Federal government says it will no longer pursue the contempt suit filed against the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

On July 26, NLC issued a seven-day ultimatum to the federal government to reverse all “anti-poor” and “insensitive” policies.

The policies, the union said, include the recent hike in the price of petrol, and the sudden increase in public school fees, among others.

The labour movements warned that they would go on strike and mass protests if the government failed to hearken to their demands.

However, the federal government said the unions were restrained by an order of the national industrial court from embarking on any industrial action regarding the removal of the petrol subsidy.

The government also said the order prohibited the NLC and affiliates from holding protests across the country.

Despite the government’s stance, organised labour led its members to nationwide protests last Wednesday.

Consequently, the federal government initiated contempt proceedings against the unions for allegedly defying the order restraining them from embarking on industrial action.

The “notice of consequences of disobedience to order of the court” also called “form 48” was filed before the national industrial court in Abuja.

The protest was later suspended on Thursday after leaders of the unions met with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa, Abuja.

In a letter addressed to Femi Falana, NLC counsel, on Monday, Beatrice Jedy-Agba, solicitor-general of the federation, said the protests “led to disruption of work and the eventual pulling down of the gate of the national assembly”.

“The foregoing prompted the ministry to initiate contempt proceedings by filing Form 48 on the same 2nd August 2023 in accordance with section 72 of the Sheriffs and civil process act and order 9 rule 13 of the judgment (enforcement) rules.

“It is trite that issuance of Form 48 is just the starting point in contempt proceedings which will only crystalise upon the issuance of Form 49 and the consequential committal order.

“Upon the intervention of President Bola Tinubu and the decision of the labour unions to call off their industrial action after meetings with the president and leadership of the national assembly, this ministry did not proceed further with the contempt proceedings, which would have required the issuance of Form 49 within two days of the issuance of Form 48.

“It is self-evident that the non-issuance of Form 49 as of 4th August 2023, renders the contempt proceedings inchoate.”

The Cable

European carriers have reported disruptions and suspended flights across the African continent on Monday after Niger’s military government closed its airspace on Sunday.

The military government is bracing for a response from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after ignoring its deadline to reinstate the country’s ousted President Mohamed Bazoum or face the threat of military intervention.

The disruption adds to a band of African airspace facing geopolitical disruptions including Libya and Sudan, with some flights facing up to 1,000km (620 miles) in detours.

“The closure of Niger’s airspace dramatically widens the area over which most commercial flights between Europe and southern Africa cannot fly,” tracking service Flightradar24 said in a blog post.

Air France has suspended flights to and from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Bamako in Mali until August 11, the company said on Monday, with longer flight times expected in the West African region.

A spokesperson added that Air France expected longer flight times from sub-Saharan hub airports and that flights between Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Accra in Ghana were set to operate non-stop.

But aviation analyst James Halstead said that airlines would mostly have to find alternative routes and difficulties should be limited given the small number of African air connections.

“I’m not sure this is a huge disruption … it will affect routes from Europe to Nigeria and South Africa and probably from the Gulf to Ethiopia to West Africa,” he said.

Spokespeople for Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines said that flight times could be between one-and-a-half and three-and-a-half hours longer for rerouted flights.

In an emailed statement to Reuters news agency, British Airways said it “apologised to those customers affected for the disruption to their journeys”, and said it was working hard to get them on their way again as quickly as possible.

Aljazeera

Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are not ready to stage a full-scale intervention in Niger, where a military junta has seized power, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing sources.

Last month, ECOWAS, a regional bloc comprising 15 countries, issued a seven-day ultimatum threatening military action against Niger’s plotters if they did not reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum. The junta, however, refused to back down.

The deadline for the ultimatum passed on Sunday with no sign of any armed intervention or mobilization in countries bordering Niger.

Speaking to the WSJ, an unnamed senior commander from one of the ECOWAS countries signaled that the bloc was still unprepared for a full-scale operation. “For the moment, we need to build up the strength of our units before taking part in such a military action,” he said, adding that its success hinges on good preparation.

The delay also comes as Burkina Faso and Mali, two regional countries led by juntas, warned that any military intervention in Niger “would be tantamount to a declaration of war” against them.

Against this backdrop, the commander told the WSJ that ECOWAS would continue to squeeze the junta in Niger with economic sanctions while seeking to extend the trade embargo by asking other international bodies such as the African Union to get on board with the restrictions.

The coup in Niger took place on July 26 when the presidential guard detained Bazoum and his family, sparking international condemnation, including from the US, France, the EU, and Russia. Meanwhile, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, a spokesperson of the group that took power, said the coup had sought to “put an end to the regime that you know due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance.” The junta’s transitional government is now headed by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who has been the chief of the presidential guard since 2011.

With regional tensions rising, the Nigerien junta vowed “to stand and fight”against any possible intervention while closing the country’s airspace “until further notice,” and vowing that any violation would be met with a “vigorous and instantaneous response.”

Russia Today

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russian missiles hit apartment, kill eight, survivors describe fiery blasts

Russian missiles struck the centre of Ukraine's Pokrovsk twice on Monday night killing eight people, including five civilians, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a statement.

The second missile hit the Ukraine-controlled town near the frontline 40 minutes after the first, the governor said. It killed and injured first responders, witnesses of the strikes told a Reuters cameraman at the scene.

Two rescuers and one military person were among the dead. Nine policemen and one military person were wounded, but most of the 31 injured were civilians, including a member of the local city council, Ukrainian officials said.

Kateryna, a 58-year-old resident of Pokrovsk, was at home when she heard the first blast and thought that the attack spared her. She even told someone who called to check on her that she was alright but at this moment the place was hit for the second time.

"That’s it, bang – and that’s all. A flame filled up my eyes. I fell down on the floor, on the ground. My eyes (hurt) a lot…," Kateryna told Reuters in an interview pointing at multiple scratches around her eyes. She had bandages on her forehead.

The footage from the town showed rescuers going through the rubble, a wreckage of a car and an apartment building with torn down balconies.

Another resident, 75-year-old Lidia, said she was also on the phone at the moment of the second blast. She had picked up from the floor a torn white curtain covered with broken glass.

"Suddenly this flew out and wrapped me up. Then the window fell on me," she said sitting on her sofa.

"My back has cuts. I just got back from the hospital… My knee and my thigh have cuts. I had glass here," she said pointing at her head.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential administration, reported two more civilian victims of Russian strikes in Kruhliakivka village in the Kharkiv region.

Killed were a 45-year-old woman and a man around 60 and five people were injured, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synehubov said.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

‘No compromise’ with Moscow, Kiev vows

The government in Kiev has not given up on its “peace formula” and rejects all compromise positions, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s adviser Mikhail Podoliak announced on Monday. His comments came after the Wall Street Journal suggested Ukraine had softened its stance during the peace conference in Saudi Arabia.

“The only basic ‘foundation for negotiations’ is President Zelensky’s Peace Formula,” Podoliak tweeted. “There can be no compromise positions such as ‘immediate ceasefires’ and ‘negotiations here and now’ that give Russia time to stay in the occupied territories. Only the withdrawal of Russian troops to the 1991 border.”

Ukraine accuses Russia of “occupying” not just Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson – four regions that chose to join Moscow last year – but also Crimea, which voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia after the 2014 US-backed coup in Kiev. 

“Any scenario of a ceasefire and freezing of the war in Ukraine in the current disposition will mean only one thing – Russia’s actual victory and [President Vladimir] Putin’s personal triumph,” Podoliak added several hours later. “This would be a great defeat for the Western world and the end of the current global security order.”

He also claimed that Moscow would use a “Minsk 3” to rearm and prepare for the “next round” of war, which would return “bigger, bloodier, and better prepared” as soon as “political leaders in key Western countries change.”

Minsk 1 and Minsk 2 were ceasefires mediated by Paris and Berlin in 2014 and 2015, after Kiev failed to crush the rebellion in Donetsk and Lugansk by force. The German and French leaders involved in the talks admitted last year that they were buying time so NATO could arm Ukraine for a war against Russia.

Podoliak did not specify what prompted his tweets. However, a Wall Street Journal article about the weekend’s talks in Jeddah – which suggested Ukraine had given up on its hardline position – circulated widely on Russian-language social media on Monday. 

The talks, to which Russia was not invited, did not appear to accomplish anything. However, the Journal quoted “a senior European official” and two diplomats to report that Ukraine “didn’t push again for its peace plan to be accepted” and “didn’t press the point” about the demand for Russian withdrawal.

Moscow has rejected Zelensky’s “peace formula,” a set of ten demands amounting to Russia’s unconditional surrender, as “a useless ultimatum”that only serves to prolong the hostilities. 

“There can be no negotiation process in the current disposition. The status quo must be changed on the battlefield. This means... more weapons, missiles and aircraft,” Podoliak demanded on Monday afternoon.

The US and its allies have already supplied Ukraine with over $100 billion worth of weapons, ammunition and equipment, arguing that Russia “must lose” while insisting they are not actually involved in the conflict. 

Reuters/RT

What you can learn from Lorne Micheals to achieve lasting success in businesses.

During a recent talk at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, I had the privilege to watch a speaking session with Lorne Michaels as he approaches the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. Michaels has spent years of his life developing and improving the magic sauce of a cultural phenomenon that has consistently found success. His talk was filled with incredible lessons that entrepreneurs can apply to thrive in their chosen industries. Let's take a look at embracing tight deadlines, open collaboration, and impactful presentations, and how they can fuel success.

It's truly inspiring that at 78 years old, Michaels still works full-time. He seems to have never lost his edge, and he remains heavily involved in the creative process. Many founders and creators feel they have to sell or retire to prove they've made it, but the reality is that if you love what you do, staying in the game can fuel your happiness for years to come. The key is to find that balance of determination and enjoyment. What can we learn from Michaels, and the uniqueness of SNL's structure, that can help us in our own career paths? 

1. Embrace tight deadlines

It's well known that SNL sticks to an incredibly tight schedule. A new show every seven days, complete with a constantly rotating lineup of musical guests and hosts. There are about 40 skits written, with only a dozen or so making it on air. Table reads, rehearsals, and costumes all happen at a speed incomprehensible to most of us in the business world. Can the terrifying idea of rushing through an imperfect idea actually be a secret to success? 

Pushing forward despite imperfections can lead to faster progress. Let's face it, is perfection attainable? Striving for it can stall ideas, products, and events, and eventually halt them from going anywhere. By sticking to a tight deadline, you are moving in the right direction by simply moving forward, learning and tweaking as you go. 

2. Foster open collaboration

Teamwork and collaboration are critical factors in reaching sustained success. While most of our businesses differ from live TV or the theatre industry, we too rely on a dedicated team. Our admin partners serve as the face of our company, representing our values and supporting our culture through every interaction. Similarly, our service partners become extensions of our brand, and our vendors play a crucial role in supporting our backstage success. Whether it's a major business win or an amazing company kickoff, we have to share information, solicit feedback, understand, acknowledge, and collaborate with everyone involved for a successful outcome.

SNL holds pitch meetings where everyone has the opportunity to present their ideas. Decision making isn't stalled as the best ideas are chosen quickly. If an idea is chosen, the creator of that idea follows it through and owns it -- for better or for worse. This provides everyone the opportunity to fail, grow, and appreciate the process. 

By engaging not only our internal teams in open collaborations and pitches, but also service providers, vendors, and other stakeholders, you open up the possibilities for new ideas, opportunities, and a wide variety of opinions and points of view. Everyone's ideas are considered, and everyone has a stake in the idea, product, or overall success of the company. This also results in less falling on your shoulders alone. You have opened up your business to include and recognize others' strengths, allowing them to flourish while you fan the flame instead of solely sustaining it. 

3. The power of impactful presentations

While we can't all be talented and charismatic comedians, we can all benefit from SNL's planning, rehearsing, and performing strategies for use in our careers. Elevating presentations and communication skills should be a priority for us all. 

Table reading individually or as a team is a power move that gets everyone on the same page.

It's one thing to accurately capture the right information and write it down, but we all know reading out loud and loving it is a different story. Table reads and rehearsals can ensure ideas are well-crafted, resonate effectively, and leave a lasting impact. No one wants to listen to someone read new content for the first time or painfully read a slide word by word. Blocking and rehearsing can fine-tune how you emphasize words, the body language you use, and how best to speak purposefully and genuinely to capture attention. 

Just as Lorne Micheals' dedication and passion have fuelled SNL's lasting success, we can apply these strategies to do the same in our businesses and careers. 

Inc

Nigeria’s women football team have crashed out of the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The Super Falcons, despite their gallant display holding the Lionesses to a barren draw after 120 minutes, lost out 4-2 on penalty kicks

Missed kicks by Desire Oparonize and Michelle Alozie proved costly as England held their nerve to win their first penalty shoot-out game in the World Cup.

Super Falcons were handed a numerical advantage late in the second half when England’s star player Lauren James was given a red card.

Unfortunately, the Super Falcons did not make their numerical advantage count and have now seen their blistering run at the World Cup come to an abrupt halt.

While England are waiting to know who they face between Colombia and Jamaica, the Super Falcons will be looking to catch the next available flight as they shift their focus to the Olympic Qualifiers.

Closely contested encounter

In a closely contested encounter, nine-time African champion, Nigeria displayed remarkable prowess despite the 2-4 penalty shoot-out defeat by England.

Despite being ranked 36 places behind England, the Super Falcons’ put up a commendable performance against their formidable opponents. From the blast of the whistle, the Super Falcons exhibited their mettle by engaging in a dynamic battle against the higher-ranked English team.

Super Falcons could have gotten in front inside the first quarter-hour when Ashley Plumptre unleashed a powerful shot from 22 yards that rattled the crossbar and was followed by another narrowly missed attempt.

The English ladies also troubled the Super Falcons but the defensive lineup, consisting of Chiamaka Nnadozie as goalkeeper and on-field captain, along with defenders Michelle Alozie, Osinachi Ohale, Oluwatosin Demehin, and Plumptre, displayed tenacity that kept the European champions at bay.

In the midfield, Halimatu Ayinde, Christy Ucheibe, and Toni Payne demonstrated remarkable control and resilience, while forwards Rasheedat Ajibade, Uchenna Kanu, and Ifeoma Onumonu showcased their skilful play.

Throughout the match, the Super Falcons maintained an unwavering resolve, containing the European champions and denying them the opportunity to reach their full potential.

England found themselves reduced to 10 players after their star player Lauren James was shown a red card just moments before the match’s conclusion at Brisbane’s Lang Park.

Seizing upon this advantage, the Super Falcons intensified their efforts, though substitute Asisat Oshoala‘s close-range shot was thwarted by goalkeeper Mary Earps.

Penalty shootout

As the match extended into extra time, the tense atmosphere culminated in a penalty shoot-out.

Both teams exhibited nerves during the initial kicks, with Desire Oparanozie’s effort veering wide to the right of Earps. The Super Falcons’ diligent defender, Michelle Alozie, also encountered an unfortunate miss.

Nevertheless, Ajibade and Ucheibe maintained their composure and found the target for Nigeria.

Chloe Kelly scored the decisive spot-kick after Beth England, Rachel Daly and Alex Greenwood also converted for the European champions

Ultimately, the Three Lionesses held their ground and secured their place in the quarter-finals with a successful penalty shoot-out that will see them confront the victor of the encounter between Colombia and Jamaica.

PT

Phrank Shaibu, an aide to Atiku Abubakar, says the former vice-president withdrew a suit against President Bola Tinubu because he did not want to abuse court processes.

Tinubu claimed that he holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Chicago State University.

In January, Beverly Poindexter, the staff in charge of transcript requests, enrolment and degree verification, confirmed that the president attended the university between 1977 and 1979.

But Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February presidential election, alleged that Tinubu’s academic records were forged, and then filed a suit against him.

However, the former vice-president withdrew the suit from a US court, which led to the case being struck out.

In a statement on Sunday, Shaibu said Abubakar is pursuing the matter at a higher court.

“Abubakar only withdrew the case before a Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County, United States of America because he is pursuing the same matter in a higher court and he wanted to avoid an abuse of court processes,” he said.

“So, this is just the beginning. In the last one week, Nigerians have been watching the ongoing ministerial screening at the senate where nominees have been made to reveal their primary, secondary and university history.

“Some of the ministerial nominees were even classmates with the senators screening them.

“However, the man who nominated them has no educational history. He has no primary school, secondary school or university classmates. This is because he has no classmates. He actually fell from the sky.

“In recent years past presidents have invited their former classmates to Aso Rock Villa. Even President Muhammadu Buhari hosted his classmates from Katsina Middle School.

“But who did Bola Tinubu invite to the presidential villa? Governors from 1999 set. This is a man whose entire life, background and credentials remain unknown and Atiku will ensure that the man is exposed.

“It is expected that the person to hold the office of the president must be above board, especially on his life history.

“Unfortunately, here we have a president whose history is shrouded in secrecy and for whom it is as though life started in 1993.”

The Cable

The Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation yesterday declared that with the damning evidence before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja against President Bola Tinubu, he would not participate in the rerun election should the poll be annulled.

Also, Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, said that there is palpable fear in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the likelihood of the court upturning the election of President Tinubu.

Spokesperson and Head of Media of the organisation, Diran Onifade, told THISDAY yesterday that President Tinubu’s legal team did not only mislead him but also fruitlessly tried to hoodwink the Haruna Tsammani-led five-man panel.

Tinubu had last Tuesday appealed to the justices of the PEPC to exclude the presidential candidate of the LP, Peter Obi, and his party in the event of any rerun presidential election, claiming that only he and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, are constitutionally qualified to recontest the rerun election.

Tinubu, through his lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, and the counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lateef Fagbemi, had argued that should the justices of the court void the February 25, 2023, presidential election, Obi and his party should not be allowed to re-contest.

Olanipekun had while arguing his final written address, declared that Obi should not be allowed to participate in the rerun election because he came third in the race.

But the LP described the claim by Tinubu’s lawyers as an attempt to foist his position on the panel of justices, adding that if there would be any rerun, Tinubu would not be on the ballot based on the evidence before the PEPC.

Onifade said Tinubu’s appeal for the exclusion of Obi and the LP from participating in the likely rerun and his last-minute effort to challenge the outcome of the election in Kano State showed that he has lost the votes allegedly stolen from Obi in Rivers and Benue states.

He said: “If there will be a second election, it will be between the top two. Tinubu will not be among the top two because all the issues we raised are enough to disqualify him. The certificate forgery, the drug trafficking forfeiture, the invalid nomination of his vice, etc. All those things would have disqualified him in the first place.

“So, he is not going to be on the ballot. All these things that his lawyers are doing are just to make him comfortable. They have misled him and are also trying to mislead and hoodwink the justices. The justices are not foolish.

“They are claiming that the constitution says that even if it’s true that he has a case of forfeiture, after 10 years, you have been cleared. But that is not true. They are just being clever by half. The section of the constitution they are talking about has so many subsections and only one of them has the 10 years moratorium and it doesn’t cover him.

“So, if there is going to be another election, their man will be disqualified,” Onifade explained.

On the claim that Obi came third, he said: “We talked about the figure we put together from Rivers State and Benue State. They didn’t even address those at all. When you remove what they stole in Rivers and Benue states and you add to Obi’s, their own figures would have gone down and Obi won’t be in the third position again.”

Asked if the figures in Rivers and Benue states would be enough to displace either Tinubu or Atiku, he said the issue was still subjudice, adding however, that for the APC and Tinubu to come from behind to challenge the results in Kano in the last minute, while on the other hand appealing to exclude Obi from a possible rerun, left a lot to be desired.

“We can’t prejudge the tribunal. But let’s say for the sake of your question, if you remove one million from eight million, it will go down to seven million. And when you add that one million to six million, that will amount to seven million. We have a professor that did all the calculations. It’s a pity that we didn’t have the time to carry out the calculations nationwide. They know it’s damaging to them.

“If not, how come that a state like Kano that we are not even contesting with them, was brought to the tribunal to challenge that votes were stolen from them in Kano?” Onifade queried.

He explained that “their (APC) calculation is that by the time what they stole from Rivers and Benue states are deducted, their votes would have gone down and if the tribunal grants them what they claimed they lost in Kano, it might make up for what is deducted from them.

“Even those of us who are laymen, know that their lawyers are playing mind games because it’s one thing they would say in the evidence they have tendered and it’s another that their witnesses will say under oath.

“For instance, under oath, Opeyemi Bamidele admitted that their man forfeited money and it’s about narcotics trafficking. He admitted that under oath. The same forfeiture they have been going about saying that it’s a civil case. Then again, the INEC witness even though he tendered a document that the uploading on IReV was not part of the mandatory process, in his testimony before the justices, changed it and said the process included uploading through the IReV.

“The court document that they tendered, they said the case was about narcotics trafficking. That’s the exact words in that document. And then the certificate issue. The one he presented to INEC was not issued by the university. That’s a forgery,” he added.

Tinubu’s Election on Shaky Grounds, Atiku’s Insists

Meanwhile, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku, Shaibu, has said that there is palpable fear in the ruling APC on the likelihood of the court upturning Tinubu’s election.

Shaibu, in an exclusive interview with THISDAY at the weekend, said: “Now that pleadings have been concluded in the petition challenging the February 25 presidential election, it is easy to decipher that the declaration of the APC as winner of the election is standing on shaky grounds.

”He said further that there was a high possibility that the court would upturn the purported election of Tinubu, and strengthen electoral processes in Nigeria.

“The uneasy calm in the camp of the APC is in apprehension about submissions and admission of some fundamental facts during the adoption of final written addresses in the two major petitions challenging the declaration of Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as winner of the last presidential election.

“At the adoption of final addresses, Tinubu’s camp conceded to two major facts that have made his key supporters across the country jittery on what may befall them in the final decision of the tribunal.

“Among other admitted and undisputed fundamental facts at the proceedings were that Tinubu actually forfeited $460,000 through the judgment of the United States of America’s court for his established involvement in narcotics and money laundering related offences.”

Phrank added that another fact was the unchallenged admission of the INEC that Atiku won the February 25 presidential election in 21 states of the federation, the claim which ought to have made the electoral umpire to declare him as the lawful winner of the poll.

“Besides the two major facts, the qualifications of Tinubu for the poll may also take centre stage in the scrutiny of the tribunal following the admission of the President in his INEC form EC009  wherein he admitted having not attended any primary or Secondary School in Nigeria.

“This is in contrast to his claim to the same electoral body in 1998 where in his own hand writing, admitted graduating at a Primary School at Aroloya in Lagos and at Government College Ibadan, Oyo State.

“Tinubu’s legal team at the adoption of final address conceded that the President was actually punished by an American court and was made to forfeit the $460,000 found in his bank account as proceeds of heinous crime of narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

“Similar admission was made through the APC represented by Lateef Fagbemi.

“The two legal teams, however, asked the tribunal to invoke the forgiving spirit of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution to overlook the judgment of the US court on the forfeiture on the ground that the verdict was handed to Tinubu more than 30 years ago.

“It is ridiculous that the holder of the President of Nigeria will stand before an open court and be pleading for clemency for a crime on narcotics and money laundering.

“The admission by INEC that Atiku won in 21 states of the federation which, uptil now, has not been controverted by INEC itself, is another factor giving the APC sleepless night.

“At the last opportunity to rebut the claims and denounce it, the electoral body completely slept off, fuelling the belief that the electoral umpire knows what it is doing in its entirety.”

Thisday

Niger’s junta partially closed the country’s airspace, warning of an attack by a “foreign power” as a deadline passed on Sunday to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

The deadline, imposed by West African neighbors, threatened intervention, though there was no sign of any military action as yet. Coup leaders said, however, action against them was unfolding.

“The planning for this war was carried out,” junta spokesman Amadou Abdramane said on state broadcaster Tele Sahel. “A pre-deployment of forces to participate in this war has begun in two countries in central Africa.” He provided no further details.

Niger on Sunday said it had closed its airspace for international flights except for a few countries including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya and Chad that have spoken out against a military intervention.

“Any state from which military action is directed against Niger will be considered pro-belligerent,“ Abdramane said.

West Africa’s defense chiefs agreed to a plan for a potential military intervention in Abuja on Friday after a three-day meeting of regional defense officials.

It was unclear on Sunday at what time ECOWAS, as the 15-member bloc is known, would consider the deadline to reinstate Bazoum to have passed. Any intervention was complicated over the weekend by the Senate in neighboring Nigeria, which urged diplomacy over military action, at least for now.

The junta that took power in a July 26 coup has rejected all calls to restore democracy and warned against any foreign interference. Hundreds of protesters gathered in the capital, Niamey on Sunday, in support of the coup leaders.

General Abdourahamane Tiani declared himself Niger’s new leader on July 28, two days after the presidential guard he leads detained Bazoum. Ecowas on July 30 closed the borders with Niger and later set Aug. 6 as a deadline to restore democracy.

Niger is a key international ally in the fight against jihadists who have killed thousands and displaced millions across the region over the past decade. The coup creates a belt of military-run countries that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, many of them less friendly with the West than they are with Russia, which has made inroads in the region in recent years partly through the Wagner Group.

The US government is pausing certain foreign assistance programs benefiting the government of Niger, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week.

Bloomberg

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

France supplies long range missiles to Ukraine

President Emmanuel Macron has delivered on his promise to supply Kiev with the French variant of Storm Shadow missile, according to footage by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in which President Vladimir Zelensky is seen posing for a photo op with a rocket marked as SCALP-EG.

Macron initially announced his decision to provide Ukraine with “long-range missiles” in May, and doubled down on the promise at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, but until now it was unknown when they would be delivered.

In an undated video shared by Ukrainian authorities on Sunday, Zelensky is seen signing a missile attached to a Su-24 jet. The projectile was marked as SCALP-EG in French flag colors and a mix of Ukrainian coat of arms with the Eiffel Tower inside. It remains unclear how many French missiles were delivered and when.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry called the missiles by its British name Storm Shadow as it hinted that the Zelensky-signed projectile was used in a recent strike on two bridges connecting the Crimean Peninsula to Russia’s Kherson Region.

The British-French Storm Shadow / SCALP-EG is a long-range air-launched cruise missile with a firing range of around 250 kilometers (155 miles). It was developed in the 1990s and used in a number of Western military operations, including the NATO intervention in Libya and strike in Syria that the US, the UK and France conducted jointly in 2018.

Kiev has repeatedly used the missiles to target civilian facilities, since receiving an unspecified number of Storm Shadows from the UK. According to Russian officials, they were fired at two civilian plants in the Russian city of Lugansk in May, injuring several people, including six children.

On Saturday, Ukraine launched some 12 Storm Shadows / SCALP-EGs at bridges connecting Crimea to the Kherson Region. At least three missiles made it through Russian-air defenses, according to local authorities, damaging two bridges across the Strait of Chongar and the Tonkiy Strait.

The attack also damaged a rural school and ruptured a local gas pipeline, leaving the nearby town of Genichesk without supply, according to Kherson regions’ acting governor, Vladimir Saldo. The damaged bridges have also hardly been used for military needs and are purely civilian infrastructure installations, he stressed.

** Battlegroup South aviation hit Ukrainian brigades by guided bombs — spokesman

The aviation of the Battlegroup South hit a station of the 5th detached assault brigade and the concentration area of the 24th detached mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Battlegroup Spokesman Vadim Astafyev told TASS.

"The aviation of the Battlegroup South hit temporary stations of the 5th detached assault brigade near Dyleevka settlement and the manpower concentration area of the 24th detached mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army in Novgorodskoe by UMPK-500 and UMPK-250 guided munitions," Astafyev said.

"Two 155 mm self-propelled Krab artillery units of Polish make were destroyed by Lancet loitering munitions in Svyato-Pokrovskoe and Kirovo," he said.

Lancet kamikaze drones also wrecked a 122 mm Gvozdika howitzer and an infantry combat vehicle of the Ukrainian army in the vicinity of Kuzminovka and Andreevka settlements.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says U.S and German air defence systems 'highly effective'

Ukraine is seeing "significant results" from U.S. and German air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, despite waves of Russian air strikes that Kyiv says targeted civilians and residential buildings.

Russia reported it had shot down a drone heading for Moscow in the third such attack in a week, while officials on both sides said Ukraine had struck two bridges linking Crimea to the mainland.

Both countries have stepped up attacks on each other's troops, weaponry and infrastructure supporting the war as Ukraine seeks to dislodge Russian forces that have dug in across southern and eastern Ukraine since their invasion last year.

The Moscow-appointed head of Crimea said the Chonhar bridge to the peninsula, which was annexed from Ukraine by Moscow in 2014, had been damaged by a missile strike. Another of the three road links between Crimea and Russian-occupied parts of mainland Ukraine, near the town of Henichesk, was shelled and a civilian driver wounded, a Moscow-appointed official said.

In his nightly video address on Sunday, Zelenskiy said advanced air defence systems, including the U.S.-built Patriot and Germany's IRIS-T, were proving "highly effective" and had "already yielded significant results."

Zelenskiy said Ukraine had shot down a significant part of Russia's attacks over the past week, which included 65 missiles of various kinds and 178 assault drones, including 87 Shaheds.

Ukraine's military said later that Russia had launched 30 missiles and 48 air strikes.

"Unfortunately, there are casualties and wounded among the civilian population. Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure suffered destruction," the military said in a statement.

The attacks followed what Zelenskiy said was a bomb attack late on Saturday on a blood transfusion centre in the town of Kupiansk, around 16 km (10 miles) from the front in the eastern Kharkiv region. He described the strike as a war crime. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians or military hospitals in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has killed thousands of people, uprooted millions and destroyed cities.

In Russia, Moscow's Vnukovo airport suspended flights on Sunday, citing unspecified reasons outside its control. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a drone had been shot down south of the capital.

Russia's defence ministry said earlier it had conducted successful strikes on Ukrainian air bases in the western Rivne and Khmelnytskyi regions and southern Zaporizhzhia region. It said its military launched a group strike using long-range and sea-based precision weapons and all the targets had been neutralized.

The deputy governor of the Khmelnytskyi region, Serhiy Tiurin, said a military airfield in Starokostiantyniv was among the targets. He said most of the missiles were shot down, but explosions had damaged several houses, a cultural institution and the bus station, and a fire had broken out at a grain silo.

Ukraine is two months into a gruelling counteroffensive to try to push out Russian forces occupying almost a fifth of its territory.

Zelenskiy aide Mykhailo Podoliak characterised the weekend Russian missile attacks as a response to Ukraine's overtures to Global South countries that have been reluctant to take sides in a conflict that has hurt the global economy.

Senior officials from some 40 countries including the United States, China and India held talks about the conflict in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and Sunday, but the meeting ended with no concrete action beyond a commitment to further consultations.

The meeting was part of a diplomatic push by Ukraine to build support beyond its core Western backers. Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said the discussions had been very productive, but did not give details.

Russia did not attend. Its deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said the meeting reflected the West's "doomed efforts" to mobilise developing nations behind Zelenskiy.