India should have abstained from voting for the draft resolution backing an Arab League peace plan for Syria at the United Nations Security Council, opines former diplomat M K Bhadrakumar
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that whatever action is required in Syria should be under the UN framework, amid growing pressure on US President Barack Obama from his Russian counterpart and other world leaders not to attack the Arab country.
Sources are in touch with Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels, both in Tehran and in Delhi.
Influential world leaders on Thursday braced for a showdown at the G20 summit over an imminent US-led action against Syria, as United States President Barack Obama's plan to launch military strikes cleared the first hurdle with a key Senate committee narrowly approving it.
The British government has claimed Begum could seek a Bangladeshi passport given her heritage but her family has argued that she is British and has never held Bangladeshi citizenship.
US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameroon have jointly warned Syria that it would face a "serious response" if it is found that Syrian forces used chemical weapons on civilians.
'Every single American act to weaken Syrian forces would only tilt the military balance in favour of ISIS whom Trump pledges to vanquish from the face of the earth,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Russia and the US began second round of negotiations on securing Syria's chemical arsenal, hoping the high-stakes talks would lead to broader peace efforts, even as Damascus submitted application to UN for joining the chemical weapons convention.
"I complimented him for his vision, for his courage in giving diplomacy yet another chance," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told media persons in a joint media interaction with Obama inside the Oval Office of the White House, following an hour long meeting between the two leaders.
The United States, Canada and the United Nations have condemned the Iranian air attack on Israel, with President Joe Biden reaffirming America's 'ironclad commitment' to the Jewish nation and vowing to convene a meeting of the G-7 leaders on Sunday to develop a coordinated response to the brazen assault.
The United Nations Security Council on Saturday voted unanimously on a resolution to send an advanced team of "unarmed" observers to Syria to monitor the implementation of cessation of armed violence in the country.
Actress Angelina Jolie Pitt has strongly criticised the UN Security Council for its lack on unity and political will on resolving the Syrian crisis, stating that the powerful body has the power to address the dire situation but "those powers lie unused".
Syria has taken four Indian youth in its custody, who were planning to the join terrorist outfit Islamic State, and asked the Indian authorities the verify their details.
The Obama Administration has condemned the decision of Russia and China to veto the United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria, saying "those who voted against the resolution are on the wrong side of the history."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the United States against any unilateral military stike on Syria, saying it would trigger a new wave of terrorism, result in the collapse of the United Nations and claim more innocent victims as the conflict could spread beyond Syria's borders.
Forced to play their home matches in Malaysia due to security concerns, Syria had fallen behind when Robbie Kruse tapped in from close range in the first half but the underdogs refused to buckle to their vastly more experienced opponents.
A senior Chinese diplomat was among those injured in terrorist attack.
The White House said it has 'a large body' of evidence indicating that the Assad regime was responsible for the April 7 chemical attack in Duma.
India has voted in favour of a draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that expressed deep concern over Israel not withdrawing from the Syrian Golan.
As reports filtered in about the United States and the United Kingdom finalising plans for a limited military strike in Syria, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said India is not in favour of an external intervention but would go along with the decision of the United Nations.
'How can we forget the hoax perpetrated on the UN and on all of us when it was stated in the security council, no less, that Iraq had nuclear weapons?' recalls Ambassador B S Prakash.
The minister's visit will also give India an opportunity to have first-hand assessment of evolving security situation in that region.
The United States on Friday ordered evacuation of non-emergency staff from Lebanon and Turkey amid an imminent military strike against Syria, as authorities did not rule out a similar drawdown from other diplomatic posts in the region.
The Tu-154 model plane, which belonged to the Russian defence ministry, crashed shortly after take-off from the southern city of Adler.
India on Wednesday abstained from voting while Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that threatened action against Syria if it didn't immediately halt a deadly crackdown on anti-regime protesters. Russia and China, both permanent members of the Security Council, vetoed the European-backed resolution, killing the draft. Apart from India, countries that abstained from voting were Brazil, Lebanon and South Africa.
United States President Barack Obama has announced his decision to take military action against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons
An estimated 400 people, an average of 40 a day, have been killed in Syria in the days following the arrival of the Arab League monitors in the country, a top United Nations official has said.
US defence secy James Mattis said that Syria will pay a 'very, very stiff price' if it used chemical weapons again.
The Syrian government has agreed to pull back its troops from cities and complete withdrawal of heavy weapons by April 10, United Nations-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan told the UN Security Council on Monday, even as Western nations expressed doubts that the new promises would be kept.
Agencies like the Tauheed Jammat have been set up in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana to radicalise the youth and recruit them to carry out terror activities in other countries. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday warned America and its allies against one-sided intervention in Syria, even as US said it not only risks losing friends but also credibility at the world stage if no military action is taken against the Bashar al-Assad regime.
The G20 summit has failed to heal the rift over US plans for military action against the embattled Syrian regime, as American President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could not reach consensus on Friday during "candid and constructive" talks.
May told House of Commons that there was "clear evidence" the Bashar al-Assad government was behind a recent chemical weapons attack in Douma.
The move was apparently aimed at Israel, which neither admits nor denies possessing nuclear weapons but is perceived by the countries in the region to have such arms.
As violence in Syria worsens, India has called on all parties within and outside the troubled country to fully cooperate with international envoy Kofi Annan to bring an end to the crisis.
However, Israel is yet to comment on the strike that has killed the senior Hamas leader.
The United States needs to maintain its military threat against Syria as such pressure forced the Assad regime to change its posture on chemical weapons, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today.
Voicing its opposition to the use of force to resolve the crisis in Syria, India on Wednesday asked all sides to cooperate with the Arab League and start a political process that should respect Damascus' sovereignty.
After spending most of his time over the weekend calling up and meeting lawmakers, President Barack Obama will go all out on a media publicity blitz over the next two days to convince war-weary Americans that an attack on Syria is needed for the long-term safety of the US.
President Obama had no intention of risking a global conflagration on account of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, especially at a time when he was struggling to wind up the wars his predecessor had started, says T P Sreenivasan
