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Russia expels 59 diplomats from 23 countries, crisis expands

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Russia expels 59 diplomats from 23 countries, crisis expands

Moscow close US consulate in St Petersburg

In a tit-for-tat response in kind, Russia has, on Friday, ordered expulsion of 59 diplomats from 23 countries as the diplomatic fallout spreads after the alleged murder attempt by nerve-gas-poisoning of a former double-agent Skripal and his daughter in UK in early March.

So far UK and Russia have expelled 23 diplomats each, US and Russia have sent back 60 diplomats from each others’ soil. Now Russia has reacted on the countries, mostly NATO members and other allies by expelling 59 diplomats. However, Russia has acted with patience avoiding immediate reaction.

According to Reuters TV, Ambassadors of the 23 countries, ranging from Netherlands to Australia were handed over protest note on Friday morning at foreign office in Moscow as soon they arrived at Foreign Ministry and were asked to send back certain numbers of diplomats.

Read More: US, EU and allies expel 113 Russian diplomats

On Thursday, Russia had also ordered closing of the US consulate in St Petersburg and issued a protest note to the US Ambassador to Moscow, Jon Huntsman, regarding what it called “outrageous and unwarranted” diplomatic action against Russia.

Skripal is the former official of Russian military intelligence who had allegedly worked for UK agencies. He was sentenced for imprisonment after conviction by Russian court. However, he was released in a swap deal with US and was settled in UK.Russia expels 59 diplomats from 23 countries, crisis expands

UK and its allies alleged that Skripals were poisoned by a nerve agent in the southern English city of Salisbury.

Read More: Russia retaliates: expels 23 British diplomats, close British Council

On Thursday, Moscow had ordered the expulsion of 60 US diplomats in response to a similar move by Washington.

Russia has already responded to UK’s move of expelling its 23 diplomats over the first known use of a military-grade nerve agent in Europe since World War II.

In an unprecedented diplomatic move, 25 European countries – along with the US, Canada, and Australia – expelled more than 120 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity with the UK withing last few days.

On Friday, senior envoys from most of the countries that have expelled Russian diplomats were summoned to the Russian foreign ministry.  Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Moscow, said.

Read More: UK, US together against Russia on nerve gas attack in London

Challands, while reporting from Moscow on Friday, said, “One after another, black ambassadorial cars have been pulling up here outside the Russian foreign ministry and the ambassadors have been walking in to essentially get a dressing-down from the foreign ministry staff and be told how many of their personnel has to be packing their bags to leave.”

He further said,  “Its catalyst has been the Skripal affair but, of course, there is so much else behind all this, so much that’s gone on over the last few years – with the Russian campaign in Syria, with what’s been going in Crimea and Ukraine, that has worsened relations between the West and Russia.”

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has claimed that she has evidence of Russian involvement in the poisoning case. British government says the nerve agent used in the attack, Novichok, was developed in Russia.  However, Moscow has denied its involvement, instead says that UK might have done this.

According to reports, Sergei Skripal remains critical but stable while his daughter Yulia is improving rapidly. A large number of police officials and other investigative agencies were working day and night to ascertain about each minute detail behind the incident.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Friday that the British authorities have barred the crew of a Russian Aeroflot plane bound for Moscow from being present during the search of their plane.

She reportedly told state Rossiya-24 television channel while the search was continuing, “The British authorities asked the Russian crew, including the captain, to leave the aircraft. The captain suggested the search be conducted in his personal presence as in line with the instructions he cannot leave the plane. As of now, the Britons have begun the search, keeping the captain inside the cockpit, not letting him be present during the search.”

The report did not mention if some of the Russian expelled diplomats were travelling in the said Aeroflot flight from London to Moscow.

 

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

The Voting for the 2024 US presidential election has begun in the eastern time zone in America. Following months of intense campaigning by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her Republican challenger Donald Trump, Americans will vote to choose their next president.

Reportedly, the first ballots were cast in the minutes after midnight (US time) in a tiny New Hampshire township along the US-Canada border. Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Several pollsters have predicted a neck-and-neck contest, which brings the focus on the swing states to decide the fate of the presidential election.

Notably, in the United States, most states have a very clear preference for either the Republican or Democratic candidate. With this, only seven key swing states namely Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina will decide the result. Winning the majority of these aforesaid swing states is often essential for candidates aiming to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

In this election, Pennsylvania has emerged as the biggest prize between the two candidates. With the most electoral votes (19) than any other battleground state, Pennsylvania could possibly determine whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris clinches the White House.

On the last day of campaigning, Republican nominee Trump and Democratic nominee Harris criss-crossed key battleground states and delivered closing remarks. Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to power, held rallies in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan while Vice President Kamala Harris addressed supporters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Earlier in 2016, Donald Trump managed to make inroads in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the three Great Lakes states that make up the blue wall or a Democratic stronghold. Nonetheless, in the 2020 US Election, US President Joe Biden wrested the states back to the Democratic camp.

Notably, to win the presidency, a candidate needs a majority of electoral votes of 270 out of 538.

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Latest world news

Amid India-Canada diplomatic tensions, Justin Trudeau shares video of his Diwali celebrations

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

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Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday shared a video of his Diwali celebration on social media platform X.

Sharing a 44-second video of his Diwali celebrations on social media, the Canadian Prime Minister wrote, “Happy Diwali! So many special moments shared celebrating with the community this week.”

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday, while addressing the media over Canada’s serious allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar, said it was unfortunate that the prevailing atmosphere in Canada has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.

In the video, Prime Minister Trudeau showed off some colorful religious threads on his wrists, explaining that he received them during visits to three Hindu temples in Canada recently. He called them symbols of “good luck” and “protection,” adding with a smile, “I’m not taking them off until they fall off”.

Trudeau was also seen interacting warmly with the community, celebrating the festival, and enjoying delicious Indian sweets like jalebis, which he jokingly said he would “save for the team.”

On November 1, Trudeau posted on X, “Happy Diwali! Today, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families will celebrate the triumph of light over darkness with festivities, candles, diyas, and fireworks. Wishing you all joy and prosperity during this special time.”

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Jaiswal said India condemns the recent allegations made by the Canadian government against Shah that he was purportedly involved in the killing of Nijjar and called it “absurd and baseless”.

Jaiswal also said that India had summoned the Canadian High Commissioner on Friday to protest in the strongest terms for the references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.

On Tuesday, Morrison claimed that Shah orchestrated a campaign of violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering aimed at Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. He informed members of Canada’s national security committee in Parliament that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which was the first to report the allegations. However, Morrison did not provide details on how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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