TEHRAN PROMISES 'HARSH RETALIATION', US AND ISRAEL BRACE FOR REVENGE ATTACKSIran vowed "harsh retaliation" for a US drone strike near Baghdad's airportthat killed a top Iranian general who had been the architect of itsinterventions across the Middle East, and the US announced Friday it wassending more troops to the region as tensions soared in the wake of thetargeted killing.The killing of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite QudsForce, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran,which has careened from one crisis to another since President Donald Trumpwithdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.The United States said it was sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to theMiddle East and urged American citizens to leave Iraq "immediately"following the early morning airstrike at Baghdad's international airportthat Iran's state TV said killed Soleimani and nine others.The US State Department said the embassy in Baghdad, which was attacked byIran-backed militiamen and their supporters earlier this week, is closed andall consular services have been suspended. US embassies also issued asecurity alert for Americans in Lebanon, Bahrain Kuwait and Nigeria.Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that "harsh retaliationis waiting" for the US after the airstrike, calling Soleimani the"international face of resistance". Khamenei declared three days of publicmourning and appointed Major General Esmail Ghaani, Soleimani's deputy, toreplace him as head of the Quds Force.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the killing a "heinous crime" andvowed his country would "take revenge". Iran twice summoned the Swiss envoy,the first time delivering a letter to pass onto the United States.Thousands of worshippers in the Iranian capital Tehran took to the streetsafter Friday prayers to condemn the killing, waving posters of Soleimani andchanting "Death to deceitful America".QASEM SOLEIMANI: STRIKE WAS TO 'STOP WAR', SAYS TRUMPPresident Donald Trump has said the US killed Iran's top military commanderQasem Soleimani "to stop a war, not to start one".He said Soleimani's "reign of terror is over" after the strike at Baghdadairport in Iraq on Friday. Soleimani spearheaded Iran's Middle Eastoperations as head of the Quds Force.Iran has vowed "severe revenge" on those responsible for his death.The killing marks a major escalation in tensions between the two countries.US officials have said 3,000 additional troops will be sent to the MiddleEast as a precaution.Iraqi state television says there has been another air strike in thecountry, 24 hours after the killing of Soleimani. However, there has been nocomment on this from Washington.An Iraqi army source told Reuters news agency that six people have beenkilled in the fresh strike, which hit a convoy of Iraqi militia in the earlyhours of Saturday morning (local time).Speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Mr Trumpsaid of Friday's attack: "Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinisterattacks on American diplomats and military personnel but we caught him inthe act and terminated him."DE-ESCALATE TENSIONS, CRY WORLD LEADERSChina on Friday appealed for restraint from all sides, "especially theUnited States", after top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in aUS strike in Iraq."China has always opposed the use of force in international relations,"Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily pressbriefing. "We urge the relevant sides, especially the United States, toremain calm and exercise restraint to avoid further escalating tensions,"Geng said.Moscow warned on Friday that the US killing of top Iranian commander wouldboost tensions across the Middle East. "The killing of Soleimani.... was anadventurist step that will increase tensions throughout the region," newsagencies RIA Novosti and TASS quoted the foreign ministry as saying."Soleimani served the cause of protecting Iran's national interests withdevotion. We express our sincere condolences to the Iranian people."The US killing of a top Iranian military commander has made the world "moredangerous", France's Europe minister said Friday, calling for efforts tode-escalate the deepening conflict in the Middle East. "We have woken up toa more dangerous world," Amelie de Montchalin said, maintaining PresidentEmmanuel Macron would consult soon with "players in the region". "In suchoperations, when we can see an escalation is underway, but what we wantabove all is stability and de-escalation," Montchalin said.TURKISH JET FIRM SAYS STAFF FALSIFIED GHOSN RECORDSA Turkish airline company whose jets were used to fly former Nissan ChairmanCarlos Ghosn from Japan to Lebanon said an employee falsified records andthat Ghosn's name did not appear on any documentation related to theflights.Ghosn earlier this week jumped bail in Japan and fled to Lebanon rather thanface trial on financial misconduct charges in a dramatic escape that hasconfounded and embarrassed authorities.How he was able to flee Japan, avoiding the tight surveillance he was underwhile free on 1.5 billion yen (USD 14 million) bail, is still a mystery,though Lebanese authorities have said he entered the country legally on aFrench passport. Ghosn's daring escape spanned three continents. Turkeydetained seven people Thursday as part of an investigation into how hepassed through the country, and they were appearing in court Friday.UAE EXTENDS $200M AID TO PAKISTAN FOR ECONOMIC PROJECTSThe United Arab Emirates has extended USD 200 million aid to Pakistan forthe development of the small and medium-sized enterprises in the country,Finance Adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan has said.The announcement came after Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin ZayedAl Nahyan concluded his one-day visit to the country on Thursday.The adviser, Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, on Thursday said "the money will be spenton small business promotion and jobs. This support is testimony to theexpanding economic relations and friendship between our countries."The Crown Prince directed the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development toallocate USD 200 million in order to assist the Pakistani government'sefforts to create a stable and balanced national economy that will helpachieve the country's sustainable development, Dawn News reported on Friday.During the visit, the prince met Prime Minister Khan and held talks onbilateral, regional and international issues.The UAE is Pakistan's largest trading partner in the Middle East and a majorsource of investments. The UAE is also among Pakistan's prime developmentpartners in education, health and energy sectors.It hosts more than 1.6 million expatriate Pakistani community, whichcontributes remittances of around USD 4.5 billion annually to the GDP.This is the Crown Prince's second visit to Pakistan since Khan took officein August 2018.SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES TO CURB MINORITYPARTIESSri Lanka's new president on Friday endorsed amending the constitution toreduce the power of minority political parties, saying the country wasn'tsuited to a system that creates unstable governments "constantly under theinfluence of extremism".In a speech after he presided over the start of a new Parliament session,President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said a majority of the voters who elected himin last November's presidential election rejected "political agendas foundedon race" and proved "it is no longer possible for anyone to manipulate andcontrol the politics of this country by playing the role of kingmaker."Even though elections can be won through numbers, an unstable Parliamentthat cannot take clear decisions and remains constantly under the influenceof extremism is not one that suits the country."Voting patterns during the election showed a clear divide between themajority Buddhist Sinhalese and minority Tamils and Muslims. A vast majorityof Sinhalese voted for Rajapaksa, while minorities overwhelmingly voted forhis main opponent, Sajith Premadasa.He pledged to respect the aspirations of the majority by protecting theunity of the country and Buddhism while ensuring people had the right topractice the religion of their choice.Sri Lanka has a proportional representative electoral system where partieswith a smaller support base could also return lawmakers with a minimum votepercentage. Minority politicians say the system had given them reasonablerepresentation and help stem any anti-minority move in Parliament.Rajapaksa said that the constitution has many "confusions" and changes areneeded. He said a strong presidency, parliament and judiciary needs to becreated through constitutional changes.'WORLD'S LARGEST' FLOWER BLOOMS IN INDONESIAPadang: Indonesian conservationists say they've spotted the biggest specimenever of what's already been billed as one of the world's largest flowers.The giant Rafflesia tuan-mudae - a fleshy red flower with white blister-likespots on its enormous petals - came in at a whopping 111 cm (3.6 foot) indiameter. That's bigger than the previous record of 107 cm on a bloom alsofound in the jungles of West Sumatra several years ago.