The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • 10 Nigerians arrested as Spain, Germany crack down on criminal network

    10 Nigerians arrested as Spain, Germany crack down on criminal network

    About 10 Nigerians are among 34 suspected members of the transnational criminal organisation, widely known as Black Axe, arrested in a coordinated operation by Spanish and German authorities, with support from Europol.

    The arrests, according to a statement by Europol, followed a crackdown led by the Spanish National Police, in collaboration with the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office and backed by Europol.

    Investigators said the operation targeted the “core leadership” of the group operating in Spain.

    Police said 28 suspects were arrested in Seville, three in Madrid, two in Málaga and one in Barcelona.

    Authorities added that the suspects are believed to be linked to large-scale fraud schemes that caused financial losses estimated at more than €5.9 million.

    During coordinated raids on residences and other locations connected to the suspects, investigators fr oze €119,352 in bank accounts and seized an additional €66,403 in cash.

    The Black Axe is commonly associated with the Neo-Black Movement of Africa and is regarded by European law enforcement agencies as one of the most organised and sophisticated criminal networks operating across borders.

    Sources said the group is believed to have started as a cult in Nigerian universities before it spread and became a transnational organisation.

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    “It divides its territory into approximately 60 zones in Nigeria and 35 abroad, with about 200 members per zone. In total, the organisation has roughly 30,000 registered members, and countless affiliated individuals such as money mules and facilitators.

    “The group enforces strict codes of conduct, violent and ritualistic initiations, and spiritual practices,” Europol said in its January 9 statement.

    Investigators say the group is involved in a range of criminal activities, including cyber-enabled fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking and prostitution, kidnapping and armed robbery.

    European authorities estimate that the organisation generates billions of euros yearly through numerous small-scale operations which, when combined, cause significant economic and social harm across multiple countries.

    As part of the investigation, Spanish and German authorities engaged in extensive intelligence sharing and joint operational planning.

    Two German officers were deployed to Spain during the action, while Spanish investigators received analytical and operational support from their German counterparts.

  • Trump tells Iranian protesters ‘help is on the way’

    Trump tells Iranian protesters ‘help is on the way’

    • EU leaders threaten tougher sanctions on Tehran

    President Donald Trump called on Iranians to keep protesting and promised “help is on its way”  yesterday, a sign that he may soon authorise U.S. military strikes against the country’s leadership.

    “Iranian Patriots, keep protesting – take over institutions!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters stops. Help is on the way.”

    Trump has repeatedly threatened military action against Iran if the country’s leadership continues to crack down on protests.

    Demonstrations began two weeks ago in Tehran’s bazaars over rampant inflation, but have since spiralled into wider protests across the country against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime, which has ruled the country since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

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    An internet blackout across the country has prevented effective communication with the outside world, but some estimates of the death toll from the crackdown have reached thousands.

    A volunteer group of analysts, working from Tehran hospital reports, told TIME the death toll nationwide could be as high as 6,000. Images smuggled out of the country showed a Tehran-area morgue packed with hundreds of bodies from Thursday night alone.

    Over the weekend, Trump was reportedly briefed on a number of military options to strike Iran, but had not yet made a final decision.

    Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close ally of Trump who has been influential in shaping his policy on Iran, shared his prediction on what an attack on Iran might look like.

    “No boots on the ground, but unleashing holy hell — as he promised — on the regime that has trampled every red line. A massive wave of military, cyber and psychological attacks is the meat and bones of ‘help is on the way’,” he wrote on X.

    “What am I looking for? Destroy the infrastructure that allows the massacre and slaughter of the Iranian people, and take down the leaders responsible for the killing,” he added.

    Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned on Sunday that both Israel and “all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets” in the event of an attack.

    “We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat,” he added.

    Also yesterday, the European Union said it is drafting new sanctions against Tehran as the death toll continues to rise from a crackdown on anti-government protests throughout Iran.

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday said the number of casualties was “horrifying.”

    “I unequivocally condemn the excessive use of force and continued restrictions of freedom,” she said on X.

    According to Iran Human Rights, an Oslo, Norway-based advocacy group, at least 648 protesters, including nine children under age 18, have been killed by government security officials in Iran since the protests began more than two weeks ago.

    “The European Union has already listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety under its human rights sanctions regime,” Ms. von der Leyen said. “Further sanctions on those responsible for the repression will be swiftly proposed.”

    She didn’t specify what additional restrictions could be imposed on the Islamic Republic. The EU has already placed arms embargoes, oil and entry trading bans, and financial constraints.

    European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, said Iranians are fighting for their future against a repressive regime in Tehran.

    “Images from Tehran reveal a disproportionate and heavy-handed response by the security forces,” Ms. Kallas said this week on X. “Any violence against peaceful demonstrations is unacceptable.”

    Trump’s message comes just over a week after the U.S. military removed Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro from power. The U.S. continues to mass an unusually large number of troops in the Caribbean Sea.

  • Major Russian strike targets Ukraine’s power grid in freezing temperatures

    Major Russian strike targets Ukraine’s power grid in freezing temperatures

    Russia launched a second major drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine in four days, officials said yesterday, aiming again at the power grid amid freezing temperatures in an apparent snub to U.S.-led peace efforts as Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour approaches the four-year mark.

    Russia fired almost 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.

    One strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed four people at a mail depot, and several hundred thousand households were without power in the Kyiv region, Zelenskyy said.

    The daytime temperature in Kyiv, which has endured freezing temperatures for more than two weeks, was minus 12 degrees C (about 10 degrees F), with streets covered in ice and the rumble of generators heard throughout the capital.

    Kyiv has grappled with severe power shortages for days, although Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Monday night’s strikes caused the biggest electrical outage the city has faced so far.

    More than 500 residential buildings remained without central heating yesterday. Throughout the city, bare trees were weighed down with icicles and snow was piled up next to sidewalks.

    Olena Davydova, 30, charged her phone at what is called a “Point of Invincibility” shelter in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district. The government-built temporary installations, often large tents on the sidewalk, provide food, drinks, warmth and electricity.

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    Davydova said she had been without power for nearly 50 hours. That forced her to adopt some new routines: sleeping in one bed with her child and two cats, storing fresh food on the balcony, and using candles after dark.

    She says she is taking the changes in stride. “I still have enough patience. I’m not reacting to this in a very emotional way,” she told The Associated Press.

    Elsewhere, friends and relatives gathered in apartments still with power or hot water, at least temporarily, to charge their phones, take showers, or share a warm drink.

    Klitschko ordered the city to provide one hot meal per day to needy residents. He also announced that workers in the city’s water, heating and road maintenance services would receive bonuses for working “day and night” to restore critical infrastructure.

    Four days earlier, Russia also sent hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack and, for only the second time in the war, it used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in what appeared to be a clear warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies that it won’t back down.

    On Monday, the U.S. accused Russia of a “dangerous and inexplicable escalation” of the fighting at a time when the Trump administration is trying to advance peace negotiations.

    Tammy Bruce, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Washington deplores “the staggering number of casualties” in the conflict and condemns Russia’s intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure.

    Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat and running water over the course of the war, hoping to wear down public resistance to Moscow’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as “weaponizing winter.”

    The attack in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region also wounded 10 people, local authorities said.

    In the southern city of Odesa, six people were wounded in the attack, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the regional military administration. The strikes damaged energy infrastructure, a hospital, a kindergarten, an educational facility and a number of residential buildings, he said.

    Last year was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022 as Russia intensified its aerial barrages behind the front line, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country.

    The war killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142 in Ukraine — 31% higher than in 2024, it said.

    “The sharp increase in long-range attacks and the targeting of Ukraine’s national energy infrastructure mean that the consequences of the war are now felt by civilians far beyond the front line,” Danielle Bell, the agency’s head, said in a statement Monday.

    Zelenskyy said Ukraine is counting on quicker deliveries of agreed upon air defense systems from the U.S. and Europe, as well as new pledges of aid to counter Russia’s latest onslaught.

    Meanwhile, Russian air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Defence Ministry said yesterday. Seven were reportedly destroyed over Russia’s Rostov region, where Gov. Yuri Slyusar confirmed an attack on the coastal city of Taganrog, about 40 kilometers (about 24 miles) east of the Ukrainian border, in Kyiv’s latest long-range attack on Russian war-related facilities.

  • China urges Canada to break from U.S. influence

    China urges Canada to break from U.S. influence

    • Carney visits Beijing

    As Canadian leader Mark Carney arrives in China yesterday, his hosts see an opportunity to peel the longtime U.S. ally away from their rival, at least a bit.

    China’s state media is calling on the Canadian government to set a foreign policy path independent of the United States — what it calls “strategic autonomy.”

    Canada has long been one of America’s closest allies, geographically and otherwise. But Beijing is hoping that President Donald Trump’s economic aggression — and, now, military action — against other countries will erode that longstanding relationship.

    The government bristled at former U.S. President Joe Biden’s efforts to strengthen relations with Europe, Australia, India, Canada and others to confront China. Now it sees an opportunity to try to loosen those ties, though it remains cautious about how far that will go.

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    Carney, for his part, has focused on trade, describing the trip to China as part of a move to forge new partnerships around the world to end Canada’s economic reliance on the American market. Trump has hit Canada with tariffs on its exports to the United States and suggested the vast, resource-rich country could become America’s 51st state.

    The Canadian prime minister, who took office last year, is seeking to revive a relationship with China that was marked with acrimony for more than six years under his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.

    The downturn in relations started with the arrest of a Chinese tech executive in late 2018 at America’s request and was fueled more recently by the Trudeau government’s decision in 2024 to follow Biden’s lead in imposing a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles. China has retaliated for both that and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum with its own tariffs on Canadian exports including canola, seafood and pork.

    “If the Canadian side reflects on the root causes of the setbacks in bilateral relations over the past few years — the previous Justin Trudeau government’s policies to contain China in lockstep with the United States — it will realize that it can avoid the same outcome by upholding its strategic autonomy in handling China-related issues,” the state-owned China Daily newspaper wrote in an editorial this week.

    “If Ottawa still chooses to subject its China policy to the will of Washington again in the future, it will only render its previous efforts to mend ties with Beijing in vain,” the English-language paper warned.

    The government-run Global Times said: “Perhaps it was the heavy price paid for blindly following the U.S. in imposing high tariffs on China that awakened Ottawa’s sense of strategic autonomy.”

    Canadian officials have said they expect Carney’s trip to produce progress on trade but not a definitive elimination of any tariffs.

    Chinese experts said the two countries could find common ground over the U.S. military intervention in oil-rich Venezuela that forcibly brought its president to New York to face charges and Trump’s subsequent statements that Greenland, a Danish territory, should come under U.S. control.

    “We can also see Canada’s current state of considerable unease towards the U.S.,” said Cui Shoujun, a foreign policy and Latin America expert at Renmin University of China. “If the U.S. can claim Greenland, might it then lay claim to Canada?”

    He also predicted that Trump’s move against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would strengthen the strategic autonomy of Latin American countries to resist possible American interference in their affairs.

    But China remains realistic about how far countries such as Canada could swing in its direction, given their fears of China’s growing economic and military clout as well as their deep historical and cultural ties with the United States. They also have major differences with China over its booming exports and the threat they pose to employment in their countries, as well as over human rights and Taiwan.

    Zhu Feng, the dean of the School of International Studies at Nanjing University, cautioned against overestimating the importance of Carney’s visit to China, “because Canada is not only a neighbor of the United States but also an ally.”

    Trump’s pressure on traditional U.S. partners may open up some space for China to expand relations with them, but American allies will need to balance that with their continuing dependence on U.S. economic and military strength. They may be able to reduce that dependence somewhat in the short term — but it’s unlikely they will be to eliminate it for the foreseeable future.

  • Trump govt revokes over 100,000 visas amid crackdown on immigrants

    Trump govt revokes over 100,000 visas amid crackdown on immigrants

    The United States revoked the visas of more than 100,000 foreign nationals last year, the State Department said yesterday.

    This came to light as the Trump administration continues to enforce stricter immigration curbs.

    The U.S. has been actively revoking visas for Nigerians and other nationals under the Trump administration, citing national security and criminal concerns like DUI, assault, and theft, with reports of thousands affected, including professionals and students, often without detailed explanation, creating significant disruption.

    DUI means Driving Under the Influence, a crime for operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs, leading to penalties like fines, license suspension, and jail time, with related terms like DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and OWI (Operating While Intoxicated) used in different places for the same offence.

    It applies to alcohol, prescription meds, or other impairing substances, and even minor impairment can result in a charge.

    This intensified scrutiny is part of a broader policy to curb immigration and enforce stricter vetting, impacting various visa types and leading to concerns about transparency and due process,

    “In less than one year, the State Department revoked over 100,000 visas from foreign nationals, marking a new record and more than a 150% increase in revocations since 2024,” deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott said in an emailed statement.

    He added that the revocations included thousands of foreign nationals charged or convicted of crimes, including assault, theft, and driving under the influence.

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    “The State Department’s recently launched Continuous Vetting Centre works to ensure that all foreign nationals on American soil comply with our laws — and that the visas of those who pose a threat to American citizens are swiftly revoked,” Pigott said.

    “The Trump administration will continue to put America first and protect our nation from foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety or national security,” he added.

    The statement came amid the administration’s broader crackdown on immigrants, which has extended to international students and activists critical of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Legal challenges have pushed back against these actions.

    Turkish PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was arrested on the street by plainclothes ICE agents after co-authoring an op-ed on Gaza, was later released from ICE detention, and a federal judge restored her student record in December.

    Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful U.S. resident and pro-Palestinian activist at Columbia University, was also released and has legally challenged the revocation of his visa.

  • ‘Iran to open deal with U.S. amid crackdown on protesters’

    ‘Iran to open deal with U.S. amid crackdown on protesters’

    •China calls for non-interference in Tehran

    Amid ongoing mass protests across Iran in which hundreds of people have been killed, the country has asked the United States to open new negotiations, U.S. President Donald Trump has said.

    Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump told reporters the Iranian leadership had called him “to negotiate” a day earlier.

    He added that a meeting with Iranian representatives might be arranged, but said the U.S. could need to act beforehand given ongoing protests in the country.

    “I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” he added, apparently referring to Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme last year, which involved U.S. military support.

    Trump did not specify what topics the talks would cover. Last year, Tehran had held indirect discussions with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff over its disputed nuclear programme.

    But, China has called for non-interference in Iran’s internal affairs amid ongoing protests in the country.

    China’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Mao Ning, made the call yesterday in Beijing, stressing that China opposes interference in the internal affairs of other states.

    The call follows recent comments by the Trump, suggesting possible intervention.

    Ning said China also rejects the use or threat of force in international relations.

    She expressed the hope that the Iranian government and its people would overcome the current challenges and maintain national stability, as China was closely monitoring developments in Iran.

    Ning added that there were no reports so far of Chinese citizens being injured or killed in the unrest.

    China and Iran have maintained close economic and strategic relations over the years, particularly in trade and energy cooperation, including the export of Iranian oil to China.

    Earlier on Sunday, U.S. media reported Trump is considering possible military strikes on Iran, but also other options.

    CNN reported, citing two U.S. officials, that Trump had been briefed on various ways of intervening in light of reports that hundreds of protesters have been killed.

    Alongside a range of possible military options, measures that would not involve direct military action were also discussed.

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    According to CNN, some of the approaches presented to Trump focused on targeting Tehran’s security forces deployed to suppress the protests.

    The broadcaster said there were concerns within Trump’s administration that military strikes could backfire and undermine the protests.

    There were fears that attacks could inadvertently lead to greater public support in Iran for the authoritarian leadership, or trigger military retaliation by Tehran.

    The news site Axios also reported, citing US officials, that Trump was considering various options, including military ones, to support the protests in Iran.

    Most of the approaches put to him currently did not involve combat operations, according to Axios.

    Other possibilities reportedly focus on intimidating the Iranian leadership, for example by deploying an aircraft carrier strike group to the region. Axios said cyber-attacks are also under consideration.

    Trump shared his support for the demonstrations in Iran over the weekend, saying the U.S. was “ready to help,” without specifying what form any help might take.

    The Iranian leadership has blocked the internet for the fourth consecutive day due to the protests, however Trump suggested the U.S. might help protesters access satellite internet.

  • Tehran regime fears defections as protest defies containment

    Tehran regime fears defections as protest defies containment

    What began on December 28 as demonstrations in downtown Tehran, driven by runaway inflation and the rial’s sharp depreciation against the dollar, has moved beyond a protest wave and become a nationwide movement.

    Now entering its third week, at least 574 protest locations have been identified across 185 cities in all 31 provinces, making it the most sustained and geographically expansive anti-regime movement in the Islamic Republic’s history.

    As authorities have failed to meaningfully deter protesters or contain the movement, fears of defections within the armed forces are growing.

    The Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement on January 9 that followed a familiar regime pattern, framing the unrest as a U.S. and Israeli conspiracy and casting Iranian protesters as terrorists. The statement claimed that “a targeted, multi-phase plan has been designed under the guidance of foreign intelligence services, with operational leadership by organized terrorist forces.”

    However, in a now-deleted section of the statement, the IRGC Intelligence Organization also warned that any “defiance, desertion, or disobedience” among military personnel would be met with “trial and decisive action.” The apparent removal of this language likely reflects concerns about triggering a panic, but it nevertheless exposes the depth of anxiety among regime officials.

    Anonymous Islamic Republic officials told The Telegraph that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “is in closer contact with the IRGC than with the army or the police, because he believes the risk of IRGC defections is almost non-existent, whereas others have defected before.”

    A major turning point in the current protest wave came when Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the shah deposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, called on Iranians to hold demonstrations. After his call to begin protesting on January 8, unprecedented crowds marched in cities nationwide in an uprising so extensive that authorities shut down the internet that night. The outage remains ongoing, alongside electricity blackouts and disruptions to landline phone service.

    Chants of “Long Live the King!” and “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return” were heard across the country, with protesters erecting the pre-1979 Iranian flag bearing the lion and sun.

    Beyond the call for action, the opposition’s defection plan has become a particular concern for the regime. In June, Pahlavi announced the establishment of a defection platform.

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    “I am establishing a formal channel for military, security, and police personnel to reach out directly to me, my team, and our expanding operation,” Pahlavi stated. “This is a secure platform to efficiently manage the growing volume of inbound communications and requests from those breaking with the regime and seeking to join our movement.”

    The Islamic Republic’s repression apparatus is no stranger to violent crackdowns. During the 2019 protest wave, security forces killed an estimated 1,500 unarmed Iranians within a matter of days, in addition to killing hundreds in other protest cycles, including children, and arresting over 20,000 people following the 12-day war. This apparatus consists primarily of the IRGC and its subordinate Basij forces, operating in parallel with law enforcement bodies and specialized units.

    Estimates vary significantly, and internet shutdowns make it difficult to establish precise casualty figures, but current assessments indicate that between over 500 and more than 2,000 protesters and over 100 security personnel have been killed. Video footage shows armed forces opening fire on protesters using shotguns and automatic weapons.

    Tehran’s use of regional Shiite militias is reinforcing its repression apparatus. The regime has deployed more than 800 fighters from Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi groups, including Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al Nujaba, and Sayyid al Shuhada, each designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, alongside the Iran-backed Badr Organization. The regime has long relied on these proxies to suppress unrest at home, including during the protest waves of 2009, 2019, and 2022.

  • Cuba defiant after Trump says island to receive no more Venezuelan oil, money

    Cuba defiant after Trump says island to receive no more Venezuelan oil, money

    UNITED States (U.S.) President Donald Trump on Sunday said no more Venezuelan oil or money will go to Cuba and suggested the Communist-run island should strike a deal with Washington, ramping up pressure on the long-time U.S. nemesis and provoking defiant words from the island’s leadership.

    Venezuela is Cuba’s biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in early January amid a strict US oil blockade on the OPEC country, shipping data shows.

    Meanwhile, Caracas and Washington are progressing on a US$2 billion (S$2.57 billion) deal to supply up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the US with proceeds to be deposited in US Treasury-supervised accounts, a major test of the emerging relationship between Trump and interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

    “There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba –Zero! I strongly suggest they make a deal, before it is too late,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.

    “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of oil and money from Venezuela,” Trump added.

    Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump’s threat on social media, suggesting the US had no moral authority to force a deal on Cuba.

    “Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” Diaz-Canel said on X. “Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the US for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.”

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    The U.S. president did not elaborate on his suggested deal.

    But Trump’s push on Cuba represents the latest escalation in his move to bring regional powers in line with the United States and underscores the seriousness of the administration’s ambition to dominate the Western Hemisphere.

    Trump’s top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have made no secret of their expectation that the recent US intervention in Venezuela could push Cuba over the edge.

    US officials have hardened their rhetoric against Cuba in recent weeks, though the two countries have been at odds since former leader Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.

    Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in another post on X on Sunday that Cuba had the right to import fuel from any suppliers willing to export it. He also denied that Cuba had received financial or other “material” compensation in return for security services provided to any country.

    Thirty-two members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence services were killed during the US raid on Venezuela. Cuba said those killed were responsible for “security and defence” but did not provide details on the arrangement between the two long-time allies.

  • US revokes over 100,000 visas in one year

    US revokes over 100,000 visas in one year

    The United States has revoked more than 100,000 visas in the last one year of President Donald Trump’s administration, the Department of State declared. 

    Trump has an anti-migrant policy. The State Department said 8,000 of the revoked visas were for students.

    The Department of Homeland Security last month said that the Trump administration has deported more than 605,000 people and that 2.5 million others left on their own.

    U.S Department of State on its X stated: “The State Department has now revoked over 100,000 visas, including some 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized visas for individuals who had encounters with U.S. law enforcement for criminal activity.

    “We will continue to deport these thugs to keep America safe.”

    State Department spokesman, Tommy Pigott further stated: “The Trump administration has no higher priority than protecting American citizens and upholding American sovereignty.” 

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    The figure since Trump’s second inauguration on January 20, 2025, is two and a half times the number revoked in 2024, when Joe Biden was President.

    The State Department said that “thousands” of the visas were revoked over crimes, which can include assault and also drunk driving.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted revocation of visas from students who protested against Israel.

    Rubio used a McCarthy-era law that allows the United States to block entry to foreigners seen as going against US foreign policy, although some of his high-profile targets successfully challenged deportation orders in court.

  • Donald Trump: ‘We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not’

    Donald Trump: ‘We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not’

    The United States must acquire Greenland, President Trump has unequivocally said.

    Trump averred that despite an existing US military presence on the island under a 1951 agreement, such arrangements are insufficient to guarantee its defense, adding that the United States needs to acquire Greenland to keep Russia or China away from occupying it in the future.

    “We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not. Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour,” Trump told reporters at the White House while meeting with oil company executives.

    Trump said the U.S. must acquire Greenland, even though it already has a military presence on the island under a 1951 agreement, because such deals are not enough to guarantee Greenland’s defence. The island of 57,000 people is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

    “You defend ownership. You don’t defend leases. And we’ll have to defend Greenland. If we don’t do it, China or Russia will,” Trump said.

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    Trump and White House officials have been discussing various plans to bring Greenland under U.S. control, including potential use of the U.S. military and lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the U.S.

    Leaders in Copenhagen and throughout Europe have reacted with disdain in recent days to comments by Trump and other White House officials asserting their right to Greenland. The U.S. and Denmark are NATO allies bound by a mutual defence agreement.

    On Tuesday, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain and Denmark issued a joint statement, saying only Greenland and Denmark can decide matters regarding their relations.