Can you revive a zombie river? Our cities are full of rivers that have been buried in concrete after industrial pollution filled them with filth. But there's a global drive to bring them back: to "daylight" these forgotten rivers. I had a lovely day out in Sheffield today, seeing it actually happen.
Andrii Melnyk, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN,quoted a statement by Russian propagandist Solovyev: "When we are asked whether we should care about the people living in those [Ukrainian] cities, my answer is: Yes, we do. We are thinking about where to bury them."
Linz has achieved a top ranking in the "Global Cities Index" of the British consulting firm Oxford Economics in the category of quality of life, placing 12th among 1000 cities. #Lebensqualität #Linz #GlobalCitiesIndex (translated)
Linz achieved 12th place in the "Global Cities Index" by Oxford Economics in the quality of life category among 1,000 cities, while Graz landed in 46th place and Vienna in 85th place. #Linz #Lebensqualität #GlobalCitiesIndex (translated)
The author said Russia was intensifying attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities, killing and injuring civilians and targeting the country’s energy infrastructure. #Ukraine #Russia #WarCrimes #RU #UA
Many Palestinians are still living in cramped tent cities, with the US plan to end the war largely stalled. #GazaConflict #CeasefireViolations #HumanRights
Many Palestinians are still living in cramped tent cities, with the US plan to end the war largely stalled. #GazaConflict #CeasefireViolations #HumanRights
Many Palestinians are still living in cramped tent cities, with the US plan to end the war largely stalled. #GazaConflict #HumanRights #CeasefireViolations
Homes cost more per square metre in Madrid than in several major Latin American cities, but lower wages in those cities can make renting even less affordable. #HousingAffordability #MadridVsLatinAmerica #RealEstateTrends
The patient passed through multiple cities in DR Congo, drove to Uganda and eventually flew to Kenya. #EbolaOutbreak #PublicHealth #KenyaHealth
The author wrote that cities were on the front line during crises such as floods, fires and heatwaves. They said they had met with EUROCITIES, which they described as bringing together more than 200 cities, to discuss cities’ role in preparedness, and called for cooperation at every level. https://t.co/OyT4QJEj7w #Ciudades #Crisis #Sostenibilidad #EU
Nigeria – how pro-Russian influence networks sell military rule as the answer When Nigerians took to the streets in August 2024 to protest soaring living costs and frustration with government, some demonstrations acquired an unexpected symbol: the Russian flag. In Kano, Kaduna and other northern cities, protesters were filmed carrying Russian colours and calling for Moscow’s intervention. Some demanded a military takeover. What initially looked like an unusual expression of anger has since become part of a much larger picture. A September 2026 assessment by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies describes Nigeria as a major target of overlapping foreign information operations, with Russia the most active external actor in its information space. The report does not identify a single centrally controlled campaign. Instead, it maps an ecosystem in which genuine dissatisfaction over insecurity, corruption and living standards is repeatedly redirected towards a broader proposition: democratic government has failed, while the military-led regimes of the Sahel offer a more effective alternative. Turning a real protest into a pro-Russian message The clearest example emerged during the 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests. Nigerian investigative reporting found that a Kano-based TikTok influencer with more than 100,000 followers had been paid through a Telegram channel associated with African Initiative, a Moscow-based media operation linked by researchers to Russian influence activity in Africa. The influencer said the channel supplied photographs, videos and talking points for redistribution on TikTok and Instagram. Among the messages provided were phrases such as “Putin please come and save Nigeria” and “The army is the answer for Nigeria”. Influencers were encouraged to use Hausa-language hashtags including #Zangazanga – “protest” – alongside references to Putin and Russia. Investigators identified 38 accounts circulating similar pro-Russian and pro-military narratives during the demonstrations. Russian flags subsequently appeared among protesters in several northern cities. This does not mean the protests themselves were created by Russia. They were driven by genuine economic and political grievances, and Nigerian protesters gave different reasons for carrying Russian flags. The important feature of the influence activity was precisely that it did not need to manufacture the original anger. It could attach a geopolitical message to an existing domestic crisis. From frustration to the idea of military government The narrative fits a wider pattern seen across West Africa. Russia has developed close relations with the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, while pro-Russian media ecosystems routinely portray those states as examples of sovereignty, stability and resistance to Western influence. Nigeria, by contrast, has remained under constitutional civilian government since 1999. Africa Center researchers say information networks targeting Nigerians increasingly contrast these two models. Recurring messages depict elections as wasteful or predetermined, civilian institutions as incapable of protecting citizens and military governments as more decisive on security and development. Some content portrays the Sahelian juntas as delivering better roads, lower prices and stronger security even where available evidence points to continuing or worsening instability. Language is central to the strategy. Hausa is spoken across northern Nigeria and neighbouring Niger, allowing political narratives to travel across borders that are far less important online than they are on maps. HumAngle documented efforts involving Nigerien state-linked actors to cultivate Hausa-speaking journalists and distribute material favourable to Niger’s junta and hostile to France and Western influence. The Russian and Sahelian-junta information ecosystems are not identical, but their narratives frequently reinforce one another. Fake journalists inside real Nigerian media The campaign environment extends beyond social media. A 2026 investigation by Graphika and Code for Africa identified 44 ghost reporters and fake experts whose identities were used to place Russia-aligned narratives in African media. Thirty-eight were assessed with high confidence to be fabricated. Their articles or quotations appeared across 138 websites and were amplified by at least 113 Facebook accounts and Pages. Nigeria was one of the most heavily targeted countries. According to the Africa Center’s analysis of the research, Daily Post Nigeria carried 39 articles involving 14 identified ghost authors. Once published by a genuine Nigerian outlet, such material could then be cited by other websites, social-media accounts or even Russian official channels as though it had originated independently in Africa. This is information laundering rather than simple propaganda: the most valuable asset being borrowed is the credibility of the local newsroom. Generative AI added another layer. OpenAI and Meta separately disrupted a Russia-origin network that produced Africa-focused political content and operated Facebook Pages posing as local media organisations. One fabricated commentator, “Dr Manuel Godsin”, was presented as a European-trained geopolitical expert although investigators found no evidence supporting his academic biography. ChatGPT had been used to generate articles under the persona’s name, while Meta removed 37 Facebook accounts and 29 Pages connected to the broader network. Different networks, similar strategic direction It would be misleading to merge all these activities into a single Russian command structure. The African Initiative-linked influencer campaign, the ghost-reporter network and the AI-enabled operation disrupted by OpenAI and Meta were uncovered separately and used different infrastructure. Public evidence does not demonstrate that every actor reported to the same organisation. What connects them is a recurring set of themes and methods: portraying Western partnerships as exploitative, presenting Russia as an alternative security partner, amplifying failures of civilian government, and giving military-led rule greater legitimacy. Investigative reporting on leaked Russian documents has meanwhile described a much wider influence apparatus operating across Africa, involving political consultants, paid journalists, influencers and locally tailored campaigns intended to reduce Western influence and expand Moscow’s position. The underlying technique is less about inventing dissatisfaction than redirecting it. Nigeria faces real security threats, economic pressure and public frustration. Influence operators do not need to persuade Nigerians that those problems exist. They need only influence the explanation for why they exist – and which political model appears to offer the answer. That is what makes the Nigerian case significant. The most effective propaganda does not necessarily introduce a completely false reality. It takes a real crisis and changes where the audience is encouraged to look for the solution. Sources Africa Center for Strategic Studies — The Raging Information Battle in Nigeria https://africacenter.org/spotlight/the-raging-information-battle-in-nigeria/ Graphika — Umbrae Ex Machina https://www.graphika.com/reports/umbrae-ex-machina OpenAI — Operation “No Bell” https://openai.com/index/disrupting-malicious-uses-of-ai-no-bell/ TheCable — Ghost reporters in African media https://www.thecable.ng/ghost-reporters-how-fabricated-african-voices-carried-pro-russia-narratives/ HumAngle — Nigeria Is Facing an Information War in Its Own Language https://www.humanglemedia.com/nigeria-is-facing-an-information-war-in-its-own-language DAIDAC / CJID — Russian influence during #EndBadGovernance https://daidac.thecjid.org/how-telegram-tiktok-aided-russian-disinformation-that-led-to-incarceration-of-nigerian-minors/ FactCheckHub — How Nigeria’s hunger protest took a radical turn https://factcheckhub.com/from-economic-protests-to-coup-agitation-how-nigerias-hunger-march-took-a-radical-turn/ News24 — Fake Kremlin-linked analyst planted stories in African media https://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/ai-expert-exposed-fake-kremlin-linked-analyst-planted-stories-in-african-media-20260318-0560 Vanguard — AI ‘expert’ exposed https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/03/ai-expert-exposed-fake-kremlin-linked-analyst-planted-stories-in-african-media/ Africa Confidential — How Moscow wages social media war https://www.africa-confidential.com/article/id/15961/how-moscow-wages-social-media-war Keywords #DISINFORMED #Episode15 #Nigeria #Russia #RussianInfluence #RussianDisinformation #Africa #WestAfrica #Disinformation #InformationWarfare #InfluenceOperations #ForeignInterference #FIMI #Propaganda #MilitaryRule #MilitaryGovernment #Democracy #PoliticalManipulation #NarrativeManipulation #AfricanInitiative #EndBadGovernance #Hausa #LocalInfluencers #GhostReporters #FakeExperts #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AIPersonas #SyntheticMedia #AIPropaganda #Astroturfing #SocialMediaManipulation #Telegram #TikTok #DigitalInfluence #SourceLaundering #NarrativeLaundering #MediaManipulation #Sahel #Geopolitics #OSINT #WRLD
The author said the first-ever #EUScreeningWeek had concluded, with all 27 Member States taking part. They said nearly 300 organisations had helped bring prevention closer to people, with more than 360 activities in 23 languages across over 200 cities, and close to 900 opportunities for free health checks. https://t.co/AuX9UkjpHT #EUScreeningWeek #HealthAwareness #Prevention #EU #AT #BE #BG #CY #CZ #DE #DK #EE #EL #ES #FI #FR #HR #HU #IE #IT #LT #LU #LV #MT #NL #PL #PT #RO #SE #SI #SK (translated)
“PUGLIA IN”: “ORTA NOVA SOUND LAB” CONQUERS NEW YORK: THE “COMMUNITY BAND” LANDS ON “BROADWAY WORLD” SOURCE: https://www.pugliain.net/303862-orta-nova-sound-lab-new-york-banda/ I am delighted that my article submitted to editor Chloe Rabinowitz has been accepted and published. In any case, we are not talking about just any website, but the largest theatre website in the world on the internet, the one that covers Broadway, the West End and beyond, with over 6 million visitors per month, present in 100 US cities, 45 countries and in 12 languages worldwide. __________________________________________________________________________ Orta Nova (FG) — The social and musical project “Orta Nova Sound Lab” debuted last week on the prestigious US portal BroadwayWorld, an international live performance network based in New York. The initiative, born in Orta Nova in the heart of Capitanata, nothern Puglia region in South Italy, to create a youth community band, was presented overseas as an innovative model of inclusion and urban regeneration for the Mezzogiorno. The Pulgian model of social regeneration through music, promoted by the “Associazione Nazionale Bande da Giro (ANBG)” chaired by Benedetto Grillo and supported by the Municipality of Orta Nova, has been admitted for funding by the Ministry of Culture under the call for strengthening music in suburbs and vulnerable areas. The project follows in the wake of interventions to counter youth distress and educational poverty envisaged in the spirit of the “Caivano Decree”. The article published in the American outlet is co-authored by New York editor Chris Rabinowitz and by Orta Nova author and researcher Luciano Magaldi Sardella. The text illustrates how the centuries-old Puglian wind-band tradition has been reinterpreted as an instrument of prevention and civic cohesion, thanks to collaboration between the MAO FM 19.77 association, the Olivetti Institute, the Pertini Institute, Music Art and the C.I.S.A. of Foggia. Why the News Went International The “Orta Nova Sound Lab” band project demonstrates that when a project has anti-mafia roots, pedagogical value, and a credible institutional network, the press responds. From local and national outlets such as Cassarmonica, Ansa Puglia, TGNorba, Corriere della Sera Bari, RaiNews TGR Puglia, La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, Amica9TV, Brindisi In, Puglia IN, Blasting News Italia, TRM Network, Secolo XIX, FoggiaToday, PlayNews24, Stato Quotidiano, and many others, which thoroughly documented the press conference, coverage has now reached “Broadway World”, which has interpreted the Orta Nova experience as a “social laboratory” capable of answering the mafia with music. This leap in scale derives from joint work and from the liaison work carried out by Luciano Magaldi Sardella, who, together with New York editor Chris Rabinowitz, succeeded in translating for an Anglophone audience the profound meaning of a town band that in Puglia is not folklore, but a civic garrison, a concrete alternative to young people’s dependence on electronic screens and to social disintegration. In a southern Italy often narrated solely through its emergencies, Orta Nova chooses to be narrated for its capacity to generate community. And this time, the news has travelled around the world, starting from a square in the Basso Tavoliere. The Stages of the Programme and the Major Concerts in Capitanata The programme, entirely free of charge for participants, offers training courses for wind and percussion instruments alongside ensemble music lessons. During October 2026, the streets of Orta Nova will host band parades and processions, whilst between November and December the area will see performances by the prestigious Gran Concerti Bandistici of Conversano and Bisceglie. The bill will reserve a specific space for equal opportunities with the all-female performance of the Orchestra Note di Puglia. The journey will culminate in January 2027 with the first official concert of the newly formed Banda di Comunità of Orta Nova, the culmination of a training itinerary that projects the social redemption of the Province of Foggia onto the global cultural scene.
The author claimed that Ukraine had obtained a Russian plan to target energy and water infrastructure this winter with up to 1,000 missiles, drones and bombs. They said major cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa were among the intended targets, with the stated aim of depriving civilians of power, heating and water. #Ukraine #Russia #EnergyCrisis #UA #RU
Thank you for this great evening! https://t.co/h86nCkSFXt #KAMIJO #Musik #Tour2026 (translated)
At Climate Week NYC, Martina Otto of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition warned that the number of air-conditioning units in Europe could rise from 1.6 billion to 5.6 billion, putting pressure on the grid and worsening urban heat. She said more urban greenery could lower temperatures by 4 to 12 degrees. https://t.co/pQZOtOnBo1 #ClimateChange #UrbanGreenery #Sustainability #EU
Russia's relentless attacks on Ukrainian cities and regions have continued unabated since the weekend, claiming numerous lives. Educational institutions have been among the targets. Two kindergartens and two schools in Kyiv, as well as a sports school in Dnipro, were struck #StandWithUkraine #UkraineWar #SaveOurSchools #RU #UA
The support that 🇺🇦 needs the most. Day and night, attacks on civilian cities continue. This is terror, not a war tactic. We will support 🇺🇦 as much as needed. #WeStandWithUkraine 🇺🇦🤝🇪🇺 #StandWithUkraine #SupportUkraine #EndTerrorism #UA #EU
Mir explodiert gleich der Kopf. Sehe ich das richtig, dass unsere Regierung SMART CITIES IN FUCKING INDIEN mit 164.577.625.90 Euro (Einhundertvierundsechzig-Millionen-fünfhundertsiebenundsiebzig-Tausend-sechshundertfünfundzwanzig-Euro!!!!!!!!!) sponsort, während hier Brücken so marode sind, dass sie zusammenbrechen und unsere Kinder in Schulen auf Dixie-Klos im Freien müssen, weil die sanitären Anlagen so verrottet sind, dass sie nicht mehr funktionieren? #Politik #ÖffentlicheFinanzen #Infrastruktur
