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China Warns of War Risk as Trump Rattles Saber at North Korea

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  • China Warns of War Risk as Trump Rattles Saber at North Korea

China warned that a war on the Korean Peninsula would have devastating consequences as the U.S. threatened military retaliation against North Korea if it proceeds with a nuclear test this weekend.

As U.S. Vice President Mike Pence heads to Asia on a 10-day trip that will include South Korea, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged all parties “to stop provoking and threatening each other and not to make the situation irretrievable.”

“Once a war really happens, the result will be nothing but losing all round and no one could become a winner,” Wang told reporters in Beijing on Friday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The world is watching North Korea as speculation mounts that Kim Jong Un’s regime will carry out a ballistic missile or nuclear test this weekend to mark the 105th birth anniversary of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the nation’s founder, on Saturday.

While President Donald Trump’s administration is ratcheting up pressure on China to contain its neighbor and ally, the U.S. says it’s also willing to act on its own. Administration officials said Thursday it’s considering economic sanctions and military options if a provocation by North Korea occurs.

Pence will discuss the U.S. response when he visits South Korea and Japan as part of his Asian tour. He’ll arrive in Seoul on Easter Sunday, a day after North Korea’s biggest holiday. White House foreign policy aides who requested anonymity to discuss the vice president’s travel say North Korea has telegraphed the possibility of a test to coincide with the occasion.

Warships, Submarines

Pence’s trip comes after Trump dispatched the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its battle group to the waters around the Korean Peninsula. Commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site obtained by 38 North, a program devoted to analysis of the country at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, showed activity at the site suggestive of preparations for a nuclear test.

“North Korea is a problem,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. “The problem will be taken care of.”

Any U.S. military strike risks leading to a war between the world’s biggest economies that would threaten to devastate South Korea and Japan, two American allies in striking range of retaliatory attacks. China has backed North Korea since the peninsula was last at war in the 1950s, in part to prevent having an American ally on its border.

The Chinese military dispatched 20 submarines in waters around the peninsula, Yonhap News reported Friday, citing Taiwanese media outlet CNA.

‘Vicious and Aggressive’

Trump’s policy toward North Korea is more “vicious and aggressive” than previous administrations, North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Han Song Ryo said in an interview with the Associated Press on Friday.

“We certainly will not keep our arms crossed in the face of a U.S. pre-emptive strike,” he said. “We will go to war if they choose.”

While not publicly defining its plans, the White House has said that all options are on the table to prevent North Korea from acquiring the ability to strike the U.S. with a nuclear weapon. Despite the saber rattling, Trump has found little support — publicly or behind the scenes — from allies South Korea and Japan.

A U.S. strike may prompt North Korea to immediately unleash artillery fire on Seoul and its surroundings, which is home to just more than half of South Korea’s 51 million people, according to a report published by Stratfor last year. It then may activate air or naval assets and larger ballistic missiles that can target South Korean, Japanese or American bases in the region with nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

The White House expects South Korean officials to discuss responses during the vice president’s visit, and Pence also plans to meet troops and discuss possible military steps with Army General Vincent Brooks, the commander of United States Forces Korea. He’ll promote the deployment of the Thaad missile-defense system in the region, a move that has annoyed China.

Despite the higher tensions, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have shown signs of warmer ties since they met last week in Florida. Trump on Wednesday highlighted China’s move to ban coal imports from North Korea, noting that a fleet of cargo ships had turned back.

“That’s a big step, and they have many other steps that I know about,” Trump said at a news conference. He later said he thought Xi “means well and I think he wants to help.”

The Global Times, a Communist Party-affiliated Chinese newspaper, argued in an editorial this week that Beijing should support stiffer UN sanctions against North Korea, including the limit of oil exports, if the country conducts another another nuclear test.

Even so, China is getting increasingly alarmed at the brinkmanship.

“The situation now is similar to the time before a storm, and this kind of dangerous situation worth of our attention and we must be alert,” Wang, China’s foreign minister, said on Friday. “No matter who the nation is, if it continues to provoke wars in the Peninsula, it has to bear this historical responsibility and pay its price.”

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Donald Trump Projected To Occupy White House, Congratulated By Nigerian President

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President Trump Signs Executive Order In Oval Office Of The White House

There is an indication that the former President of the United States of America, Donald Trump may become the 47th President of the US.

Trump became more confident in his political comeback in American history after securing his third battleground victory on Tuesday evening by clinching Pennsylvania, bringing him closer to a White House win.

The 78 presidential candidates of the Republican Party already won 266 of the 270 Electoral College votes needed to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democrat Party.

Trump reversed his 2020 losses in the crucial states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — running up big margins among his white rural and working-class base while making significant inroads among ethnic minorities.

Addressing supporters in Florida, Trump claimed victory, saying his performance is unprecedented in the history of the country.

He promised to help the US to heal, stressing that the country needs help very badly.

He also assured citizens of fixing critical infrastructure and other necessary areas of the country.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday extended his congratulations to Donald Trump on his re-election as the 47th President of the United States of America.

Tinubu expressed his eagerness to strengthen the ties between Nigeria and the United States amid the complex challenges and opportunities of the contemporary world.

His congratulatory message was contained in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Identifying synergy and cooperation with the US government as a means of fostering economic prosperity, the President of Nigeria noted that the relationship would promote peace, and address global challenges that affect their citizens.

He said Trump’s victory reflects the trust and confidence the American people have placed in his leadership.

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EFCC Nabs Ex-Delta Governor, Okowa, For Alleged N1.3trn Fraud

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, over the alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion.

Sources with the EFCC revealed that Okowa visited the EFCC office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday before he was subsequently detained by officials.

The N1.3 trillion reportedly represents the 13% derivation fund from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

It was gathered that Okowa was at the Port Harcourt office of the Commission following an invitation from investigators probing the allegations against him.

The former governor was said to have been apprehended no sooner than he arrived at the anti-graft office.

Okowa was also accused of failing to account for the funds, as well as another N40 billion he allegedly claimed was used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas.

Sources said the former governor reportedly bought shares worth N40 billion in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake, to support the offshore LNG project.

The funds are alleged to have been misappropriated for other purposes.

They noted that investigators are also examining the alleged diversion of funds by the former governor to acquire estates in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State.

Okowa was the running mate to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the 2023 election.

He was the governor of Delta State from 2015 to 2023 and was succeeded by Sheriff Oborevwori, the incumbent Governor.

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the arrest but declined further comment on the matter.

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FG Frees Minors Remanded For Protesting Hunger In Nigeria

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Some minors who joined the nationwide #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria have regained their freedom.

Their release followed the striking out of the treason charge against them by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday.

Investors King had reported that the Federal Government through its security agencies arrested and preferred treason allegations against the minors who participated in the August #EndBadGovernance protest.

However, President Bola Tinubu had directed the release of the minors owing to the outrage that greeted their arrest, prosecution and incarceration.

Carrying out the presidential directive when the matter resumed on Tuesday, counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, made an application for discontinuation of the case.

Abubakar, who is the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), premised his application on provisions of Sections 174(1), (b), and (c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

He informed the court that the AGF had officially taken over the case file, saying the Federal Government no longer has interest in the case against the protesters.

The DPPF also applied for the proceeding to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266 (b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Child’s Rights Act.

Counsel to the defendants, including Mr Femi Fanala, SAN, did not oppose the application.

To this end, Justice Obiora Egwuatu struck out the charge against the protesters who were minors.

Recall that the judge had last Friday admitted the 114 protesters arraigned by the police to N10 million bail each with two sureties each in like sum.

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