International

NATO begins unprecedented air drill in ‘show of strength’

Published

2 years ago

June 12, 2023

NATO will begin the largest air force deployment exercise in Europe in the alliance’s history on Monday in a display of unity toward partners and potential threats such as Russia.

The German-led “Air Defender 23” will run until June 23 and include some 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO and partner countries including Japan and Sweden, which is bidding to join the alliance.

Up to 10,000 people will participate in the drills intended to boost interoperability and preparedness to protect against drones and cruise missiles in the case of an attack on cities, airports or sea ports within NATO territory.

Presenting the plans last week, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz of the German Luftwaffe said “Air Defender” was conceived in 2018 in part as a response to the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine four years before, though he said it was “not targeted at anyone”.

He said that while NATO would defend “every centimetre” of its territory, the exercise would not “send any flights, for example, in the direction of Kaliningrad,” the Russian enclave bordering alliance member states Poland and Lithuania.

“We are a defensive alliance and that is how this exercise is planned,” he said.

US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said the drill would show “beyond a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force” and was intended to send a message to countries including Russia.

“I would be pretty surprised if any world leader was not taking note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, which means the strength of this alliance, and that includes Mr Putin,” she told reporters, referring to the Russian president.

“By synchronising together, we multiply our force.”

Russia’s war on Ukraine has galvanised the Western military alliance set up almost 75 years ago to face off against the Soviet Union.

Finland and Sweden, which long kept an official veneer of neutrality to avoid conflict with Moscow, both sought membership in NATO after Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Under NATO’s Article Five, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

– ‘Great power competition’ –

The exercise will include operational and tactical-level training, primarily in Germany, but also in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit pilots based at the Schleswig-Jagel airfield in northern Germany on Friday.

General Michael Loh, director of the US Air National Guard, said NATO’s duties were at an “inflection point”.

“A great deal has changed on the strategic landscape throughout the world, especially here in Europe,” he said.

The exercise will focus on “supplementing the permanent United States presence in Europe” as well as providing training “on a larger scale than what was usually accomplished on the continent”, Loh added.

He said many of the alliance pilots would be working together for the first time.

“It’s about fostering the old relationships that we have but also building new ones with this younger generation of airmen,” he said.

“And so this is about now establishing what it means to go against a great power in a great power competition.”

Gutmann said that while there were no plans to make “Air Defender” a recurring exercise, she added: “We have no desire for this to be the last.”

Asked about potential disruption to civilian air transport during the exercise, Gerhartz said the planners would do “everything in our power” to limit flight delays or cancellations.

German authorities had warned that flight schedules could be impacted by the drills.

International

Mali Junta Suspends Political Parties’ Activities

Fearing that, a coalition of roughly one hundred parties formed to “demand the effective end of the political-military transition no later than December 31, 2025”

Published

5 days ago

May 7, 2025

OhiBaba

Mali’s junta General Assimi Goita, on Wednesday suspended political parties’ activities “until further notice for reasons of public order”, as the opposition protests against the military government’s ramped-up crackdown on dissent.

Fearing that, a coalition of roughly one hundred parties formed to “demand the effective end of the political-military transition no later than December 31, 2025” and call for “the establishment of a timetable for a rapid return to constitutional order.”

Read out on national television and radio, the decree comes ahead of a rally called for Friday by parties critical of the junta against their dissolution, as well as for a return to constitutional order in the insecurity-ridden Sahel nation.

All “associations of a political character” were covered in the decree signed by junta leader and broadcast on national television.

International

Zuckerberg’s Meta Faces Competition Lawsuit in U.S.

The trial will extend until July 2025. If the FTC wins this first phase, a second and even tougher stage would begin, aiming to argue that forcing Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp would directly benefit competition and consumers.

Published

6 days ago

May 6, 2025

OhiBaba

Zuckerberg is back in the news, this time not to announce the purchase of another company, but quite the opposite.

Union Rayo, reported that this time, Zuckerberg has had to defend himself in a trial that could redefine the history of digital business.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken Meta (the parent company led by the mogul) to court, accusing them of eliminating competition through “killer acquisitions” (buying the competition to shut it down).

That’s exactly the case here, and Zuckerberg might have to say goodbye to his last two purchases: WhatsApp and Instagram. How legal is it to buy your competitors so they won’t outshine you? That’s for a judge to decide.

This trial has been open since April 14, and it has revealed some incredible facts, such as that the purchase of those last two social networks, WhatsApp (one billion dollars) and Instagram (19 billion dollars), could be an illegal strategy.

On the stand, Zuckerberg himself admitted that Facebook is no longer used to connect with family and friends. Want to know more about what’s happening to Meta? We’ll tell you below.

“Facebook no longer serves its original purpose”

During his testimony, Zuckerberg admitted that the social network that made him a billionaire is no longer what it used to be.

Today, he explained, Meta is no longer about personal relationships.

Meta is focused on content, discovering viral trends, and following global conversations.

He said it himself: what used to be a platform to share pictures of your cat with distant relatives or childhood classmates is now a showcase where the algorithm is in charge.

Justifying the most controversial acquisitions

The trial also focused (a lot) on Meta’s two most controversial acquisitions: Instagram (in 2012) and WhatsApp (in 2014). Zuckerberg defended both decisions.

He said those platforms wouldn’t have survived without Meta’s investment, and now they’re essential tools for billions of people. Basically, his argument was: “We didn’t destroy them, we made them bigger”

The FTC’s accusations: a strategy to eliminate competition?

In search of a solo reign? Of course, the FTC didn’t see it that way at all.

During the trial, internal emails were shown where Zuckerberg described Instagram as a “terrifying threat” that had to be neutralized “at all costs”.

A rejected 6 billion dollar offer for Snap in 2013 was also revealed, which, according to prosecutors, proves a systematic policy of eliminating rivals.

Was it then a strategy to get rid of the competition? Naturally, the ghost of monopoly is hanging over them, since they have 2 billion direct users between WhatsApp and Instagram alone, with these two companies generating more than half of Meta’s advertising revenue.

“We are not a monopoly”

Meta insists it’s not acting alone. Platforms like TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) are cited as direct competition.

The company also reminds everyone that all of its acquisitions were legally approved at the time. And of course, undoing them now would just be changing the rules of the tech game.

What’s coming: a battle

What’s at stake?

Basically, the future of how large digital platforms work.

If Meta loses, it wouldn’t be surprising if other giants like Google or Amazon start facing similar lawsuits.

Pressure against big tech isn’t new, but this time, the one on the ropes is Zuckerberg. And this time, there’s no “like” button to save him

International

BREAKING: FG gives foreigners with expired visas 3 months to leave Nigeria

Published

1 week ago

May 2, 2025

Charles Flames

The Nigerian government has given foreigners with expired visa three months to vacate the country.

The Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, announced this in a statement released on Friday, May 2, 2025.

In the statement signed by Akinsola Akinlabi, Public Relations Officer, the Nigeria Immigration Service warned that overstaying now attracts daily fines of “$15, plus bans of up to five years or permanent blacklisting” starting from September 2025.

“A 3-month grace period allows foreigners with expired visas to exit Nigeria without penalty, ending August 1st, 2025,” the statement added.

Also, the statement announced the introduction of a mandatory online landing card for inbound foreigners and exit card for outbound travelers — both accessible at lecard.immigration.gov.ng.