Saidu Alkali, the minister of transportation, has inaugurated cargo movement on the single-gauge rail (SGR) from the Apapa port to Ibadan.

Alkali inaugurated the project during his first official tour of the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor on Tuesday.

The minister kicked off the tour at the Ebute Meta station before proceeding to Apapa for the launch, and then to Ibadan over 

the 157-kilometer rail track.

Alkali flagged off the freight train loaded with 30 wagons (containers) to Ibadan from the Apapa Port Complex.

WE’VE ALWAYS CLAMOURED FOR DIFFERENT MODES OF CARGO

Reacting to the development, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in a post on X, said it always clamoured for “different modes of cargo evacuation out of the ports to lessen the burden on road transportation”. 

The authority said other alternatives are rail and barge operations.

“We are excited about the launch of the single-gauge rail linking Apapa Port to Ibadan,” NPA said.

“In one year, the narrow-gauge rail received 1,886 TEUs of cargo deliveries, 3,640 TEUs of export cargo, 262 TEUs of empty.”

With the SGR, cargo evacuation would be faster and more efficient, the ports authority said.

HAULAGE ON NARROW GUAGE ON LAGOS-KANO CORIDOR TO BEGIN IN 3 MONTHS

Meanwhile, the minister said the freight wagon haulage on the narrow gauge from Lagos to Kano will begin in the next three months.

Alkali spoke when he visited the Kajola Wagon Assembly Plant in Ogun state.

He said the railway corporation was using a standard gauge to carry cargo from Lagos to Ibadan, but will begin the operation from Apapa to Kano in three months’ time.

The minister said the federal government had already fixed the narrow gauge from Lagos to Kano, and will now get some locomotives and wagons to take containers from Apapa and move them to Kano.

“Once we evacuate containers from Lagos, we will use the narrow gauge to move them to Kano,” Alkali said.

The minister directed Fidet Okhiria, managing director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), to look into the cleanliness of the coaches in order to enhance patronage on railways.

FREIGHT RAIL CHARGES HIGHER THAN ROAD MOVEMENT

On his part, Okhiria said the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NCS), being the port regulator, and the former minister of transportation, set up a ministerial committee headed by the former permanent secretary of the ministry of transportation, to look into freight charges.

He said the committee was created to ensure a smooth operation of freight rail.

“The impact on NRC is that the terminals are charging N60,000 per container for moving the container to the wagon freight, which is still higher than the movement on trucks, and the Shippers’ Council is working on that,” he said.

“The terminal charges are high because of the double handling; presently, moving cargo by rail is more expensive than road but is faster.

“We are looking to see how we can do it, we have minimum operational cost, and we don’t need to go and borrow money to buy diesel, that is why we are starting the freight rail movement of cargo handling now.”

Okhiria said the NRC had started the freight rail movement from the port pending when they receive orders from the minister to reduce charges.

WHY OPERATING RAIL FREIGHT ON NARROW GUAGE WAS STOPPED

He said the NRC was operating the rail freight on the narrow gauge before now, but stopped due to security issues.

According to Okhiria, the corporation would use a month to repair all the vandalised tracks on the narrow gauge, adding that the management would also assemble all the wagons and service them before putting them on track.

The managing director said NRC had about 120 narrow gauge wagons, adding that the federal government had been proactive as the corporation had placed orders through the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC).

The Cable

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Putin says millions of Russian volunteers cross the border to join war in Ukraine

More than a quarter of a million Russians have voluntarily joined the armed forces in recent months, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, claiming 1,000-1,500 Russians were signing voluntary contracts to join the military every day.

Ukrainian intelligence stated that the Russian military has concentrated more than 420,000 military personnel in occupied Ukraine. This, as Ukrainian and UK military officials reported that there could be more coming.

** Russia has ‘overcome sanctions’ – NYT

Russia has defied Western sanctions and export controls intended to cripple its military firepower, ramping up missile production to even higher levels than it achieved before the Ukraine conflict began, the New York Times has reported.

Although the sanctions curtailed Russian missile output for approximately six months after Moscow launched its military offensive against Kiev in February 2022, the nation’s defense contractors later managed to restore and even increase their production capacity, the newspaper said on Wednesday, citing unidentified US officials.

The manufacturing feat has left Ukraine “especially vulnerable to intensified attacks in the coming months,” including possible strikes on energy infrastructure in the autumn and winter months, the report added. US officials, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity, conceded that Russia’s military industrial complex had overcome Western efforts to stymie production.

The officials claimed that Moscow had obtained scarce components through an “extensive smuggling network,” routing them through such countries as Armenia and Türkiye. Part of the problem is that some of the materials aren’t specific to the defense industry and therefore don’t raise red flags.

“One of the challenges for the US government is that Russia does not need higher-end chips that are easier to track, but commoditized chips that can be used in a wide range of things, not just guided missiles,” the newspaper said.

Russia has doubled its production of missiles and artillery shells to as many as 2 million a year, achieving higher output than the combined capacity of Ukraine’s many Western backers, according to the report. Ukrainian officials warned in June that Russia had achieved even larger increases in production of Kalibr and Kh-101 missiles, boosting output as much as fourfold. However, US officials claimed that Russian ammunition producers hadn’t been able to keep pace with the rate of artillery firing in the conflict’s first year, which amounted to around 10 million shells.

Russia also is overcoming Western sanctions economically. The country’s GDP is on track to grow by more than 2% this year after contracting by 2.1% – far less than the 11.2% drop predicted by the World Bank – in 2022. “We have emerged from the crisis, and our prospects for rapid development are good by today’s standards,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last month.  

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russian naval vessels badly damaged in Crimea attack

Ukraine said it seriously damaged two Russian naval vessels and struck port infrastructure in the Crimean city of Sevastopol early on Wednesday, in what appeared to be the biggest attack of the war on the home of the Russian navy's Black Sea Fleet.

The strike on Crimea, seized and annexed by Russia in 2014, was confirmed by Moscow. It highlighted Kyiv's growing missile capabilities as Russia continues to bombard Ukraine from afar with long-range missiles and assault drones.

Ukrainian military intelligence official Andriy Yusov told Reuters that a large landing vessel and submarine had been hit in the strike, and later described the damage as "considerable" in televised comments.

"We can say now that it is highly likely (the vessels) are beyond repair," he said.

Russia's defence ministry said that Ukraine attacked a Black Sea naval shipyard with 10 cruise missiles and three uncrewed speedboats in the early hours, damaging two military vessels that had been undergoing repairs.

It said it downed seven of the incoming missiles and that the attack boats had been destroyed by a Russian patrol ship. It later said its two vessels would be fully repaired and return to service, contradicting Kyiv's account.

An image circulated online and verified by Reuters showed a docked vessel that had sustained serious damage.

Ukrainian military analyst Volodymyr Zablotsky told news outlet RBK Ukraina the damaged vessels were the "Minsk" Ropucha-class large landing ship and the "Rostov-on-Don" Kilo-class attack submarine, which can carry Kalibr cruise missiles.

"It carries six torpedoes or four Kalibr missiles in one salvo. So we can calculate that Russia is now down four Kalibr missiles. It would seem that they have lost one missile launcher, at least partially, for several months."

'BIGGEST ATTACK'

Retired Ukrainian navy captain Andriy Ryzhenko, speaking to Reuters by telephone, said: "It really is the biggest attack on Sevastopol since the beginning of the war."

The city is home to the Black Sea Fleet which the Kremlin uses to project power into the Middle East and Mediterranean and - during the war in Ukraine - to impose a de facto blockade on Ukraine's seaborne food exports via the Turkish straits.

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Ukraine has tried to push back against the fleet's naval power by attacking with sea drones packed with explosives, but Russia has continued to use its warships for missile attacks on Ukraine throughout the more than 18-month-old war.

It was not clear what kind of missile was used by Kyiv in the attack on Sevastopol, which lies about 300 km (185 miles) from Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa.

Ryzhenko said Ukraine may have used domestically made Neptune anti-ship missiles that had been modified to work against ground targets. British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles were another possibility, he said.

Britain's Sky News cited unnamed sources saying Storm Shadows were used in the attack.

The West has poured weapons worth billions of dollars into Ukraine to help it fend off Russian forces that have occupied swathes of territory in the south and east since their full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The Ukrainian military, which launched a counteroffensive in early June, took the unusual step of publicly claiming responsibility for the strike, something it does not typically do for attacks on Russia or the Crimea peninsula.

"On the morning of Sept. 13 the Ukrainian armed forces conducted successful strikes on naval assets and port infrastructure of the occupiers at the docks of temporarily occupied Sevastopol," it said on Telegram.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea and a major Black Sea port, said on Telegram that at least 24 people had been injured.

He posted a night photo of flames engulfing what appeared to be port infrastructure. Russian Telegram channels posted videos and more photos of flames at a facility by the water.

On the streets of Sevastopol on Wednesday afternoon, residents said the attack had woken them up.

"My child was woken up as well. It was about 3 in the morning. We got very scared. Everything was shaking," said Nadezhda Lunyova.

Euronews/RT/Reuters

Two developments that happened last week seemed disparate but were interconnected. First, it was the Bola Tinubu administration’s 100th day in office. That timeline used to be for an administration to glance back and celebrate its bold and decisive decisions that potentially set the country on track, but this one was rather muted. Several op-eds appraised how the (in)actions of the government foreshadow what is yet to come, but the atmosphere fell short of what one would expect from an administration that exaggerates its own worth.

The second came during the Presidential Electoral Petition Tribunal when one of the judges, Mistura Bolaji-Yusuf, alluded to social media discussions bordering the election petitions. Since the petitioners could not have been the ones intimidating her on social media, her snide comment must have been referring to supporters of the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi.

Here is how I view both incidents: We are at a time when organised political opposition and activism have seriously waned, and filling the lacuna is this diffuse band of disaffected citizens on social media called the Obi-dients.

In the wake of the PEPT judgment, I must have read a dozen articles putting down Obi (and his supporters) for daring to contest the election results. Interestingly—and maybe curiously too—the opprobrium at dragging the election was mostly reserved for Obi. It was almost as if the other petitioner, Atiku Abubakar, did not exist. Commenters, of course, have a right to their reflections, but then, it is always easier to attack what you do not like than to acknowledge its significance.

Pesky irritants they might be, if there is anything still called political opposition and activism in Nigeria now, it is the Obi-dients.

Political opposition in Nigeria takes more than a principled stand against the establishment; it is all shades of risks. Largely because Nigeria runs a mono-economy where all economic power is reposed within the single centralising authority of the presidency, occupation of the post sets you up for invincibility. We can argue that some checks and balances are built into democracy to counterbalance this overwhelming power, but they hardly function as envisaged where the president mostly controls resources. Without economic power, there is no political power, but there can also be no political power without economic power.

What allowed the All Progressives Congress and their band of so-called political activists to survive this impasse while they were the political opposition was that they had Lagos State right from the start. With the immense resources of the state, they set the place up as the organisational centre of political opposition. They could also commandeer the intelligentsia to endow an industry of self-interests with the sheen of principled oppositional activities. From academics to the commentariat, their foot soldiers nurtured regional disaffection while maintaining a superficially ideological stance against the Federal Government.

Whatever you might have against the APC, you cannot but acknowledge their skills at organising political opposition. Most of their so-called “best of the best,” the talents supposedly fished out by their godfather, authenticated their public profile by pretending they stand for progressiveness. What was redacted in the whole farce was the lush state resources that bought the intellectual agenda and moral vision of the APC. It was why they fought tooth and nail to retain Lagos in the last general elections. If the opposition had dislodged the Lagos APC, it would have exposed the rot in their governance system and ended a key source of their power.

Since 2015 when the APC finally achieved its goal of making it to the federal, opposition politics has not been the same. The first problem is that the APC was engineered to be a vehicle for oppositional politics, and they struggled with their change of status. They serially found themselves in this weird place where they concurrently maintained an establishment and anti-establishment attitude. Second, Abuja exposed the ideological vacuity at the base of their opposition politics. Everything they previously stood against while they were the opposing party, they reproduced.

Unfortunately for all of us, there is no equivalent of the APC at either the regional or federal level to stand up to them and enforce a measure of accountability. Nobody can afford to create another organised opposition vehicle like the APC did primarily because nobody has similar access to a steady stream of money. The PDP that should naturally have slid into the space that the APC occupied until 2015 has been found wanting in that respect.

If there is one charge everyone lays against the PDP, which did not help their cause during the 2023 presidential election, it is the poor quality of their opposition politics. The loss of federal power weakened them considerably, hauling them from their powerful position—where they arrogantly boasted they would be in power for 60-100 years—to a state of perpetual perplexity. The party cannot determine how they should function without the federal political power that organised them and has been mostly lethargic. They have yielded significant moments where they could have held their opponents accountable and even scored some political goals. These days, it is hard to remember that that party once housed some of the most powerful politicians in the country. Power changed hands, and chaos ensued.

Not only are they still demoralised from the 2015 aftermath, but the political ambition of their recent presidential candidate, Atiku—who will likely recontest in 2027— demobilises them. Atiku is to the PDP what Donald Trump is to the Republican Party in the United States. His path to the presidency is uncertain, but his followership base is wide enough to keep the flame of his ambitions burning. The hope that he can still make it to the presidency effectively paralyses the party from discovering new talents. Consequently, the party is consigned to serving one man’s political ambition.

Worse for the PDP is that Rivers, the state that could have served as the equivalent of APC’s Lagos, is not quite within their grasp. By appointing a vulgarian who has many axes to grind with the PDP into power, Nyesom Wike, the APC effectively stymied any radical opposition that might come from that direction. Wike is no longer the governor, but he retains a considerable hold on local politics to ensure that Rivers does not become an organising centre for political opposition. He will not leave the PDP, but he will petrify them, so they do not threaten his political future. Even worse, his style of being a member of one political party while serving the party in power will be the model other ideological cross-dressers like him will copy in the coming years.

Judging by the PDP bogged down on one side by Atiku’s ambitions and on the other by Wike’s vindictiveness, the fate of political opposition in the country is doomed.

You can despise the Obi-dients all you like, but they are what subsists as opposition politics in the country for now. They have been resilient. They stood up to some of the APC’s best foot soldiers who dipped their pens in toxic ink jars to denounce the Obi-dients until those ones fell on their own dictionaries and thesauruses.

Their greatest strength so far has been the dispersed nature of its authority—without a leader or an arrowhead, there is nobody to be summoned to Abuja and compromised. For those paying attention to trends, that diffusion is the shape of things to come. Political opposition organising and activism has changed forever universally due to the advancement in technology. For Nigeria, this evolution also coincided with the recession of viable organised political opposition.

You do not like the Obi-dients? That is understandable, but that will also not make them disappear. Your dislike for a phenomenon might even be the reason it will thrive.

Punch

Inc.com columnist Justin Bariso answers questions about how to handle workplace and management problems using emotional intelligence. (Note: Some names have been changed.)

A reader asks:

How do you deal with angry or irate customers, and/or prevent others from getting angry in the first place?

For example:

• A product they are waiting for is not ready in time due to factors outside of our control (being short-staffed, extremely busy)
• How to deal with customer that is being unreasonable
• How to best promote a product (required by the company) without coming across as pushy

Thanks in advance for your help.

Jason 
Customer Service Representative 
Retail Business 
Pennsylvania

Bariso responds:

Great questions. The key to using emotional intelligence when dealing with customers is to utilize the following qualities:

Transparency: People know when you're avoiding their question or giving them the runaround. And they hate it. 

So, be as honest and direct as you can. At the same time, try to give them something positive to take away: a discount, a giveaway, or at least some hope.

Empathy: Before responding, put yourself in the shoes of the customer. Strive to relate, not to their problem, but to their feelings. 

In other words, you could care less about a customer's specific problem. But when's the last time you desperately needed something and it didn't arrive? Or you paid for an expensive product and it didn't work as advertised? 

Now, think: What could someone say or do that would help you feel better about the situation? How would you want them to speak to you? Use the answers to those questions to inform what you say and do.

Now, to address your specific situations:

Situation 1: The product they're waiting for is not ready in time due to factors outside of our control (being short-staffed, extremely busy).

Try this: 

Be direct, and relate to their feelings. You can say something like: "I understand your frustration; I would be frustrated too." 

Be transparent as to when the product will actually be ready – don't make false promises. If you don't know, or if more time is needed, suggest they call back, or offer to take their contact information so you can provide an update as soon as possible. 

Finally, provide something positive to assuage them – a discount off a future product, a freebie, etc.

Situation 2: How to deal with a customer that's being unreasonable.

Try this: This is one of the most challenging scenarios, and one you have to think through to define your strategy.

When I have an unreasonable customer, I have no problem encouraging them to do business elsewhere (again, after making reasonable attempts to satisfy them). The investment of time and emotional resources are often not worth trying to satisfy such a person. Better to lose one out of 50 customers – especially if that customer is taking 10 times the time and effort to deal with.

In contrast, if 10 (or more) out of 50 customers have problems, then they're likely not being unreasonable. In that case, you probably have an issue with the product, service, or terms your company is offering.

Situation 3: How to best promote a product (required by the company) without coming across as pushy.

Try this: Focus on discovering the needs of the customer, and be as helpful as possible. Do whatever you can to actually solve their problems and fill their needs. If this product solves a specific need, your helpfulness will often move them to purchase it. 

And if it doesn't fill a need, you've established trust and goodwill. So they'll be more willing to buy something else, or come back to your company in the future.

Inc

A U.S. federal court has granted President Bola Tinubu’s motion to use documents from the Nigerian tribunal judgement passed last Wednesday to block his Chicago State University (CSU) records from being accessed by Atiku Abubakar, his main opponent at the February polls.

Court filings obtained by Peoples Gazette showed that Judge Jeffrey Gilbert on Tuesday okayed Tinubu’s request to tender the tribunal ruling that upheld his election victory as exhibits to defend his cause at the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

“Intervenor Bola A. Tinubu’s Motion for Leave to File Sur-Response [27] is granted,” reads the document released Tuesday ahead of the in-court hearing of the matter later today. “Intervenor shall file the sur-response and exhibits attached as ECF Nos. 27-1 and 27-2 as separate CM/ECF docket entries.”

Gilbert further moved up the time of the hearing 

from 2:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., per the court filing seen by The Gazette.

“At the request of all counsel, the hearing set for 9/12/23 is reset to 1:30 p.m. This is a change in time only. Out of town counsel may appear at the hearing by using the following number.”

The time change would presumably allow all parties to argue and tender all required exhibits.

Abubakar seeks to clarify discrepancies regarding Tinubu’s background, from the real name under which he entered the U.S. to his age, gender, and admission and graduation.

Peoples Gazette

Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, on Tuesday, announced that Nigerian importers would soon be able to clear their goods from the ports in Cotonou, Benin Republic.

He disclosed this in Abuja at the end of a two-day working visit by the director-general and senior officials of the customs service of Benin Republic.

Customs personnel from both countries entered into various agreements during the two-day meeting in order to boost trade relations between Nigeria and Benin Republic, as well as curb smuggling.

While responding to a question at the event, Adeniyi said, “We are building confidence in the system offered by the Republic of Benin, our importers are using their ports and vice-versa. If there are people in Benin Republic who want to use our ports, we try to build trust in our systems.

“And by virtue of this agreement, what it means is that Nigerian importers willing to use the ports in Cotonou can have their goods cleared in those ports because there would be an opportunity for them to pay duties on goods that are liable for payment of duties.

“We can account for the duties on those goods in the ports of arrival. So they will now be free to enter Nigeria.”

Reacting to concerns about vehicle smuggling, he said, “It goes beyond vehicles. Any goods arriving in Cotonou ports, duty can be accessed and payment can be made and from there, it comes into the Nigerian territory.

“It is just like what happens when goods come in through Lagos or Port Harcourt; it is pretty much the same. But we have not got there. We have agreed in principle that we can operationalise this.

“So the steps that we are going to take to get us to that particular destination is what we are going to be working on. It was mentioned in the communique that we are going to establish timelines when we hope to achieve that particular milestone.”

Adewale said the partnership between both nations would enhance customs administration, trade facilitation and regional cooperation.

He added, “The occasion we celebrate today marks a significant milestone in our journey to strengthen collaboration, eliminate barriers, and promote legitimate trade within the West African region.

Punch

Experts and scholars rose from a roundtable conference in Ibadan on Tuesday in strong condemnation of the resurgence of military coup d'etat in the West African sub region and called for urgent and incisive actions and measures to check the disturbing contagion.

Led by legal luminary and Vice Chancellor, Kola Daisi University, Ibadan, Adeniyi Olatunbosun, the multidisciplinary brain trust described the seizure of power by the military as illegal and unjustified even in spite of  shortcomings of democratic government.

The phenomenon which used to be a feature of the 60s and 70s, they noted, only upset the constitutional order with adverse effects on governance, legal and institutional structures, diplomatic relations, social, political and economic well being of the sub-region.

They spoke at the maiden edition of the university's Academic Discourse with the theme: "Contemporary Issues in West African sub region Military  Coup D'etat and Democratic Fragility "

The mult-disciplinary discourse was in honour of and to commemorate the 91st birthday anniversary of the  university’s Founder and Chancellor, Kola Daisi who hits the age on Thursday, September 14.

There have been at least five military take-over in countries along the francophone corridor of West Africa including Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger in the last three years with Gabon in Central Africa recording the latest plague afflicting the continent.

Over the years democracy and democratic rule in some countries have brought about more pain than gain, poverty more than prosperity, a situation used by the soldiers to justify their intervention.

Discussants at the forum held at the University auditorium included Jendele Hungbo, a professor in the Mass Communication Department; Ekundayo Babatunde  of the Law Faculty; Dean, Basic Medical Services,  Ariinola, Odiaka of Applied Sciences;   and Archibong Okonneh of History and diplomatic studies.

Others are: Samuel Faboyede, Accounting Department;

Head, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Adebukola Ayoola; and Oyetade Toyese, of Economics Department; among others.

They noted that though coups was an indication of failed democracy the military has no legitimate right to topple democratic order and throw the nation into tailspin, as its duty was strictly to protect the territorial integrity of the nation. Military intervention was thus a distraction which could undermine the discharge of this onerous role.

They identified sit-tight leaders, official corruption, absence of good governance governance, transparency, participation, security challenges, official corruption, servitude to former colonial masters for exploitation of national resources as key dysfunctions that encourage military coup.

The consequences of coups  is instability which affects economic growth and other sectors triggering a cycle of unemployment, poverty and underdeveloped.

They also suggested that Africans should fashion their own political systems that work for Africans and discard the western model of democracy they described as colonial legacies, noting that before colonialism Africans governed themselves effectively.

Other solutions proposed are: the strengthening of institutions, including the INEC; and the media for effective, transparent and credible discharge of their constitutional mandates; assurance of good governance as a sacrosanct tenet by public oficials; reduction of worrisome cost of governance to free up enough resources to provide for critical sectors that could alleviate conditions of living of the people.

The intellectual think-tank also recommend legal reforms to take care of the lacuna exploited by the seditious-minded, given that constitutional provisions and other statues making coup unlawful were often observed in the breach. Similar legal means should be used to remove bottlenecks which make moves by regional bodies or the international community intervene and restore democratic order in any affected member-states.

According to them, it was difficult to enforce sanctions on erring member-states without being seen as violating international laws such due to the principle of the sanctity of the sovereignty of nations.

In his keynote remarks, Olatunbosun said the issues required critical analysis to bail the sub-region from being turned into a theatre of war of self interest seeking advanced nations whose motive was to merely dominate and exploit African countries and their resources.

Hungbo remarked that Africa was susceptible to incessant coups because of weak  institutions of states ncluding the media. He observed that radio stations were often the first to be taken over for dawn broadcast by mutineers.

Yet, the media have not fared any better under both military and civilian rule in performance of the constitutional responsibility.

He stressed that media institutions must be accountable, promote and  enhance democratic governance to enable it work.

Apple launched a new series of iPhones that included a new titanium shell, a faster chip and improved video game playing abilities.

The biggest surprise with the iPhone 15 that will come out Sept. 22: It did not raise prices, reflecting the global smartphone slump.

The event at Apple's Cupertino, California, headquarters comes amid lingering economic uncertainty, especially in China, Apple's third-largest market where it faces challenges from expanded restrictions on using its iPhones in government offices and the first new flagship phone in several years from Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL).

Huawei raised its second-half shipment target for the new Mate 60 series smartphone, which has satellite capability, by 20%, the country's official Securities Times reported on Tuesday shortly before the Apple event.

Apple did not deliver any blockbuster surprises, and shares closed down 1.7% after event.

APPLE EMBEDDING MACHINE LEARNING

While Apple avoids the terms artificial intelligence, or AI, the technology was the driver of several new features.

An Apple executive said the company used machine learning to detect a person in the frame, allowing users to turn a picture into a portrait immediately or later in the Photos app.

Apple also showed off new watches, including a Series 9 Watch with a feature called "double tap" where users tap thumb and finger together twice, without touching the watch, in order to perform tasks like answering a phone call.

It uses machine learning to detect tiny changes in blood flow when the user taps their fingers together, freeing up the other hand for other tasks like walking a dog or holding a cup of coffee, said Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams.

IPHONE 15 LAUNCH

Both the Pro and other iPhone 15 models will have a brighter display and a 48-megapixel camera as well as 100% recycled cobalt in their batteries.

Apple said the iPhone 15's satellite connectivity can now be used to summon roadside assistance. It is rolling out the feature out with the American Automobile Association (AAA) in the United States.

Apple said that USB-C charging cables are coming to both its iPhone 15 and the charging case of its AirPods Pro devices. The move reflects requirements from European regulators to use USB-C and allows the use of the same charging cables already used for iPads and Macs.

"I was expecting Apple to try and spin the all USB-C decision in certain way but they didn't they were very matter of fact in the way they talked about it," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Creative Strategies. She said the shift "brought some differentiation to the iPhone Pro, because there's faster throughput for data transfer. That is going to be valuable for people" who use the device for professional photography, Milanesi said.

Apple also said the iPhone 15 Pro can capture what it calls "spatial videos" by using two of the device's cameras to capture a three-dimensional video. Those videos will be viewable on Apple's Vision Pro headset that is due out early next year, marketing chief Greg Joswiak said.

The Pro's use of titanium makes it lighter and stronger than previous models of other metals.

Bob O'Donnell, head of TECHnalysis Research said the steady prices were a surprise.

"I think both Apple and the carriers recognize that with consumers feeling pressure on their budget and the lack of dramatic changes it’s getting harder to convince people to upgrade. Keeping prices stable should help with that," he said.

The iPhone 15 costs $799, the iPhone 15 Plus starts at $899 and the Pro series starts at $999. The Pro Max starts at $1,199, the same prices as last year for the same levels of storage. Last year, Apple offered a $1,099 iPhone Pro Max model with less memory.

Apple still relies on iPhone for more than half of its sales, but the global smartphone market has slumped from shipping 294.5 million total phones to 268 million in the second quarter. Apple's shipments declined the least of any major smartphone maker, dropping from 46.5 million phones to 45.3 million, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

NEW WATCH OUT

The outdoor sports-focused Apple Watch Ultra 2 has new features for cycling and diving and what Apple said is the brightest screen it has ever made. The Series 9 will start at $399 and the Ultra 2 watch will start at $799 and be available Sept. 22.

Apple will no longer use leather in any of its products, said Lisa Jackson, the company's environmental chief. The company is replacing some of those products with a textile called "FineWoven" that it says feel like suede.

Apple made its effort to become carbon neutral by 2030 a focus of the event, including launches of lower-carbon watches.

Reuters

A frenetic search for survivors — or bodies — ensued in eastern Libya on Tuesday after a Mediterranean storm lashed the OPEC member’s shores, with dams collapsing and triggering floods that killed at least 2,300, almost all in one city. The International Red Cross said at least 10,000 more were missing.

The health minister of the divided North African nation’s eastern-based government, Othman Abdel-Jaleel, said 700 people from Derna had so far been identified and buried, and more than 6,000 remained unaccounted for, according to al-Masar TV. Separately, the western-based government in Tripoli said the overall toll in Derna was 1,900.

The storm struck shortly after Morocco suffered its most powerful earthquake in a century, with at least 2,900 people killed in the kingdom.

Libya’s situation “is the very definition of a disaster,” Abdel-Jaleel said in a clip carried by the TV station. “The corpses are still scattered” in various hospitals awaiting identification.

Osama Ali, the spokesman for Libya’s Emergency Authority, told Bloomberg the death toll had reached 2,300 and 5,000 more were missing.

Libya’s envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told reporters in Geneva that 10,000 people were missing, according to the Associated Press.

Conflicting Figures

The conflicting figures provided by various officials underscores the difficulties authorities face just to determine the scope of the damage, let alone reach survivors. Abdel-Jaleel, the health minister, said water levels had reached the fourth and fifth floors of some buildings in Derna.

The toll, which seemed poised to rise given the number of missing people, appears to be the result of two dams bursting after excessive rainfall. Flooding reportedly covered entire areas in Derna, which sits about 290 kilometers east of Benghazi. There was also severe damage in Benghazi, Sousse and Al-Bayda, according to reports.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said his country, which sits on Libya’s eastern border, would provide assistance and offer its military to help with search and rescue efforts.

The number killed as a result of Hurricane Daniel has surpassed that of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf coast of the US in 2005 and left over 1,800 dead - making it the second deadliest storm in American modern history.

Tumultuous Politics

Khalifa Haftar, who heads the most powerful military force in Libya’s east, said rescue efforts were underway to help those stranded and find the missing.

Those efforts are likely being hindered by the nation’s tumultuous politics. The country, which sits atop Africa’s largest proven reserves of crude oil, has been mired in conflict for much of the past decade. It’s split between rival administrations in the east and west. Repeated efforts to broker a political agreement have largely failed.

Both governments have declared three days of mourning.

Libya’s east, where Haftar’s Libyan National Army is based, is home to the brunt of the country’s oil wealth and ports. It was also home to religious extremists, including those allied with the Islamic State, with Derna among the epicenters, after the fall of Moammar Al Qaddafi in 2011.

Haftar’s forces largely crushed the Islamists and restored some semblance of order. But the east has continued to complain of neglect and a lack of funding, with disputes arising between the rival administrations about the allocation of the country’s oil wealth. The dearth of funding, along with the chronic unrest, meant there’s been little money for maintaining vital infrastructure.

Slow Progress

While some progress toward unifying key institutions has been made, particularly with regard to the central bank, challenges related to distribution of wealth and overall services remain. The fighting has occasionally affected oil ports and exports.

The country’s main energy ports of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Zueitina, Brega and Hariga, which had closed as a result of the storm, were reopened, according to people familiar with the matter. They suffered no significant damage, the people said.

Bloomberg

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Putin offers estimate of Ukrainian losses

Russian President Vladimir Putin has provided an update on the casualties the Ukrainian military incurred since their operation commenced in early June. He further noted that Kiev had not achieved the anticipated results it had initially sought.

Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Tuesday: “There are losses, big losses. Since the start of this counteroffensive, the casualties [have reached] 71,500 people.” The president claimed that Kiev is seeking to achieve results “at any cost,” which makes it look like the Ukrainian leadership does not care about its own citizens’ lives.

He added that Kiev has also lost 543 tanks and nearly 18,000 armored vehicles of various types over the past three months. Putin concluded by saying that Ukraine has not been able to make any significant gains so far.

Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that the US is intent on “waging a war to the last Ukrainian, sparing no expense.” He alleged that continued defense aid provided to Kiev by Washington indicates that. Peskov said at the time that American military supplies would not change the course of the conflict.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry’s estimates presented last week, Kiev had suffered “colossal” losses during its summer campaign, with more than 66,000 troops killed and over 7,600 heavy weapons destroyed.

Following talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, last Monday, Putin declared that the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive “is not stalled; it is a failure.”

The US and several other Western backers had provided Ukraine with dozens of units of military hardware and artillery pieces ahead of its summer operation. However, according to US media reports, many of those tanks and armored vehicles have been destroyed or damaged while trying to cross extensive Russian minefields.

Likewise, Russia’s defense ministry has published multiple video clips purporting to show the destruction of Western-made tanks.

Last week, pro-Russian authorities in Zaporozhye Region claimed that Moscow’s forces had destroyed a second Challenger 2 main battle tank out of the 14 that the UK had provided to Kiev. Several days prior, London confirmed the loss of the first of these vehicles in Ukraine.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Crimean shipyard on fire after Ukraine missile attack - Russia-installed governor

The Sevastopol Shipyard on the Crimean Peninsula was on fire on Wednesday after Ukraine launched a missile attack on the port, injuring at least 24 people, the Russia-installed governor of the city said.

"All emergency services are working on the site, there is no danger to civilian objects in the city," Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea and a major Black Sea port, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Razvozhayev said earlier, without providing details, that the fire was sparked in result of a Ukrainian missile attack on Sevastopol.

The strategic Sevastopol Shipyard on the Crimean Peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, builds and repairs ships and submarines of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has launched drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.

Razvozhayev posted a photo of big flames engulfing in the dark what seemed like port infrastructure. Russian Telegram channels posted videos and more photos of massive flames at a facility bordering water.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.

Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, but has been saying in recent months that destroying Russia's military infrastructure helps Kyiv's counteroffensive.

RT/Reuters