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The criminal complaint against Andrew Cuomo, briefly explained

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More than two months after his <a href="https://voxmedia.stories.usechorus.com/compose/33c0111a-6f95-49b7-b5fe-f75b992c45d9">abrupt fall from power</a>, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/535745908/Cuomo-Criminal-Complaint">facing a criminal complaint</a> alleging he groped a former executive assistant in late 2020.
Cuomo, who resigned from office in August amid a slew of misconduct allegations, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/nyregion/cuomo-forcible-touching-complaint.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">charged on Thursday</a> by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office with forcible touching, a misdemeanor charge that carries a penalty of up to a year in jail.
Former Cuomo aide Brittany Commisso has accused Cuomo of groping her while she was working with him at the Executive Mansion in Albany, and she <a href="https://www.wamc.org/wamc-news/2021-08-06/on-wamc-soares-confirms-police-report-has-been-filed-in-cuomo-groping-case">filed police report</a> in August, shortly after the release of a damning <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/investigation-sexual-harassment-cuomo/6e0c4e9f078d7e2a/full.pdf">report</a> by New York Attorney General Letitia James investigating misconduct claims against Cuomo.
The report found that Cuomo <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/03/politics/cuomo-ag-report-fallout-key-points/index.html">sexually harassed 11 women</a>, including Commisso — but Commisso’s allegations are the first to result in criminal charges.
According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/nyregion/cuomo-forcible-touching-complaint.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">the New York Times</a>, the forcible touching charge brought against Cuomo is often used in circumstances where it’s difficult to prove that the assailant was acting purely for their own sexual gratification. The <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/535745908/Cuomo-Criminal-Complaint">charging documents</a> allege that Cuomo groped Commisso “for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires.”
Cuomo is set to appear in Albany City Court on November 17 to be <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/29/politics/andrew-cuomo-case-albany-county-sheriff-da/index.html">arraigned</a>.
The misdemeanor charge comes after <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/investigation-sexual-harassment-cuomo/6e0c4e9f078d7e2a/full.pdf">an independent report</a> commissioned by James’s office was released in August, detailing multiple allegations of sexual harassment by Cuomo and a hostile work environment in which dissent was not tolerated and speaking up about alleged abuse could result in retaliation.
Cuomo <a href="https://www.andrewcuomo.com/sites/default/files/files/documents/2021.10.20ResponsetoCommisso_0.pdf">has denied the allegations against him</a> and offered a number of justifications, including that what he considered friendly actions were simply <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/why-cuomo-s-dinosaur-defense-rang-hollow-n1276514">out of step with the political moment</a>. His attorney, Rita Glavin, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-new-york-andrew-cuomo-albany-d5eaff22837a7189e685965bebb228b6">said in a statement on Friday</a> that Cuomo never assaulted anyone and claimed that the Albany County sheriff, Craig Apple, had acted with political intent.
<a href="https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/Criminal-summons-Cuomo-16572344.php?IPID=Times-Union-HP-CP-Latest-News">Confusion</a> over the timing of the complaint gave Glavin some fuel; according to Apple, his office filed the complaint on Thursday morning, not expecting that it would result in a summons being issued the same day.
As a result, the complaint became public on Thursday before Apple could notify Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who didn’t know about the complaint until it was leaked to <a href="https://www.nysfocus.com/2021/10/28/charges-filed-against-andrew-cuomo-for-criminal-touching/">New York Focus</a>.
Soares said in a <a href="https://www.nysfocus.com/2021/10/28/charges-filed-against-andrew-cuomo-for-criminal-touching/">statement</a> that he was “surprised to learn today that a criminal complaint was filed in Albany City Court by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office against Andrew Cuomo.” Soares’s office has been pursuing its own investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo.
According to the <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/Criminal-summons-Cuomo-16572344.php?IPID=Times-Union-HP-CP-Latest-News">Albany Times-Union</a>, a summons wasn’t expected until next week, after the sheriff’s office had conferred with Soares and Commisso about moving forward with the case. Commisso’s attorney, Brian Premo, said that she too “was surprised by the turn of events but she has been and will remain a resolute cooperating victim in pursuit of blind justice.”
Apple told the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/andrew-cuomos-criminal-summons-released-faster-than-expected-sheriff-says-11635542298">Wall Street Journal</a> that his office routinely files such paperwork without consulting with prosecutors first, and a spokesperson for the New York state court system, Lucian Chalfen, defended Albany City Court Judge Holly Trexler, saying she “handled the filing of the misdemeanor complaint properly.”
In addition to allegations against Cuomo by Commisso and 10 other women, <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/investigation-sexual-harassment-cuomo/6e0c4e9f078d7e2a/full.pdf">the August report</a> painted an alarming picture of pervasive sexual harassment and retaliation by Cuomo and his aides.
It detailed accusations ranging from Cuomo asking for help finding a girlfriend and saying that he, in his early 60s, would date a woman as young as 22, to unwanted physical contact, like the kind Commisso described when she <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2021/10/28/misdemeanor-complaint-filed-against-cuomo-over-forcible-touching-1392121">came forward publicly</a> in August.
The report was effectively the final straw for an already-embattled Cuomo, who was by August facing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/nyregion/andrew-cuomo-book-investigation.html">multiple</a> <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/cuomo-investigations-possible-impeachment.html">distinct scandals</a>, including allegations that his administration had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/04/nyregion/cuomo-nursing-home-deaths.html">deliberately covered up</a> the number of nursing home residents who died of Covid-19 during the pandemic. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/majority-of-new-yorkers-say-gov-andrew-cuomo-shouldnt-run-again-11625131801">His public support plummeted</a>, and top aide <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/08/politics/new-york-governor-cuomo-aide-melissa-derosa-resigns/index.html">Melissa DeRosa</a> resigned after the attorney general’s report showed that she had participated in retaliation against at least one accuser.
Sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo began surfacing last year after former aide <a href="https://www.vox.com/22174452/andrew-cuomo-lindsey-boylan-sexual-harassment">Lindsay Boylan</a> accused Cuomo of sexually harassing her “for years” and of retaliating against her by <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/cuomo-accuser-lindsey-boylan-file-lawsuit-embattled-governor/story?id=79288632">releasing confidential personnel</a> files; <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/7/22318003/more-women-accuse-new-york-gov-andrew-cuomo-sexual-harassment">additional accusations</a> earlier this year added momentum to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/13/22328860/andrew-cuomo-resign-democrats">calls for Cuomo to resign</a>.
Ultimately, Cuomo, facing an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/nyregion/andrew-cuomo.html">accelerating impeachment push</a> backed by state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and the chamber’s Democratic majority, announced he was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/andrew-cuomo-resigns-17161f546bb83c32a337036ecf8d2a34">stepping down</a> just one week after the attorney general’s report was released on August 3.
Despite Cuomo’s resignation, Heastie said in August that the Assembly would <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/cuomo-impeachment.html">continue investigating</a> both the sexual harassment accusations and allegations that the Cuomo administration had deliberately lied about the number of nursing home deaths in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thursday’s criminal complaint is just the latest development in Cuomo’s rapid downfall, and it underscores that the allegations that ended his governorship could still become actionable claims, with real legal teeth.
As with previous sexual misconduct allegations, Cuomo’s attorney, Glavin, has argued that the allegations in Thursday’s criminal complaint are false and politically motivated.
“Governor Cuomo has never assaulted anyone, and Sheriff Apple’s motives here are patently improper. Sheriff Apple didn’t even tell the district attorney what he was doing,” <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachReports/status/1453844757835288576?s=20">Glavin said in a statement</a>. “This is not professional law enforcement; this is politics.”
Specifically, Cuomo’s team has <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewcuomo/status/1454126827572797443?s=20">seized on the initial confusion</a> surrounding the charging announcement, which coincided closely with the announcement of James’s gubernatorial campaign, as evidence of political maneuvering on her part and an “<a href="https://twitter.com/andrewcuomo/status/1454519659680698374?s=20">abuse of power</a>” by Apple in his “rouge [sic] investigation.”
James <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-new-york-andrew-cuomo-kathy-hochul-15e1fc7cc5ef518503ca561d2fd8034f">announced her gubernatorial campaign</a> on Friday, just one day after the criminal complaint against Cuomo was filed. She will challenge sitting New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, the former lieutenant governor who took over from Cuomo following his resignation, in the Democratic primary, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/nyregion/jumaane-williams-public-advocate-governor.html">other candidates</a> may jump into the Democratic race as well.
James and Cuomo had <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-is-letitia-james-former-andrew-cuomo-ally-could-help-take-him-down-11628102625">previously been allies</a>; he endorsed her during her successful 2018 run for attorney general. More recently, however, <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2021/10/29/she-took-on-cuomo-trump-and-the-nra-now-tish-james-wants-to-be-governor-1392133">Cuomo and his team</a> have begun to spin James’s probe into the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo as an abuse of power in pursuit of the governor’s mansion.
Cuomo has <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewcuomo/status/1454519659680698374">tweeted repeatedly</a> in the days since the complaint was made public, with statements by Glavin and Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi both claiming there is no evidence to support the criminal charges.
But <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/04/nyregion/andrew-cuomo.html">multiple district attorney’s offices</a> in New York, as well as <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2021/10/29/albany-sheriff-promises-overwhelming-amount-of-evidence-against-cuomo-1392135">state Assembly,</a> have been collecting evidence against Cuomo, and Apple has repeatedly said that the mistimed filing of the complaint doesn’t have any bearing on the seriousness of the charges or the strength of the case. Apple <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/579224-sheriff-says-he-did-not-coordinate-with-da-before-filing-cuomo-complaint">also revealed</a> that he and his team had conducted witness interviews and reviewed copious documents related to the case.
“The case is a solid case, our victim is cooperative, and we’re moving forward,” <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2021/10/29/albany-sheriff-promises-overwhelming-amount-of-evidence-against-cuomo-1392135">Apple said</a>.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/10/30/22754014/cuomo-criminal-complaint-forcible-touching-commisso-new-york">https://www.vox.com/2021/10/30/22754014/cuomo-criminal-complaint-forcible-touching-commisso-new-york</a>

vox The criminal complaint against Andrew Cuomo, briefly explained

More than two months after his abrupt fall from power , former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now facing a criminal complaint alleging he g...

Canada Vows To Donate 200 Million Covid Vaccine Doses To Poorer Countries

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Canada Vows To Donate 200 Million Covid Vaccine Doses To Poorer Countries" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-09/q1shi094_justin-trudeau-afp_625x300_21_September_21.jpg" title="Canada Vows To Donate 200 Million Covid Vaccine Doses To Poorer Countries" /></div>
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged millions of vaccine doses at the G20 summit. (File)
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Montreal:
Canada on Saturday pledged at the G20 summit to donate millions more Covid vaccine doses to poor countries worldwide.
"Canada will donate the equivalent of at least 200 million doses to the COVAX Facility by the end of 2022," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement, referring to the global vaccine-sharing alliance.
Of this number, 10 million doses of Moderna's vaccine will be delivered "quickly" to developing countries, he said.
Canada has also pledged $15 million to help increase vaccine production in South Africa, said Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland at a Rome briefing.
Those funds should contribute to the creation of a "technology transfer center" so that the region can produce messenger RNA vaccines against COVID19.
"We do not control production, but by 2022, we are certain that it will be possible to contribute at this level," Freeland said.
In August, the American company Moderna announced that it wanted to build a vaccine manufacturing plant in Canada, the first outside the United States.
According to the Canadian government, fewer than three million of the 40 million doses already promised by Canada had been received by the COVAX program on Saturday, with additional deliveries planned in coming days.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/g20-summit-canada-vows-to-donate-200-million-covid-19-vaccine-doses-to-poorer-countries-2594150">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/g20-summit-canada-vows-to-donate-200-million-covid-19-vaccine-doses-to-poorer-countries-2594150</a>

news world Canada Vows To Donate 200 Million Covid Vaccine Doses To Poorer Countries

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged millions of vaccine doses at the G20 summit. (File) Montreal: Canada on Saturday ple...

Alec Baldwin Calls Fatal Film Set Shooting 'One In A Trillion Episode'

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Alec Baldwin Calls Fatal Film Set Shooting 'One In A Trillion Episode'" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-10/q6aji7gg_alec-baldwinafp_625x300_22_October_21.jpg" title="Alec Baldwin Calls Fatal Film Set Shooting 'One In A Trillion Episode'" /></div>
Alec Baldwin has previously tweeted to express his grief over the tragedy. (File)
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Los Angeles:
US actor Alec Baldwin said the <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2021/10/30/alec-baldwin-speaks-first-time-on-camera-halyna-hutchins/" target="_blank">shocking death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins</a>, who was killed when he fired a prop gun on set, was a "one in a trillion episode," footage aired by TMZ showed Saturday.
Baldwin and his wife Hilaria spoke to reporters who intercepted them in Manchester, Vermont, in his first on-camera comments since Hutchins died after the shooting on the set of the 19th-century Western "Rust" on October 21.
He has previously <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/heart-is-broken-alec-baldwin-over-fatal-film-set-shooting-2584743" target="_self">tweeted to express his grief</a> over the tragedy, and said he is cooperating with police investigating the killing.
"She was my family," he told the reporters in the footage.
"There are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time, but nothing like this. This is a one in a trillion episode."
Calls have grown since the incident for better control of weapons on Hollywood sets, and Baldwin said the effort was "something I am extremely interested in."
But he could not say whether he would ever work with firearms on a set again.
He also said that production on "Rust," which was suspended immediately after the killing, would not resume.
Baldwin, who was a producer as well as the lead actor in the film, fired a live round from a Colt .45 during a rehearsal on the set of "Rust."
The round passed through Hutchins' body and struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder. She died, while he was treated in hospital for the injury and released.
Baldwin, who had been told by the film's assistant director that the gun was "cold" -- meaning it did not have a live round in the chamber -- said he could not comment on the ongoing investigation.
The assistant director, Dave Halls, has since told detectives that he did not fully check the gun before declaring it safe.
'Well-oiled crew'
The film's armorer said in a statement on Friday that she had "no idea" where the live round came from.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, was responsible for supplying and keeping weapons safe on set, ensuring that they were accounted for at all times and locked away when not in use.
She "never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would she permit that," the statement said.
"They were locked up every night and at lunch and there's no way a single one of them was unaccounted for or being shot by crew members."
More than a dozen weapons were being stored in a prop truck on the set, according to law enforcement documents seen by AFP on Friday.
Gutierrez-Reed spoke after days of reports suggesting safety lapses on set.
Authorities have said they do not rule out pressing criminal charges.
Investigators in Santa Fe, where "Rust" was being made, said they had seized a cache of ammunition, some of which they believe was live, and the sheriff told reporters there was "some complacency" on set.
Baldwin said that the day he arrived in Santa Fe he had taken Hutchins and Souza to dinner.
"We were a very, very ... well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened," he said.
And he described meeting Hutchins' widower and son, saying they were "overwhelmed with grief."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/alec-baldwin-calls-fatal-film-set-shooting-one-in-a-trillion-episode-2594148">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/alec-baldwin-calls-fatal-film-set-shooting-one-in-a-trillion-episode-2594148</a>

news world Alec Baldwin Calls Fatal Film Set Shooting 'One In A Trillion Episode'

Alec Baldwin has previously tweeted to express his grief over the tragedy. (File) Los Angeles: US actor Alec Baldwin said the shocking ...

US, EU End Tariff War From Donald Trump's Presidency Over Steel, Aluminum

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="US, EU End Tariff War From Donald Trump's Presidency Over Steel, Aluminum" src="https://i.ndtvimg.com/i/2018-03/donald-trump-steel-tariff-meet-reuters_650x400_51520025186.jpg" title="US, EU End Tariff War From Donald Trump's Presidency Over Steel, Aluminum" /></div>
The US steel and aluminum tariffs were imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018. (File)
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Washington/Rome:
The United States and the European Union have agreed to end a festering dispute over US steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018, removing an irritant in transatlantic relations and averting a spike in EU retaliatory tariffs, US officials said on Saturday. 
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters that the deal will maintain US "Section 232" tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent aluminum, while allowing "limited volumes" of EU-produced metals into the United States duty free. 
It also ends one of the biggest areas of friction between the allies and allows them to focus on negotiating new global trade agreements to address global excess steel and aluminum capacity mainly centered in China and reduce the industries' carbon emissions. 
US officials did not specify the volume of duty-free steel to be allowed into the United States under a tariff-rate quota system agreed upon with the EU.
Sources familiar with the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, have told Reuters that annual volumes above 3.3 million tons would be subject to tariffs. 
The deal grants an additional two years of duty-free access above the quota for EU steel products that won Commerce Department exclusions in the past year, US officials said. 
The deal requires EU steel and aluminum to be entirely produced in the bloc - a standard known as "melted and poured" - to qualify for duty-free status.
The provision is aimed at preventing metals from China and non-EU countries from being minimally processed in Europe before export to the United States. 
"The agreement ultimately to negotiate a carbon-based arrangement on steel and aluminum trade addresses both Chinese overproduction and carbon intensity in the steel and aluminum sector," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
"It shows that we can solve the climate crisis while at the same time better protecting our workers - that we don't have to pick between climate or the economy," he added. 
US President Joe Biden has sought to mend fences with European allies following Trump's presidency to more broadly confront China's state-driven economic practices that led to Beijing building massive excess steelmaking capacity that has flooded global markets. 
Raimondo said the deal will reduce costs for steel-consuming US manufacturers.
Steel prices have more than tripled in the past year to records topping $1,900 a ton as the industry has struggled to keep up with a demand surge after COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdowns, contributing to inflation. 
Europe exported around five million tons of steel annually to the United States prior to Trump's imposition of the "Section 232" tariffs in March 2018 on national security grounds. 
The deal also eliminates Europe's retaliatory tariffs against US products including whiskey and Harley-Davidson motorcycles that were set to double on December 1, the US officials said.
The United States allows imports of steel and aluminum duty-free from North American trade deal partners Mexico and Canada, with a mechanism that allows tariffs to be reimposed in the event of an unexpected "surge" in import volumes.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/united-states-european-union-end-tariff-war-from-us-donald-trumps-presidency-over-steel-aluminum-2594124">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/united-states-european-union-end-tariff-war-from-us-donald-trumps-presidency-over-steel-aluminum-2594124</a>

news world US, EU End Tariff War From Donald Trump's Presidency Over Steel, Aluminum

The US steel and aluminum tariffs were imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018. (File) Washington/Rome: The United States and ...

"Yours Proudly Evil-Minded Zionist": Israel's India Envoy Sneers At Iran

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="'Yours Proudly Evil-Minded Zionist': Israel's India Envoy Sneers At Iran" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-10/brs7d83g_naor-gilon_625x300_31_October_21.jpg" title="'Yours Proudly Evil-Minded Zionist': Israel's India Envoy Sneers At Iran" /></div>
Israel's Ambassador to India Naor Gilon has taken a swipe at Iran
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New Delhi:
Israel's ambassador to India has taken a swipe at Iran for calling him "childish" over his remarks that Iran was seen as a destabiliser in the region. The Israeli envoy to India, Naor Gilon, had said Iran is being steered by a very extreme regime with nuclear weapons and is a danger in West Asia, news agency ANI reported.
To this, Iran in a statement said, "...Certainly great civilizations with the great history of peace and coexistence are smarter than falling into the traps of such selfish and bloodthirsty regime with huge records of human rights abuses, killings of children, and the childish remarks of its evil-minded Zionist envoy."
Mr Gilon, 57, who in recent days have tweeted lighter moments like a meme of Facebook on its name change to Meta and a promise that he would try to bring one of the actors of the Israeli hit web series Fauda for a visit to India, responded to the Iranian statement seasoned with a pinch of humour.
"Thank you @Iran_in_India When at 57 someone calls me 'childish' and 'adventurous', I take it as a complement. Yours proudly the 'evil minded Zionist envoy'," the Israeli Ambassador to India tweeted.
Backing his colleague on the Twitter swipe at Iran, Israel Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz tweeted, "We still vividly remember how in February 2012 an 'evil minded' Iranian death squad attempted to assassinate one of our diplomats in the heart of New Delhi."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We still vividly remember how in February 2012 an "evil minded" Iranian death squad attempted to assassinate one of our diplomtas in the heart of New Delhi. <a href="https://t.co/42vLQvLh3t">https://t.co/42vLQvLh3t</a>
— Alon Ushpiz (@AlonUshpiz) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlonUshpiz/status/1454488195614265361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
Mr Ushpiz's tweet was in reference to an attack on Israeli embassy staffer Tal Yehoshua Koren car in February 2012. A terrorist had stuck a magnetic bomb at her car, which exploded, injuring four people including Ms Koren and her driver, an Indian. Israel had held Iran responsible for the attack.
With inputs from ANI
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/yours-proudly-evil-minded-zionist-israeli-envoy-to-india-naor-gilons-swipe-at-iran-2594109">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/yours-proudly-evil-minded-zionist-israeli-envoy-to-india-naor-gilons-swipe-at-iran-2594109</a>

news world "Yours Proudly Evil-Minded Zionist": Israel's India Envoy Sneers At Iran

Israel's Ambassador to India Naor Gilon has taken a swipe at Iran New Delhi: Israel's ambassador to India has taken a swipe at ...

4 Gulf States Pull Envoys From Lebanon In Row Over Yemen Intervention

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="4 Gulf States Pull Envoys From Lebanon In Row Over Yemen Intervention" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-10/gmg1dppo_kuwait-embassy-in-lebanon-afp-650_625x300_30_October_21.jpg" title="4 Gulf States Pull Envoys From Lebanon In Row Over Yemen Intervention" /></div>
Lebanon had been counting on financial assistance from the Gulf to rescue its economy.
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Dubai:
The United Arab Emirates said Saturday it was withdrawing its diplomats from Lebanon, following a similar move by Saudi Arabia over a Lebanese minister's criticism of the Riyadh-led military intervention in Yemen.
The diplomatic row, which has also seen Riyadh suspend imports from Lebanon and both Kuwait and Bahrain expel Lebanese envoys, is another blow to a country already facing crippling political and economic crises.
Lebanon had been counting on financial assistance from the Gulf to rescue its economy.
"The UAE announced the withdrawal of its diplomats from Lebanon in solidarity with the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in light of the unacceptable approach of some Lebanese officials towards Saudi Arabia," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It "also decided to prevent its citizens from travelling to Lebanon," it added.
It came a day after the Saudi and Bahraini moves and hours after Kuwait asked Lebanon's envoy to "leave in 48 hours" and recalled its ambassador from Beirut.
The dispute was sparked by the broadcast this week of an interview in which Lebanon's Information Minister George Kordahi criticised the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.
In his remarks -- recorded in August but aired on Monday -- Kordahi called the seven-year war in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country "futile" and said it was "time for it to end".
Kordahi said Yemen's Huthi rebels were "defending themselves... against an external aggression", adding that "homes, villages, funerals and weddings were being bombed" by the Saudi-led coalition.
The Huthis are backed by Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran, which also wields significant influence in Lebanon, due to its strong backing of the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah.
'Sack This Minister'
Kordahi's comments saw Saudi Arabia announce Friday that it was recalling its ambassador and it gave Beirut's envoy 48 hours to leave Riyadh.
The minister's words have sparked calls for him to resign or be sacked.
"Sack this minister who will destroy our relations with the Arab Gulf before it is too late," Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said on Twitter.
Kuwait's foreign ministry said the expulsion and recall was based on the "failure" of the Lebanese government to "address the unacceptable and reprehensible statements" against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The GCC is a six-member regional body that comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
Kuwait's decision was also based on the Lebanese government's "failure" to stop operations to smuggle drugs to Kuwait and other GCC states, the ministry added.
The comments on smuggling echo Riyadh's line, which extended to Saudi Arabia on Friday imposing a suspension on all imports from Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia on Friday slammed Lebanon's failure to "stop the export of the scourge of drugs... to the Kingdom, especially in light of the terrorist Hezbollah's control of all ports."
Riyadh announced in June that it had confiscated thousands of Captagon pills hidden in a shipment of fruit from Lebanon.
'Iran's' Grip
The kingdom, which wields strong influence over many of the smaller Gulf states, has stepped back from its former ally Lebanon in recent years, angered by the influence of Hezbollah.
In late 2017, Lebanon's then prime minister Saad Hariri, a Sunni who had been supported by Saudi Arabia for years, announced in a televised address from Riyadh that he was resigning, citing Iran's "grip" on his country.
He spent two weeks in Riyadh amid speculation he was being kept under house arrest there, before France intervened. He withdrew his resignation after arriving back in Lebanon.
Suleiman Franjieh, who heads Lebanon's Marada Movement and endorsed Kordahi's nomination as minister, sprang to his defence on Saturday.
He did not nominate him "to offer him as a sacrifice to anyone," he said, noting that he had refused to accept Kordahi's resignation.
Qatar, which in January this year repaired a rift of its own with Saudi Arabia, stopped short of withdrawing its ambassador from Beirut, but condemned Kordahi's remarks and urged the Beirut government to act.
"The foreign ministry calls on the Lebanese government to take the necessary measures... urgently and decisively, to calm the situation and to mend the rift," it added.
Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit voiced concern over the deteriorating ties between Lebanon and the Arab Gulf countries, calling on the latter to "reflect" carefully on any planned measures, to avoid further undermining Lebanon's "collapsing" economy.
He also urged Lebanon's president and prime minister to take steps to ease the crisis.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/4-gulf-states-pull-envoys-from-lebanon-in-row-over-saudi-led-yemen-intervention-2594101">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/4-gulf-states-pull-envoys-from-lebanon-in-row-over-saudi-led-yemen-intervention-2594101</a>

news world 4 Gulf States Pull Envoys From Lebanon In Row Over Yemen Intervention

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