US, allies ready for new strikes on Syria: Russia
Moscow, Aug 26 : The US and its allies are planning to carry out new missile strikes on Syria on the pretext of a provocation that the Syrian government is behind a "chemical attack," the Russian Defence Ministry has said.
However, the planned "chemical attack" by Syrian government forces in Syria's Idlib province is actually staged by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham terrorist group, previously known as "Jabhat al-Nusra" with the help of British personnel, the ministry's spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said, citing information confirmed by several independent sources, Xinhua reported.
Eight tanks of chlorine and a special group of militants, who were trained in handling poisonous substances under the supervision of a British private military company, have been brought to Idlib for the chemical attack, Konashenkov said.
"The execution of this provocation with the active participation of the British special services is set to serve as another pretext for the US, UK and France to inflict missile and air strikes on Syria's state and economic facilities," Konashenkov said on Saturday.
To this end, a Sullivans destroyer of the US Navy with 56 cruise missiles on board arrived in the Persian Gulf a few days ago, and a B-1B strategic bomber of the US Air Force armed with 24 air-to-surface cruise missiles was re-deployed to the Al Udeid air base in Qatar, according to the spokesman.
The spokesman said that the actions of Western countries are "aimed at another drastic aggravation of the situation in the Middle East region and the disruption of the peace process on the territory of Syria".
On April 4, 2017, a reported toxic gas attack hit the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, killing over 80 people and wounding scores of others.
Two days later, the US launched 59 cruise missiles against the Shayrat military base in central Syria, where Washington believes airplanes carrying chemical weapons took off.
The US and many Western countries blamed the Assad government for the chemical attacks but Syria and Russia insisted that it's a plot by the West in a bid to overturn the Assad administration.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
