WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine to receive 6 bln euro from EU in next two months, PM says

Ukraine will receive 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) from the European Union via its four-year Ukraine facility in the next two months, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday.

The government expects to receive 4.5 billion euros in March and another 1.5 billion euros in April, Shmyhal told a government meeting.

"This year, we aim to receive about 16 billion euros from the European Union. Ukraine will have the resources to fight and win. It is our key objective and we will do everything possible for it," Shmyhal said.

With the war against Russia now in its third year, Ukraine is critically dependent on economic and military support from its Western allies.

Billions in economic aid in the first two years of the war helped the government to maintain macroeconomic stability, tame inflation and ensure timely payments of pensions and public sector wages.

Ukraine channels most of its domestic budget revenues to fund its defence efforts.

Finance ministry data showed that Ukraine received about $73.6 billion in foreign financing in 2022 and 2023.

But in the first two months of this year, Kyiv received only $1.2 billion as major financing packages were delayed or blocked.

Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko has said the country needs about $3 billion a month to be able to get through 2024.

The government borrowed more from the domestic debt market and asked the state companies to make some obligatory budget payments in advance to meet spending needs in the first two months of the year.

The European Union eventually approved its four-year 50 billion euro financing program for Ukraine last month, military and economic aid from the United States remains stalled.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian kamikaze drones kill two in Russia – governor

Two people have been killed and another severely wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Belgorod Region, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said.

The attack, which involved three kamikaze-drones, targeted the outskirts of the village of Rozhdestvenka, located near Russia’s border with Ukraine, Gladkov wrote in a post on Telegram on Friday.  

“As a result of the explosions, two people were killed and a third man was seriously injured,” he said.

An earthmover machine and some other construction equipment was damaged in the attack, according to the governor.

Earlier on Friday, Gladkov reported that a Ukrainian UAV had dropped an explosive device on a facility at an agricultural enterprise in the village of Maslova Pristan. The blast damaged the roof of the building but no human casualties resulted from this attack, he added.

At least five drones were shot down by air defenses in other parts of Belgorod Region earlier in the day, the governor said.

Throughout the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Ukraine has been targeting Russian territory with drones almost on a daily basis.

This week the attacks were most intense on Wednesday, with incursions by UAVs reported in the Ukraine-bordering regions of Voronezh, Kursk, and Belgorod. Most of the drones were destroyed. However, in Kursk Region a strike by a UAV caused a fire at an oil depot.

On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that a total of 796 Ukrainian drones have been shot down over the past week.

Reuters/RT

Two-time world champion Anthony Joshua knocked out mixed martial arts star Francis Ngannou in just the second round of their heavyweight clash in the early hours of Saturday.

Joshua had his Cameroonian opponent on the canvas in the first round and twice more in the second in a brutal and brief exhibition of punching power.

Ngannou, 37, a former UFC heavyweight champion, was taking part in only his second professional boxing match, having lost a split decision to Tyson Fury in an October fight that saw him put the WBC champion on the canvas in the third round.

“I thought this fight was something for the broadcasters to get behind,” Joshua told broadcaster DAZN after his quickfire victory.

“When I saw the fight with Tyson Fury, I thought, ‘I want some of that’. He is a great champion and this doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities.

“I told (Ngannou) not to leave boxing. He’s two fights in and he fought the best.”

Joshua, a former unified WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion, went into the fight on the back of three successive wins.

Before that, however, he lost back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk, who will fight Fury for the undisputed heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia in May.

The fight only got under way at 3:30 am local time (0030 GMT), but weary fans enjoyed a sensational start when Joshua quickly sent Ngannou to the canvas in the opening round with a brutal right to the chin.

It got worse for the Cameroonian when he was knocked down again in the second round, just managing to beat the count.

But his resistance lasted just a few more moments after he was sent to the canvas again for the third and final time.

He lay on his back for some time and needed medical treatment inside the ring before being helped back to his stool.

Joshua, 34, was reportedly being paid $50 million for his clash with Ngannou, whose rags-to-riches story had captivated the sport.

The MMA star grew up in abject poverty, working as a child labourer in a sand quarry for under $2 a day.

Ngannou then made his way to Europe, even sleeping rough in a car park in Paris before a local coach took him under his wing and guided him to boxing.

The Guardian

A Bangladeshi medical school teacher has been suspended after allegedly pulling out a firearm and shooting a student in the leg during a heated argument.

Raihan Sharif, a lecturer at a medical college in Sirajganj, north-western Bangladesh, has been suspended from his job two days after allegedly shooting and injuring a student in a classroom. Local media reported that the incident took place on Monday, while Sharif was conducting an oral exam. At some point, he got into an argument with 23-year-old student Arafat Amin Tomal, pulled out a gun, and shot the student in the right knee. Luckily for Tomal, the bullet hit the mobile phone he had in his pocket and prevented a potentially life-threatening injury, but he still wound up in the hospital and had to undergo surgery on his leg.

The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reports that there were 45 students in the classroom when the shooting occurred, many of whom rushed to help their colleague, locking Sharif in a room until police arrived. He was taken into custody and police seized the gun, as well as a second pistol, 81 bullets, four magazines, two knives, and 10 daggers which were found in the teacher’s bag.

In a police statement, it was revealed that Raihan Sharif was known for bringing firearms to school which he would often showcase to his students during classes.

News of Raihan Sharif suspension by the medical college sparked outrage in Bangladesh, with people voicing their outrage at the lecturer’s actions. Students at the college protested this week asking for a more severe punishment and his immediate dismissal.

The teacher remains in custody and police said that a special committee has been tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Oddity Central

A former CIA agent who served as an undercover spy for seven years has lifted the lid on the key signs that someone is lying to you and how you can become better at fabricating the truth.

Andrew Bustamante, 45, who worked as a captain in the Air Force before becoming an intelligence officer, opened up about his time in the Central Intelligence Agency in an episode of the podcast The Diary of a CEO, hosted by Steve Bartlett. 

The ex-spy dished on his extensive training, which involved him learning how to become a skilled liar - revealing that the CIA only recruits people who already have a natural talent for being dishonest. 

In the podcast, Andrew revealed how you can become a better liar while also sharing the signs that will tell you if someone is trying to manipulate you. 

Andrew began by explaining that you can't truly know if someone is lying unless you have known them long enough to establish a 'baseline,' which is known as their normal behavior. 

He added that in the CIA, learning about someone's baseline was known as spending 'time on target.' 

When dishing on being recruited into the agency, he said: 'It starts with a foundation of making sure to recruit people who are already liars.' 

He then began discussing the key details that can help you spot a bad liar. 

Andrew first said that someone who isn't good at being dishonest will run their mouth. 

'Bad liars talk a lot. Good liars talk a little, because the more you talk, the more you run the risk of undermining your own lie,' he explained.

He also shared that good liars will try to shift the conversation to make it about someone else, while bad liars will focus on themselves. 

He added: 'Bad liars make a lot of statements, good liars ask a lot of questions because if you ask questions, you’re not really disclosing anything about yourself. '

Andrew explained that if you have ever been in a social situation where there was somebody there that made you feel so interesting but you didn’t know anything about them, you were talking to a very good liar.

In addition to running their mouths, the former spy said that bad liars often can be spotted through their body language. 

He said: 'A skilled liar knows how to appear like they are telling the truth with their words and their body, whereas an unskilled liar often has a disconnect and their body will give a different message than what their mouth is.' 

Andrew noted that unskilled liars will struggle to sit still and keep twitching, like they are sitting in a 'hot seat.'

The former undercover spy also discussed the various tells that have been spread around on social media that are false. 

He explained that many think if someone moves their eyes around while speaking, they're lying. However, this isn't the case.

He said: 'You can’t actually tell if someone is lying to you based on where they place their eyes.'

Moving on to the habits of good liars, Andrew said that in addition to sitting still, asking questions and keeping their lies brief, a skilled deceiver will mirror the person they are trying to fool. 

'The first thing you do is you mimic the person,' he said.

He explained by mirroring the person you’re lying to they're more likely to believe and trust you. 

The ex-CIA agent also touched on how to get anything you want from someone - adding that people have four basic motivations, 'reward, ideology, coercion, and ego.' 

He noted that if you can speak to someone 'through the lens of their ideology,' you can get them to do anything you want. 

Daily Mail

Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped more than 200 school pupils in the northern town of Kuriga on Thursday, a teacher, local councillor and parents of the missing children said, in the biggest mass abduction from a school since 2021.

Police in Kaduna state did not respond to requests for comment on the abductions, which happened shortly after morning assembly at the Local Government Education Authority School in the town of Kuriga.

"The number of the kidnapped from the secondary section based on the statistics we took together with the parents is 187 while that of the primary section is 40 for now," said Sani Abdullahi, a home economics teacher.

Local councillor for Kuriga Idris Maiallura said he had been to the school and said the gunmen initially took 100 primary schools pupils but later freed them while others escaped.

Parents and residents blamed the kidnapping on lack of security in the area.

Kaduna state Governor Uba Sani visited Kuriga and promised to get the students released, his office said, but did not say how many pupils were missing.

Amnesty International called on Nigerian authorities to safely rescue the students and hold perpetrators to account.

"We don't know what to do, we are all waiting to see what God can do. They are my only children I have on Earth," Fatima Usman, whose two children were among those abducted, told Reuters by telephone.

Another parent, Hassan Abdullahi, said local vigilantes had tried to repel the gunmen but had been overpowered.

"Seventeen of the students abducted are my children. I feel very sad that the government has neglected us completely in this area," Abdullahi said.

Kidnappings for ransom by armed men have become endemic in northern Nigeria, disrupting daily lives and keeping thousands of children from attending school.

The last major reported abduction involving school children in Kaduna was in July 2021 when gunmen took more than 150 students in a raid. The students were re-united months later with their families after they paid ransoms.

Reuters

A Nigerian Air Force Super Mushshak trainer aircraft was involved in "a minor mishap" on Thursday, but the two pilots on board survived the crash, the Air Force said.

The incident occurred at about 1335 GMT near a military airfield in the northern city of Kaduna as the plane was returning from a routine training flight, Air Force spokesperson Edward Gabkwet said in a statement.

Nigeria Air Force authorities have ordered a preliminary investigation to determine the immediate cause of the crash, the statement said. No further details were provided.

The crash follows a Nigerian Air Force MI-35P helicopter that went down in December and is the third such incident since July.

While Africa's largest economy has had a poor air safety record in the past, it has improved in recent years.

Reuters

The federal government has inaugurated a 10-member committee on the implementation of the recommendations of the Oronsaye report. 

On February 26, President Bola Tinubu directed the full implementation of the Oronsaye report to “enhance efficiency in the federal service, and reduce the cost of governance”.

According to a statement by Segun Imohiosen, director of information in the office of the secretary to the government of the federation, the committee was inaugurated by George Akume, the SGF, on behalf of the president.

Akume noted that the implementation of the White Papers on the Oronsaye report is aimed at reducing the cost of governance and streamlining efficiency across the governance value chain.

Members of the committee include Akume, Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation; Abubakar Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning; and Folashade Yemi Esan, head of civil service of the federation.

Others are Usman Hadiza Bala, special adviser to the president on policy and coordination; Dasuki Arabi, director-general of the bureau of public service reform; Abdullahi Gumel, senior special assistant to the president on national assembly matters (senate).

Others include Ibrahim Olarewaju, senior special assistant to the president on national assembly matters (house of representatives); Muri Okunola, principal secretary to the president: and Richard Pheelangwah, permanent secretary, cabinet affairs office.

Akume also highlighted the general guidelines of the committee to include the review of the current mandates to understand the existing functions, responsibilities, and objectives outlined in the mandates of the agencies.

“Identify redundancies and overlaps or conflicting objectives among the mandates of different organisational units,” Akume said.

“Define strategic objectives to ensure the revised mandates align with the strategic objectives and priorities of the government.

“Engage key stakeholders and gather input and feedback on the proposed revisions to the mandates.

“Draft clear, concise, and actionable revised mandates for the organisations involved in the restructuring.

“Ensure the revised mandates comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies governing government operations.

“Obtain necessary approvals from relevant authorities for the revised mandates, and effectively communicate the revised mandates to employees and stakeholders.

“Implement the revised mandates effectively and monitor their implementation to identify any issues or challenges.”

He added that the committee has a 12-week deadline to submit its report.

Here is a list of all agencies affected by the Oronsaye report.

The Cable

Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has agreed to collaborate with a group of House of Representatives members pushing for a return to the parliamentary system.

The 60 federal lawmakers, led by Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, had met with the ACF on Thursday with the aim of garnering support for their proposed legislation transitioning from the current presidential system.

Chinda highlighted the need for support from regions and other important bodies for the smooth passage of the bill. He emphasized that the parliamentary system would enhance accountability among officeholders.

In response, ACF Board of Trustees Chairman, Bashir Dalhatu, expressed satisfaction with the initiative and pledged the ACF’s readiness to provide necessary support.

“We have agreed to constitute a committee that will work with the lawmakers to review the draft bill they have prepared and provide suggestions and input. We believe this change will be in the best interest of all Nigerians,” Dalhatu affirmed.

Dalhatu echoed the sentiment that the current presidential system is costly and ineffective, emphasizing the need for a change in governance style for the benefit of all Nigerians.

Daily Trust

Gaza ceasefire talks show no sign of progress, US says onus on Hamas

Hamas on Thursday left Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo where there was no sign of progress just days before the start of Ramadan, while the U.S. said the onus was on the Palestinian militant group to strike a deal on Israeli hostages.

Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the lack of agreement after four days of talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt about a 40-day ceasefire amid fears violence could escalate during the Muslim fasting month.

Egyptian security sources said talks, taking place without an Israeli delegation in Cairo, would resume on Sunday, the expected start of Ramadan.

Senior U.S. administration officials said the onus was on Hamas to complete a hostage deal and attributed the delay to what they described as Hamas so far not agreeing to release sick and elderly hostages.

A Hamas official told Reuters the United States was in partnership with Israel and that such comments were misleading. Hamas has insisted that a ceasefire deal include a process toward ending the war altogether.

Hamas said earlier in a statement the delegation left Cairo to speak to the movement's leaders, "with negotiations and efforts continuing to stop the aggression, return the displaced and bring in relief aid to our people."

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters Israel had been "thwarting" efforts to conclude a ceasefire deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his intention on Thursday of pressing on with the military campaign in Gaza, launched after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which Israel said 1,200 people were killed and 253 abducted.

Israel has previously said its aim is to destroy Hamas and that any ceasefire must be temporary. It has also pressed for a list of hostages still alive and held by Hamas in Gaza.

"Needless to say, Israel will do whatever it takes to release our hostages... unfortunately, it is Hamas who is the stumbling block right now by not telling us who is alive and who they have in their custody," Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said.

The deal presented to Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza would require it to free some of the hostages it still holds. Palestinian prisoners held in Israel would also be released.

'DESPAIR'

Hamas officials have said a ceasefire must be in place before the hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled.

Hamas has said it can't provide a list of the hostages who are still alive without a ceasefire as the hostages are scattered across the war zone.

News that the Hamas delegation had left Cairo without an accord was met with despair in Gaza, which is in the grip of a deep humanitarian crisis after five months of war.

"I feel great disappointment and despair, fear too," said Abir, who along with her 12-member family has taken refuge in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than half of the enclave's 2.3 million people are now sheltering.

Hamas media said one Palestinian was killed and several wounded on Thursday by Israeli gunfire as people waited for aid trucks at the Al-Nabulsi roundabout in western Gaza City.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reported that Israeli fire killed 118 people last week at the same site when desperate civilians swarmed an aid convoy. Israel said most of those killed were trampled or run over.

U.S. officials said President Joe Biden would announce that the U.S. military will construct a port on Gaza's Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian assistance by sea.

While it would take weeks to set up, the port will make it possible to bring in the equivalent of hundreds of truckloads of aid, a White House official said.

The U.S. Central Command and Royal Jordanian Air Force continued on Thursday with airdrops of food and other aid in the north of the enclave, where UN aid agencies say a large proportion of the population is on the brink of famine.

Netanyahu vowed to press on with Israel's offensive, including into Rafah.

"Whoever tells us not to act in Rafah is telling us to lose the war and that will not happen," he said.

HAMAS CALLS FOR VISITS TO MOSQUE

Health officials in Gaza said the number of people confirmed killed in Israel's offensive had now passed 30,800. It reported 83 deaths in the past 24 hours and witnesses said the Israeli bombardments continued in Khan Younis, Rafah and areas in central Gaza.

Hamas reiterated a call on Thursday for Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and inside Israel to step up visits to the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan to increase pressure on Israel to "agree to demands for a ceasefire".

Negotiators are pushing for an accord ahead of Ramadan partly due to concerns that the mosque complex in Jerusalem, the third holiest shrine in Islam, might become a flashpoint for violence during the fasting month.

Israel has said it will allow a similar level of access to the site as in previous years, without providing figures.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

No attack perpetrated on Zelensky's motorcade in Odessa — Medvedev

No one planned to mount an attack on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's motorcade in Odessa, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.

"Everything here is obvious to everyone. Both that there was no attack on the motorcade in Odessa, and [moreover] that if a target had been set, they (Russian forces - TASS) would have hit it," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel, commenting on the explosion that occurred on March 6 in Odessa in close proximity to the motorcade of Zelensky and his guest, visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

"But it's still somehow a pity," the official said. "It's a pity that it (the missile - TASS) was precisely launched in a pre-planned place," he added.

Medvedev concluded his post with the Latin proverb: "Nullum malum sine aliquo bono" (There is, in fact, no evil without some good - TASS).

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian attacks kills three in north, northeastern Ukraine, officials say

Russian attacks on Thursday killed two civilians in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region and another man further west in Chernihiv region, local officials said.

Oleh Synehubov, governor of Kharkov region, said an attack by multiple rocket launchers killed two civilians in Kupiansk, am area recaptured by Ukrainian forces in late 2022 but where Russian forces are now active.

Synehubov, writing on Telegram, said a strike on the town of Chuhuiv, outside the regional centre of Kharkiv, injured two people. An apartment building and a shop suffered damage.

In Chernihiv region, north of Kyiv, mortar fire killed one person, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said on Telegram.

RT/Reuters