Category: Foreign

German troops deployed in Iraq will be partially relocated to Jordan and Kuwait due to the tensions that have followed the U.S. killing of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

Bases in the capital Baghdad and Taji, in particular, will be “temporarily thinned out,’’ Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas wrote in a letter to parliamentarians on Tuesday.

Both reiterated that talks were ongoing with the government in Baghdad about a continuation of the German deployment.

“Of course, we will respect every sovereign decision of the Iraqi government.

“We are in principle ready to continue our tried and tested support as part of an internationally coordinated framework if this is desired by Iraq and the situation allows it,” they wrote.

On the situation in Baghdad and Taji, the ministers wrote: “The soldiers deployed there will soon be relocated to Jordan and Kuwait.

“When the training can be resumed, these forces can be transferred back.”

Read Also; Iran considers retaliation options as it buries slain commander

Because of the tensions over the deadly U.S. airstrike on Soleimani in Iraq, the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militia in Iraq is preparing a partial withdrawal.

The headquarters for “Operation Inherent Resolve’’ will be partially relocated to Kuwait, sources said. This would also affect three of the German soldiers posted at the headquarters.

At the Taji military complex in central Iraq, 27 German soldiers, who are helping train Iraqi forces, will be moved.
Overall, Germany has 415 soldiers participating in the operation, 120 of them in Iraq.

Agency Reporter

 

A KENYAN pastor stabbed his wife during a church service and then slit his throat in a murder-suicide witnessed by the shocked congregation, local police told CNN yesterday.

On Sunday, Elijah Misiko, an assistant pastor with the Ground for God’s Gospel Church in Mombasa, left his front row seat and approached his wife, Senior Pastor Ann Mughoi, on the pulpit and stabbed her with one of the knives he’d hidden in an envelope, police  quoted witnesses as saying.

“He walked up to his wife while the church was praying as if he wanted to whisper something to her,” Mombasa sub-county police commander Julius Kiragu said. “Then he took one of the knives and stabbed her (wife) two times. He believed she was dead. “He then stabbed himself three times in the stomach and slit his throat.”

Read ALSO: U.S.-Iran Tension: China urges U.S. not to abuse force

Misiko died instantly from his stab wounds and Mughoi died at a local hospital a few hours later, police said.

The couple had been engaged in a long-running feud over the ownership and leadership of the church, Kiragu told CNN.

In 2017, Misiko was detained by the police in Mombasa after his wife alleged he planned to kill her, Kiragu said.

Misiko was released the following day after police said they found the accusations untrue, Kiragu said.

 

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said troops have begun moving into Libya after parliament approved the move last week.

He said their mission was to ensure stability for the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

The Libyan government is fighting an insurgency by rebel forces under Gen Khalifa Haftar, based in eastern Libya.

Gen. Haftar is backed by Egypt and the UAE, while the UN-backed government is supported by Turkey and its ally Qatar.

Rebel forces have been trying to capture Tripoli and were blamed for an air strike on a military academy on Saturday that killed at least 30 people. They denied any involvement.

The Turkish government has given no details about the scale of the military deployment.

“Our soldiers’ duty there is co-ordination. They will develop the operation centre there. Our soldiers are gradually going right now,” President Erdogan told the CNN Turk TV channel.

He said Turkey’s objective was “not to fight” but “to support the legitimate government and avoid a humanitarian tragedy”.

The UN Security Council met on Monday to discuss the situation in Libya, AFP news agency reported, citing diplomats.

It has been condemned by several countries, including the U.S.

Last week, President Donald Trump told Erdogan in a phone call that “foreign interference is complicating the situation in Libya”.

But, it was learnt yesterday that the Libyan National Army (LNA), headed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has entered the city of Sirte and taken control over the city’s seaport, a source in the LNA told Sputnik on Monday.

“(The LNA) has also taken control of the as-Saadi military base, some city areas, and is now heading to the city centre,” the source, which is close to the LNA leadership, added.

 

BRITAIN’S “most prolific rapist”, who has been convicted of 159 sex offences, including 136 rapes, will “never be safe to be released”, a judge has said.

Reynhard Sinaga was found guilty of luring 48 men from outside Manchester clubs to his flat, where he drugged and assaulted them – filming the attacks.

Police said they have evidence Sinaga, 36, who is being named for the first time, targeted at least 190 victims.

The judge ruled his life sentence must include a minimum of 30 years in jail.

Reporting restrictions were also lifted at a sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court yesterday, meaning Sinaga could be identified for the first time.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Sinaga was “the most prolific rapist in British legal history”.

The post-graduate student was already serving life, with a minimum term of 20 years, for the offences he was convicted of in two earlier trials, which took place in summer 2018 and last spring.

READ ALSO: Iran: US warns citizens against travelling to Nigeria

Across four separate trials, the Indonesian national was found guilty of 136 counts of rape, eight counts of attempted rape, 14 counts of sexual assault, and one count of assault by penetration, against a total of 48 victims.

At the hearing, Judge Suzanne Goddard QC said Sinaga was “an evil serial sexual predator who has preyed upon young men” who wanted “nothing more than a good night out with their friends”.

“In my judgment you are a highly dangerous, cunning and deceitful individual who will never be safe to be released,” she said – adding that the decision to release prisoners is made by the Parole Board.

 

BOUNTY worth about $80 million has been placed on Donald Trump’s head in Iran in the wake of General Qasem Soleimani’s assassination by United States (U.S.) drone.

This came as President Donald Trump threatened severe sanctions against Iraq after its parliament called on U.S. troops to leave the country.

During the televised funeral of Soleimani, an unidentified eulogist speaking on official state television, said one U.S. dollar should be tabled for every Iranian in the country, with the cash going to whoever killed the U.S. President.

“Iran has 80 million inhabitants. Based on the Iranian population, we want to raise $80million (£61million), which is a reward for those who get close to the head of President Trump,” it was announced, according to en24.

It is not thought the bounty has been backed by government officials.

Tehran vowed revenge at the heart of the U.S. after the Quds Force general was killed by a Reaper drone last Friday at Baghdad airport.

The attack took long-running hostilities between Washington and Tehran into uncharted territory and raised the spectre of wider conflict in the Middle East.

 

Trump threatens Iraq

 

Trump, while threatening severe sanctions against Iraq after its parliament called on U.S. troops to leave the country, told reporters: “We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it.

The new head of Iran’s Quds force – which Soleimani led – has vowed to expel the U.S. from the Middle East.

“We promise to continue martyr Soleimani’s path with the same force… and the only compensation for us would be to remove America from the region,” state radio quoted Esmail Qaani as saying.

Speaking from the presidential plane, Trump said that if Iraq asked U.S. forces to depart on an unfriendly basis, “we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before, ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”

Some 5,000 U.S. soldiers are in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group.

 

NATO to Iran: avoid ‘further violence and provocations’

 

Iran has been urged to avoid “further violence and provocations” by NATO’s General Secretary, following emergency talks on the growing crisis in the Middle East.

Jens Stoltenberg said all members of the Atlantic alliance stood behind the United States in the Middle East, after a U.S. drone strike killed the Iranian military commander last week.

Speaking after the meeting on Iran and Iraq, in which the U.S. briefed its allies about the deadly drone strike, Stoltenberg also called for a de-escalation of tension, echoing the statements of some European leaders

 

Germany, France and the UK

 

The leaders of Germany, France and the UK – which were all signatories to the 2015 deal, alongside China and Russia – responded with a joint statement urging Iran to refrain from “further violent action or proliferation”.

“It is crucial now to de-escalate. We call on all the players involved to show utmost restraint and responsibility,” they said.

Khamenei leads huge crowds at commander’s funeral

 

Huge crowds yesterday packed the streets of the Iranian capital Tehran for the funeral of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei led the prayers and at one point was seen weeping.

State television showed huge crowds in Tehran for the event. It put the number who turned out as “millions” although could not be verified.

Some people cried, while others clutched pictures of the late commander. Mourners passed Soleimani’s coffin over their heads and “death to America” chants were heard.

His daughter Zeinab Soleimani warned the U.S. that it faced a “dark day”.

Top EU diplomat expresses regret over Iran’s jettison of nuclear deal

EUROPEAN Union (EU) Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell yesterday expressed regret over Iran’s decision to abandon the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Borrell said the implementation of the agreement’s provisions by all the parties had never been more important.

On Sunday, Iran announced the abandonment of its final limitations on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and said that it had no more restrictions regarding its nuclear programme development.

Meanwhile, Tehran aims to continue cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

It also plans to resume the implementation of its commitments in case the U.S. lifts sanctions and respects interests of Iran envisaged in the nuclear deal.

“Deeply regret Iran’s latest announcement on #JCPOA.

“As ever we will rely on @iaeaorg verification.

“Full implementation of #NuclearDeal by all is now more important than ever, for regional stability & global security.

“I will continue working with all participants on way forward,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.

The JCPOA, commonly known as the Iranian nuclear deal, was signed in 2015 between Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries, comprising Russia, China, France, the UK, the U.S. plus Germany.

The EU is also a signatory to the deal that requires the Iranian authorities to scale back the country’s nuclear programme and uranium reserves, in return for sanctions relief.

In May 2018, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and imposed economic sanctions on Iran.

Our Reporter

 

THE Federal Government has dismissed reports claiming that there was a mass recall of ambassadors.

Media reports had claimed that there was a mass recall of ambassadors by the Federal Government.

But Malam Garba Shehu, Special Assistant (Media and publicity), to President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement, said that only 25 career Ambassadors, who attained the retirement age or had been in public service for 35 years, were recalled.

“There was nothing like mass recall of Ambassadors. What happened lately is that 25 career ambassadors, who attained the retirement age or 35 years of public service in December 2018, were recalled.

“They were allowed to remain at their duty posts, given an extension, if that is the word, in view of the upcoming elections, which is now behind us.

“No other Ambassadors, besides these ones, are recalled.

“The non-career Ambassadors are in place while career Ambassadors with more years of public service remain where they are,” the statement said.

By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

 

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has again reiterated his commitment to the peace, stability and development of the West African sub-region.

Buhari re-echoed his commitment yesterday at the State House, Abuja, while hosting the President-elect of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Muhktar Sissoco Embalo, who was on a “thank you visit”.

The President, according to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said he would continue to invest in the stability of the region, noting that there can be no development without stability.

President Buhari said: “Without stability, there can be no development. We will do whatever it will take to stabilise the sub-region.”

Buhari commended the out-going President, José Mário Vaz, himself a candidate in the elections for supporting the emergence of Embalo in the second round of balloting “in the interest of peace and stability”.

He said history would remember Mario Vaz for putting national interest above his own, emphasising that he cared for peace within the region.

The Nigerian President expressed his desire for both countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples and reiterated his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in West Africa.

Embalo, a businessman-turned politician, was Prime Minister of Guinea Bissau under Mario Vaz between 2016 and 2018. He was a member of the ruling African Party of Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) when he founded the Movement for Democratic Alternative (MADEM-G15) on which platform he won the elections.

He praised Buhari for his support leading to his emergence as winner in the elections and expressed his appreciation for the warm and friendly disposition of Nigeria towards him and the people of his country.

He invited the Nigerian leader as the Guest of Honour at the presidential inauguration coming up next month and for which he received assurances from Buhari that he will make the best efforts to be present.

Our Reporter

 

THE Middle East witnessed more rhetoric on Sunday with Iran and American leaders as well as their allies flexing muscles over the killing of powerful Tehran military leader Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a United States (U.S.) drone strike in Baghdad.

Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi), an Iran-backed umbrella organisation comprising several militias. Several other people were also killed in Friday’s attack.

The move by the U.S. has drawn condemnation from leaders and officials who fear that tensions in the region could escalate drastically. Soleimani’s killing marks a major escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Under his leadership, Iran had bolstered Hezbollah in Lebanon and other pro-Iranian militant groups, expanded its military presence in Iraq and Syria and orchestrated Syria’s offensive against rebel groups in the country’s long civil war.

As the world wait with bated breath what form Iran’s retaliation would take, the answer came yesterday as Tehran said it will surely “be military”. But the U.S. up the ante with President Donald Trump saying American is “ready to strike 52 Iranian sites if Tehran attacks. These came on a day thousands of people flood the streets during a funeral procession for Soleimani and al-Muhandis in Ahvaz, Iran.

 

Iran’s specific and direct threat

The military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader said yesterday that Tehran’s response to the killing by the United States of its most influential general will “for sure be military”.

In an exclusive interview with CNN in Tehran, the adviser – Maj. Gen. Hossein Dehghan – made the most specific and direct threat yet by a senior Iranian official following. Dehghan said Iran would retaliate directly against U.S. “military sites”. Dehghan is a former defence minister and is now the main military adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He told CNN that reprisals would come from Iran itself, not its allied militia in the region.

“It might be argued that there could be proxy operations. We can say America, Mr. Trump, has taken action directly against us — so we take direct action against America,” Dehghan said.

The United States has a growing military presence in the region. Thousands of U.S. troops have been deployed to Saudi Arabia, and there are some 5,000 at bases in Iraq. The U.S. also has a major air base in Qatar and a naval presence in Bahrain, as well as troops stationed in Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

In common with other Iranian officials, Dehghan suggested that Iran was in no hurry to retaliate and would choose its targets carefully. “Our reaction will be wise, well considered and in time, with decisive deterrent effect,” he added.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani had earlier said that Americans would face consequences for killing Soleimani “not only today, but also in the coming years”.

 

Tehran rolls back nuclear deal commitments

Iran on Sunday declared that it will no longer abide by any of the restrictions imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal.

In a statement , it said it would no longer observe limitations on its capacity for enrichment, the level of enrichment, the stock of enriched material, or research and development.

The statement came after a meeting of the Iranian cabinet in Tehran.

It comes amid heightened tensions over the killing of Soleimani.

 

U.S. targeting” 52 Iranian sites

But Trump warned that the U.S. is “targeting” 52 Iranian sites and will strike “very fast and very hard” if Tehran attacks Americans or U.S. assets.

Writing on Twitter, Trump accused Iran of “talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets”.

He said the U.S. had identified 52 Iranian sites, some “at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture”, and warned they would be “hit very fast and hard”, if Tehran struck at the U.S.

The president said the targets represented 52 Americans, who were held hostage in Iran for more than a year from late 1979 after they were taken from the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

 

U.S. govt agency website hacked

Shortly after the president’s tweets were posted, the website of a U.S. government agency appeared to have been hacked by a group calling itself “Iran Cyber Security Group Hackers”. A message on the American Federal Depository Library Programme site read: “This is a message from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“We will not stop supporting our friends in the region: the oppressed people of Palestine, the oppressed people of Yemen, the people and the Syrian government, the people and government of Iraq, the oppressed people of Bahrain, the true Mujahideen resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, [they] will always be supported by us.”

 

The body of Soleimani back in Iran

Footage filmed by Iran Press showed huge crowds taking to the streets of the Iranian city of Ahvaz, marking the beginning of ceremonies in his honour.

Hundreds of thousands of mourners have turned out in Iran to receive home the remains of Qasem Soleimani, the general killed by a US drone strike in Iraq.

In Ahvaz, where Soleimani served during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), mourners chanted: “Death to America.”

Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s sphere of influence across the Middle East, and was considered to be the country’s second most powerful man.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who had a close personal relationship with Soleimani, has warned of “severe revenge” for the attack, and analysts say Iran may pursue cyber-attacks against the U.S. or traditional attacks on U.S. targets or interests in the Middle East.

Soleimani’s burial will take place in his home town of Kerman tomorrow.

 

Iraqi MPs back call to expel U.S. troops

Iraqi MPs yesterday passed a resolution calling for foreign troops to leave the country after the U.S. killed Soleimani .

Parliament also called for a formal complaint to be made at the UN about U.S. “violations” of Iraqi sovereignty. Some 5,000 U.S .soldiers are in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group.

The coalition paused operations against IS in Iraq just before Sunday’s vote.

It said it was doing so to enable its forces to concentrate on protecting U.S., UK and other troops at bases in Iraq.

 

NATO to hold urgent meeting

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called an urgent meeting of the military alliance’s North Atlantic Council for today in response to growing tensions in the Middle East.

The ambassador-level meeting of the alliance’s main decision-making body will address the situation in Iraq after the killing of Soleimani, a spokesman told dpa in Brussels on Sunday.

The ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council usually meet once a week, while its foreign and defence ministers meet around twice a year.

The meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m.

 

U.S. army to ‘pay price’ for killing Soleimani, says Hezbollah chief

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the U.S. army will “pay the price” for killing Soleimani and al-Muhandis.

“The American army killed them and it will pay the price,” he said in a televised speech.

“The only just punishment is [to target] American military presence in the region: U.S. military bases, U.S. warships, each and every officer and soldier in the region,” Nasrallah said.

 

Iraq’s al-Sadr calls for ‘humiliating’ U.S. troop exit

Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr said a parliamentary resolution urging on the Iraqi government to end foreign troop presence did not go far enough and called on local and foreign militia groups to unite.

Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks during a news conference with Iraqi politician Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Hikma Current, in Najaf

“I consider this a weak response insufficient against American violation of Iraqi sovereignty and regional escalation,” al-Sadr, who leads the largest bloc in parliament, said in a letter.

Pompeo: U.S. intelligence assessment was clear on Soleimani

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the intelligence assessment that led to the air raid against Soleimani, saying the attacks were lawful and any future strikes would also be lawful.

“The intelligence assessment made clear that no action – allowing Soleimani to continue his plotting and his planning, his terror campaign – created more risk than taking the action that we took last week,” Pompeo said in an interview with ABC.

Pompeo would not say whether he had been in contact with Iranian officials but said there was no doubt in his mind that Iran “gets clearly the message from the American leadership”.

‘Iraq summons U.S. envoy over ‘violation of sovereignty’

Iraq’s foreign ministry said it summoned the U.S. ambassador following repeated U.S. air raids on Iraqi soil that killed Soleimani and al-Muahndis.

The foreign ministry said the act was “a flagrant breach of Iraq’s sovereignty and of all international laws and norms that regulate relations between countries and prohibit the use of their lands to carry out attacks on neighbouring countries.”

Our Reporter

YOU must pay the appropriate China visa fee at the cashier located at the CVAC. The Visa Centre accepts cash, debit cards and credit cards.

Note: Prices are listed as per exchange rate and are subject to change.

Passport – Your original passport with at least six months validity and two blank visa pages; including one photocopy of your passport’s data and photo page.

China visa application form – Download the application form, fill it out manually and sign it. (Take the completed application form along to the visa centre to submit your application).

One recently taken passport photo – full face, front view, bare-head, and against a light background (size: 48 x 33mm). Follow the Chinese Embassy photo guidelines.

Proof of legal status (only required if you’re not applying for the China visa in your country of citizenship).

Details of your visit to China: confirmed return ticket, proof of hotel reservation, etc.

If you’re going to stay with family or friends in China and cannot present the hotel confirmation, you need to provide an invitation letter. The letter must include the following:

Your personal information: name, gender, and date of birth.

Details of your planned trip to China: arrival and departure dates, place(s) to be visited, accommodation arrangements etc.

Information of the inviting party: name(s), contact number, address, and relationship to you

If necessary, the consular officer may request you to provide additional documents or require an interview.

Where to Apply:

All China visa applications must be done at the China Visa Application Centres. You’ll find two located in Abuja and Lagos.

China Visa Application Process:

*Schedule an appointment to submit your application

*Once at the CVAC, scan your passport upon arrival

*Get a queue number for the submission of your application

*When your number is called, submit your application at the counter

*Receive a payment notice and pay the necessary fees at the cashier

*You will receive a pick-up form (a receipt detailing the information of your application and the expected date for your passport collection)

*Track the status of your China visa application via the CVAC’s website

Note: The consular officer has the final say on whether or not to grant your China visa as well as its validity, duration of stay and number of entries with regard to the specific conditions of the applicants.