WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

NATO warns that Russian forces should not be underestimated and increases its readiness

NATO’s chief said Tuesday that the power of Russia’s military shouldn't be underestimated following the weekend mutiny against it by Wagner Group mercenaries, and said the alliance has increased its readiness to confront Russia in recent days.

Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance may decide to further boost its strength and readiness to face Russia and its ally Belarus when NATO leaders meet in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11-12.

”So, no misunderstanding and no room for misunderstanding in Moscow or Minsk about our ability to defend our allies against any potential threat," Stoltenberg said.

At a meeting in The Hague of eight NATO leaders, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said that neighboring countries would face a heightened danger if the Wagner Group deploys its "serial killers” in Belarus.

Stoltenberg said it was still too early to draw any conclusions about what Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and some of his forces might do or whether they all might end up in Belarus.

The leaders agreed that, given the short-lived revolt by Wagner fighters in Russia over the weekend, that the allies should continue to bolster their forces along NATO’s eastern flank to discourage Russian President Vladimir Putin from attempting to widen his war.

NATO responded to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 by deploying multinational battle groups in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. They complement another four deployed in 2017 in the three Baltic states and Poland, to expand NATO’s presence from the Baltics to the Black Sea. On Monday, Germany said that it stands ready to permanently base forces in Lithuania, if needed.

Rutte and Stoltenberg met with the presidents of Romania and Poland and leaders of Belgium, Norway, Albania and Lithuania at the Dutch leader's official residence in a leafy suburb of The Hague.

Earlier Tuesday, Russian authorities said they had closed a criminal investigation into the aborted armed rebellion led by Prigozhin and are pressing no charges against him or his troops.

The mutiny by Wagner Group forces lasted less than 24 hours, but formed the latest twist in a series of events that have brought the gravest threat to Putin’s grip on power in the 16-month-old war in Ukraine.

The war led Sweden and Finland to seek to join NATO. Finland has already become the alliance's latest member, but Sweden's membership is being held up by Turkey.

On Monday, Stoltenberg said he will call an urgent meeting in the coming days to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden joining the military organization in a last-ditch effort to have the Nordic country standing alongside the allies at the July summit in Lithuania.

NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand. Turkey accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.

** East Europe NATO allies say Wagner troops in Belarus spell trouble

Eastern European NATO countries on Tuesday warned that a move of Wagner's Russian mercenary troops to Belarus would create greater regional instability, but NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance is ready to defend itself against any threat.

"If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighbouring countries face even bigger danger of instability," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said after a meeting in The Hague with Stoltenberg and government leaders from six other NATO allies.

"This is really serious and very concerning, and we have to make very strong decisions. It requires a very, very tough answer of NATO," Polish President Andrzej Duda added.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on Tuesday under a deal negotiated by President Alexander Lukashenko that ended the mercenaries' mutiny in Russia on Saturday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wagner's fighters would be offered the choice of relocating there.

NATO's Stoltenberg said it was too early to say what this could mean for NATO allies, and stressed the increased defence of the alliance's eastern flank in recent years.

"We have sent a clear message to Moscow and Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally, every inch of NATO territory," Stoltenberg said.

"We have already increased our military presence in the eastern part of the alliance and we will make further decisions to further strengthen our collective defence with more high-readiness forces and more capabilities at the upcoming summit."

Stoltenberg said the mutiny had shown that Putin's "illegal war" against Ukraine had deepened divisions in Russia.

"At the same time we must not underestimate Russia. So it's even more important that we continue to provide Ukraine with our support."

Poland's Duda said he hoped the threat posed by Wagner forces would be on the agenda at a summit of all 31 NATO members in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 11-12.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Putin says Wagner group fully financed by Russian government

The Russian government fully ensured the financing of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the Defense Ministry’s military personnel.

"I want to note and I want everyone to know that the financing of the entire Wagner group was fully ensured by the state," he said. "We fully financed this group from the Defense Ministry, from the state budget," Putin added.

From May 2022 to May 2023, the state alone allocated 86.2 bln rubles ($1 bln) to PMC Wagner in the form of salary to fighters and incentive rewards, the president noted. "Of that amount, remuneration equaled 70.38 bln [rubles], incentive rewards amounted to 15.87 bln [rubles], insurance payments totaled 110.17 bln [rubles]," he said.

Meanwhile, Wagner’s owner, the Concord company, received 80 bln rubles ($940 mln) from the state in one year for supplying food and providing food services to the army, Putin added. "The state fully ensured the financing [of Wagner], whereas a portion of that group, this Concord company, earned 80 bln rubles during the same period," he said. "Hopefully, nobody stole anything during these activities or, let’s say, stole less," he noted. "We will obviously look into all this," the president stressed.

** Russian forces repel seven Ukrainian attacks in Donetsk area over past day — top brass

Russian forces successfully repelled seven Ukrainian attacks in their active defense in the Donetsk area over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Tuesday.

"In the Donetsk direction, units of the southern battlegroup successfully repelled seven enemy attacks in their active defense. Operational/tactical and army aircraft, artillery and heavy flamethrower systems destroyed as many as 325 Ukrainian personnel, a tank, three infantry fighting vehicles and five motor vehicles," the spokesman said.

In the area of the settlement of Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 110th mechanized brigade was obliterated, the general reported.

Ukraine’s military continues offensive attempts in three directions

Ukrainian troops continue attempts to attack in three directions, Konashenkov reported.

"During the last 24-hour period, Ukrainian troops continued attempts to advance in the Krasny Liman, Donetsk and south Donetsk directions," the spokesman said.

Russian forces destroy Ukrainian ammo depot in Kupyansk area

Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian ammunition depot and over 30 enemy troops in the Kupyansk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"Near the settlement of Ogurtsovo in the Kharkov Region, an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 60th mechanized brigade was destroyed," the spokesman said.

In the Kupyansk direction, aircraft and artillery of Russia’s battlegroup West struck the enemy units in areas near the settlements of Krasnoye Pervoye, Sinkovka and Berestovoye in the Kharkov Region, Novosyolovskoye and Stelmakhovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, the general specified.

"The enemy’s total losses in the past 24 hours amounted to over 30 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles, two motor vehicles, a D-20 howitzer and a US-made AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar station," he said.

Russian forces eliminate over 100 Ukrainian troops in Krasny Liman area

Russian forces repulsed two Ukrainian attacks and eliminated over 100 enemy troops in the Krasny Liman area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Krasny Liman direction, two enemy attacks were successfully repulsed by skilled and coordinated actions of units from the battlegroup Center. Air strikes and artillery fire inflicted damage on units of the Ukrainian army’s 63rd and 67th mechanized brigades near the settlements of Chervonaya Dibrova and Chervonopopovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Serebryanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Also, the activity of two subversive and reconnaissance groups was thwarted near the settlement of Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.

Russian forces destroyed over 100 Ukrainian personnel, four armored combat vehicles, three pickup trucks, a D-20 howitzer and a D-30 howitzer and two Gvozdika motorized artillery systems in that direction in the past 24 hours, the general reported.

Russian forces repel three Ukrainian attacks at Vremevka bulge in past day

Russian forces repelled three Ukrainian attacks at the Vremevka bulge in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"At the Vremevka bulge in the south Donetsk direction, three enemy attacks were repelled by courageous and coordinated actions of units from the battlegroup East, air strikes, artillery and heavy flamethrower fires," the spokesman said.

Russian forces wipe out Ukrainian command post in DPR

Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian command post in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the area of the settlement of Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a signal center of the Ukrainian army’s 110th mechanized brigade was destroyed. Near the settlement of Viyemka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a command post of the Ukrainian army’s 10th mountain assault brigade was eliminated," the spokesman said.

Russian forces destroy 115 Ukrainian troops, US-made Bradley vehicle in south Donetsk area

Russian forces destroyed roughly 115 Ukrainian troops and a US-made Bradley infantry combat vehicle in the south Donetsk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"The enemy’s total losses amounted to 115 Ukrainian personnel, five armored combat vehicles, including a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, three pickup trucks, a Msta-B howitzer and a D-20 howitzer," the spokesman said.

The activity of a Ukrainian subversive group was thwarted near the settlement of Rabotino in the Zaporozhye Region, the general reported.

Russian forces push back Ukrainian troops near Orekhov in Zaporozhye area

Russian forces pushed Ukrainian troops back to their positions near Orekhov in the Zaporozhye area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Orekhov tactical direction, Russian forces halted and pushed back a Ukrainian motorized infantry platoon conducting reconnaissance by fire as a result of damage inflicted on the enemy by firepower," the spokesman said.

Russian forces destroy 30 Ukrainian troops in Kherson area

Russian forces destroyed roughly 30 Ukrainian troops and a motorized artillery system in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Kherson direction, as many as 30 Ukrainian personnel, three motor vehicles and an Akatsiya motorized artillery system were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of damage inflicted on the enemy by firepower," the spokesman said.

During the last 24-hour period, operational/tactical and army aircraft, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces struck 89 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, manpower and military equipment in 112 areas, the general reported.

Russian air defenses intercept two US-made HIMARS rockets

Russian air defense forces intercepted two rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and shot down six Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day, he said.

"Air defense capabilities intercepted two rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system. In addition, they destroyed six Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the past 24 hours in areas near the settlements of Belogorovka and Verkhnekamenka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Mirnoye and Pshenichnoye in the Zaporozhye Region," the spokesman said.

In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 444 Ukrainian warplanes, 240 helicopters, 4,804 unmanned aerial vehicles, 426 surface-to-air missile systems, 10,371 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,131 multiple rocket launchers, 5,246 field artillery guns and mortars and 11,213 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.

 

 

LA Times/Reuters/Tass

Sudan army head calls on young men to join fight against paramilitary RSF

Head of Sudan's army called on young men to defend their country, including by joining the army, and announced a ceasefire for the Eid al Adha holiday on Wednesday, when a rival force has also declared a truce.

Multiple ceasefire deals have failed to stick in the conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that began April 15, including several brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States at talks in Jeddah that were suspended last week.

"We ask all of the country's youth and all those who can defend not to hesitate or delay in playing this national role in their place of residence or by joining the armed forces," army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said in a speech late on Tuesday.

RSF late on Monday declared a ceasefire for Tuesday and Wednesday. Both sides said their ceasefires were "unilateral."

Artillery fire, air strikes and clashes could be heard on Tuesday in parts of Sudan's capital, residents said.

The war has brought widespread destruction and looting to Khartoum and has triggered unrest in other parts of Sudan, especially in the western region of Darfur where attacks and ethnic violence spread.

Almost 2.8 million people have been uprooted by the fighting, with more than 2.15 million internally displaced and nearly 650,000 fleeing into neighbouring countries, according to estimates from the International Organization for Migration published on Tuesday.

The U.N. refugee agency said that it expects the conflict to turn more than 1 million people into refugees within the next six months.

Residents say those fleeing attacks by Arab militias and the RSF in the Darfur city of El Geneina have been killed or shot at as they try to reach Chad by foot.

Burhan, who is also the head of Sudan's ruling Sovereign Council, blamed the RSF for what he called "war crimes and crimes against humanity" in the city.

In an audio message on Monday, RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, said the RSF would establish a special committee to investigate alleged violations by his troops, which would be treated "with severity and seriousness".

A senior U.N. refugee agency official said on Tuesday that many women and children had been arriving in Chad with injuries.

The RSF accuses the army of fomenting violence in the area.

 

Reuters

It's 2023. By now, we should all be wearing jet packs, living on the Moon, and having deep conversations with our dogs through pet translation devices. Oh, and we should know how consciousness works.

We don't, of course. But a recent event coinciding with the annual meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC) in New York serves as an example of how far we've come in efforts to model the basic mechanisms of human thinking.

Judges in an adversarial meeting of the minds determined that a series of experiments based on Integrated Information Theory models of consciousness had more going for them than a run of tests based on their closest rival, Global Neuronal Workspace Theory.

But despite this victory, the meeting overall showed we're still a long way from working out the source of consciousness in the human brain.

As a result, a 25-year-old wager finally came to a close, with German-American computational neuroscientist Christof Koch admitting defeat.

In 1998, Koch was so confident the neurological underpinnings of the brain's experience of the Universe would be understood within 25 years, he proposed a friendly wager. One that Australian philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers took up.

Okay, some alcohol may have been involved. A case of wine was on the line. But it wasn't exactly an unreasonable bet for either party.

Koch and Chalmers have been part of a project run by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF) tasked with finding ways to bring researchers together to better test models of consciousness.

A quarter of a century ago, neurology was booming with advances in imaging and probing, promising new ways to map and monitor activity on a detailed level.

"I was very taken by all these techniques," Koch told Nature's Mariana Lenharo.

"I thought: 25 years from now? No problem."

On the other hand, consciousness has never been the easiest nut to crack.

Chalmers is famous for dividing the search for answers on consciousness into "easy problems" and "hard problems".

Problems that are easy include integrating information into cognitive systems, or working out how we focus attention. Meaty, mechanical, physical mysteries that aren't simple to solve, but are at least straight-forward to define.

Hard problems are more philosophical. Like, how does a network of neurons generate the experience of smelling cut grass on a warm summer's day? How does our brain turn wavelengths of electromagnetism triggering reactions in your eyes into a dazzling rainbow? And how does it produce a sense of self-awareness?

The challenge is using tools of science – such as experimentation, replication, and reasoning – to relate objective measures of cells and chemistry to subjective accounts of agency and awareness. All while respecting the ethics of experimenting on the human mind.

To make progress on at least some of the easier questions, the TWCF has facilitated something of a competition between competing avenues of research on consciousness, testing dominant theories by inviting researchers with differing opinions to work together on experimental designs.

One such opinion, championed by Koch, holds that consciousness emerges from a posterior cortical hot zone; sensory structures across the cortex, primarily in lobes to the sides and back of the brain. Referred to as Integrated Information Theory (IIT), it prioritizes the encoding of objects we sense as key features of conscious activity.

Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) proposes the involvement of additional areas, such as the prefrontal lobe, that integrate sensory information and oversee its transformation into an experience.

Experiments on GNWT have typically involved imaging areas of the brain that are active as participants report activity – a method complicated by questions of where awareness ends, and the neurological behavior of reporting on it begins.

Judges in this latest round of experimentation might be giving more points to IIT based on recent study results, but Koch isn't taking it as a clear victory for his field.

He paid up on his bet with Chalmers at the event, conceding there's still plenty of room for debate over the question of how the brain builds a universe inside our mind.

 

Science Alert

Between his own business success and his investments in hundreds of startups, Mark Cuban knows what it takes to be highly successful.

There's one trait you should cultivate above all others if you want to be successful too, he says.

"The one thing in life you can control is your effort," Cuban, 64, recently said in a LinkedIn video post published by entrepreneur and VC investor Randall Kaplan. "And being willing to do so is a huge competitive advantage, because most people don't."

Putting in effort means going beyond what's required to solve problems, even when you aren't asked to — on top of your job's normal responsibilities, Cuban said. You take the initiative, and exhaust every possible option to find answers.

This quality is somewhat rare, he added.

"There's some people, or employees, that if you tell them to do A, B, and C, they'll do A, B, and C and not know that D, E, and F exists," Cuban said. "There [are] others who aren't very good at details: If you tell them to do A, B, and C, all they want to do is talk about D, E and F."

His advice for anyone who doesn't go the extra mile: "Don't apply for a job with me."

Cuban's comments come amid an ongoing "quiet quitting" movement, as employees across the U.S. push back against being overworked, underpaid and given limited advancement opportunities. The phrase refers to the idea that people should do the work they get paid to do — and nothing more.

"It ultimately is an engagement issue, as we think about what employees are really looking for and setting boundaries for themselves," Lexi Clarke, vice president of people at employee compensation company Payscale, told reporters earlier this year. "It's not going anywhere."

Still, Cuban isn't the only boss who highly values effort and problem-solving skills in the workplace.

Last year, 2.7 million job postings on ZipRecruiter listed "analytical thinking" as a required soft skill. And 29% of company executives worldwide think employees who don't go the extra mile won't be successful and risk being fired, Payscale's 2023 Compensation Best Practices Reportfound.

For Cuban, it's seemingly personal: He built his career by analyzing where he'd get the most reward for his effort, instead of following his passions and seeing where they led him.

"The things I ended up being really good at were the things I found myself putting effort into," Cuban said in a 2018 Amazon Insights for Entrepreneurs video. "A lot of people talk about passion, but that's really not what you need to focus on. You really need to evaluate and say, 'OK, where am I putting in my time?'"

 

CNBC

Things have been topsy turvy lately on the roadsides of West African nations where cheap contraband petrol from Nigeria has abruptly doubled in price, upending an informal sector that is central to the region's economic activity.

Since Nigeria scrapped a state fuel subsidy on May 31, black market fuel vendors and commercial drivers in Cameroon, Benin and Togo who were heavily reliant on petrol smuggled from Nigeria have seen their businesses collapse.

With supplies dwindling, queues have been forming at official petrol stations, where fuel is now competitively priced.

In Garoua, a town in northwest Cameroon about 60 km (37 miles) east of the Nigerian border, a litre of petrol on the black market used to sell for about 300 CFA francs ($0.48). Now the minimum is 600 CFA francs, vendors said.

"Supply has become scarce and customers think we're ripping them off with this high price, yet it's from Nigeria that prices have soared," said Perevet Dieudonne, a black market seller.

The knock-on effects on motorcycle-taxis, a form of public transport ubiquitous in West Africa, include conflict between riders who often live hand-to-mouth and customers who demand cheap fares no matter what.

Ousmanou Mal Djoulde, a rider in Garoua, said he had been forced to more than double his fares. Many customers were refusing to pay and business was agonisingly slow.

The trade in black market fuel is so central to the local economy that authorities either turn a blind eye or are complicit. A Reuters reporter in Garoua saw a Cameroonian customs officer sitting on a motorcycle-taxi that was being refuelled with smuggled Nigerian petrol.

RAMPANT SMUGGLING

There is no reliable data on the amount of fuel that is smuggled from Nigeria.

Head of Nigeria's state-controlled oil firm NNPC, the sole supplier, said early this month 66 million litres of petrol left its depots daily but could not say how much was consumed locally, though he admitted smuggling was rampant.

Independent energy experts and Nigeria's Dangote Petroleum Refinery - which expects to start producing petrol from early August to alleviate chronic fuel shortages - put Nigeria's total daily consumption below 40 million litres.

In Benin and Togo, small nations to the west of Nigeria, contraband fuel vendors have lost both supplies and customers while formerly sleepy official petrol stations are suddenly busy.

At Hilacondji, a border crossing between Togo and Benin, some black market fuel stalls were shut, while at others vendors waited among rows of empty plastic jerricans for potential deliveries.

"While we wait for the situation to improve, some have gone into fishing or other small businesses," said Ayi Hilla, who had been making a living from selling contraband fuel for 10 years but was now focusing on running a small roadside bar.

Some informal fuel depots were being demolished, and men who used to work there unloading and carrying petrol were now unemployed.

More than 80% of employment in Africa is informal, according to the United Nations, making the informal sector a key driver of economic activity.

In Cotonou, the commercial capital of Benin which is about 60 km from Nigeria, queues have been building up at official petrol stations and some have been unable to meet the sudden surge in demand, especially from "zemidjan", the local word for motorcycle-taxis.

"Before, we were selling about 2,000 litres per day, but now we're selling up to 7,000 litres per day," said a worker at the JNP fuel station who gave his first name, Janvier. He had just turned away four customers because supplies had run out.

"The zemidjan-men are even fighting to get served," said Janvier.

($1 = 626.4400 CFA francs)

 

Reuters

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has appealed to its customers to disregard the planned tariff increase as approval for such an increment had not been received.

AEDC management made the appeal in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

“Please disregard the circulating communication, regarding the review of electricity tariffs.

“Be informed that no approval for such increments has been received. We regret any inconvenience.”

AEDC had earlier in a statement, said there would be an upward review of electricity tariffs from July 1.

According to the statement, the tariff increase is influenced by the fluctuating exchange rate.

“Effective July 1, 2023, please be informed that there will be an upward review of the electricity tariff influenced by the fluctuating exchange rate.

“Under the MYTO 2022 guidelines, the previously set exchange rate of N441/1 dollar may now be revised to approximately N750/1 dollar which will have an impact on the tariffs associated with your electricity consumption.

“For customers within bands B and C, with supply hours ranging from 12 to 16 per day, the new base tariff is expected to be N100 per Kilowatts per hour (KWh).

“While Bands A with (20 hours and above) and B (16 to 20 hours) will experience comparatively higher tariffs,‘’ it said.

In the statement, AEDC encouraged customers with prepaid meters to consider purchasing bulk energy units before the end of June as this would allow them to take advantage of the current rates and make savings before the new tariffs came into effect.

AEDC said that for those on post-paid (estimated) billing, a significant increment is imminent in their monthly billing, starting from August.

The Mult Year Tariff Order (MYTO) is the methodology for regulating electricity prices.

It provided a 15-year tariff path for the Nigerian electricity industry with limited ‘minor’ reviews each year in the light of changes in a number of parameters.

These included inflation and gas prices and ‘major’ reviews every five years when all of the inputs were reviewed with stakeholders.

 

NAN

Several billions of dollars left in a scheme to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest could be diverted to prepare for other pandemics or to support vaccine manufacturing in Africa, the scheme's partners said.

The COVAX initiative, run by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), has $2.6 billion left in its coffers as the emergency phase of the pandemic draws to a close, according to documents seen by Reuters and two sources close to the scheme.

The initiative is set to wind up at the end of this year, although some of its work will continue. With demand for Covid-19 vaccines dwindling, the partners are now working out how best to use the remaining cash – a significant sum in global health – alongside the donors who originally pledged it.

Around $600 million was given as part of a “contingency” fund in case the pandemic escalated again. The remaining $2 billion has come back to COVAX after drugmakers agreed to refund deals agreed for vaccines at the height of the pandemic.

“This money was designed as an instrument of contingency, so we could respond to the twists and turns of the pandemic,” said Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao, Gavi’s head of resource mobilization. “We don’t want the money to be idle.”

Around $700 million is likely to be used for an ongoing Covid-19 vaccination programme in countries supported by Gavi, for 2024 and 2025. This option will be discussed by Gavi’s board this week. Another portion of the money will be used for booster shots this year and next.

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Saraka-Yao said the donors, including rich countries like the United States and Germany as well as philanthropic organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, had all been asked if they wanted the rest of the money back at a meeting in March. None did. The donors, and the WHO, were not immediately available for comment.

A CEPI spokesperson said that while no decision had been made on the funds, it was "prudent to remain prepared" both in case the Covid-19 situation changes, and for future pandemics.

“They [donors] want to keep the spirit of the political intent when the money was given… to help protect the rest of the world,” Saraka-Yao said.

One option is to invest in wider pandemic preparedness initiatives, Gavi said. Another idea that has gained traction is to use some of the money to boost vaccine manufacturing in Africa, Saraka-Yao said.

Gavi is proposing a financial support system which would help new manufacturers bring products to market competitively, particularly for diseases like cholera or yellow fever, where there are shortages of vaccine for diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of people in Africa every year.

Separately, Gavi announced on Monday that its incoming chief executive, Muhammad Ali Pate, would no longer be joining the organization as he was returning to his home country of Nigeria. Instead, chief operating officer David Marlow will become interim chief executive after Seth Berkley steps down in August.

 

Reuters

Federal government has declared Wednesday and Thursday, 28 and 29 June, public holidays to mark this year’s Eid-el-Kabir.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Oluwatoyin Akinlade, made the announcement in a statement on Monday.

“The Federal Government has declared Wednesday June 28th and Thursday June 29th 2023 Public Holidays in commemoration of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration and heartily felicitates with the Muslim Ummah at home and in the diaspora,” the official noted.

The government urged Muslims and all Nigerians “to make sacrifices for the growth and development of our communities and our great country, Nigeria.

“We are hopeful that the prayers and sacrifices that come with this great celebration as well as the message of Eid-ei-Kabir will bring about peace, unity and progress in Nigeria,” the official wrote.

Muslims worldwide will join their counterparts across the world to mark the Eid-el-Kabir on Wednesday, a day after Muslims pilgrims in Saudi Arabia will climb the Mount Arafat.

 

PT

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Putin thanks Russians for unity, vows to fulfill promise to Wagner fighters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered another televised address to the nation, thanking Russians for their unity amid the June 24 mutiny attempt. He stressed that from the very beginning, prompt measures had been taken to avoid bloodshed, lauded the courage of military servicemen and law enforcement officers and vowed to fulfill his promise to members of the Wagner private military company.

TASS has collected the key remarks that Putin made in his address.

Betrayal of mutiny organizers

The organizers of the mutiny betrayed their country and their people, as well as those who had stood with them. "Fratricide is exactly what Russia’s enemies wanted, including the neo-Nazis in Kiev, their Western patrons and all sorts of national traitors." They wanted "Russia to lose in the end" and Russian society to "split and sink into bloody civil discord."

At the very beginning, the president gave direct orders to take steps to avoid bloodshed: "It required time, particularly in order to give those who had made a mistake to come to their senses and realize that society strongly rejected what they were doing, while the reckless venture they had been dragged into could lead to tragic and destructive consequences for Russia."

"The armed mutiny would have been suppressed in any case. The mutiny's organizers, despite their loss of judgment, could not but understand this."

Patriotic feelings, consolidation of society

The head of state expressed gratitude to military servicemen, law enforcement and intelligence officers, as well as to the hero pilots who had stood up to stop the mutineers.

Putin also noted that public figures, political parties and religious organizations had taken a firm stance in support of constitutional order. He said that the patriotic feelings of Russians and the consolidation of the entire society were crucial in ending the mutiny: "This civic solidarity made it clear that any blackmail and attempts to create internal turmoil were bound to fail."

In addition, Putin thanked Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for his contribution to resolving the mutiny.

Wagner fighters’ choices

Wagner fighters were being used. "We know that the majority of Wagner fighters and commanders are Russian patriots, devoted to their people and state. They proved it by their courage on the battlefield, liberating Donbass and Novorossiya."

Putin thanked the Wagner fighters "who made the only right choice and refused to start fratricidal bloodshed."

The president emphasized that Wagner fighters could either continue their service, entering into a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry, or go to Belarus. "The promise that I made will be fulfilled. I repeat: the choice is yours but I am sure that it will be the choice of Russian soldiers who have realized their tragic mistake," the head of state said.

**Ukraine has lost 15% of US-supplied Bradley fighting vehicles – NYT

Ukraine’s counteroffensive has already cost it more than a dozen Bradley fighting vehicles provided by Washington, the New York Times has reported, citing anonymous US officials. Since Kiev began its operation at the start of June, the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed its forces have destroyed dozens of Ukrainian armored vehicles and tanks, including Western-made ones.

According to an article published by the NYT on Monday, 17 of the 113 Bradleys supplied to Ukraine by the US have been damaged or destroyed.

Particularly dangerous for advancing Ukrainian troops are extensive Russian minefields, the paper explained. The flat, open terrain in southeastern Ukraine is making the counteroffensive an arduous undertaking as Ukrainian troops effectively have nowhere to take cover.

The NYT claimed that Russian KA-52 attack helicopters pose an additional threat as they have reportedly managed to conduct missile strikes from outside the range of Ukrainian air defense.

As a result, the Ukrainian counteroffensive has ground to a halt in some areas, with soldiers reassessing their tactics, the newspaper claimed. Kiev’s forces have thus far managed to cover less than half the distance to Russia’s main line of defense, the report added.

Ukrainian service members told reporters that the Russians had “dug in, they mined, they are ready.”

“Given what the guys are saying, it’s not going as well as they show on TV,” a medic acknowledged.

Meanwhile, officials in Kiev, including President Vladimir Zelensky, have attempted to reassure the public that the main battles are still ahead.

While Kiev’s backers in the US are publicly calling for patience, one anonymous official told the NYT that the underwhelming results of the Ukrainian counteroffensive have been “sobering.”

“They are behind schedule,” the senior administration official conceded, speaking privately to journalists.

However, unnamed officials also insisted that given the extensive Russian defenses, the slow pace of the Ukrainian advance was predictable, claiming it was still too early to draw any broad conclusions.

Since the start of June, the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed on several occasions that its troops have destroyed Western-supplied military hardware, with Ukraine losing thousands of service members in the process.

Moscow has released video clips apparently showing its troops destroying a German-made Leopard tank, French AMX-10 light tanks, and other vehicles.

** China comments on Wagner mutiny

Beijing fully supports Russia’s efforts to stabilize the situation in the country following the aborted insurrection by the Wagner private military company, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has stated.  

The ministry posted a response on its website on Sunday after journalists requested a statement on China’s official position on the matter.  

“This is Russia’s internal affairs,” a spokesperson for the ministry said. “As a friendly neighbor and a comprehensive strategic partner of coordination in the new era, China supports Russia in maintaining national stability and achieving development and prosperity,” the official added. 

On Sunday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced it had held talks with Beijing on a number of issues, including the rebellion. According to a statement on the ministry’s Telegram channel, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko had met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang during a working trip to Beijing. 

“The Chinese side expressed support for the efforts of the leadership of the Russian Federation to stabilize the situation in the country in connection with the events of June 24, and reaffirmed its interest in strengthening the cohesion and further prosperity of Russia,” the Russian ministry said in a statement. 

It also noted that the two nations assessed the current state of relations highly, and confirmed their readiness to develop them even further. 

The Wagner PMC launched its mutiny late on Friday. Its chief, Evgeny Prigozhin, announced a “march of justice” to Moscow after accusing the Russian military of striking one of the group’s field camps. The Russian Defense Ministry rejected his claim as a “provocation.” On Saturday, Wagner forces seized control of a military HQ in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and began moving towards the capital. 

In an address to the nation on Saturday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled Wagner’s actions as treason and the “backstabbing of our country and our people.” 

Later in the day, Prigozhin agreed to end the uprising and withdrew his forces in exchange for “security guarantees,” as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The Wagner chief cited the desire to avoid bloodshed as the reason behind the decision.

 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Biden: US, allies not involved in uprising against Putin

President Joe Biden on Monday said a brief uprising by Russian mercenaries against the Kremlin was part of a struggle within the Russian system and that the United States and its allies were not involved in it.

Biden offered a cautious assessment of unfolding events in an attempt to avoid inflaming tensions with nuclear-armed Russia while he offered firm Western support for Ukraine in its bid to turn back Russian invaders.

"We made clear we were not involved, we had nothing to do with this," Biden said in his first comments on the uprising by Wagner mercenaries that fizzled over the weekend.

Biden's message that the West was not involved was sent directly to the Russians through various diplomatic channels, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. He did not characterize Russia's response.

At a White House event, Biden addressed the dramatic power struggle that erupted when the mutineers barreled toward Moscow only to stop before reaching the capital.

Biden said he had directed his national security team to update him on the situation "hour by hour" and to prepare for a range of scenarios, which he did not detail.

Russian intelligence services were investigating whether Western spy agencies played a role in the aborted mutiny, the TASS news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Monday.

The U.S. intelligence community "was aware" that the mutiny orchestrated by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's "was a possibility" and briefed the U.S. Congress "accordingly" before it began, said a source familiar with the issue, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Biden administration would not address a widely held perception in Washington that the uprising showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been weakened by his 16-month war against Ukraine.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters it is as yet unclear what the ultimate implications of what happened will be, but he noted: "It is certainly a new thing to see President Putin's leadership directly challenged. It is a new thing to see Yevgeny Prigozhin directly questioning the rationale for this war and calling out that the war has been conducted essentially based on a lie."

Biden said he spoke with key allies on a video conference to make sure everyone was on the same page and coordinated in their response.

"They agreed with me that we had to make sure that we gave Putin no excuse - gave Putin no excuse - to blame this on the West and blame this on NATO," he said.

Biden, who spoke to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday, said he would be speaking to him again later on Monday or Tuesday morning to make sure they were "on the same page".

The White House said Biden also consulted on Monday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni about the situation.

Biden said he and his team would continue assessing the fallout from the incident.

"It's still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going," he added.

He said his message to allies was "it's important that we stay completely coordinated".

Kirby said the United States does not know the parameters of the deal reached between Putin and Prigozhin that ended the uprising. He said he did not know Prigozhin's whereabouts.

"We're not taking sides in this internal matter," he said.

Kirby said a new package of U.S. assistance for Ukraine would be announced soon. Sources told Reuters that the United States would announce as soon as Tuesday a new military aid package for Ukraine worth up to $500 million.

** Putin's former 'puppet master' urges an end to mercenary groups like Wagner

President Vladimir Putin's former chief strategist on Monday urged an end to mercenary groups in Russia after a mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner militia, cautioning that they interfered with the chain of command.

Vladislav Surkov, once known as the Kremlin’s ‘puppet master’ by friends and foes alike, said "private military companies" were an idea imported from the U.S., created to engage in proxy wars.

"How can a military unit be private in our understanding? This is completely inconsistent with Russian political, managerial and military culture," Surkov, who left the Kremlin in 2020, said in an interview published by his associate Alexei Chesnakov.

Such groups, Surkov said, risked turning Russia into "some kind of Eurasian tribal zone" while dividing the command of the armed forces as Russia fought what the Kremlin calls a "special military operation" (SVO) in Ukraine.

"Why do we need them today when we are openly participating in the battle for Ukraine? This is not a proxy war, this is the SVO," Surkov said.

"The army must be strengthened not only with weapons, but also with unity of command."

As first deputy chief of the Kremlin administration from 1999 to 2011, Surkov helped Putin forge his tightly controlled political system. He then worked in the government and later returned to the Kremlin as an adviser to Putin.

He cast Prigozhin as an "oligarch", detailing the mercenary's criminal past in St Petersburg.

In 1981, aged 20, Prigozhin was sentenced to 13 years in jail for robbery and assault, including choking a woman until she lost consciousness, according to court documents from the time.

"That's all you need to know about Prigozhin," said Surkov.

Prigozhin said on Monday that a one-day mutiny by his Wagner force had been intended not to overthrow Russia's government but to register a protest over what he said was its ineffectual conduct of the war in Ukraine.

Prigozhin last month said his nickname "Putin's chef" was stupid as he could not cook, quipping that "Putin's butcher" might be more apt.

 

RT

Say what you like, but for the Nigeria Media, those who were hell-bent on destroying the country would have succeeded a long time ago. It was the design of the destroyers’, right from the inception of the so-called Amalgamation, not to allow the peaceful and all-trusting indigenous inhabitants of the space now called Nigeria to have a future.

In less than 100 days we are going to enter the season of the thoughtless rituals when we celebrate the flag-and-paper Independence given to us by brutish British colonial masters who had planted inescapable land-mines with rigged Population Census figures, rigged parliamentary elections and irredeemably screwed regional boundaries before the take-off.

Thank goodness, we are still breathing; which is about the only commodity left, due largely to the heroic activities of the press before, during, and ever since the so-called deceptive independence. Every civilized community normally thrives on four inter-dependent pillars of governance: the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Watchdog which ensures checks-and-balances so that none of the first three would lose its head and run amok.

The term ‘Fourth Estate of the Realm’, a descriptive term for the Press, is almost unanimously agreed to have been coined by Edmund Burke, a 19th Century British statesman and orator, who championed many human rights causes and brought attention to them through his eloquent speeches.

The role of the mass media as the “fourth estate” of the realm implies that the media is also a lawmaker in itself. In addition to its core functions as informer, educator, entertainer, advertiser, critic and influencer, the media is supposed to be an agenda setter through its editorialising of opinions. A paper’s editorial is sometimes called ‘Leader’ because of its powerful role of setting alternative agenda for the State.

During the medieval era, the fourth estate was also referred to as the pressbecause the press was the only prevalent form of media prior to the coming of television and radio.

‘Though media and press have a persuasive authority yet its’ real ability is not a secret to the world. The existence of a free, independent and powerful media is the cornerstone of a democracy, especially of a highly mixed society like India. The pivotal role of the media is its ability to mobilize the thinking process of millions’ says Prabhat Ranjan.

The Nigeria Media as the fourth estate has lived up to its reputation and, as mentioned inter-alia, it has been performing its role creditably long before Independence and throughout the unforgettable interregnum of the jackboot.

Nigerians will never forget the role of the Media in confronting and stopping the obnoxious Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact stoutly opposed by the valiant Nigerian Students of the 1960s; the quartet of Rasaki Solaja, Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, Hayford Alile, Dapo Falase and Co.

Nigerians will never forget ‘If you Tarka Me I’ll Daboh you’, and ‘Laup Ongonu Minister of Steel shall steel no more’ captions and articles that forced Ministers out of the Cabinet. Or the provocative columns “Let Me Fall”, “May We Never See It Again” [Daily Times, 1974] which saw Gowon tumbling down less than six months after!

When the Press was chased off the streets by Military Juntas especially in the infamous years of 1993-98, the Media led by the Osifo-Whiskeys and Onanugas moved its operational bases to the jungle and perfected Guerrilla journalism while Radio Kudirat sited its operational base on the Moon!

With all the courageous activities of the legendary NADECO forces, it was the Media which announced and popularised their yeoman activities to the world and made Nigeria ungovernable for the Goggle.

I cannot and should not attempt to list the media heroes of that era, or indeed the Media heroes of all time in Nigeria, simply because they were/are numerous and secondly, one is bound to inadvertently leave some big players unmentioned. Suffice it to say that they know themselves, Nigeria remembers them and of course the God they serve recognises them. And posterity applauds them.

Let me say with all modesty that my pedigree qualifies me to appreciate which Media is good and which one is not up to its billings. Having worked at the very top level of Media establishments as Executive Chairman, as a Proprietor, as Editor-in-Chief, as Features Editor, Columnist, Investigations/Reviews Editor and Chief Correspondent not only in Nigeria but also in Britain, the US and Canada, I feel confident that the Nigeria Media stands tall in the comity of Media Industry throughout the world. The informed Editorials and columns dished out by Nigerian Journalists over the years can hardly be beaten by any Journalist anywhere in the world especially in their thoughtfulness and the robustness of their argument and scholarship.

Forget the so-called free press in the so-called free world: it is all hype! Exhibition of uninhibited racism, profiling, propaganda, irreverent and hedonistic social values, severe self- and governmental censorship, hero-worshipping and always towing government line.

Zamir Akram, a former Pakistan Ambassador to the UN wrote a paper Published in Express Tribune, August 15, 2018 captioned ‘Free American Media: Myth or Reality?’ Please permit me to quote from that paper:

“Renowned Harvard Economist John K Galbraith, while serving as the Kennedy administration’s ambassador to India, famously remarked that the Indian media was “free but cooperative”. Can that also be said of the American media? We are told as the Gospel truth that the American media is free, objective and independent. When it comes to their reporting on US domestic issues, this is certainly true ‘to the extent of which party is paying their piper.’ However, in their reporting on international issues, the mainstream American media is usually cooperative [with the government of the day], reflecting the policies of their government. While there are some honourable exceptions, these are too few and far between, leading to genuine doubts about the credibility and objectivity of the American media on international issues. Therefore, it is legitimate to ask whether a free American media is a myth or reality.
“It is well known that the American media observes certain self-imposed ground rules. All reports on national security and foreign policy issues are cleared with the relevant quarters. Legal experts are consulted to remain within the law. Journalists are ‘embedded’ with US troops on foreign missions to ensure ‘correct’ projection of the operation. Also, US embassies abroad are the first to be consulted by visiting journalists to get the official ‘read-out’ on a situation.
“The litmus test of the US media is its coverage of countries opposed by the US. The blatantly false accusation about Saddam Hussein possessing nuclear weapons, justifying the invasion and destruction of Iraq, was cravenly supported by the mainstream American media. Similarly, efforts for regime change in post-revolution Iran through sanctions, freezing of assets and allegations of developing nuclear weapons have never been seriously questioned, nor has enforcing regime change in Libya or Syria by using terrorist groups. China, while an ally against the Soviets, was extolled for its liberalisation and rapid growth has been widely castigated after its emergence as a rival power. Putin’s Russia has been accused of aggression against Ukraine even though it was the US which tried to undermine Moscow’s strategic interests in the Crimea and the Black Sea by planting a pliant government in Kiev. Today it is Turkish President Erdogan, a NATO ally, who is under attack for opposing American support to Kurdish terrorists.
“In stark contrast is the positive coverage given to Israel and India, countries vital for American strategic interests in the Middle East and South Asia. Their gross and consistent violations of human rights, proliferation of nuclear weapons and illegal occupation of territory has all been covered up while they are praised as “shining examples of democracy”.

And during the better forgotten Covid-19 scare the Canadian government allegedly spent $88.7 million on communications and marketing related to Covid-19. UK was reputed to be the biggest advertiser of brain-washing misinformation. According to The Washington Post Biden administration allegedly spent entire corporate media $1 billion as part of huge campaign to push only positive coverage and $250 million on a marketing blitz to build trust in the Corona virus vaccines safety!

Now, back to Nigeria, a country in the throes of death. For about 23 years since it was fed with pretensions of democracy, Nigeria has been kept under lock and key by ‘misrulers’ who like to deceive themselves that they were/are practicing democracy where the mandatory doctrine of separation of powers exists. Pshaw!

“There was no pretence in the first 8-years of the experiment of democratic rule. It was merely the darning of agbada over starched Khaki and jackboots. It was almost a full-blown military dictatorship where towns and communities were sacked by the command of the President without resort to the Legislature or the Judiciary. It was the Nigeria Media that exposed the Ghana-Must-Go bags stuffed with Dollars for the purchase of a notorious 3rd Term. It was the Nigeria Media that put paid to one man’s ambition to keep Nigeria under his armpit ‘for life!’

The Legislature and the Judiciary went to sleep when another President was gasping for life in far away Saudi Arabia or God knows where. The Media was the only Estate standing. But for the Media, the Dead like the Shrouded Spirit of the Yoruba Egungun pantheon would have been left to rule Nigeria ad infinitum.

It was the Nigeria Media that rescued Nigeria from the jaws of the Naira-Chewing Predators under the cover of huge Umbrella which ravaged the country for four and half good years under the blindfolded watch of the Legislature and the Judiciary. Regrettably though, and here was a huge minus, the Nigeria Media colluded with conmen and conwomen to impose ‘a See Nothing, Hear Nothing and Say Nothing Absolute Ruler with draconian decrees on the country, as an alternative.

Nigerians must thank God that the Media, immediately thereafter, woke up from their slumber and recovered their senses and have since resumed their watch-dog role in the face of the absentee Executive, absentee legislature [recently chased out of Abuja by imported terrorists] and absentee Judiciary [until recently headed by Sharia-bag carrying Messenger of the gods]. I didn’t say Vulture.

In the last eight years there have been a relentless war on the Nigerian economy, on Nigerian security, on Nigerian education and on Nigerian ancestral lands and Waters by a single individual who had commandeered the three Estates of the Realm and collapsed them under his boots.

Never in the chequered history of Nigeria has there been one man who bestrode the landscape of the country with absolute disregard, scorn and arrogant condescension as we have currently witnessed. Never in the history of Nigeria has there been a Ruler who was hardly seen by even

his own appointed Ministers! A country where the Ruler did not know and could not recognize faces of some of his own Cabinet members. But for the Media we would not have known that the Ruler while on a visit to Cairo, invited terrorists all over Africa to descend on Nigeria and proclaim the hapless country their own. It was the Media that allowed us to know that the Ruler harboured internationally acclaimed terrorists in his Cabinet.

It was the Nigeria Media, the last Estate Standing, which made it possible for Nigerians and the entire world to be aware of the systemic pogrom and ethnic cleansing which almost virtually swallowed up the entire country. It is gratifying that regardless of the shenanigans of the Enablers of Terrorism, the whole world through various Embassies, High Commissions, International Agencies and sundry Representatives as well as foreign media correspondents domiciled in Nigeria were able to have enough dossier that would be used in the fullness of time.

It is the Nigeria Media which made Nigerians to know that there are rats, rodents and snakes which feed on billions of Naira and Dollars in Buhari’s Nigeria. There is no criminality committed by governments which has not been exposed by the Media. Nigerians everywhere in the country are aware of everything going on and they may appear seemingly helpless, but they are very conscious and prayerful for the imminent implosion.

If not for the courage, steadfastness, investigative skills and relentlessness of the Nigeria Media, those who set out to ruin the country and hand over the ancestral lands to their kith and kin would have succeeded in their insidious agenda of mass annihilation.

This writer has written copiously about Nigeria’s Parliament of Eunuchs, Chicken-hearted governors, and Politicians who really are avowed enemies of the people, it may therefore no longer be necessary to belabour issues we have been lamenting since 1971 with ‘The Overthrow of the Middleclass’ published in Sam Amuka’s ‘Sunday Times’ or the ‘The National Question’ in an address to the Press at Iyaganku, Ibadan in 1982.

It is however hoped that Nigerian readers, listeners and viewers would soon realise the huge difference between trained, educated and professional media practitioners and the hacks that have now populated and polluted the otherwise hallowed media space...

Nigeria Media; I salute you! You deserve medals as the ONLY Estate standing.

** Tola Adeniyi delivered this Keynote Address at the 3rd Origo international Awards. Lagos June 25, 2023.