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SIX top US intelligence chiefs told a government committee this month that they would not advise American citizens to use either products or services from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTT. The six included the heads of the NSA, FBI, and CIA, and the director of national intelligence, who initially advised the Senate Intelligence Committee on Feb 13 that neither Huawei nor ZTT products should be used by public sector workers and anyone working for, or on behalf of, state agencies. When asked by committee members whether they would extend this advice further, all six stated that they would not recommend that private US citizens use those products either. “This is a challenge I think that is only going to increase, not lessen over time for us. You need to look long and hard at companies like this,” said the NSA’s Chief, Michael Rogers. FBI Director Chris Wray added: “We are deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments t...

US President-elect Donald Trump has named Gen James Mattis, a former marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as his defence secretary. "He's our best," Mr Trump said, as he announced his pick in a speech in Ohio. Gen Mattis, who is known as "Mad Dog", was an outspoken critic of the Obama administration's Middle East policy, particularly on Iran. He has referred to Iran as "the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East". Mr Trump has previously described Gen Mattis, 66, as "a true general's general". The retired Marine Corps officer led an assault battalion during the first Gulf war in 1991 and commanded a task force into southern Afghanistan in 2001. He also took part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and played a key role a year later in the Battle of Fallujah. Gen Mattis retired in 2013 after serving as the commander of the US Central Command. Correspondents say his nomination will be popula...

Nigerian Nobel prize-winning author Wole Soyinka who promised to destroy his Green card and and leave the US if Donald Trump won the US presidential elections said Thursday that he has done so. The 82-year-old playwright novelist told AFP on the sidelines of an education conference at the University of Johannesburg.. “I have already done it, I have disengaged (from the United States). I have done what I said I would do.” “I had a horror of what is to come with Trump… I threw away the (green) card, and I have relocated, and I’m back to where I have always been”.(meaning his homeland Nigeria). However, he said he would not discourage anyone from applying for a US Green card. He added: “It’s useful in many ways. I wouldn’t for one single moment discourage any Nigerians or anybody from acquiring a green card… but I have had enough of it”.