Oriontimes

NATO allies have promised Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, dozens of tanks. But when those tanks will actually be deployed — and whether they will arrive in time to repel a looming Russian offensive — is still unclear. In a Sunday night address, Zelensky called for their delivery to be expedited. “We have to make time our weapon,” he said. Fourteen Challenger 2 tanks promised by the British government could be in the country as soon as late March, but the soldiers who will use them have to be trained first. Ukrainian troops arrived in Britain yesterday to begin learning how to operate the tanks, as well as how to use them to fight as a unit. Some of the German-made Leopard 2s pledged by Germany and other European allies could arrive around the same time — but they may not all arrive right away. The speed at which they do will depend on how many tanks are immediately available and how many will need to be refurbished and reprogrammed. American-made M1A2 Abrams tanks are m...

Russian forces wrestled for control of villages in eastern Ukraine near the city of Bakhmut over the weekend, the latest flash point as Moscow tries to seize the whole of the eastern region of Donbas. The status of the village of Blahodatne is in dispute. Ukraine said yesterday that its soldiers had repelled attacks on it and on several other settlements in the area. But a day earlier, the Wagner private military company, fighting on Moscow’s behalf, claimed that it had captured the village. Russia’s defense ministry has not confirmed the report, the times learnt. Blahodatne lies between Soledar, a salt-mining town that Russian forces recently captured after weeks of intense fighting, and a road that runs north from the city of Bakhmut. The road serves as a crucial supply line for Ukrainian forces defending the city. Moscow aims to encircle Bakhmut, cut off its supply routes and then force the city’s defenders to withdraw. Casualties of war: Many civilians have followed a directiv...

Russia launched 55 missiles at targets across Ukraine yesterday, with strikes killing at least 11 people and wounding another 11, the authorities said. A total of 47 missiles were shot down by Ukrainian forces. A day earlier, Germany and the U.S. pledged to send dozens of battle tanks to Ukraine, a major step up in Western military support. Since October, Russia has fought a campaign to target infrastructure and cripple Ukraine’s power grid. The barrages have sometimes come after Ukrainian successes. “The main goal is energy facilities, providing Ukrainians with light and heat,” Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said in a post on Telegram. For the past week, Russia’s Air Force has been conducting exercises north of Ukraine in Belarus, keeping Ukraine on heightened alert. Air attack sirens have sounded countrywide each time Russian planes take to the air. The war has raised the influence of Central and Eastern European countries with negative views of Russia, amplified c...

Geopolitics has been everywhere at the Australian Open and will be at center stage in the women’s final, which takes place on Saturday, as Elena Rybakina, a native Russian who became a citizen of Kazakhstan five years ago in exchange for financial support, and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus go head-to-head. Sabalenka, like other Russian and Belarusian players, has not been permitted to represent her home country — part of the wrangling by professional tennis as it tries to balance its stated opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with its hopes of rising above the quagmire of international politics. Earlier this week, videos surfaced of Novak Djokovic’s father, Srdjan, posing with fans who waved a Russian flag and wore the pro-war “Z” logo, and voicing his support for Russia. The week before, organizers of the tournament had prohibited fans from exhibiting any form of the Russian or Belarusian flags or other symbols that supported Russia’s war in Ukraine. Geopolitics: The player ...

President Biden announced yesterday that the U.S. would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine to help it defend against Russian invaders and that Germany would follow through by contributing 14 Leopard 2 tanks, freeing other allies to send their own. He emphasized that the buildup was not meant to expand the war into Russia. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, who has pressed for the tanks to counter Russia’s advantage in arms and troops, expressed gratitude for the U.S. decision. Writing on Twitter, he said, “Today the free world is united as never before for a common goal — liberation of Ukraine.” Zelensky has called for 300 tanks in total. The Pentagon had been reluctant to send the Abrams tanks, in part because they are exceptionally complex machines that are challenging to operate and maintain. As it is, officials have said it could take a year or even longer for them to actually reach the battlefield in Ukraine. The pledges could unlock more aid ahead of an expected esca...

More tanks for Ukraine as Biden administration plans to send up to 50 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials disclosed yesterday, in what would be a major step in arming Kyiv as it tries to seize back its territory from Russia. It could take years before those tanks reach Ukraine, but the announcement would clear the way for Germany and other countries to send their battle tanks. The plan to send the Abrams tanks comes after a testy confrontation last week, during a NATO defense chiefs’ meeting, over the refusal by Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to send Leopard tanks, which many military experts believe could be a decisive weapon in Ukrainian hands. German officials have privately insisted that the country would send the tanks only if the U.S. agreed to send its own M1 Abrams tanks. Publicly, American and German officials have denied that the two issues were linked, but the German news media reported last night that Scholz had decided to send the tanks. The chancellor will a...

Can Germany be a great military power again? When Russia ann exed Crimea in 2014, German military planners began to consider the sudden possibility of a large land war in Europe — one that would require German soldiers to defend European territory. Those fears have grown more acute, resulting, last year, in the announcement of plans for the largest jump in German military spending since World War II. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, skepticism of the merits of militarystrength had enabled a long post-Cold War process of disarmament in Germany. Now, German leaders are vowing to transform the country into a military power capable of taking responsibility for Europe’s security. But German society, in which the country’s Nazi past looms large, remains hesitant. The fact that German soldiers have repeatedly been implicated in high-profile cases of right-wing extremism has not helped ease this discomfort. Russian propagandists were clearly trying to hit a nerve when they responded ...

In a speech marking the date of a 1919 convention signing that united Ukraine into a single independent state, Volodymyr Zelensky, the country’s president, called on citizens to remain unified. “ We're each together, no matter where we were born and where we grew up, ” he said. “ Say moment I'll defend my Ukraine. My unity. ” Zelensky’s soaring rhetoric has come a critical tool as he seeks to intoxicate support among Ukrainians and internationally. But he has failed lately to broker more Western military support, after European allies were unfit to reach an agreement on supplying the country with further tanks. Though Germany has refused to send German- made Leopard tanks from its own stock, the country’s foreign minister said yesterday that it was ready to authorize Poland to send its own tanks, if asked. Germany and Poland both plan to begin training Ukrainians in their use. Since winter has set in, neither Moscow nor Kyiv has made major battlegr...

The Atiku/Okowa Campaign Council in Osun State has backed Governor Ademola Adeleke on his pronouncement that the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will win South-West landslide in the February 25 election, dismissing the statement credited to the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council in the state as a mere ranting of charlatans still lost in the dust of their ignorance. In a statement signed by its Director-General, Hon. Sunday Bisi on Friday, the Osun Atiku/Okowa Campaign said "it is a pity that the APC is still living in denial of the resolve of Nigerians, particularly the Yorubas to disembark from the misrule that characterized it, echoing the message of Governor Adeleke that the electorate in the South-West will deliver a resounding victory to Atiku/Okowa in next month's poll. Hon. Bisi added that a vast majority of voters in the South-West have preference for the candidature of Atiku on the strength of his capacity to get t...

Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand prime Newminister, said earlier today that she would not seek re-election and would step down on Feb. 7. Labour Party lawmakers will elect a new leader of the party — and the country — in three days’ time. In a tearful announcement, Ardern said she did not feel emotionally equipped to complete another term. “I believe that leading a country is the most privileged job anyone could ever have, but also one of the more challenging,” she said. “You cannot and should not do it unless you have a full tank plus a bit in reserve for those unexpected challenges.” Ardern became prime minister in 2017 and won re-election in 2020, largely on the strength of New Zealand’s approach to Covid. Her compassionate response to a massacre at two mosques in Christchurch in 2019 solidified her image as a global liberal icon. But her party has since fallen sharply in the polls amid economic troubles and some highly publicized instances of violent crime. Analysis: Ben Thomas,...

The Pentagon is tapping into a cache of American security in Israel to help meet Ukraine’s need for ordnance shells in the war with Russia, officers said. The cache provides arms and security for the Pentagon to use in Middle East conflicts. The U.S. has also allowed Israel to access the supplies in emergencies. The Ukraine conflict has come an ordnance- driven war of waste, with each side pegging thousands of shells every day. The war’s outgrowth may depend on which side runs out of security first, military analysts say. About half of the 300,000 rounds fated for Ukraine have formerly been packed to Europe and will ultimately be delivered through Poland, Israeli and American officers said. Ukraine is redoubling its pleas for more advanced munitions in a vital week of tactfulness involving its American and European allies . Kyiv’s main Western sympathizers decreasingly agree that time is running out to enable the Ukrainian service to break the impasse with Rus...

The British government moved to block new Scottish legislation that would make it easier for transgender people to have their gender legally recognized. The action stokes a highly charged debate over transgender rights and widens a constitutional rift, as the government in Edinburgh campaigns for Scottish independence. The law would allow transgender people in Scotland to be issued a new birth certificate without a medical diagnosis and make it easier to legally change their genders. Under the legislation, people age 16 and older could apply for a gender recognition certificate by legally declaring that they are living in their “acquired” genders and intend to do so permanently. The British government in London argues that the move by the Scottish Parliament breaches equalities legislation that applies across Britain by affording people different treatment depending on where they live. It is the first time the government in London has overruled Scotland’s Parliament by using the au...

Britain yesterday confirmed plans to send 14 tanks, among other sophisticated military equipment, to Ukraine in the coming weeks. Two top British officials will visit the U.S., Canada, Germany and other NATO allies this week to discuss closer coordination on sanctions against Russia and military aid to Ukraine. Only months ago, such aid was considered taboo; Western countries resisted sending powerful arms to Ukraine, fearing that such support would prompt Russia to escalate the grinding war. But one expert said that Russia appeared to be mobilizing hundreds of thousands of new conscripts, a development that accelerated discussions about giving Kyiv the tanks. On the ground in Ukraine, the death toll from Russia’s strike on an apartment building in the city of Dnipro on Saturday has risen to 40. The U.N. has confirmed the deaths of more than 7,000 Ukrainian civilians in the war but said the full toll was far higher. What’s next: Britain said it would begin training Ukrainian forces...

The World Economic Forum starts today in Davos, Switzerland. On the agenda: international fracture, nationalism and protectionism under the shadow of war in Europe and sharp tensions between the U.S. and China. Politicians, executives, environmentalists and other leaders will wrestle with questions about the threat to supply chains, fears of nuclear “Armageddon” provoked by the war in Ukraine and the looming threat of a global recession. Power is shifting away from the U.S. as China’s military and economic heft grows, but the shape of an alternative international system is unclear. Europe’s crises will be the undercurrent jolting discussions. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, both the E.U. and NATO have remained mostly united. But there are continuing differences among member states, including over how to work with allies and NATO. China is sending a vice premier, Liu He, and the U.S. delegation will include Katherine Tai, the trade representative, and John Ker...

A United States citizen, Vonapolouis Moss, has narrated to the Kwara State Police Command how she was tricked into (travelling to) Nigeria by a 23-year-old suspected Internet) fraudster known as “yahoo boy”. Moss of 2962, W 64th Court, Merrillville, Indiana 46410, USA said she was lured into the country on January 9, 2023, by the suspect, said to be an internet fraudster who (had) ripped her off thousands of dollars since her arrival. “We met on social media and he invited me to visit Nigeria but when I came, he took me to the bureau de change to change money to Nigeria currency and he also took me to ShopRite. "When the money on me finished, he told me to tell my people to send more money,” she told the police during interrogation. The foreigner said that she liked Nigeria but said that she would like to return to the US.

THE Osun online Practitioners Association( OOMPA) has joined other well- provision to compliment with Mr Oluwaseyi Adeniyi( ASP) of Docpetinfo Media on his recent appointment as Media Assistant to the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke. OOMPA in a statement signed by the Chairman, Jare Tiamiyu, described the appointment as a welcome development for exercising media interpreters in the state, Oriontimes reports. "The appointment represented price for commitment and fidelity to service, oozing that Seyi Adeniyi had over the times sculpted a niche for himself in reportorial assignments in bringing development to the state. " Over the times, Adeniyi's workshop for the PDP has been in the public light and it's our belief that this appointment will surely be a call for further service to the State. We compliment ASP as fondly called and we wish him success in his new assignment." The association thanked Governor Ademola Adeleke for conside...

The founder of Better Nigeria For Better People and presidential runner, Chief CBN Onwuasoanya Ezendigbo has tasked the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari not to draw the curtain of his regime, while leaving behind corrupt politicians to continue milking the resources of the country. Speaking in a statement released on Tuesday, "We cannot be killing our soldiers, police officers, they're human beings, they are there to protect our nation, the fact that our politicians are corrupt, stealing and borrowing our money and share among themselves, the corruption must stop. He bared that the problems facing Nigeria started about four decades ago. they're looting and nobody is asking them question, Buhari must not leave while corrupt politicians still moves freely, without holding them accountable, said Ezendigbo. Our currency started sinking around 1982, some people are responsible for it, we can't be proud of our nation any longer when some of our leaders...

Recovery of the ozone layer could happen within a few decades, scientists said in a U.N.-backed report, as China has nearly eliminated rogue chemical emissions. Ozone levels between the polar regions are expected to reach pre-1980 levels by 2040, if current policies continue, and ozone holes should also recover. In 2018, scientists revealed that global emissions of CFC-11, a chemical that was most likely used in China to make foam insulation, had increased since 2012. Investigations by The Times and others strongly suggested that small factories in eastern China that were disregarding the global ban were the source. Those new emissions had threatened to undermine the Montreal Protocol, the treaty negotiated in the 1980s to phase out the use of chlorofluorocarbons in favor of more benign chemicals after it was discovered that chlorofluorocarbons were depleting atmospheric ozone.

The pastor of Winner's Evangelical Ministry (WEM), Samson Ojo Tope has tasked Nigerians the need to remain steadfastness in supplications against certain occurrences which may impede the economic growth. According to the cleric in a statement issued on Saturday, " I don't know if this message have been communicated earlier before now, but let me put it straight forward to all Nigerians, they should pray against any crises that may cause people to stay in their homes." Lockdown after the country's striving to recover from coronavirus may impacts vast majority amid prices of goods that has skyrocketed as a result of insecurity, floodings in some regions of the country. Let's pray for this year against any issue that may pummel into standoff, Fulani crisis and for the Lord to save his people this year, I've alot of messages to share but I am mostly concerned about Nigeria, he said. In October last year, fuel scarcity hit major Nigerian cities, such as A...

Ukraine has claimed that Vladimir Putin will die “very quickly” because he has been sick for a “long time”. Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, told ABC News that they had sources close to the Kremlin leader who had confirmed that Putin, 70, was suffering from cancer. Though the Russian autocrat’s life was apparently in danger, Mr Budanov said the “war must end before his Busy”. He later added that strikes into Russian territory, such as the Engels airbase attack on December 5, would undoubtedly continue this year, though he declined to take responsibility for them. In a rare interview, a laconic Kyrylo Budanov was pressed on a number of issues relating to Putin’s health and the possibility of missile strikes in Russia and Crimea. Asked if Putin was “terminally ill”, Mr Budanov said: “Of course. He has been ill for a long, very long period. I think he will die very fast. I hope. I am sure he has cancer.” He later said that he “just knew” that Putin was suff...

PROTOCOL Today is another significant period to mark and remember the unquantifiable contributions of members of Nigeria's Armed Forces to the peace and stability of our great country, Nigeria. We are gathered here as in other capitals across the country to place our debt of gratitude on records to our fallen heroes who paid the supreme sacrifice. The stability of the nation rests on the gallantry, patriotism and sacrifice of the security and military services. Service personnel of the armed forces in particular are in many volatile sectors of the society confronting and curtailing open and subtle threats to the territorial integrity of the country. That we must live, many offered their precious lives. We must therefore continue to acknowledge the contributions of the armed forces to the survival of the nation. As we gathered here today, I reassure the military service of the commitment of our government to expand the present level of partnership. Our administration has a secu...

Amid anger in Russia over a deadly New Year’s Day strike in Makiivka on Moscow’s forces, official blame has fallen on the targeted soldiers themselves, with the suggestion that their cellphone use enabled Ukrainian forces to home in on their location using intercepted calls. The troops were using the phones despite a ban, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. Russian soldiers’ use of open cellphone lines in Ukraine has been a known vulnerability for its military, often revealing forces’ positions. Intercepted calls have revealed the disarray and discontent in Russia’s ranks. Some Russian lawmakers and military bloggers pushed back against the blame, calling it an attempt by the military to avoid faulting commanders. The British Defense Ministry said that the attack had showed how “unprofessional practices contribute to Russia’s high casualty rate,” noting the possibility that ammunition had been stored near the makeshift barracks, creating secondary explosions, contributing to the d...

In a deadly attack on New Year’s Day, Ukrainians used American-made long-range HIMARS rockets to kill dozens — and perhaps hundreds — of Moscow’s troops in the occupied city of Makiivka, in eastern Ukraine. The strike prompted outraged Russian war hawks to accuse their military of lethal incompetence. The attack killed 63 troops in a building housing them, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. A former Russian paramilitary commander in Ukraine, Igor Girkin, wrote that “many hundreds” were dead and wounded. Ukrainian military officials said it appeared that “about 400” Russian troops had been killed, though they did not explicitly take responsibility for the attack. None of the claims could be independently verified, but even the lowest number would represent one of the worst Russian losses in a single episode in the war, and an embarrassment for Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader. Pro-war Russian bloggers and some government officials said the debacle was caused by the milita...

The Catholic Church has found itself in rare territory, as a living pope — Pope Francis — prepares on Thursday to preside over the funeral of his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday at 95. No one quite knows what the first funeral for a pope emeritus will look like; Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesman, has said it would be “simple” and “solemn but sober,” in keeping with Benedict’s wishes. Official delegations from Germany, Benedict’s homeland, and Italy will be present, but it is not yet clear whether other nations will send representatives. The Vatican said that Benedict’s body would be displayed to the faithful for a final “farewell” in St. Peter’s Basilica for three days starting on Monday morning. Until then, his remains will stay at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where he lived during his nearly 10-year post-papacy, before being ultimately buried in the Vatican grottoes. “We are moved as we recall him as such a noble person, so kind,” Francis said on ...

In the first moments of the new year, dozens of Ukrainians recorded themselves singing the national anthem, as a swarm of exploding drones buzzed over the capital in an attack that followed a missile barrage earlier that evening. At least one person was killed, and more than 20 were wounded, the Times reports. The momentary good cheer masked some hard realities for a country under assault. Ten months into the war, Ukraine has turned the tide in ground combat in the southeast but also can do little to stop Russia from launching relentless missile strikes. Ukraine has been developing long-range drones to strike back, and Russian airfields suffered drone attacks twice in December. But these are pinpricks compared with Moscow’s massive waves of strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Military analysts say these attacks are intended to cut electricity and heat and to demoralize the population. Volodymyr Zelensky In a New Year’s Eve address to the nation, the Ukrainian leader s...