. So, looking unto Jesus, actually means turning to Him for help.

It could be help in the form of healing, rescue from the miry clay experiences of life, deliverance from sin and sinful habits, freedom from the hold of poverty, protection or even guidance through a journey or process in life, etcetera.

No one can exist on earth without supernatural help, and the surest help we can have is in God (Psalm 46:1-5; 121:1-8). Jesus Christ is the Help that God sent to man (John 3:16). He continues to abide with us in the form of the Holy Spirit (John 14:18).

All power belongs to Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18; John 14:6). He fought, won, and gave us the victory. If we look up to Him today, He will help us to enjoy the provisions of the covenant. And, if we wait on Him, He will deliver us without fail (Luke 18:1-8).

Are you warring presently, and it’s like the enemy is thrusting sore at you? Never fear! Jesus Christ, our Master, was more than a conqueror, and so shall we be. He fought and has secured for us a “standard” that can never be stained with defeat (Isaiah 59:19).

Succinctly, looking unto Jesus means and entails: leaning implicitly on Him, zooming in on Him without any distraction and loving Him as our supreme goal in the journey of destiny. Whatever we need is available in Him, once we decidedly look unto Him and put Him first in our lives (Matthew 6:33).

Now, there are several important reasons why looking unto Jesus is a must for those who wish to run and finish excellently in the race of life. Essentially, life is generally unpredictable, but Jesus is the only Unfailing Guide in the race of life (John 16:33; Hebrews 12:2).

Moreover, only Jesus Christ can save, and this is the most important reason why looking unto Him is a spiritual imperative (Acts 4:12)! He is the author and finisher of our faith, and He’s the One who can bring clarity and authenticity to our existence. When we look to Him, we will, indeed, experience abundant life!

Fixing our eyes on the Sustainer of all things changes our perspectives, and a change of perspective can open our doors to incredible faith that will get us through our toughest times!

Undoubtedly, looking fully into His wonderful face, the things of this world and all that troubles us grow dim in the light of His power, glory and grace.

Would you love to truly fix your gaze on Jesus Christ? Then, begin to spend some quality time with Him in true worship, and start developing a consistent prayer life (Psalm 46:10-11; 1Thessalonians 5:17). Furthermore, read the Word regularly, and of course, be totally reliant on the Holy Spirit, daily (2Timothy 2:15; Ephesians 1:13-14).

Beloved brethren and friends, look unto Jesus now, and  live. May we all receive grace to always look unto Him, and see everything and everyone through His eyes. You won’t miss it, in Jesus name. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Bishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

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