When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils ~ Luke 11:21-22.

Introduction

Times come in our individual lives, families or nations when we are faced with dangerous challenges. At such times, if you don’t know the way out, you remain under the desperate circumstances. Albeit, having problems has never been a problem, but not knowing how to come out of them.

Happily, we have long discovered through search that “dominion walk” is the easiest and cheapest way out of any unwanted situation (Genesis 1:24-28; Zechariah 1:18-21).

Dominion is at the heart of the Christian message: it is a main essence of Christian living. Until a man holds the spiritual rod of dominion, his liberty is not guaranteed (Genesis 27:40). It is either one rules or is overruled; either he reigns with Christ or he dwells in ruin perpetually (Psalms 110:2).

Man is the visible head of God’s kingdom of creation. He is made in the similitude of God, designed to function like God and fitted to represent Him here on earth (James 3:9). Besides, man is the epitome of God’s handiwork, and he is His visible representative on earth (Genesis 1:24-26).

Man is a spirit! He has incredible capabilities for the knowledge, ways, power and acts of God: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”.

Image represents, likeness corresponds! No wonder God’s Word affirms that “ye are gods”. This is a notable position of peculiar dignity, honor and nobility! But we need to understand it before we can enjoy the offer (Psalms 82:5-6).

As believers in Christ Jesus, we constitute God’s great army of saints on earth today, and in order to succeed in winning territories for Him, we need to know who the evil “strongman” is and his methods of operation, so as to be able to handle him successfully, and retrieve his stolen goods.

For the avoidance of doubt, Satan is that malevolent “strongman”, and he normally operates in cohorts with his demonic entities in their various hierarchies in the evil domain (Ephesians 6:10-16). Happily, Jesus Christ is stronger that them all! Alleluia!!

Some of these evil angels have satanic assignments over tribes, people groups, countries, regions, cities or business lines, and they incessantly seek to encroach upon our own spiritual territories. We must stand our grounds, wrestling and launching the offensives, whenever necessary, to reclaim whatever they had stolen.

In the natural world, most battles are territorial in nature, that is, they are about defending or gaining territories, and fighting for ownership or rights over territories. Now, spiritual warfare is not much different.

Spiritual warfare is a regular war between the angels of God and the agents of Satan, which has always impacted on the way events unfold here on earth. It is the victories we receive in the spirit realm that eventually translate into physical realities (2Corinthians 10:3-6).

However, unlike physical battles, the theater of spiritual warfare is the human mind (2Corinthians 10:4-6). The devil always strives to pollute the minds of vast sections of the human society, building his fortresses to scare people away from their divine provisions such as: salvation, healing, deliverance, glorious future, prosperity, spiritual authority, and true freedom in Christ Jesus.

Notwithstanding, God has given us the authority to destroy every satanic hold anywhere they’re found. The believers in Christ are the light of the world, and we should bear spiritual illumination to the darkened minds of men (Matthew 5:14; Ephesians 5:8).

It is our mission to tear down satanic strongholds, spreading the Gospel and expanding the territories of God’s Kingdom in our personal lives, homes, communities, schools, businesses, finances, Churches and nations.

Indeed, it is our particular Christian duty to arrest every ugly satanic trend through our dominion exercise to bring the human minds into the obedience of Christ’s government.

Understanding the Dignity of Dominion

Now, the Hebrew word, “radah”, translated “dominion” also means: to “tread down”, “subdue” or “subjugate”. It infers: “to rule”, “influence” and “have control” over something.

“Dominion” also comes with a sense of being exalted as head above all other nations and creations (Deuteronomy 28:1,13). God’s original plan is that all other creatures should submit to the headship of man.

Man was never to fear but to be feared (Genesis 9:2,6). Even after the fall, the subject of man’s dominion remained so important to God that He bought and brought us back to it via the redemptive work of Christ! Thus, anytime Satan acts to upturn that dominion right, he’s simply acting as a pure thief (John 10:10).

The believers have both the right and power in the Holy Ghost to drive Satan out of our territories, enforcing the dominion of heaven on earth (Matthew 11:12). Undoubtedly, we were made to dominate, and never to be decimated (2Corinthians 10:4).

Winning Strategies for Spiritual Warfare

Basically, in order to maximize our dominion benefits and win in our regularly forceful territorial contests, we must consistently exercise ourselves in the power of the Lord’s Presence and in the force of His righteousness (Exodus 33:14-15; Psalm 140:13).

We must gallantly fight the fight of faith (1Timothy 6:12). Every square inch of the Promised Land that Israel gained was accessed through battles. If you won’t fight with faith, you cannot win by it. Faith is saying it is so, even when it is not yet so, so that it might be so because God said so!

The process of establishing dominion in any pertinent area of our lives – politics, social positioning, spiritual strata, business, faith, etcetera – usually calls for a duel. The evil “strongman” must be confronted through strategic prayers, tackled and bound before his stolen goods — souls and glories of men — can be recovered (Matthew 11:12).

To conquer, you must confront! Confrontation is the only valid pathway between two irreconcilable kingdoms. Thereafter, your “bombshells” of prayer will loosen the holds of territorial spirits over your heritage.

Very importantly, David’s lifestyle provides us vivid examples of the importance of spiritual intelligence. Before every battle, he always inquired of the Lord for specific instructions (1Samuel 23:2-4; 30:8; 2Samuel 5:19, 23).

He was always fully prepared by revelation knowledge. For instance, he took five smooth stones in his quiver because he knew that, even though he was going then to face Goliath that would require only one stone, there were four other giants he needed to tackle (1Samuel 17:40; 2Samuel 21:22).

Today, our aggressive evangelism is a strategic means to confront the territorial spirits in our environments (2Corinthians 4:3-4). This is the wisdom our Master Jesus left for us, and we cannot ignore it if we intend to be effectual in our spiritual warfare to gain territories for Christ.

Friends and brethren, it is high time we stood our grounds and fought back, spiritually. Never forget though that the rule of the game in our territorial battles against the devil, the flesh, sin or lack is, “no fears, no retreat, no surrender and no negotiations” (1 Samuel 11:1-11).

We must never give up the fight of faith. Whenever we pray and act aright, God’s angels will fight against the demonic powers on our behalf, and incredible victories and advancement shall be our testimonies.

Your victory is sure and certain! You will soon recover your lost heritage in Christ, and you will truly celebrate. You won’t miss this, in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Bishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987

If I were to ask you for the two most powerful words in the Bible, you might not be able to answer. Well, I am going to tell them to you today because God visited me in a dream. In the dream, I saw myself preaching those two words.

I woke up and immediately decided to study them in the Bible. What I discovered amazed me and strengthened my faith. I discovered that the two words He gave me were two of the most powerful words in the Bible, if not the most powerful.

These two words are: “But God.”

Powerful words

Everywhere in the scriptures, we see the power of the words: “But God.” Something was lost “but God” found it. Someone was dead “but God” brought him back to life. Someone was blind, “but God” restored his sight. There was no way, “but God” made a way.

“But God” prefaces the intervention of the Almighty in the scriptures. With “but God,” God redeems. With “but God,” He raises the dead. With “but God,” He makes all things new. All seems lost “but God” appears and rights all wrongs.

Think about it, your life is full of “But God” revelations. God is the God of the comebacks. It is never over until you get your “but God” intervention.

First principle

Never ever say anything about God and then say “but.” That is the height of disrespect. People say God did this and that, but… That is rubbish. God helped me, but I still lost everything. Balderdash! I thought God would heal the man, but he died. He died because you are blind.

My auntie told me: “God is powerful O. God is powerful O. But we need to also apply our local abracadabra.” That is hogwash! Do not fall for such deception. Never fall into that trap of the devil.

Say whatever you like and end it with “but God.” Say: “The economy is bad, “but God” will make a way. Say: “There is no food in the house, “but God” is our provision. Say: “There is no money in the bank, “but God” is our accountant. Say: “The doctors insist the disease is incurable, “but God” is our healer. Say: “We lost all hope, “but God” renewed our strength.

End a sentence with “but God” and you have glorified God. End it with “but God” and you have released the power of God. Say: “But God” and the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints become available to you. Seek refuge in “but God” and the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward you emerges. Acknowledge “but God” and you will realise the working of God’s mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. Proclaim the virtues of “but God” and you will know that there is Balm in Gilead.  

With “but God,” the impossible becomes possible. When you say: “But God” you will see that: “(God) is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that (you) ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20).

With everything, God is the resolution. God is the answer. God is the redemption. God is the provision. God is the healing.

Grace in action

There are many examples of “but God” in the scriptures. No two words better express the grace of God more fulsomely in the Bible than “But God.” “But God” speaks eloquently of the mercy of God. It speaks of the lovingkindness of God. It speaks of the goodness of God. It speaks of the forgiveness of God. It speaks of God’s longsuffering nature, of God’s compassion, and of God’s faithfulness.

Paul says, for example: “You He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1-6).

Once we were dead in trespasses and sins, “but God.” Once we walked according to the dictates of the devil, “but God.” Once we conformed to the evil ways of this world, “but God.” Once we conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, “but God.” Once we lived by gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature, “but God.”

Once we habitually fulfilled the desires of the flesh and of the mind, “but God.” Once we were by nature children of wrath, “but God” redeemed us.

Once we sat in darkness, blinded by our sins, “but God.” Once we jumped when the devil said jump, “but God.” Once we were imprisoned, enslaved by fleshly lusts, “but God.” Once our Lord and master was the prince of the power of the air, but God. Once we were driven and tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, “but God.” Once we were lost, deaf to the voice of the Good Shepherd, “but God” rescued us.

“But God” who is rich in mercy, “but God” who is full of lovingkindness, “but God” whose love is from everlasting to everlasting, “but God” whose faithfulness reaches to the clouds, “but God” whose compassions fail not, “but God” whose goodness endures continually, reached out to us and saved us.

He saved us and redeemed us from our sins. He washed us in His blood. He came down to earth to die for us. He brought us out of a horrible pit. He lifted us out of the miry clay. He set our feet upon a rock. He established our steps.

“But God” is the assurance that God will work every and any bad thing that will happen in your life for good; to the glory of His name.

Final say

Inscribe this kingdom principle of “But God” in your heart and mind. It ensures that you never rule out God. Do not do any addition or subtraction without Him. Include God in every calculus of life.

God is our secret weapon. He is plenteous in redemption. He gives double for trouble. “He is a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat.” (Isaiah 25”4). Weeping may endure for a day, but joy comes in the morning.

“But God” is a principle of life. It expresses God’s positioning in the life of every man. God is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Beginning and the End.

That means everything ends with God. It does not end until God says: “The End.” And God Himself is The End. That End is a revelation of God. That End is the realisation of His mighty power.

It never ends in the valley. It always ends on the mountaintop with a transfiguration. But only if we wait for God. Therefore, in every situation, do not give up. In every situation, wait for God. He is never late, and He is never early. He is always just on time.

This is His promise: “Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; they shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.” (Isaiah 49:23). CONTINUED.

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Summary: Living in disadvantaged neighborhoods not only influences food choices and weight gain but can also alter the brain’s microstructure.

Researchers found that poor food quality, high-calorie intake, and inactive environments common in such areas disrupt brain regions crucial for emotion, cognition, and reward processing. A direct link was established between brain cortex changes and high trans-fatty acid intake, prevalent in such neighborhoods.

These findings emphasize the urgent need to improve dietary quality in deprived areas for better brain health.

Key Facts:

1. Disadvantaged neighborhoods can lead to changes in the brain’s cortex related to reward, emotion, and cognition due to poor dietary habits.
2. The study included 92 participants and used advanced MRI scans to study the brain structure in relation to the Area Deprivation Index (ADI).
3. High intake of trans-fatty acids from foods, common in these neighborhoods, directly impacted specific areas of the brain’s cortex.

Source: UCLA

You are what you eat, according to the adage. But it’s not just the body that’s impacted. According to research from UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, living in a disadvantaged neighborhood can affect food choices, weight gain and even the microstructure of the brain.

The study, appearing in Communications Medicine, finds poor quality of available foods, increased intake of calories from foods high in trans-fatty acids, and environments that do not foster physical activity, all prevalent in disadvantaged neighborhoods, disrupt the flexibility of information processing in the brain that is involved in reward, emotion regulation, and cognition.

Previous research showed that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood can impact brain health, but in this study, researchers did a detailed analysis of the brain’s cortex to determine how living in a disadvantaged area can change specific areas of the brain that play different roles.

“We found that neighborhood disadvantage was associated with differences in the fine structure of the cortex of the brain. Some of these differences were linked to higher body mass index and correlated with high intake of the trans-fatty acids found in fried fast food,” said Arpana Gupta, PhD, co-Director of the Goodman-Luskin Center and Director of the Neuroimaging Core.

“Our results suggest that regions of the brain involved in reward, emotion, and the acquisition of knowledge and understanding might be affected by aspects of neighborhood disadvantage that contribute to obesity,” said Gupta, senior author. “This highlights the importance of addressing dietary quality issues in disadvantaged neighborhoods to protect brain health.”

Neighborhood disadvantage is defined by a combination of such factors as low median income, low education level, crowding, and lack of complete plumbing.

This study included 92 participants – 27 men and 65 women – from the greater Los Angeles area. Demographic and body mass index information was collected, and neighborhood disadvantage was assessed as to its area deprivation index (ADI) using University of Wisconsin School of Medicine’s Public Health’s Neighborhood Atlas.

Earlier studies have found that people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods are at higher risk of obesity due to the poor quality of available foods, increased intake of calories from foods high in trans-fatty acids, and environments that do not foster physical activity.

In this study, researchers focused on the relationship between ADI and neuroimaging results at four levels of the brain cortex to investigate in more refined detail the connections between neighborhood disadvantage and brain structure. Participants underwent two types of MRI scans that, when analyzed in combination, provide insights into brain structure, signaling and function.

“Different populations of cells exist in different layers of the cortex, where there are different signaling mechanisms and information-processing functions,” said Lisa Kilpatrick, PhD, a researcher in the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center focusing on brain signatures related to brain-body dysregulation, the study’s first author.

“Examining the microstructure at different cortical levels provides a better understanding of alterations in cell populations, processes and communication routes that may be affected by living in a disadvantaged neighborhood.”

According to the results, worse ADI ratings were associated with communication changes in brain regions that are important for social interaction. Other changes occurred in regions involved in reward, emotion regulation, and higher cognitive processes – and these changes appeared to be affected by trans-fatty acid intake.

Together, the findings suggest that factors prevalent in disadvantaged neighborhoods that encourage poor diet and unhealthy weight gain “disrupt the flexibility of information processing involved in reward, emotion regulation, and cognition.”

Authors Gupta and Kilpatrick are both corresponding authors. Other authors, all from UCLA, include Keying Zhang, Tien Dong, Gilbert Gee, Hiram Beltran-Sanchez, May Wang, Jennifer Labus, Bruce Naliboff and Emeran Mayer.

Funding This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, including R01 MD015904 (AG), K23 DK106528 (AG), R03 DK121025 (AG), T32 DK07180 (TD), ULTR001881/DK041301 (UCLA CURE/CTSI Pilot and Feasibility Study (AG), R01 DK048351 (EAM), P30 DK041301; and pilot funds provided for brain scanning by the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center. These funders played no role in study design, or the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data.

Neuroscience

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has filed new documents against President Bola Tinubu before the Supreme Court in which he accused the President of forgery and lying under oath, and should therefore be disqualified and removed from office.

The evidence filed by the former vice president was the academic records of Tinubu, which were handed over to him by the Chicago State University on Monday following the order of an Illinois court in the United States of America instructing the institution to release the academic records as requested by Atiku.

The PDP candidate had requested the documents for use in Nigerian courts to support his argument that Tinubu forged a certificate he claimed to have obtained from the CSU in 1979 and submitted to the country’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission, for the 2023 presidential election.

In an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, one of Atiku’s lawyers, who pleaded anonymity, said Tinubu’s academic records had been submitted to the apex court.

 “We have filed (the fresh evidence) but I do not have a copy (of the filing). You can approach the Supreme Court for a copy of the process,” the lawyer said.

But Atiku’s lead counsel at the tribunal, Chris Uche, said the process was being worked on.

“I am sure they are working on it. I will get back if I have any information on it,” he said.

A media consultant to the former vice-president, Paul Ibe, confirmed to one of our correspondents on Friday that the lawyers would file the fresh evidence on Friday to complement the grounds of appeal filed earlier.

“I am yet to get any briefing from the legal team, but it (fresh evidence) will be filed on or before 12 midnight of today (Friday), which is the deadline.”

Asked about the specific prayers of the PDP candidate on account of the fresh evidence, Ibe added, “The extra evidence or the new evidence, which has to do with the certificate that Tinubu submitted to INEC, based on the petition, the discovery and deposition, which is what we have been waiting for, will help. And that is not the only ground; the initial filing we made to the Supreme Court was on 35 grounds.

“The Chicago evidence is just extra evidence in support of the application.”

In text messages to one of our correspondents, members of Atiku’s legal team, Chris Uche and Mike Ozekhome, also confirmed that the new evidence would be filed on Friday.

They, however, refused to reveal the content of the fresh filing. A source in the camp of Atiku told our correspondent that the grounds already included allegations of forgery and perjury, saying the former vice-president was determined to see the matter to the end.

The source noted, “We have pointed out repeatedly the issues of forgery and perjury as regards the Chicago State University certificate and what the APC candidate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“So, on one hand, he lied to INEC under oath, and on the other hand, the university said it didn’t issue the document Tinubu submitted to INEC, which means whatever was submitted was not the valid certificate.”

One of the counsel for Atiku, Kalu Kalu, had said at the press conference by the former vice president on Thursday, “One, that Tinubu forged the certificate he presented to INEC. Two, the qualifying certificate from South West College to Chicago State University bears a female name, indicating that that document does not belong to Tinubu.

“Three, the Chicago State University admission form has a claim that Tinubu attended Government College Lagos and graduated in 1970 when indeed the school was established in 1974.

“The same document has it that the owner of that document is a black American and in the document Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to INEC, he denied having dual citizenship, which means it does not belong to him. Then, the same document, oral deposition, said the A in Bola A. Tinubu is Ahmed, but the NYSC certificate Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to INEC has Adekunle. I don’t know where Adekunle emerged from.”

Punch

Federal Government paid an interest of N912.32bn in the first quarter of 2023 on the loans it got from the Central Bank of Nigeria through Ways and Means Advances.

This amount was stated in the Q1, 2023 Budget Implementation Report by the Budget Office of the Federation.

The amount spent paying interest on this loan is 161.47 per cent higher than the N348.92bn spent in the same quarter of 2022.

As earlier reported, the Federal Government planned to spend N1.2tn on servicing the loans it got from the CBN through the Ways and Means Advances.

This meant that the government planned to spend about N300bn quarterly.

However, it had spent about 76.03 per cent of its budget for the interests on the ways and means advances.

Ways and Means Advances is a loan facility used by the central bank to finance the government in periods of temporary budget shortfalls subject to limits imposed by law.

According to Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007, the apex bank may grant temporary advances to the Federal Government with regard to temporary deficiency of budget revenue at such rate of interest as the bank may determine.

The Act read in part, “The total amount of such advances outstanding shall not at any time exceed five per cent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government.

“All advances shall be repaid as soon as possible and shall, in any event, be repayable by the end of the Federal Government financial year in which they are granted, and if such advances remain unpaid at the end of the year, the power of the bank to grant such further advances in any subsequent year shall not be exercisable, unless the outstanding advances have been repaid.”

The Act placed a limit of five per cent on how much the Federal Government could borrow, although the previous administration severely violated the limit.

However, the House of Representatives of the 9th National Assembly, amid protest, approved an amendment to the CBN Act, raising the ceiling of Ways and Means Advances from the apex bank from five to 15 per cent of the Federal Government’s previous year’s revenue.

The House gave the approval at an emergency sitting, in concurrence with the Senate, which held an emergency plenary to consider and approve some economic bills.

The National Assembly made the move amid criticisms that the Federal Government had obtained WMAs beyond the five per cent threshold of the CBN.

Punch

At least nine people were kidnapped in an attack on Friday by gunmen in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state, residents said.

Kidnapping for ransom by armed gangs is rife in northwest Nigeria due to high levels of poverty, unemployment and the proliferation of illegal firearms.

The Zamfara police and local government did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on Friday.

Residents of Tsohuwar Kasuwa community in Kaura Namoda local government area of the state said the gunmen stormed their village in an early morning raid on motorcycles.

"They abducted my two children and they were taken to an unknown destination." Rabe Sarkawa, a resident of the community, told Reuters by phone. "I am in pain right now."

Five members of resident Sabitu's household were among those abducted, and his herd of cattle was taken.

"Apart from unrest from the abductions for ransom, and the loss of innocent lives, we're also not allowed to carry out our daily livelihood in peace," Sabitu said.

Attacks in the northwest are part of widespread insecurity in Nigeria, with a 14-year Islamist insurgency in the northeast, and gang and separatist violence in the southeast.

Deadly clashes also frequently occur between farmers and herders.

On Wednesday gunmen kidnapped five female students from a university in the neighbouring Katsina state, police said.

President Bola Tinubu is yet to detail a plan to address the widespread insecurity.

Labour unions have criticized Tinubu's economic reforms, which include removing a costly fuel subsidy and freeing the naira, saying they have raised the cost of living.

Reuters

Vladimir Putin has made his heaviest nuclear threat yet, saying two systems are ready to be deployed.

The Russian leader ranted and raved against the West on Thursday at a conference in Sochi, Russia.

In his speech, he said his 'Satan-2' and 'Flying Chernobyl' missiles will be ready soon, and touted their destructive ability.

Putin claimed Russia had "practically finished work on the modern strategic weapons that I have been talking about and I announced a few years ago".

In the conference, Putin painted a grim portrait of Russia's nuclear arsenal.

He said: "From the moment the launch of missiles is detected, no matter where it comes from - from any point of the world ocean or from any territory - such a number, so many hundreds of our missiles appear in the air in a retaliatory strike that there is no chance of survival there will be no single enemy left, and in several directions at once."

Putin then claimed: "The last successful test of the Burevestnik, a global-range cruise missile with a nuclear installation, a nuclear propulsion system, has been carried out."

The 'Flying Chernobyl' Burevestnik missile is known for its capability to stay airborne for extended periods.

According to a report by the New York Times, satellite imagery and aviation data point to ongoing preparations for what is believed to be a nuclear weapons test around an Arctic base.

Should the missile be deployed, it would be a game changer for Russia, allowing it to strike with a potential range of 14,000 miles.

However, the missile, also known as SSC-X-9 Skyfall, has a checkered history, including 13 unsuccessful tests, with one in 2019 resulting in seven dead.

Putin also claimed however that "we have actually finished work on Sarmat [Satan-2], on the super-heavy missile".

Sarmat, unveiled in 2018, has an operational range of 11,000 miles, travels at a staggering 15,880mph, and is the size of a 14-storey tower block.

There is only evidence of one successful test of this weapon, well below the dozen needed for deployment.

And at the start of September, Roscosmos Director General Yuri Borisov said the weapon system had been placed on official combat duty amid the war with Ukraine.

It comes after a Russian Telegram channel with links to the Kremlin's security services claimed an "agent" had revealed he had been given a mission to "remove" Putin.

The channel VChK-OGPU said the conversation took place at karaoke club Honey - a known hangout for security service spooks in Chekhov, near Moscow.

It also claimed the so-called "agent" showed the informant a service ID card and had a "long heart-to-heart conversation about the war and future life in Russia".

Daily Express, USA

'Half the village is gone': Ukraine hamlet reels after missile strike

In a burial plot next to a field outside the remote Ukrainian hamlet of Hroza, residents removed undergrowth and cleared away litter to make space for more graves.

Working quietly, it was something to distract them from the horror of what happened the day before.

As dozens of people gathered in the local cafe for a meal to honour a soldier who died in the war against Russia, a missile struck, killing at least 52 people.

It was one of the most deadly attacks during 20 months of fighting, and one that has devastated the tiny, tight-knit community.

Shock is giving way to grief, as well as questions about how the Russians could have known about the gathering in what some Hroza residents say was a deliberate attack.

Among those killed was Olya, 36, who is survived by three children. Her husband died too.

Her father, Valeriy Kozyr, was at the cemetery preparing to bury her and his son-in-law.

"It would have been better if I had died," he said quietly as he wept. "Oh God, you cannot punish me like this. To leave the father and take the children!"

Wiping tears from his face, the 61-year-old explained that he must now work out how to care for his three grand-children aged 10, 15 and 17. Kozyr wants to bury Olya and her husband side-by-side in a single grave.

He told Reuters he was not in the cafe on Thursday because he worked night shifts as a security guard, and so was spared.

Nearby, three brothers were readying a plot in which to bury their parents, both killed in what President Volodymr Zelenskiy has called a deliberate Russian assault on civilians.

Moscow denies targeting civilians in its full-scale invasion, a position it repeated on Friday in response to the Hroza strike. Thousands have been killed in a bombing campaign that has hit apartment blocks and restaurants as well as power stations, bridges and grain silos.

One brother began to dig while another picked up discarded plastic bottles.

"We lost 18 people on one street, where our parents lived," said the third, 41-year-old Yevhen Pyrozhok. "On one side, the neighbours are gone, and on the other side a woman is gone."

The men said they did not know when they would be able to have the funeral because their parents' bodies were still being examined by investigators in Kharkiv, the closest big city in northeastern Ukraine.

Not all of the victims have been identified. Regional police investigator Serhiy Bolvinov told reporters late on Thursday that authorities would have to use DNA to identify some of the victims, because their remains were beyond recognition.

"Corpses lay there in that yard, and nobody could identify them," said Valentyna Kozienko, 73, speaking near her home close to the site.

'HALF THE VILLAGE GONE'

As darkness fell on Thursday, dazed emergency crews carried bodies placed in white bags on to the back of a pickup truck. A local man knelt down and wept as he lay his hand on the remains of a loved one before they too, were taken away.

Local resident Oleksandr Mukhovatyi said he lost his mother, brother and sister-in-law.

"Someone betrayed us. The attack was precise, it all landed in the coffee shop."

On Friday, rescue workers continued to sift through the rubble of the flattened cafe and nearby shop, while diggers pushed away debris.

On a low table set up a few metres (yards) away, members of the emergency services and local community laid flowers and lit candles in small coloured jars to commemorate the dead.

At the cemetery, one grave stands out.

Freshly dug earth is piled beneath bright blue and yellow bouquets that match the colours of a large Ukrainian flag fluttering above them in the breeze.

This is the final resting place of Andriy Kozyr, a soldier in the Ukrainian army and distant relative of the newly-grieving father, Valeriy.

Andriy had been killed earlier in the conflict, but his family wanted to bury him in his native village when they discovered his remains in an area that had been occupied by Russians before they retreated late in 2022.

Just as local friends and relatives sat down to celebrate his life, the missile landed.

"Half the village is gone, families are gone," said Kozyr, standing beside his wife as she wept. "All the time they miss. Well, this time, they hit.

"Now I'll have to cross out half my phone book."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Air defense forces repel drone attack in Istra district northwest of Moscow, says mayor

Air defense forces in the Istra district northwest of Moscow downed a drone targeting the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported on his Telegram channel.

"Air defense forces in the Istra municipality repelled a drone attack targeting Moscow," Sobyanin said in a post. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties or damage. Emergencies services are working at the scene, he added.

** Russian forces occupy more than 10 Ukrainian strongholds in south Donetsk area

Fighters of Russia’s Battlegroup East improved their tactical positions in the south Donetsk direction as they occupied more than a dozen Ukrainian strongholds there, Battlegroup Spokesman Oleg Chekhov told TASS.

"[Russian] assault teams improved their tactical positions near Novomikhailovka, north of Nikolskoye, west of Novodonetskoye and Novozlatopol," Chekhov said. "More than 10 enemy strongholds have been occupied, with [Ukrainian] manpower being destroyed and two militants surrendering," he added.

According to Chekhov, Russian artillerymen destroyed a Ukrainian communication center and a jamming station in Novomikhailovka.

Also, he said, the battlegroup’s aircraft hit Ukrainian soldiers and military equipment near Novomikhailovka, Urozhainoye, Staromayorskoye as well as north of Priyutnoye.

Reuters/Tass

The strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress earlier set for this week has been postponed. The labour unions were ready to go into an unlimited strike action, following the inability or unwillingness of the Federal Government to introduce significant palliatives that would assuage the intense sufferings of workers confronted by a cost of living crisis that has made feeding, transportation, medical care, etc., almost impossible for the working class. When I listened to President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day address, the main message I heard was that he is aware of the suffering of the people and is acting to address it. What workers are saying is that they do not see any evidence yet of what is being done to alleviate their suffering.

It is not clear what deal was done with the labour aristocrats, leading the unions to stop the strike for the moment, but the reality is that if the cost of living crisis is not addressed in a substantive way very soon, the explosion would be coming and it may not even be from wage earners. The World Bank says that only 12 per cent of the working class earn a formal wage in Nigeria. The vast majority are farmers or informal workers who have no unions, voice or structure to articulate their interests and they are even more affected by the cost of living crisis.

I was listening to a radio programme interviewing keke and motorcycle taxi operators and their stories were pathetic. Essentially, they cannot increase their charges at the same rate as the increase in fuel costs, for the simple reason that their clients actually have less money to spend now than they used to have, so when the rates went up, the operators simply ran out of clients. They therefore have to reduce their margins to the lowest possible level, which means they often are unable to even replace the cost of the fuel that they bought, with the implications of this being that they find themselves operating at a loss. They describe every ride as a challenge, as clients haggle, beg and cajole them to reduce the fares. Fights are also on the increase as they convey about clients who have no money and they either operate rides that are settled through fights or clients who run away on arriving at their destinations.

As if all these are not enough, the authorities are after them and seizing their vehicles, to completely drive them out of business. Their woes are never heard by constituted authority because they have no organisational structure and no voice. As you go through the various occupations in which poor Nigerians hustle for survival in our cities every day, the stories are similar. The informal economy is crumbling and hustling to survive is getting tougher.

The stories from the rural areas are worse. Gangs of armed criminal enterprises have turned the kidnapping of farmers into a very lucrative activity for the war lords. When a farmer is kidnapped, it is not only his family that is in trouble. All his relations are taxed to make up the ransom payment. As most people have no cash, they have to sell their assets – animals, land and petty possessions – to get the cash, often at giveaway prices. Kidnapping is therefore deepening rural poverty. Many farmers have given up farming all together and moved to towns to live in destitution. Others decide to negotiate with the gangs and pay protection tax, to be allowed to farm. These ones are also not finding it easy because they pay so much upfront and thereafter have no more resources to buy fertilisers and make something reasonable out of the farms. The pressure on more and more of the youth is to join the gangs. As the gangs grow larger, there are fewer farmers to kidnap, as such the gangs would need to move to the major roads and cities to smoke out the middle classes from their homes.

As these miseries deepen, Nigerians are also very concerned about the politics of the country. The drama playing out over Tinubu’s certificate saga, this week, is bringing shame to Nigerians. Why should there be such profound questions about fake and true certificates, gender identity, and possible identity theft around our President? Why are we unable to produce a political class composed of people with clear traceable itineraries and integrity? Meanwhile, the concern of Nigerians is the capacity of the judiciary to deliver justice in the numerous cases in which power and money appear to determine the outcomes, rather than the truth. My fear is that the combination of the suffering from economic woes and injustice from the courts might tilt the balance in provoking explosive anger from the people. The judiciary should know that it is itself on trial in the people’s court.

The distance between Nigeria’s irresponsibly over-affluent political class and the people has become extremely wide. They are having the best times of their lives at a time in which even the middle class is becoming pauperised and forced to sell its assets to survive. As Allister Cooke, the late BBC letter writer from America once explained, POWER CORRUPTS AND ABSOLUTE POWER IS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. The problem will be when it bursts, there will be no winners. Nigeria’s ruling class is incapable of acting in its enlightened self-interest, so we might just have to wait for the explosion. What is clear is that the social contract between the people and the ruling class is broken, public trust has disappeared and transactional politics is approaching its limits. If someone in government happens to come across this column, think about it and consider the reality that the immediate self-interest of those in power cannot be the sole purpose of government in a country like Nigeria. The security and welfare of the people is the constitutional purpose of government.

** A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.

PT

Paris fashion week usually celebrates youth, artifice and maximum effort in the department of physical appearance. But this week there has been a big old French fuss about the joy of being natural and authentic.

Pamela Anderson has rocked up at shows “makeup-free at 56”. Andie MacDowell, 65, and Dame Helen Mirren, 78, “sported natural grey hair” (ie, they turned up while possessing hair) on the runway for L’Oréal. Making a lot of effort is, of course, still in fashion. All these looks probably involve complications of one kind or another: an endless carousel of painfully “carefree” outfits or a hairstyle that – at the very least – needs several hours of styling. (Important side note: if you’re still coveting grey hair like Meryl Streep’s in The Devil Wears Prada, that was actually a wig.)

No judgment meant here, though: Paris fashion week should be about fabulousness. And, as the old saying goes, these women would be fabulous in a bin bag. But despite the usual smoke and mirrors, and the mass of products, money and primping that have gone into these looks, real change is afoot. There is a distinct move towards what is called “pro-ageing”, in which the ageing process is celebrated.

The word “pro-ageing” has been used by beauty brands such as Studio 10, Tropic Skincare, Clarins and Look Fabulous Forever for a while, promoting the idea that looking your age is aspirational. Now women who would not have been permitted within the Périphérique during Paris fashion week 20 years ago are championed.

There has always been something tedious about the “debate” around what women are “allowed” to look like; what is applauded, what is encouraged. After all, there is a huge difference between the women Elizabeth Hurley once called “civilians” (non-celebrities) and those whose professional currency depends on their appearance and relevance.

Joan Rivers, an enemy of ageing, let alone pro-ageing, knew this. She underwent a series of medical procedures that were not only designed to make her look younger but also made her the subject of the headlines and gossip that were necessary to maintain a career in showbusiness.

Anderson’s move may be guileless and just how she likes to leave the house nowadays. We don’t know. But it achieves the same effect as Rivers’ surgeries: commentary, pictures, a touch of the viral. All the same, as Jamie Lee Curtis wrote of Anderson, something unusual is happening: “This woman showed up and claimed her seat at the table with nothing on her face. I am so impressed and floored by this act of courage and rebellion.”

Is it really that rebellious? Yes, if your face is your fortune and you depend on the judgment of others. And yes, there is something depressing too about the fact that 70 years after Simone de Beauvoir wrote The Second Sex, we still consider it to be “courageous” if a woman appears in public under the same conditions under which a man of any age appears in public (ie, washed and wearing some clothes).

But this “courageous act” has been in evidence on social media channels for a while now, with “ordinary” people and celebrities posting about growing out their grey hair, being makeup-free and loving their wrinkly neck. One of the biggest influences of recent years in the fashion world is Iris Apfel, who recently announced her 102nd birthday on Instagram to her 2.9 million followers. The good news? Still fabulous. The bad news? She wears 56bn accessories every day (mostly bangles). You can age. But the message is clear: you had better still bloody well make an effort.

The Guardian, UK