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British spy agency involved in Douma “flase-flag”: Russia

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British spy agency involved in Douma “flase-flag”: Russia

Russia has claimed of having “irrefutable” evidence that British spy agency had orchestrated “false flag” operation in the Damascus suburb town of Douma, for providing a pretext for missile strikes against Syria.

According to Tehran based Press TV, Russia’s representative at the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Alexander Shulgin made the remarks during a meeting of it’s executive council in The Hague on Monday.

Shulgin described the incident as a “pre-planned false flag attack by the British security services, which could have also been aided by their allies in Washington”. He said “We have not just a ‘high level of confidence,’ as our Western partners uniformly put it; we have irrefutable proof that there was no chemical attack in Douma on April 7.”

Russian official also accused Washington of playing “first fiddle” in the Douma incident based on a “pre-written scenario.”

The alleged chemical attack in Douma was staged by “pseudo-humanitarian NGOs,” which are under the patronage of the Syrian government’s foreign adversaries, he added.

Shulgin also stressed that Russian military specialists had found “not a single piece of evidence” substantiating the Western claims about the Douma incident.

He further said that the Syrian government had absolutely no reason to conduct a gas attack when the city was almost liberated from the grip of militants, and thus the anti-Damascus accusations look “absurd,” he added.

Read More: Syria: Chemical facility was producing anti-cancer drugs

Denouncing the tripartite April 14 “military aggression” the Russian official said “this crime can be by no means justified”. He said, “In fact, if they say they bombed a storehouse with chemical weapons and there are no traces of chemical contamination, that proves the fact that their version of secret chemical stockpiles in hands of the Syrian governmental forces has been obviously made up,” Shulgin said.

He also concluded that the US and its allies are not interested in a real investigation into the alleged Douma gas attack. Patients have ‘no symptoms of chemical poisoning’

Meanwhile, on Monday, the OPCW refused to vote for a draft resolution, initiated by Russia and Iran, which called for an investigation into the Douma incident.

The draft resolution underlined “the necessity of finding all the facts” regarding the Douma incident, called on all OPCW  member states to provide proper security conditions for the watchdog’s experts on the ground.

Read More: US-Russia tension escalates at UN, warplanes in Syria skies

Moreover, Syria’s representative to the OPCW Bassam Sabbagh said that “the barbarous US-British-French aggression,” coincided with the arrival of a fact-finding team was “aimed at hindering the work of the mission and forestalling the results of the investigations.”

The Syrian official also asked what US troops are doing illegally in Syria and why the US is sending weapons to terrorist groups operating there. The US troops are in Syria without UN mandate or Damascus invitation.

Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s Radiological, Biological and Chemical Protection Unit, while speaking at a press conference at the Russian Embassy in The Hague, said OPCW experts had arrived in the Syrian capital and would visit Douma on Wednesday.

The Western countries blamed the Douma incident on the Syrian government forces, but Damascus strongly rejected the accusation as fabrications. Bashar al-Assad government, which had surrendered its chemical stockpile in 2013 to a mission led by OPCW and the UN, has denied its role in the suspected attack and said that the blame-game was meant to halt the advances made in defeating the terrorists.

On April 14, the US, Britain and France launched a coordinated missile attack against sites and research facilities near Damascus and Homs.

Read More:  US led coalition attacks Syria, hits research centre, arms stockpile

Syrian air defenses have claimed of shooting down a significant number of the more than 100 missiles fired in violation of international law and the UN Charter.

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin.

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin today denied a US media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump had spoken on the phone last week about the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Pution on call, urging him not to inflame the conflict. Speaking on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media that the report was completely false information, and denied any phone call took place.

It was reported that US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine. It said that Donald Trump held the call from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris. The report also mentioned that both the leaders expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.

Notably, Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin. However, the US President elect has not said how he intends to strike a peace deal or what terms he is proposing.

Donald Trump’s election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump on Wednesday, with the Republican’s billionaire backer Elon Musk also notably joining them on the call. Volodymyr Zelensky described the call as excellent, adding that he and Trump had agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.

Additionally, the outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House aims to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar’s press conference

The MEA said that these actions yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar's press conference

A few hours after Australia Today aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s press conference in Australia, Canada banned the outlet. The External Affairs Minister gave remarks on the India-Canada diplomatic standoff. 

Reacting to this, India on Thursday said it was surprised by Canada’s move to ban the outlet and emphasized that it highlighted Ottawa’s hypocrisy towards freedom of speech. Australia Today, which is an important outlet for the Indian community in the country, had aired the joint press conference of S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

In a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada. He continued that this happened just an hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of S Jaishankar with Penny Wong. He called out the incident, mentioning that they are surprised, and the matter looks strange to them.

He further underlined that these are the actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech. He noted that the External Affairs Minister spoke about three things: Canada making allegations and a pattern had developed without any specific evidence, surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he termed as unacceptable, and  the political space which has been given in Canada to anti-India elements. 

With this one can draw conclusions, why Australia Today channel was blocked by Canada, the spokesperson said. Australia Today focuses on news and analytical pieces related to the Indian community in Australia and elsewhere across the world.

This incident follows days after devotees were attacked by pro-Khalistani at a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton, with S Jaishankar calling it deeply concerning. Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack and said that there were cowardly attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats.

The diplomatic standoff between India and Canada began in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.

Later in October 2024, ties between both the countries nosedived when Canada termed the Indian High Commissioner a person of interest in its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Issuing a strongly worded statement, India dismissed the fresh charge and recalled the envoy and some diplomats, while expelling six Canadian officials, including Canada’s acting High Commissioner.

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PM Modi congratulates Donald Trump on winning US President election

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the 2024 US Presidential election and said he is looking forward to renewing their collaboration to further strengthen the India-US partnership.

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

“Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity,” PM Modi posted on his X handle.

With the results being announced for the 2024 US election on November 6, Trump became the 47th President of the United States.

Former US President Trump appeared to be on track for a remarkable political comeback in the White House race. Projections suggested that he was poised to secure the necessary 270 electoral college votes, effectively blocking Democratic candidate Kamala Harris from winning the election.

The relationship between Trump and Modi has been characterised by robust diplomatic ties, strategic collaboration, and a noticeable personal rapport. Their friendship was prominently displayed during major events such as “Howdy, Modi” in Houston in 2019 and “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad in 2020, where they addressed large audiences and expressed their mutual respect.

On a strategic level, Trump and Modi found common ground in matters of defense and security, both adopting a strong stance against terrorism, which reinforced their alliance, particularly concerning threats from Pakistan.

As he approaches a notable victory in the US election, Republican Presidential candidate Trump expressed gratitude to his supporters today, calling it a magnificent victory for the American people. He also referenced the assassination attempt on July 13, stating, “God spared my life for a reason.”

The 78-year-old candidate is currently projected to secure 267 electoral college votes, just three shy of the decisive 270, while his opponent, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, holds 224 electoral votes.

Trump described the Republican campaign as the greatest political movement of all time, asserting, “We are going to help our country heal, secure our borders, and we made history for a reason tonight. This is an incredible political victory. I want to thank the American people. I will fight for you and your family with every breath I have.”

He noted that Democrats are now looking at a projected total of 315 electoral votes.

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