As a neuroscientist, I've spent the last 25 years researching the science of memory. A funny question I get a lot from people is: "Am I just getting dumber the older I get?"

I don't blame anyone for wondering this. Many of us find ourselves forgetting important things with increasing frequency over time.

But the good news is that you can prevent those "senior moments" by avoiding four common habits that destroy our memory as we age:

1. Multitasking too much

We rely on an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex to pay attention to the world around us. Unfortunately, prefrontal function and our ability to focus often declines over time.

Don't miss: Brain expert shares his 7 'hard rules' for boosting memory and fighting off dementia

Multitasking makes it worse. It impairs memory and taxes the function of the prefrontal cortex, sapping the resources that would normally help us form strong memories.

How to improve your memory: Put your phone on focus mode and block out time in your schedule for specific tasks.

Include breaks for meditation, daydreaming, a walk outside, or whatever it is that will recharge you. Just don't try to do it all at once.

2. Not prioritizing quality sleep

The amount and quality of sleep we get often decreases with age, for a variety of reasons. The problem can be compounded by medications, alcohol and stress.

But when you sleep, your brain is hard at work. It flushes out metabolic waste that accumulates during the day. Memories are also activated and connections are made between the different events we have experienced.

How to improve your memory: Sleep deprivation is devastating for the prefrontal cortex and leads fragmented memories. Try to avoid screen time, heavy meals, caffeine and alcohol right before bedtime.

If you have severe snoring problems, consider an assessment for sleep apnea treatment. If you have a bad night of sleep, a daytime nap can help, too.

3. Monotonous activities

We remember events by tying together information about what happened, when it happened, and where it happened. This is called episodic memory.

A cue that's uniquely linked to a specific place and time, like a song that you hadn't heard since high school, or the smell of a dish that your grandmother used to cook can conjure a vivid episodic memory.

This only works if you have experiences that are associated with relatively distinct contexts — not so much with monotonous experiences.

How to improve your memory: You can find yourself with very few memories of a week that was almost entirely spent at a desk alternating between emails and TikTok videos. So consider diversifying your routines.

Take a walk instead of hanging out in the lunchroom. Spending time with a diverse range of people, going to different places, and trying out new experiences will all provide opportunities to build lasting memories.

4. Being overconfident in your ability to remember things

I've had moments where I meet someone and feel certain that I've committed their name to memory, only to be flummoxed later by my inability to recall it.

If you're trying to do something that involves memorization, like when you are introduced to a group of people or trying to learn a foreign language, start by accepting that you are likely to overestimate how much you'll retain.

The second step is to give yourself the opportunity to get it wrong.

How to improve your memory: Rather than rote memorization, the most effective learning happens under circumstances where we struggle to recall a memory and then get the answer we are looking for.

For instance, a few minutes after you learn something, try testing yourself on it. Then do it again an hour later. The more you space out these attempts, the better.

Charan Ranganath is a professor at the Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California at Davis. He is the author of the new book "Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters."

Want to land your dream job in 2024? Take CNBC's new online course How to Ace Your Job Interview to learn what hiring managers are really looking for, body language techniques, what to say and not to say, and the best way to talk about pay.

CNBC

Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB plc) has indicated plans for company-wide reorganisation as part of strategic recovery plan which entails the temporary shutting down of two out of its nine breweries in Nigeria.

Following the recent announcement of its business recovery plan, the conglomerate which is a member of the HEINEKEN Group and Nigeria’s pioneer and largest brewing company indicated plans for a company-wide reorganisation aimed at securing a resilient and sustainable future for its stakeholders.

The company said the move is essential to improve its operational efficiency, financial stability and enable a return of the business to profitability, in the face of the persistently challenging business environment.

In letters signed by the company’s Human Resource Director, Grace Omo-Lamai, and addressed to the leadership of the National Union of Food, Beverage & Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) and the Food Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), the company informed both unions that its proposed plan would include operational efficiency measures and a company-wide reorganisation that includes the temporary suspension of operations in two of its nine breweries.

As a result, and in accordance with labour requirements, the Company invited the Unions to discussions on the implications of the proposed measures.

It would be recalled that the company recently notified the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) of its plan to raise capital of up to ₦600 billion (Six Hundred billion naira) by way of a Rights Issue, as a means of restoring the company’s balance sheet to a healthy position following the net finance expenses of N189 billion recorded in 2023 driven mainly by a foreign exchange loss of N153 billion resulting from the devaluation of the naira.

Speaking on these developments, Managing Director/CEO Nigerian Breweries Plc, Hans Essaadi described the business recovery plan as strategic and vital for business continuity:

“The tough business landscape characterised by double-digit inflation rates, naira devaluation, FX challenges and diminished consumer spend has taken its toll on many businesses, including ours. This is why we have taken the decision to further consolidate our business operations for efficient cost management and optimal use of our resources for future sustainable growth”.

“We recognise and regret the impact that the suspension of brewery operations in the two affected locations may have on our employees. We are committed to limiting the impact on our people as much as possible by exhausting all options available including the relocation and redistribution of employees to our other seven breweries; and providing strong support and severance packages to all those that become unavoidably affected. We are also committed to supporting our host communities in ways that ensure they continue to feel our presence.”

“We remain wholly committed to having a positive impact on our host communities and our consumers; leveraging our strong supply chain footprint; excellent execution of our route to market strategy; and our rich portfolio of brands across the Lager, Stout, Malt, Soft drinks, and Energy drinks categories; and more recently, Wines and Spirits with the acquisition of Distell”, he added.

The Nigerian Breweries’ business recovery plan includes a Rights Issue and a company-wide reorganisation exercise which includes temporary suspension of two out of its nine breweries in the country and an optimisation of production capacity in the other seven breweries, some of which have received significant capital investment in recent years.

The company reaffirmed its commitment to the long-term future of Nigeria and “stands as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s beverage industry.”With over 77 years of operations, the company said it would continue to demonstrate its enduring commitment to the Nigerian market and its people.

Incorporated in 1946 as “Nigerian Brewery Limited,” NB Plc made history in June 1949 when the first bottle of STAR lager beer rolled out of its Lagos brewery bottling line.

Today, it has a rich portfolio of 21 high-quality brands, including iconic brands like Heineken, Desperados, Maltina, Life, Amstel Malta, Gulder, Fayrouz, and Legend produced from nine breweries and distributed nationwide.

NN Plc recently added to its portfolio with the acquisition of an 80% business stake in Distell Wines and Spirits Limited, a local business in the wines and spirits category, as a demonstration of its resilient and forward-thinking strategy to deliver long-term value creation for its shareholders and other stakeholders.

PT

Nigeria’s crude for May loading has been very slow to find buyers so far, with more than half of the scheduled cargoes yet clear.

More than 30 of the nation’s cargoes are still looking for buyers, according to traders specializing in West African crudes. A total of at least 53 are scheduled to load from Nigeria next month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Most of the consignments are one million barrels.

The country’s crude cargoes can be openly traded into either Asia, Europe or even the US, making the pace of sales a closely watched market detail.

Demand for Nigerian oil has been curbed by heavy refinery turnarounds in Europe that created an excess of April barrels going into the current May trading cycle, the people said.

Competitive rival producers in the Mediterranean have also cut into Nigeria’s sales, the people said.

The west African country’s sales also have to contend with higher freight costs and premium prices for more-immediate supplies.

By contrast, sales of Angola’s May-loading crude have been fairly steady, with only five or six out of the 34 planned shipments still available.

The country’s crude benefited from good demand from buyers in Asia like China and India, the people said. The International Energy Agency also cited strong demand for Angolan barrels in India in its monthly report.

Bloomberg

Nigeria's military said on Friday it had inflicted heavy losses on Islamist militant groups in the north and oil thieves in the south, arresting hundreds, seizing weapons and rescuing kidnap victims in a week-long operation.

Defence spokesperson Edward Buba said in a statement that troops had killed or wounded 188 militants and arrested 330 suspects across different locations in the country.

Security forces also arrested 36 suspected oil thieves in the Niger delta region and freed 133 kidnap victims, seizing around 270 weapons and more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition during the entire operation.

"The armed forces are working decisively to kill the terrorists, stop insecurity and ensure the safety of citizens. Troops will continue to operate with tremendous forces against the terrorists across the country," Buba said.

Nigeria faces a raft of security challenges including a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, separatist violence in the southeast, rampant oil theft in the Niger Delta and kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs.

Buba said troops destroyed 51 dugout pits, 24 boats, 21 storage tanks and more than 20 illegal oil refining facilities, recovering nearly 700,000 litres of stolen crude oil.

Oil theft and illegal refining is rife in Nigeria's oil-rich delta as impoverished locals and more sophisticated criminal gangs pilfer pipelines to make fuel to sell for profit.

About 637.7 million naira ($554,500) of suspected proceeds of oil theft was also seized, Buba said.

($1 = 1,150.0000 naira)

Amidst ongoing dust raised by the new electricity tariff at the backdrop of inadequate power supply, electricity generation nosedived to 2,775 megawatts, MW, yesterday, a 32.3 per cent decline from 4,099.87MW recorded last week.

This was contained in the data released by the Nigeria Electricity System Operator, NESO, a semi-autonomous unit of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN.

Findings by Vanguard indicated that there has been no improvement in the power value chain despite the recent review of Band A power consumers’ billing as there is yet inadequate supply of gas to the thermal stations, including the poor state of transmission lines as generation averages 4200 megawatts since this year.

Information supplied by the Independent System Operator, ISO, showed that as of 6 pm on Friday, load allocation to the eleven DisCos which was 2,775.00 Megawatts gave Abuja Disco the highest allocation at 428MW, followed by Ikeja Electric at 422MW, Eko Disco at 359MW, Ibadan Disco at 335MW, Benin Disco at 227MW and Enugu Disco at 200MW.

The distribution companies with the lowest allocation were Yola Disco at 79MW, Jos Disco at 158MW, Kaduna Disco at 181MW, Kano Disco at 188MW and Port Harcourt Disco at 198MW.

This showed that generation was inadequate for transmission and distribution to households and organizations in different parts of the nation, a development that pushed the Electricity Distribution

Companies, DISCOs to embark on load shedding to spread the limited electricity to many at different times.

This shortfall in supply has prompted some Discos to appease their customers through their social media handles.

Vanguard

PRESS RELEASE

Despite Afenifere's March 2nd 2024 initial public demand for transparency of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway contract awarded to Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company, and ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar further probing last week, the government has failed to answer the calls for transparency, and continues the nearly twenty years wastage on the Lagos-Epe corridor.

Afenifere demands more clarity on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Contract, especially the Lekki-Epe corridor that has been a source of controversy since 2008, when it was awarded as Private Public Partnership contract to Craneburg Construction of 29 Bourdillion Avenue, President Bola Tinubu's neighbours with obscure directors, to the recent N1.06 trillion PPP contract to Hitech.

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi in his April 10th 2024 response claimed that Hitech Construction was the only construction company capable of building such a project, but in the same response alluded to the fact that when underwater reconstructive engineering of the Third Mainland was required, Julius Berger was called being the only construction company that could handle it. So, what experience does Hitech Construction have in building a coastal Highway with huge portions over water and mangrove swamps?

In an alarming U-Turn, Umahi reversed his September 23th 2023 statement made when announcing the award of the contract that it is a Public Private Partnership that won't cost the government anything, to now state that the government would share up to 30% cost. Under Tinubu's Lagos State government the Lagos-Epe expressway was initially billed to be a Private Public Partnership but was later reversed to a project that cost Lagos State government and the public an arm and a leg, and still remains uncompleted nearly twenty years afterwards. Just as Lekki-Epe expressway was wrongly labelled by Tinubu's Lagos State government as a PPP with no cost to Lagos taxpayers, once again it is being labeled a PPP by Tinubu's federal government despite earmarking  N1.06 trillion for the same 40 mile long  5 mile wide corridor.

The Lekki-Epe expressway initially slated in 2006 as a PPP with no cost to Lagos taxpayers, but over time, not only did Lagos State government commit US$42 million of taxpayers’ money to the project, but syndicated loans from African Development Bank ($85m/N85billion), First Bank of Nigeria and United Bank for Africa (US$80 million), yet Lagos commuters were made to pay tolls of undisclosed billions. Standard Bank and its local subsidiary Stanbic IBTC Bank alongside the Lekki Concession Company closed financing for the US$426 million (N50.1bn), which was criticized as being 300% overpriced, costing over N4.15 billion per kilometer compared  to N1.3 billion per kilometer for the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Now once again, we are not sure of the total cost even after awarding contract as Umahi claims the government would bear between 5% to 30% of the cost, while loans and tolls will pay the rest. But from experience, we know the contractor won't get the loans unless the government guarantees it or pays directly.

Therefore, it is audacious to award the same Lagos-Epe corridor for N1 trillion, which comes to a rate of about N15 billion per kilometer, even though the Minister claims there were alerations and additions to the size of the project like doubling the amount of lanes and type of shoulder that made it about N4bn. Also, the initial Lagos-Epe road included the construction of alternative coastal roads, so the government needs to clarify if, where and why the roads overlap.

In addition to the basic questions of why there was no competitive bidding, there is a need to justify the economic implications of the Coastal Highway. Why does the highway start at Chagoury's Eko Hotel and destroys billion of dollars of tourist attractions, yet stops at no significant town of economic importance in Southwest? Why leave the single most important economic empowering infrastructure, the Lagos-Calabar railway, sabotaged by APC government in 2015, to build the world's first and only coastal highway that majorly passes through sparsely populated swamps?

The Minister alluded to the possibility of providing a divider that a train can run, which just shows that he has a myopic view that only sees road and rail as mere transport from point A to B, not the huge economic multipliers underlying their construction.

Contrary to media spins, the US Pacific West Coast I-5 highway is on solid ground and inland like our current East-West Road, neither are the USA East Coast I-95 Highway nor United Kingdom M1 motorway coastal Highways. Highways are to link the most towns in order to stimulate economic growth, and there is no economic sense to build highways over water except to avoid city center traffic like the Third Mainland bridge! Just like main highways spurs feeder routes and local businesses like food, beverages and mechanics, railways also spurs growth of feeder routes, iron works, haulage, logistics and trade along land routes.

There are also serious ecological issues of killing our natural coastal fauna, especially our mangrove swamps that form a strong natural defense against tidal waves and flooding. What is the ecological costs of a project with less economic value than the East-West Road, when it can not stimulate the local economy but disrupt and destroy fishing villages and canoe houses!

The nearly N20 trillion being wasted could have been wisely used to build the three Lagos-Calabar, Ilorin-Yola and Sokoto-Maiduguri East-West railways, which will stimulate an accelerated railway development that is universally acknowledged to be the launchpad of heavy manufacturing industrialization, to provide millions of jobs and a new income stream. Railways is USAs most profitable industry with 50% profit margin from a $68.8 billion revenue in 2020 compared to the $20.43 billion Nigerian oil revenues of the same year.

Unlike Lagos State, essentially a one party state that Tinubu has run like a fiefdom for the last twenty four years, Nigerians will not fold their arms while our economic future is frittered away between business and neighborhood friends.

Afenifere is therefore not only imploring the federal government to be more transparent, but calling on legislators, lawyers and good governance activists to ensure Nigeria is not run like a one party banana Republic.

Signed:

Justice Faloye,

Deputy Publicity Secretary,

Afenifere

ISRAELI REPORTS

EU sanctions Hamas, PIJ military wings over sexual violence on October 7

EU countries have put the military and special forces wings of Hamas and the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the bloc’s human rights sanctions list for their responsibility for widespread sexual and gender-based violence in the October 7 attack on Israel.

The EU countries say the Qassam and Al-Quds Brigades and the Nukhba Force are now subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban to the EU. The provision of funds to them, directly or indirectly, is now also prohibited. Hamas and Islamic Jihad were already designated as terrorist organizations by the EU.

** IDF: The IDF and ISA eliminated a Hamas military operative responsible for internal security operations in Jabalya; the 162nd Division continues precise operations against terrorist operatives and infrastructure in the central Gaza Strip

On Thursday, in a joint IDF and ISA operation, an IAF aircraft eliminated Ridwan Mohammed Abdallah Ridwan, a Hamas military operative who was responsible for the terrorist organization’s internal security operations in the area of Jabalya. Ridwan gave orders to Hamas operatives and was responsible for directing armed terrorists to take control of humanitarian aid trucks in the northern Gaza Strip. His elimination degrades Hamas’ capabilities to attack and take control of humanitarian aid in the area of Jabalya.

In addition, yesterday (Thursday), the IDF eliminated Hamed Muhammad Ali Ahmed, a Hamas military commander who was also responsible for the terrorist organization’s internal security operations in the area of Jabalya, as well as another Hamas operative in its Jabalya Battalion.

The 162nd Division is continuing a precise, intelligence-based operation to eliminate terrorist operatives and strike terrorist infrastructure in the central Gaza Strip. Over the past day, the IDF killed a number of terrorists in both engagements on the ground and aerial strikes. IDF troops struck underground launch posts and a number of ready-to-fire launchers used by terrorist organizations. A targeted raid on terrorist infrastructure was also conducted, where the troops located military equipment belonging to the Islamic Jihad.

Over the past day, IDF fighter jets struck over 60 terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including underground launch posts, military infrastructure and sites in which armed terrorists operated. In parallel, IDF artillery struck terrorist infrastructure in the central Gaza Strip.

Attached are photos of IDF activity in the Gaza Strip: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC120420242083

** IDF: In accordance with the decision of the government of Israel, the first humanitarian aid trucks transporting food entered through the new Northern Crossing from Israel into the Gaza Strip yesterday (Thursday), coordinated by the IDF and COGAT, as part of efforts to enhance the humanitarian aid corridors to the Gaza Strip in general, and to the north in particular.

The trucks underwent thorough security checks by the security authorities of the Land Crossings Authority of the Ministry of Defense at the Kerem Shalom crossing, and were accompanied by IDF soldiers.

Attached is related footage:

https://bit.ly/43VqDM4

Attached are related photos:

https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC12042458

** IDF: Discovery of weapons and explosives in classrooms; footage from the operations of the 162nd Division in central Gaza Strip

The 401st Brigade, Nahal Brigade, and additional units under the command of the 162nd Division continue their targeted raid to eliminate terrorists and destroy terrorist infrastructure in the center of the Gaza Strip.

As part of the operation, the Nahal Brigade carried out targeted raids on several buildings used by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations, and located terrorist infrastructure. The forces located and neutralized several large armed explosive charges that were hidden in the classrooms and the schoolyard of the 'Ibrahim Al-Makhadmeh' School in the center of the Gaza Strip. In addition, the soldiers located an observation post used by the Hamas terrorist organization for terrorist activities and threatening IDF soldiers.

Attached is footage from the operations of the 401st Brigade and the Nahal Brigade in the center of the Gaza Strip:

https://bit.ly/4aVwyDn

Attached is an aerial photograph of the 'Ibrahim Al-Maqadma' school with the explosives found in it:

https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC1204202412344562

Attached is a picture of weapons found in the area:

https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC85269

Attached are related photos:

https://idfanc.activetrail.biz/ANC89657

** IDF: A number of launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into the Upper Galilee in northern Israel today (Friday). No injuries were reported. The IDF struck the sources of the fire.

Following the sirens that sounded in the Upper Galilee regarding a suspected infiltration of a hostile aircraft, it appears to have been a false identification.

A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck Hezbollah military compounds in which terrorists were operating in the area of Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon, as well as an additional Hezbollah military compound in the area of Taybeh in southern Lebanon.

Attached is a video of IDF strikes in southern Lebanon:  https://bit.ly/4arIfBI

HAMAS’ REPORTS

Hamas:

- Intensive bombing of residential neighborhoods in the Nuseirat camp, which comes as part of a military operation that the fascist occupation army announced to be carrying out in the central region of the Gaza Strip, which is crowded with displaced people from various regions of the Strip. It is a new episode of the Zionist war of genocide against our Palestinian people, as the camp has been subjected for two days to a barbaric attack that targeted civilian facilities and citizens’ homes, resulting in dozens of martyrs and wounded among our people.

This fascist operation is a clear expression of the Zionist disregard for all international and judicial resolutions and demands to stop the criminal war of extermination on the Gaza Strip, which is being carried out with the full cover of the American administration.

The international community and the United Nations must work immediately to force the Zionist enemy to stop its fascist aggression against our Palestinian people.

** Hizb allah:

In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their valiant and honorable resistance, and in response to the enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes, most recently on the towns of Taybah and Aita al-Shaab, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance bombed at 20:00 pm on Friday 12/04/ 2024 Enemy artillery positions in Zaoura with dozens of Katyusha rockets. ‏

Times of Israel/Israel Defense Forces/Hamas Brigade al-Qassam

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

US says China is boosting Russia's war machine in Ukraine

China is backing Russia's war effort in Ukraine by helping Moscow in its biggest military buildup since the Soviet era, providing drone and missile technology, satellite imagery and machine tools, senior U.S. officials said on Friday.

However, the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said it has not provided weaponry to any party, adding that it is "not a producer of or party involved in the Ukraine crisis."

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. President Joe Biden raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping in their recent phone call and that it is a topic of discussion with U.S. allies in Europe and around the world.

One official said Chinese materials are filing critical gaps in Russia's defense production cycle and helping Moscow undertake its "most ambitious defense expansion since the Soviet era and on a faster timeline than we believed possible early on in this conflict."

"Our view is that one of the most game-changing moves available to us at this time to support Ukraine is to persuade the PRC (China) to stop helping Russia reconstitute its military industrial base. Russia would struggle to sustain its war effort without PRC input," the official said.

A Chinese embassy spokesperson told Reuters that normal trade between China and Russia should not be interfered or restricted.

"We urge the U.S. side to refrain from disparaging and scapegoating the normal relationship between China and Russia," Liu Pengyu said.

Some of the information provided by the U.S. officials in a small briefing with reporters was based on declassified intelligence. They sketched a wide array of ways China is helping Russia's two-year war against Ukraine without providing lethal assistance.

President Joe Biden has been pressuring Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives to approve a major infusion of funding for providing weapons to Ukraine as it struggles to fend off the Russians.

The U.S. and its allies have also been more blunt about confronting Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and against self-ruled Taiwan.

China complained about what it viewed as anti-China rhetoric emanating from Biden's talks this week with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines, prompting a denial from the White House.

The Russians have likely used machine tool imports from China to increase its ballistic missile production, the officials said. They cited Dalian Machine Tool Group, one of China’s leading machine tool manufacturers, as one company supplying Russia.

In 2023, 90% of Russia’s microelectronics imports came from China, which Russia has used to produce missiles, tanks and aircraft, the officials said.

They said that Chinese companies such as Wuhan Global Sensor Technology Co, Wuhan Tongsheng Technology Co Ltd and Hikvision are providing Chinese optical components for use in Russian systems, including tanks and armored vehicles.

In addition, Russia has received military optics for tanks and armored vehicles that Chinese firms iRay Technology and North China Research Institute of Electro-Optics manufacture, they said.

The officials also said China has provided Russia with drone engines and turbojet engines for cruise missiles, and that Chinese and Russian entities have been working to jointly produce drones inside Russia.

Chinese companies are likely providing Russia with nitrocellulose to make propellants for weapons, helping Russia rapidly expand its capacity to make key munitions like artillery rounds, they added.

The U.S. officials also said China is helping Russia improve its satellite and other space-based capabilities for use in Ukraine, increasing the Russian threat across Europe. And they said the U.S. has information China is providing imagery to Russia for its war on Ukraine.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia pounds Ukrainian energy, military-industrial sites in precision strikes over week

Russian troops delivered 48 precision strikes at Ukrainian energy and military-industrial sites, army and mercenaries’ deployment areas over the past week in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"On April 6-12, the Russian Armed Forces delivered one massive and 47 combined strikes by air-launched, seaborne and ground-based precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against Ukrainian fuel and energy and military-industrial sites in retaliation to the Kiev regime’s attempts to inflict damage on Russia’s oil and gas industry and energy installations. In addition, the strikes targeted maintenance bases and temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian special operations forces and foreign mercenaries," the ministry said in a statement.

"All the designated targets were destroyed," it stressed.

Reuters/Tass

Nuca, a new deepfake camera, is an art project that shows how artificial intelligence can undermine reality and privacy, taking photos of subjects and completely ’nudifying’ them in just 10 seconds.

German artist Mathias Vef and designer Benedikt Groß thought it would be a great idea to create Nuca, a consumer compact deepfake camera capable of generating nonconsensual naked photos of its subjects. They are right—not because of pervy reasons but because it serves a higher purpose: to highlight once again that we are so very screwed. Generative artificial intelligence is destroying reality. And now it can do it almost in real time, right in your very own hands, right in front of your very own eyes, at the touch of a button.

In an email interview, Vef tells me that he and Groß studied speculative design at the Royal College of Art in London, where they explored the future of technology and its implications. “When we met last year in summer for a reunion, we had quite an extensive chat about generative AI, which we both worked with for a while. And then the topic of deepfakes came up,” he says.

That’s when they thought of the worst possible consequences of the technology and came up with the idea to create this “nudifying camera.” Although in university they usually worked with props rather than actual technology in different projects, something as advanced as Nuca was now possible. “As we learned to think very critically about [this] technology, it seemed very tempting to realize it,” Vef says.

Publicly available tools

Nuca uses artificial intelligence to process an image captured in the cloud, reconstructing a nude from the real-world subject. Its design follows the format of a standard compact camera that vaguely reminds me of an old Nikon reflex. Its 15-ounce body is 3D-designed and printed. Equipped with 37 millimeter lenses, the deepfake camera has a mobile phone for guts that captures the image and acts as the viewfinder.

The software displays the input image as well as other data, like the subject’s pose, in real time. When you press the shutter button, the deepfake camera sends the photo to the cloud for processing. There, the image gets into a workflow that studies the pose, body landmarks, and face, analyzing 45 identifiers such as gender, age, ethnicity, expression, and body shape.

The information is sent to a Stable Diffusion engine that runs one of the many public diffusion models specialized in creating nudes that are available in the popular Civitai. The model interprets this information and generates the base nude. The resulting image gets processed using a “deepfake” tool that seamlessly adds the face of the real-world subject onto that naked body.

“The processing time is quite short, 10 seconds,” Vef tells me. “One of the challenges was to reduce the time for the generation of the images. We used mostly tools that are publicly available, but to combine them in a very efficient way and put it in a working device is something that hasn’t been done before.”

Uncanny

For now, Nuca is a working prototype created as an artistic experiment to demonstrate how we are progressively getting closer to an apocalyptic fate of unreality. You will be able to experience it in real(?) life only at a nüüd.berlin gallery exhibition this summer. But I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point in the very near future, something of similar features will actually be easily available to consumers, either as a simple app for your phone or as a dedicated gadget—perhaps a real deepfake camera, some sort of Mission Impossible X-ray glasses, or hacked cyber-eye contact lenses.

Nuca was made to provoke us, but the project has already been far surpassed by real web applications that are used for all things bad. Undressing people to humiliate or bully them, manipulate the masses with fake everything, scam hundreds of thousands with deepfake video chat or voice, or just literally bring the end of reality as we know it.

So far, many of these tools are out of reach for all but the most technologically gifted users, but it’s likely that one-touch reality fabrication way better than Nuca will be available sooner than we think. In a way, even big companies like Apple are already doing this, subtly training us for what’s coming: Products like Vision Pro or AirPods Pro actively process the analog reality that we perceive naturally into new synthetic realities. It’s only a matter of time before we fall into a black hole that we are not going to be able to escape. 

Will we learn any lessons?

Which takes us right back to AI itself.

Still, Vef and Groß believe that their artistic provocation may push us into thinking about the perils. “We both think the debate is only about to begin because the possibilities seem endless. We are only at the beginning of this journey,” Vef points out. “It is very important to us to be both critical and explorative, as we need to know what’s coming to be able to discuss possibilities and their implications. Our camera is a way to do that.”

I’m betting all the Bitcoins I don’t have into the idea that no lessons will be learned from this experiment and we will be able to buy something like Nuca on AliExpress—or worse—soon.

Fast Company

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has described as wasteful and a highway to fraud the claim by Works Minister Dave Umahi that the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will tentatively cost N15.6 trillion.

Atiku also knocked Umahi for altering the project’s initial plan after Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech had been awarded the contract without any competitive bidding.

He said, “Umahi had announced that Hitech would fully fund the project, and based on this, there was no competitive bidding. He (Umahi) then said that Hitech could only raise just 6% of the money for the pilot phase. This smacks of deceit.”

Umahi had, during his media rounds at select TV stations on Thursday, said the road project would cost N15.6 trillion ($13bn at an exchange rate of N1,200/$1) while the rail which will pass through the road would be costed separately.

The minister also said the project would not be PPP but that the government would be providing 15%-30% counterpart financing.

Responding to Umahi’s revelation, Atiku said the tentative cost was the equivalent of the total budget of all 36 states of the federation combined.

He said, “The total budget of all 36 federation states for 2024 is about N14 trillion. If you add that of the FCT, the entire budget of all sub-nationals is N15.91 trillion. This is scandalous. Worse still, they have already awarded the contract but are still not sure of the level of the counterpart funding component of the federal government!

“Umahi had said in September 2023 that Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech had the money to construct the highway and would be PPP. Hitech was to build, operate, and transfer it back to the Nigerian government after years of tolling.

“It was reported by every media organisation, including those owned by Tinubu. It was based on this proposal that Hitech was picked. Why did Umahi then turn around to claim that it was not to be a PPP but that the government would pay 15%-30%?”

The former Vice President noted that in the 2024 budget, the project was captured as the Lagos-Port Harcourt coastal highway and was put at a cost of N500m.

“Although the National Assembly approved N500m for the project this year, the Tinubu administration has released N1.06tn. That is more than 200 times what is in the Appropriation Act. This is what happens when the National Assembly fails in its duties,” he added.

Atiku said it was curious that the N15.91 trillion announced by Umahi did not include the cost of the railway component. He, therefore, wondered how much the project would cost if the railway component is included.

“If N15.6 trillion is for the road component alone, then the total cost could be far higher when the railway is included. We want to know the cost of the railway,” he said.

The PDP presidential candidate also lambasted Umahi for admitting that the project was given to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech construction company without competitive bidding.

He asked Umahi to stop trying to deceive Nigerians with the claim that only Hitech was competent enough to do the project, wondering if it is the same that has been grappling with the execution of its projects in Lagos.

The former vice president stated, “The essence of competitive bidding is so that Nigerians can get the best value for money. It is so that you can compare prices and pick the company that can afford the project. It is wrong for him to have concluded that only Hitech could handle this project when such a project has been done by other reputable firms in the United States, China and South Africa.

“He claims he didn’t know there was a business relationship between Gilbert Chagoury and Tinubu, but this is another lie because Tinubu has publicly acknowledged this fact.”

Atiku also accused the works minister of attempting to deceive Nigerians as regards the appropriation for the project.

He called on members of the National Assembly to be alive to their responsibilities instead of acting like an annexe of the presidency.

The PDP candidate stated, “Until I exposed the dubious nature of this project, no member of the National Assembly thought it wise to investigate. The total cost was never made known until now. The fact that there was no bidding was never made known until I blew the whistle.”

The former vice president also knocked Umahi for claiming that no money had been released yet to Hitech, which he described as another lie.

“On March 31, 2024, Umahi came on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme where he pointedly said that N1.06tn was released to Hitech. Only for him to say on TVC on April 11 that the same money had not been released. Which one is true, and which one is false?”

Signed:
Atiku Media Office
Abuja
11th April, 2024.