United States President Joe Biden has announced sanctions targeting Russian assets in response to the expanded invasion of Ukraine on Thursday.
The announced sanctions include export blocks on technology, which the Biden administration said would severely limit Russia’s ability to advance its military and aerospace sector.
Mr Biden appeared in the East Room of the White House to deliver a national address on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Mr Biden said.
Mr Biden also applied sanctions on four Russian banks and “corrupt billionaires” and their families who are close to the Kremlin. These banks hold over $1 trillion in assets, including the country’s largest bank.
Mr Biden reiterated that U.S. troops would not engage in direct conflict in Ukraine, despites announcing a new deployment of ground and air forces to NATO’s eastern flank.
“Our forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict,” he said. “Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine but defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the east.”
The United States joins the United Kingdom in announcing measures targeting dozens of Russian banks, businesses and wealthy elites and banning Russia’s national airline Aeroflot from the country’s airspace.
Today I initiated a phone call with the president of the Russian Federation. The result was silence.
Though the silence should be in Donbas. That’s why I want to address today the people of Russia. I am addressing you not as a president, I am addressing you as a citizen of Ukraine.
More than 2,000km of the common border is dividing us. Along this border your troops are stationed, almost 200,000 soldiers, thousands of military vehicles.
Your leaders approved them to make a step forward, to the territory of another country. And this step can be the beginning of a big war on the European continent.
We know for sure that we don’t need the war. Not a Cold War, not a hot war. Not a hybrid one. But if we’ll be attacked by the [enemy] troops, if they try to take our country away from us, our freedom, our lives, the lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. Not attack, but defend ourselves. And when you will be attacking us, you will see our faces, not our backs, but our faces.
The war is a big disaster, and this disaster has a high price. With every meaning of this word.
People lose money, reputation, quality of life, they lose freedom. But the main thing is that people lose their loved ones, they lose themselves.
They told you that Ukraine is posing a threat to Russia. It was not the case in the past, not in the present, it’s not going to be in the future. You are demanding security guarantees from NATO, but we also demand security guarantees. Security for Ukraine from you, from Russia and other guarantees of the Budapest memorandum.
But our main goal is peace in Ukraine and the safety of our people, Ukrainians. For that, we are ready to have talks with anybody, including you, in any format, on any platform. The war will deprive [security] guarantees from everybody – nobody will have guarantees of security any more. Who will suffer the most from it? The people. Who doesn’t want it the most? The people! Who can stop it? The people. But are there those people among you? I am sure.
I know that they [the Russian state] won’t show my address on Russian TV, but Russian people have to see it.
They need to know the truth, and the truth is that it is time to stop now, before it is too late. And if the Russian leaders don’t want to sit with us behind the table for the sake of peace, maybe they will sit behind the table with you. Do Russians want the war? I would like to know the answer. But the answer depends only on you, citizens of the Russian Federation.
Federal Reserve policymakers on Thursday signaled the conflict in Ukraine will not budge them from their expected course of rate hikes ahead.
But the impact on the U.S. economy could be felt in sundry ways, from the price people pay for gasoline at the pump to a hit to household wealth. Here is a look at a few of them.
HIGHER ENERGY COSTS
Oil prices rose on Thursday following the attack, with Brent topping $105 a barrel for the first time since 2014. read more Those higher energy prices could eat in to consumers’ budgets and add more pressure to inflation that is already at the highest levels in 40 years.
If oil prices stay at about $100 a barrel, energy costs for U.S. households could rise by $750 on average this year from last year, leaving them with less money to spend on other goods and services, said Gregory Daco, chief economist for EY-Parthenon. Those added expenses could also be a drag on economic growth, said Daco, who projects that higher oil prices could lift inflation by 0.6 percentage point this year and slow economic growth by 0.4 percentage point.
Consumer prices last month rose 7.5% from a year earlier, the fastest pace in nearly 40 years.
“A lot of people, especially lower-income folks, a huge amount of their income goes towards gasoline,” Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin told reporters after an economic symposium in Colonial Heights, Virginia. “So if those prices go up it dampens consumer spending and dampens the economy.”
Consumer prices last month rose 7.5% from a year earlier, the fastest pace in nearly 40 years.
“A lot of people, especially lower-income folks, a huge amount of their income goes towards gasoline,” Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin told reporters after an economic symposium in Colonial Heights, Virginia. “So if those prices go up it dampens consumer spending and dampens the economy.”
TRADE AND SUPPLY CHAINS
Russia and Ukraine combined account for much less than 1% of U.S. imports and exports, so there will be no large trade hits on the economy from the conflict. The United States, unlike its European allies, is also a natural gas exporter, which should limit outsized effects on those prices.
But with American consumers already straining against steep rises in the cost of living for everything from autos to food as supply chains continue to be snarled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the invasion and any further escalation in the conflict could help keep inflation pressures elevated.
For example, Russia’s Nornickel is the world’s largest supplier of palladium, used by automakers for catalytic converters and to clean car exhaust fumes. The price of palladium rose to its highest level since July on Thursday, and any disruption of Russian supplies would impact auto production, still suffering from pandemic-related supply shortages of semiconductor chips.
Russia and Ukraine also export more than a quarter of the world’s wheat, and Ukraine is a major corn exporter. Although the knock-on effect of higher agricultural commodities costs to consumer prices tends to be quite weak, it could still add between 0.2 to 0.4 percentage point to headline inflation in developed economies in the next few months, according to a client note by analysts at Capital Economics.
And U.S. trade and foreign investments may be negatively impacted indirectly by any upheaval in Europe, according to AEI economist Michael Strain.
STOCK DROP DRAG
Major U.S. stock indexes dropped in the hours after Russia’s Ukraine invasion, and though they recovered after U.S. President Joe Biden announced sanctions on Russia, “absent any improvement in the situation (in Ukraine), they may have further to run,” wrote Capital Economics’ Jonas Goltermann.
Any drop erodes – at least on paper – a mainstay of U.S. household wealth, potentially dealing a blow to consumer confidence and squelching demand. After an initial plunge at the start of the pandemic, stocks have doubled in value, and direct holdings of stocks and mutual funds swelled to account for a record share of household wealth.
That could drive consumer sentiment gauges – some of which are already at a decade low due to stiff inflation – even lower still and threaten the outlook for consumer spending.
That being said, as Monetary Policy Analytics’ Larry Meyer wrote, “weak demand in the U.S. is far from being a concern,” and with inflation already high, policymakers may be less sanguine about the jump in energy prices than would otherwise be the case. “Should demand weaken substantially, the Fed would certainly have tough decisions to make, and we think the Fed would react,” he wrote. “But today’s risk environment does not afford them the luxury of focusing only on downside risks when it comes to risk management.”
OTHER IMPACTS
Some analysts clanged alarm bells.
High Frequency Economics’ Carl Weinberg said he expected Vladimir Putin’s move into Ukraine to shift the economies of Europe, and possibly the United States, onto a “wartime footing,” resulting in goods shortages and further upward price pressure. He also warned that Russia could try to counter sanctions with cyber attacks on U.S. or European financial infrastructures, among other possibilities.
Another economist, Carl Tannenbaum of Northern Trust, wrote, “a broader conflict in Eastern Europe could provoke a wholesale reevaluation of the outlook” for monetary policy, fueling uncertainty and pushing down sentiment. But he added: “For now, risks are tilted to the upside, and central banks will be tightening policy in response.”
Operatives of the Nigeria police on Thursday reportedly arrested publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore.
The police laid ambush and arrested Mr Sowore who was in the Appeal Court earlier today for his case, Inibehe Effiong, Mr Sowore’s lawyer, disclosed this via his Twitter handle on Thursday.
“I just stepped out of the Court of Appeal in Abuja with Omoyele Sowore after our case only for the Police to lay ambush and arrest him outside the Court. He has been taken away (presumably to former SARS Office in Abuja),” Mr Effiong tweeted.
Details of why Mr Sowore was arrested on Thursday is still sketchy as of the time of filing this report.
Recall that, the activist in 2020, was arrested by the Nigerian police for staging a rally on the New Year eve.
Mr Sowore was first arrested and detained for close to five months by the State Security Service for planning to stage a nationwide protest tagged: #RevolutionNow in 2019.
Is there any way to bring evil to justice, because a lot of people are committing crimes, rituals, and suicide under its name? And if we ask them for the reasons for committing such heinous acts, they’ll say it’s evil.
Then, who is this much touted evil?
Is evil a human or a spirit? It’s a wonder that there are various ways in which its name has been mentioned as if it were a human being.
Both Muslims, Christians, Traditionalists, Hindus, Satanists, and Jews have spoken about evil; but, whose religions does evil belong to? Because if it is later determined that evil belongs to a religion, the religious leaders and evil must be brought to justice.
Of course, since we have not been able to identify the religion or country to which evil belongs, it clearly means we are the ones who have brought evil into our existence. Indeed, as you can see, evil does follow those who summon it. When evil starts responding, they begin to act strangely and later claim that evil is to be blamed.
Who calls the evil? Isn’t it you? So, why are you blaming the evil? It’s your fault because you’re the one who invited evil into your life. Now that evil has arrived, it must serves you what you sent it to do. If you’re the evil boss at the moment, then evil must own the work you’re doing in the society.
To tell you the truth, it made me unhappy when I realized that there is no way to defeat evil. Evil, on the other hand, must be brought to justice. I believe it is high time we learnt about physical evil.
Although, the ways in which I may live my own personal life may differ significantly from the ways in which you plan to live yours, even though we might be raised or mentored by the same parents or mentors. It does not mean that we should live the same life. However, if your intellectual capacity is available to think clearly, you will realize that it is possible for both of us to share a single similar lifestyle because we both live together and no problems arises from our togetherness.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to meet a guy whom I shared something in common with; seriousness. However, because he was a womanizer, our friendship couldn’t survive the test of time.
We met at an open spot where everyone came to cool their heads, and refresh their brains with wisdom. On the day we met, we had an intimate chat that convinced me that he was the kind of serious buddy I needed in my life.
We started our friendship, enjoying serious and wonderful days together and making impressions on one other. However, as time passed by, his attitudes began to deviate from the ones I had previously observed.
The day I discovered such in him, I wondered if he was the same person I knew from the outset ,or if he was a another person. I drew his attention to it since sometimes , as humans , we engage in negative actions that we don’t realize are bad until someone points it out to us.
As a friend, I did everything I could to help. And he was grateful and acknowledged my concerns.
I counseled him, and he promised to amend his ways. Nevertheless , I’ve kept my distance from him since then, because being a trusted and policy-oriented person, I didn’t want his attitude to ruin my reputation in the society. As regards that , I just gave him space.
He began going to nightclubs frequently , consuming alcoholic beverages, and carrying ladies of different calibres.
Even though, I informed him that his action will eventually lead him to troubles if he doesn’t stop, he didn’t listen. I had to draw a thick line in our friendship, that we couldn’t say much more than “Good morning” to each other.
To shorten a long tale , I saw his texts and videos of how he fled from one of his sugar mummies who planned to use him for a ritual , but God saved him.
“My sugar momma, as I told you, wanted to use me for a ritual last night, but Almighty God saved me,” he stated
I didn’t respond to him with any words because I had warned him at the outet to stop doing such things.
However, he now claims that it is evil at work , but who is evil? And who is on the side of evil? The world we now live in has gone red. Everyone who engages in good deeds or is overly intelligent will be punished. He or she would be used for rituals, and we’re all okay with working with evil. Everyone is under the control of evil now, Why?
PS: “Now it’s our turn.”
That is the slogan of the women who are outside their now. According to their claims, men have been utilizing them for ritual purposes for a long time, but now their time has come. So be cautious! Because life isn’t just about you.
Meanwhile, we need to bring evil and ritualists to justice.
Oluwatoyin Hawal Momolosho writes
He can be reached via Oluwatoyinhawalbolaji@gmail.com
National Examinations Council, NECO, has released the results of its 2021 school certificate examinations written by non-school (external) candidates. The release of the results, which had 78 per cent pass rate, is coming 64 days after the last paper was written.
NECO Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, disclosed this on Thursday at NECO headquarters in Minna.
He said that a total of 49,916 candidates registered for the November- December 2021 external examinations.
He said that 36,116 of the 45,821 candidates, who sat for the English Language paper, got credit and above, representing 78.04 per cent pass rate.
According to him, the number of candidates who got credit and above in Mathematics is 35,706, representing 78.04 per cent out of the 45,756 candidates who wrote the paper.
Wushishi put the total number of candidates who got five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics, at 29,342, representing 62.59 per cent.
“On the other hand, 37,991 candidates, representing 81.04 percent, got five credits and above, regardless of English and Mathematics,” he said.
On examination malpractice, Wushishi said a total of 4, 454 candidates were booked for various offences, as against the 6, 465 recorded in the previous year.
The NECO boss also announced that four supervisors, one each from Niger and Borno and two from Delta were blacklisted for poor supervision.
He said that candidates could asses their results on the NECO website, www.neco.gov.ng.
Pakistani court on Thursday, sentenced a U.S. national of Pakistani origin to death for raping and beheading the daughter of a former diplomat, crimes that sparked outrage across the South Asian nation.
The body of Noor Mukadam, 27, was found in Islamabad on July 20. Police charged Zahir Jaffer, from one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families, with a murder that had dominated headlines ever since.
The maximum sentence was “necessary”, the victim’s father said after sentencing.
“I’ve been saying that this is not just my daughter’s case, it is a case for all the daughters of my country,” he said.
Investigators said Jaffer lured Mukadam, a friend and daughter of Pakistan’s former envoy to South Korea, to his home, held her there for two days and then brutally murdered her.
Two of Jaffer’s employees were jailed for 10 years each on charges of abetting in the crime.
Hundreds of women are killed in Pakistan each year and thousands more are victims of brutal violence, but few cases get sustained media attention and only a small fraction of perpetrators are ever puhed.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has released list of 23 lawyers who have expressed interest in being appointed Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
In a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the NBA, Dr Rapulu Nduka, and made available to newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, the association called for public reactions to the listed aspirants.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad, had on January 19 called for nominations of suitable candidates from five geopolitical regions in the country for appointment to the Supreme Court bench.
The zones are South-East, South-South, South-West, North-Central and North-West.
Sequel to this, the NBA February 7 issued a circular requesting, interested members of the bar, to forward their expressions of interest.
In the statement, the NBA said it received expressions of interest from 23 lawyers and urged the public to send in petitions where necessary.
The full list of aspirants signed and released by the Chairman of the NBA Judiciary Committee, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade (SAN), included Mr Abugu Oromafunu (SAN), Mr Achara Ezekwesiri, Mr Ademi-Akpeto Awolowo and Mrs Joy Okungbowa (SAN).
The remaining are: Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), Mr Enya Nwocha, Mr Edwin Obiorah (SAN), Mr Ogbemudia Omoregie, Mr Itoyah Otaru (SAN), Mr Ujah Oyiwona, Mr Stanley Princewill, Mr Salisu Shuaibu, and Mr Kadir Temim.
Ajibade said it was in commitment to ensuring that the process for an appointment was made more transparent and only persons of appropriate character were appointed to the bench, that the NBA published the list.
“The NBA, consequently, requests that members of the bar and the general public who know of any reason why the aspirants should not be considered for appointment to the Supreme Court bench should forward a petition stating their reasons.
“The petition should be received at the National Secretariat of the NBA on or before February 25 in hard copy or by email addressed to legal@nigerianbar.org,” he said.
The secretary to the judiciary committee added that all such petitions should include proof of the senders’ identities as anonymous petitions would not be treated.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reduced the jail term of a convicted former Lawmaker , Farouk Lawan, from seven to five years.
A three-member panel of justices led by the president, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, on Thursday, discharged and acquitted Lawan on two of the charges he was convicted of by an FCT High Court.
Lawan, who was the Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Regime, was arraigned in 2013 after he allegedly demanded for a bribe of $3million from billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, who accused him of receiving the sum of $500,000.
The bribe was said to help influence the removal of the name of his oil company from the list of indicted companies in the fuel subsidy scam of 2012.On an appeal by Lawan, the panel held that the prosecution failed to prove that he demanded and agreed to accept the sum from Otedola, to exonerate his company from the list of indicted firms.
TLawan was in June, 2021, convicted on the three count charges preferred against him by the federal government with a sentence of five years each for the first two counts, and seven years for the last count, all to run concurrently
The Netherlands has sent two F-35 fighters to protect NATO airspace over Eastern Europe amid Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the Dutch Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
The Dutch defence ministry wrote on Twitter: “Two F-35 fighters are currently deployed to protect NATO airspace over Eastern Europe.
“The Netherlands expresses allied solidarity and contributes, especially now, to maintain the integrity of the NATO zone.’’
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions.
It has an unmatched ability to evade enemy detection and enter contested airspace.
Advanced electronic warfare capabilities locate and track enemy forces, jam radars, and disrupt attacks.
The F-35 Helmet is one of the most advanced pieces of technology on the planet.
On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a military operation against Ukraine.
In a televised speech, the Russian leader said the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk republics requested help from Russia to counter Ukraine’s military aggression.
The Russian defence ministry said the army did not target Ukrainian cities, so there was no threat to the civilians.
