Foreign

Heavy security has been deployed around the main airport in Niger’s capital, Niamey, after overnight gunfire and explosions. The shooting and detonations began shortly after midnight on Wednesday, according to residents of a neighbourhood near the airport, which is next to Base Aérienne 101, a military base previously used by US and then Russian troops. Calm returned about an hour later, the residents told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Videos filmed by local people showed streaks of light in the sky and the sound of loud explosions, while other images showed flames several metres high and charred cars. Today, a heavy security…

Gunfire and loud blasts have been heard at the main airport in the Nigerien capital of Niamey, according to Reuters news agency and an independent source. The apparent explosions were reported just after midnight, a witness told Reuters. The airport is next to Base Aérienne 101, a military base previously used by American and then Russian troops. An independent source with the Togolese airline Asky said gunshots caused several holes in the fuselage of its two planes on the tarmac of Niamey airport. Staff were at their hotel at the time but remained stranded in the country. “They destroyed both…

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has gone underground, reportedly hiding out in a bunker out of fear of being wiped out by US airstrikes — as the USS Abraham Lincoln steams toward the Persian Gulf. The 86-year-old supreme leader has moved to a fortified shelter in Tehran connected to a series of elaborate underground tunnels after senior military officials warned of the increasing likelihood of an imminent US attack, Iran International reported, according to the Jerusalem Post. Khamenei has left his youngest son Masoud Khamenei, 53, in charge of running the day-to-day management of the Islamic Republic, the Jerusalem Post further reported.…

*I'm Not Allowed To Talk About It, He Adds *What The Weapon Did To Us -Venezuela Security Survivor The United States (US) is indeed a nation to be feared when it comes to military prowess. Bit by bit, further details keep emerging of how the US brought down the regime of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, made mincemeat of his much-vaunted, much-dreaded security architecture and captured him like a chicken from his fortress in Caracas, the country's capital, early this month. President Donald Trump has now revealed that a secret new weapon he calls 'The Discombobulator' was pivotal to the daring…

*President's Son Is Head Of Military, Boasts Of Killings *Wants To Succeed Father Who Has Already Spent 40 Years In Office Uganda's opposition leader Bobi Wine said today that his wife had been taken to hospital after soldiers invaded their residence, partially undressed and choked her. Wine, a pop star-turned-politician, was not at the property and is in hiding after he escaped a previous raid on his home last week hours before he was announced as the runner-up in the January 15 presidential election. Overnight into Saturday, soldiers forcefully entered the opposition leader's home in the Magere suburb in Kampala's…

US President Donald Trump is getting new transportation — on the ground and in the sky. This week in Davos, Switzerland, the US Secret Service began transporting Trump in newly delivered Cadillac SUVs, the agency confirmed in a social media post. The vehicles appear to be modified Cadillac Escalades, but the agency did not confirm that. “We were excited to build upon our long-lasting relationship with General Motors as we introduced these vehicles to our protective fleet,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said. In March, after a meeting between Trump and General Manager/Chief Executive Officer (GM/ CEO) Mary Barra, Curran…

*'Case Was Riddled With Racial Injustice At Time When Prejudice, Bigotry Were Woven Throughout Every Aspect Of American Society' *Emotion As Smith –Walker’s Now 72-year-old Son –And Victim’s Son, Joseph Parker, Hug Each Other Nearly 70 years after a Texas Black man was executed in a case that prosecutors now say was based on false evidence and was riddled with racial bias, officials have declared that he was innocent of the killing of a white woman in Dallas. Tommy Lee Walker, 19, was executed in the electric chair in May 1956 for the rape and murder of 31-year-old Venice Parker.…

*US Troops Initially Told Us President, First Lady Assassinated, She Reveals *Inside Ruling Cabal Shortly After President's Capture *Recording Reveals Rodriguez's Comments Days After Maduro's Capture *No Way Of Verifying If She's Lying, Political Analyst Says The Communications Minister holds a phone up to a microphone before a gathering of regime-friendly influencers. On speakerphone is Venezuela’s acting President, Delcy Rodríguez, who claims that when US forces captured the dictator Nicolás Maduro, she and other members of his cabinet were given 15 minutes to decide whether to comply with Washington’s demands – “or they would kill us." Rodríguez, the former Vice-President…

Before the US military snatched Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro, earlier this month, Delcy Rodríguez and her powerful brother pledged to cooperate with the Trump administration once the strongman was gone, four sources involved at high levels with the discussions told the Guardian UK. Rodríguez, who was sworn in on 5 January as acting President to replace Maduro, and her brother Jorge, the Head of the National Assembly, secretly assured US and Qatari officials through intermediaries ahead of time that they would welcome Maduro’s departure, according to the sources. The communications between US officials from Delcy Rodríguez, who was then Maduro’s…

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he flew back to the US, President Donald Trump was asked about the possibility of US military intervention in the Islamic Republic of Iran amid widespread reports of protesters being killed. “We’re watching Iran,” the US President said. “You know we have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction, and we’ll see what happens.” “We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen. But we’re watching them very closely,” he added. Minutes later he also…