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Trump face another trouble for Kushner’s act

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Jared Kushner

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Conflict of interests causing trouble at white House

Here is another shocker for the business tycoon-turned-President Donald Trump. At a time when relations between his campaign team and Russian establishment are being investigated, Donald Trump is now witnessing another crisis because of his son-in-law Jared Kushner.  It is revealed that recent Qatar’s crisis erupted after Kushner had failed to get investment of 500 million dollars from Qatar’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani for a landmark property at Manhattan, New York.

The Intercept on Monday revealed the story which was carried by New York Times and other publications. It says that not much before a major crisis ripped through the Middle East, pitting the US and a block of gulf countries against Qatar, Jared Kushner’s real estate company unsuccessfully sought a critical half billion dollar investment from one of the richest and most influential men in the tiny nation (Qatar). Intercept confirmed the story from three different sources before putting it out.

It did not reveal the exact date as to whether it happened just days before the fake news appeared on Qatari News Agency website. It quoted Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani praising Iran and Israel and criticized President Trump.  The government of Qatar releases a statement saying QNA had been hacked, and that the statement by Al-thani was not authentic.

Qatar is currently facing worst diplomatic pressure after Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed their ties with Doha on July 5. The air and road links, business transactions and all other possible contacts were now completely closed. The report further says that Kushner has reportedly played a key behind-the-scene role in hardening the US posture toward the embattled nation.

On June 6 Donald Trump supported Saudi Arabia led group of countries’ move against Qatar. In a series of tweets he justified the move:

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

…extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

New York Times reports that, Kushner- a real estate developer like his father- in-law purchased a tower at 666 fifth avenue in New York for 1.8 billion dollars some years ago, but the building failed to generate enough money to cover its debts. More than a quarter of the office space in the building has remained vacant for several years, causing huge losses to Kushner Companies.

In 2015, when Trump was launching his presidential campaign, Kushner and his father Charles Kushner targeted Qatari billionaire Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani (known as HBJ in the business circle) as a potential investor to save the property. HBJ was the Prime Minister of his country during 2007 to 2013. The Intercept says Al-Thani finally agreed to invest 500 million dollars on the condition that Kushner Companies generate the rest of the money for the project on its own.

As recent as March 2017, Kushner Companies reached out to Chinese insurance company Anbang for help. The company agreed to provide a 4-billion dollars loan to develop the property. However, weeks later the company pulled out of the deal.

Following Chinese company’s withdrawal, Qatar’s former PM Al-Thani also withdrew from its commitment as Kushner Companies could not secure the rest of the money. According to Intercept, shortly after al-Thani’s withdrawal, America’s regional allies including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar accusing it of supporting terrorism.

It would be interesting to know that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner negotiated a massive weapons deal with Saudi Arabia and American weapons manufacture Lockheed Martin which was signed during President’s visit to the Kingdom.

American analysts have blamed Kushner and Donald Trump for promoting America’s armament industry by fueling conflicts in the Middle East region.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and UAE, in a joint statement issued on Tuesday, warned that Qatari siege will not end unless Doha meets all its demands.

The thirteen point demands were turned down by Qatar recently. The Saudi led block of countries demanded closure of Al-Jazeera News Network, shutting down of Turkish army base in the territory, severing ties with their arch rival Iran. They also asked Qatar to align its policies with other GCC countries and stop alleged funding and supporting Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Palestine.

Qatar, while turning down their demands, denied compromising their sovereignty. However, it kept doors open for diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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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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