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Tag: U.S

  • U.S slaps new sanctions on Venezuela

    U.S slaps new sanctions on Venezuela

    United States President, Donald Trump, signed an executive order on Friday imposing new financial sanctions on Venezuela over President Nicolas Maduro’s undemocratic actions.

    The move prohibits dealings in new debt and equity issued by the Venezuelan government and the state-owned oil company.

    “These measures are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule,” the White House said.

    It added that it would also “protect the U.S financial system from complicity in Venezuela’s corruption.’’

    The move came as Maduro has clamped down on political opposition and consolidated power in his government’s hands.

    Venezuela’s economy has been in a free fall and its citizens have suffered from food shortages and a sharp rise in violent crime.

    Trump had on August 11 issued a surprise threat to Maduro, warning that the U.S might intervene in the chaos enveloping the South American country.

    “I’m not going to rule out a military option,” Trump said.

    “We have troops all over the world. Venezuela is not very far away.’’

    NAN

     

  • U.S imposes sanctions on Chinese, Russian firms over North Korea

    U.S imposes sanctions on Chinese, Russian firms over North Korea

    The United States has imposed sanctions on a dozen Russian and Chinese companies and individuals it accuses of helping North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.

    Earlier this month, members of the United Nations Security Council, including Russia and China, voted for further sanctions against Pyongyang, the BBC reports.

    The U.S Treasury said the move would “increase pressure” on North Korea.

    China responded swiftly, calling on the U.S to “immediately correct its mistake” of punishing its firms.

    The U.S Office of Foreign Assets Control listed 10 companies and six individuals in its sanctions.

    “[The] Treasury will continue to increase pressure on North Korea by targeting those who support the advancement of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, and isolating them from the American financial system,” said Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin.

    The action means American individuals and companies are no longer permitted to do business with these firms.

    A series of missile tests by Pyongyang has increased tensions between North Korea and the U.S, with both sides engaged in a heated exchange of threats.

    U.S President, Donald Trump, has threatened the isolated regime with “fire and fury like the world has never seen,” leading North Korea to respond with threats to launch missiles near the U.S island of Guam in the South Pacific Ocean.

     

  • U.S National Guard to train NSCDC personnel

    U.S National Guard to train NSCDC personnel

    The California National Guard, U.S., has offered to train personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in peace, security and emergency response in line with international best practices.

    The Adjutant General of the California National Guard, Maj.-Gen. David Baldwin, disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Abdullahi Muhammadu.

    The NSCDC spokesperson, Emmanuel Okeh, said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

    Baldwin ‎assured the NSCDC of priority attention especially to the areas of Disaster Management, Peace and Conflict Resolution, Security, Aviation, Fire prevention, Medical, Training and re-training of officers.

    He stressed that capacity building was a very critical area of manpower development and the technological enhancement of security agencies in combating insecurity in the society.

    He also proposed that some officers of the Corps could be trained in the U.S in the afore-mentioned areas to become specialists in them.

    The Commandant-General ‎briefed the visitor on the history and core mandate of the Corps.

    He said th‎at the NSCDC officials needed more capacity building and training to tackle issues such as pipeline vandalism, illegal mining and protection of lives and property.

    The California National Guard officials had earlier visited the Ministry of Interior and some services under the ministry to strengthen collaboration.

  • U.S. lists two IS leaders as terrorists

    U.S. lists two IS leaders as terrorists

    The alleged bomb-maker in a 2015 terrorist attack in Paris and another Islamic State (IS) security officer have been designated as global terrorists, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

    “The IS leaders namely Ahmad Alkhald and Abu Yahya al-Iraqi are “specially designated global terrorists” aimed at denying them resources needed to carry out further terrorist attacks.

    “The designation also means all of Alkhald’s and al-Iraqi’s property in the U.S. is blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.

    “Alkhald is a bomb-maker responsible for the deaths of numerous civilians in Europe,’’ the State Department said.

    The Syrian national was the explosives specialist in the terrorist cell that carried out the November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attacks in Brussels.

    Alkhald helped plan the Paris attacks and make the explosive belts used in that plot.

    He returned to Syria shortly before the Paris attack.

    The State Department said that from there, he guided IS operatives in Europe on making the bombs used in the March 2016 Brussels attacks.

    “Abu Yahya al-Iraqi, also known as Iyad Hamed Mahl al-Jumaily, is a senior IS figure who reports to I S leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

    “Al-Iraqi has reportedly played a key role in security for al-Baghdadi and oversees Islamic State security in Iraq and Syria.’’

     

  • U.S., India to co-host Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad Nov. 28-30

    THE United States (U.S.) and India will co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) between November 28 to 30 in Hyderabad, India.

    A statement by the organisers said Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump will lead the United States’ delegation to the summit, which will focus on supporting women entrepreneurs and fostering economic growth globally.

    President Donald J. Trump announced the summit during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House on June 26, 2017.

    The theme of GES this year is: Women First, Prosperity for All, which highlights that when women do better, countries do better.

    GES 2017 will create an environment that empowers innovators, particularly women, to take their ideas to the next level.  Their voices are critical to global security, prosperity, and peace.

    GES, which is organised annually since 2010, is the preeminent annual entrepreneurship gathering that convenes over one thousand emerging entrepreneurs, investors and supporters from around the world.

    “This year marks the first GES held in South Asia and the event underscores our broad and enduring partnership with India.

    “Through two and half days of training and mentoring sessions, networking, and investment matchmaking, the United States and India will forge new collaborations and launch new initiatives, while reducing the barriers inhibiting international growth and innovation.  The summit will focus on four key industry sectors: Energy and Infrastructure, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Financial Technology and Digital Economy, andMedia and Entertainment,” the organisers said.

     

  • NAF partners U.S, UK on emergencies

    NAF partners U.S, UK on emergencies

    To improve medical emergencies at theatres of war and minimise casualties, the Nigerian Air Force  (NAF) yesterday began a multi-national exercise in collaboration with the United States (US) African Partnership Flight (APF) and the United Kingdom (UK).

    The week-long simulation aimed at fostering regional corporation and interoperability has six participants each from the Air Forces of Niger, Chad and Benin Republic.

    Themed: “Aeromedical evacuation and medical deployments,” the exercise according to the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar would feature static display, which is intended to showcase the arrangement of stretchers in the NAF C-130H aircraft, as well as address lapses in timing for aeromedical services and enhance personnel capacity.

    Abubakar said: “The APF is a multilateral military to military engagement designed to enhance African regional cooperation, increase interoperability and build capacity in aviation.

    “Globally, the concept of regional forces has gained recognition as the best approach towards solving common security issues since the most prevalent form of warfare in contemporary times is asymmetric in nature and often transcends international borders.

    “It is therefore important that contiguous nations pull their resources together to ensure a synergy in their operations. This is for the common goal of stamping out the Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast.

    “The NAF, which is one of the instruments of national power is not unmindful of the occasional need for services to participate in both joint and combined operations.

    “The service is also mindful of the effect and aftermath of insurgency with particular reference to the plight of innocent civilians including women and children, who often are the unintended victims.

    “We are all aware that the current Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria has resulted in over two million Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) who are in dire need of one basic need or the other. It is for this reason that the NAF has embarked on several humanitarian programs aimed at alleviating the plight of the IDPs.

    “Worthy of mention is the establishment of the NAF emergency hospitals at Bama and Dalori, where free medical care is provided in addition to regular medical outreach programmes in various IDP camps in the Northeast. For example the NAF just concluded a free surgical intervention program in the North east during which 201 IDPs were operated on. Recently, we also introduced the free feeding of pupils of primary schools in IDP camps.

    “At present, NAF medical personnel are deployed at various airports and airfields in the northeast to provide medical cover to troops and civilians in various host communities. Hence, the theme for the 2017 APF could not have been more appropriate considering the great need for proper medical care in and outside the theatre of operations.

    “Accordingly, the efforts of the U.S. Air Force command and Europe in bringing together countries of the region to stimulate a combined security and humanitarian environment is highly commendable and appreciated.”

    Reviewing the war against extremist sect in the Northeast, Abubakar said Boko Haram has been substantially decimated over the past three years, noting that just patches of the sect were active.

    Flagging-off the exercise, Lagos Governor Akinwunmi Ambode commended the NAF and other military services for their efforts towards containing internal aggression.

    Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for Special Duties, Oluseye Oladejo: “With the changing trends in modern warfare, armed forces have been further saddled with the tremendous responsibility of providing regional security through multinational joint forces.

    “However, the major problems confronting such multinational forces are usually differences in doctrines, training, weapon, language and cultures, thus, underscoring the need for constant joint training to enhance interoperability.

    “You will all recall that in a bid to reposition the armed forces to better cope with those challenges, the present administration under the leadership of President Muhammad Buhari has made modernisation, re-equipping and continuous training a top priority.

    “It is particularly noteworthy that the U.S. has been supportive in the efforts at building the capacity of NAF personnel,” pledging continuous support where necessary to the military and security services.

    In his remark, APF’s Director of Plans, Programs and Analysis, Brig.-Gen. Dieter Bareihs said: “In the history of airpower across the world, we strive to always improve. We look for old ways to do new things or new ways to do new things and that is exactly what the APF is all about.

    “This is a fabulous opportunity for all of us to strengthen the relationship among our armed forces and increase aviation capacity and capability, as well as work on regional cooperation and interoperability.”

     

     

  • North Korea ‘considering’ strike on U.S base

    North Korea has said it is considering carrying out missile strikes on the United States Pacific territory of Guam.

    The North’s official news agency said on Tuesday the plan involved firing medium-to-long-range rockets at Guam, where U.S strategic bombers are based.

    U.S Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, flying into Guam, said there was no imminent threat from North Korea.

    He also defended President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday threatened Pyongyang with “fire and fury.”

    Mr. Tillerson said North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, did not understand diplomatic language, and a strong message was needed that he would understand.

    “I think the President just wanted to be clear to the North Korean regime that the U.S will defend itself and its allies,” the BBBC quoted the Secretary of State as saying in Guam.

    On Wednesday, Mr. Trump tweeted that the U.S nuclear arsenal was “more powerful than ever before,” but added he was hopeful “we will never have to use this power.”

    A foreign ministry statement quoted by Reuters called on all sides to avoid words or actions which might escalate the situation and to make greater efforts to resolve the issue via talks.

    The United Nations recently approved further economic sanctions on North Korea, which Pyongyang said were a “violent violation of our sovereignty,” warning the U.S would “pay a price.”

     

  • U.S. confirms Al-Shabaab commander killed in air strike

    U.S. confirms Al-Shabaab commander killed in air strike

    The U.S. on Friday confirmed that a high-level al-Shabab commander was in Somalia during an air strike.

    According to a statement from the U.S. military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM), the strike which took place on July 30 killed the top al-Shabab’s commander Ali Hussein, also known as Ali Jabal.

    Somali information ministry said on Monday the attack near the southern town of Torotoroow targeted a man identified as Ali Mohamed Hussein or Ali Jabal.

    “The U.S. conducted this operation in coordination with its regional partners as a direct response to al Shabaab actions, including recent attacks on Somali forces,” the said in a statement on Friday.

    “His removal disrupts Al Shabaab’s ability to plan and conduct attacks in Mogadishu and coordinate efforts between Al Shabaab regional commanders.”

    It is the second such raid in the last two months that has killed senior members of al Shabaab.

    A U.S. Navy SEAL was killed and two troops were wounded in May during a raid on one of the group’s compounds in what appeared to be the first U.S. combat death in the African country since the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” incident.

    An AFRICOM spokesperson said the U.S. had carried out 13 strikes in 2016 and three so far this year.

    Al Shabaab was not immediately reachable for comment.

    The al Qaeda-affiliated insurgents have carried out frequent attacks in Mogadishu as they bid to topple

    Somalia’s Western-backed government and drive out AU peacekeeping troops.

    Somalia has been at war since 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned against each other.

  • We are not seeking regime change in North Korea – U.S

    We are not seeking regime change in North Korea – U.S

    The United States government is not seeking a regime change in North Korea, the secretary of state has said, amid tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons programme.

    “We’re not your enemy,” Rex Tillerson said, adding that the U.S wanted a dialogue at some point.

    But a Republican senator said President Donald Trump had told him there would be a war with North Korea if its missile programme continued.

    Pyongyang claimed its latest missile could hit the U.S west coast.

    The second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday, celebrated by North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, was the latest to be conducted in defiance of a United Nations ban, the BBC reports.

    “We do not seek a regime change, we do not seek the collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel,” said Mr. Tillerson, referring to the border between the Koreas.

    “We’re not your enemy, we’re not your threat but you’re presenting an unacceptable threat to us and we have to respond.”

    President Trump has repeatedly criticised China, which shares a land border with North Korea and is its closest economic ally, for not doing enough to stop Pyongyang’s weapons programme.

    However, Mr. Tillerson took a more diplomatic approach, saying that “only the North Koreans are to blame for this situation.”

  • U.S to ban citizens from visiting North Korea

    U.S to ban citizens from visiting North Korea

    The United States is to ban its citizens from travelling to North Korea.

    Two agencies that operate tour in North Korea – Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours – said the ban would be announced on July 27 to come into effect 30 days later.

    The BBC reports that Young Pioneer Tours was the agency that took U.S student, Otto Warmbier, to North Korea.

    He was later arrested and jailed for 15 years, before being returned in a coma to the U.S in June. He died a few days later.

    The China-based company later announced it would no longer take visitors from the U.S to the country.

    It issued a statement on Friday saying: “We have just been informed that the U.S government will no longer be allowing U.S citizens to travel to the DPRK (North Korea).

    “It is expected that the ban will come into force within 30 days of July 27. After the 30 day grace period any U.S national that travels to North Korea will have their passport invalidated by their government.”

    Rowan Beard, of Young Pioneer Tours, told the BBC that the company had been informed by the Swedish embassy, which looks after U.S affairs in North Korea.

    The embassy is trying to check the number of U.S tourists left in the country.

    There are reported to be three U.S citizens in custody in North Korea:

    Kim Dong-chul, a 62-year-old naturalised U.S citizen born in South Korea, who was sentenced to 10 years of hard labour in April 2016 for spying.

    Korean-American professor, Kim Sang-duk (or Tony Kim), who was detained in April 2017. The reasons for his arrest are not yet clear.

    Kim Hak-song, like Kim Sang-duk, worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) and was detained in May 2017 on suspicion of “hostile acts” against the state.