US intelligence agencies claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered his government to help Republican Donald Trump win the presidential election. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA) released a report on Friday which shows Russia “sought to help” Trump by running a smear campaign against Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival.

“We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments,” the report read.

“When it appeared to Moscow that Secretary Clinton was likely to win the election, the Russian influence campaign began to focus more on undermining her future presidency,” it added. Heavily favored to win the election, Clinton led Trump in most polls throughout the campaign but lost the ultimate face-off to him on November 8. The run-up to the November vote saw the two candidates attacking each other over a series of confidential emails that belonged to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton’s top aide John Podesta.

Trump said that the emails showed Clinton’s corruption, proving that she was unfit to lead the country. Clinton, however, blamed the leaks on Moscow and accused Trump of getting help from the Kremlin. President Barack Obama’s administration has been blaming the hacks on Russia, but the Kremlin has categorically denied the claim.

The Friday report by the American intelligence agencies claimed that Russia’s behavior since early November had increased the credibility of their assessment. Trump and Moscow have been on seemingly good terms since the vote. Putin has even written a letter to the incoming US president, calling for better ties with the US.

The report said Russia chose WikiLeaks as an outlet for the hacked documents because of the anti-secrecy website’s “self-proclaimed reputation for authenticity.” “Russia collected on some Republican-affiliated targets but did not conduct a comparable disclosure campaign,” the report continued. The three agencies concluded that Russia would use the learnings of the “Putin-ordered” campaign to carry out future operations worldwide.

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US President-elect Donald Trump has called on all US ambassadors to hand in their resignations before he is sworn in on January 20, according to some diplomats. The envoys were notified of the incoming president’s decision through an abrupt State Department cable, which was issued on December 23 and called on all US missions in over 180 countries to return “without exception,” according to diplomats who saw it in person.

Trump’s move marked an unprecedented break from the tradition of extending the ambassadors’ stay for some time, giving them enough time to make the required arrangements. Previous administrations of both parties have usually given envoys enough time until at least the end of their children’s school year. Calling back all of President Barack Obama’s appointed envoys abroad risks leaving the US without proper representation in key countries like Britain, Germany and Canada for months.

Within two weeks of his inauguration, Trump has only named Zionist hardliner David Friedman as ambassador to Israel and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as his ambassador to China. Some of the envoys are reportedly planning to appeal the decision with Trump’s designated Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. They think it is unfair that their personal lives have been disrupted while First-Lady-in-waiting Melania Trump is allowed to remain at Trump Tower until her son’s school is over.

The move is in line with Trump’s other unorthodox steps in destroying Obama’s legacy, specially his foreign policy. However, a senior member of the New York businessman’s transition team told the New York Times that there was no “ill will” in the decision. According to the American Foreign Service Association, a union representing diplomats, there are 188 US ambassadors worldwide.

Many of America’s key ambassadorships go to political appointees, i.e. senior members of the president’s party or the people who supported his campaign through major donations. In Obama’s case, such sinecures were granted to Jane Hartley, a Democratic fundraiser who served as ambassador to France, and former President John F. Kennedy’s daughter Caroline Kennedy, to Japan. For Israel, the outgoing president chose former Democratic congressional aide and adviser Daniel Shapiro.

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US President-elect Donald Trump has praised “very smart” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision not to retaliate Washington’s recent expansion of sanctions against Moscow. On Thursday, President Barack Obama ordered a series of new sanctions against Russia as well as the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, accusing them of being spies.

However, Putin decided not to expel US diplomats in reprisal, saying he would rather wait to work with the Trump administration to solve the issue. “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!” Trump said in a tweet on Friday.

The message soon made the rounds on the internet and was retweeted by the Russian Embassy in the US. The new sanctions came in retaliation for what the White House and the US intelligence community claim to be Russia’s hacks of Democratic operatives and groups during the recent presidential election.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has reportedly determined in a secret assessment that the Kremlin interfered in the November 8 election to particularly help Trump defeat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Russia and Trump have both denied the accusations, with Putin saying that the US should either provide evidence or stop the allegations.

On Thursday, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided technical details about the tools and cyber infrastructure they said Russian civilian and military intelligence services used for the hack attack, code named Grizzly Steppe.

The document said the cyber attack was carried out to “compromise and exploit networks and endpoints associated with the US election, as well as a range of US government, political, and private sector entities.” However, it did not mention by name the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta, whose emails were hacked and released during the campaign.

WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy website that published the emails, has made it clear that a whistle-blower inside the DNC was behind the leaks and Russia had nothing to do with them. Obama’s move in slapping new sanctions on Russia was hailed by Republican heavyweights like Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain. Trump, however, criticized the US claims and said it was time to “move on.”

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Senegal has defended its recent UNSC vote to halt Israel’s illegal settlement activities on Palestinian territories, after Tel Aviv recalls its ambassador to Dakar. “Senegal’s position must be saluted. The international community hails Senegal’s stance, especially the Muslim nations,” said government spokesman Seydou Gueye in a televised statement on Sunday.

On Friday, the UNSC Resolution 2334 was passed with 14 votes in favor and one abstention — by the US. It condemned the establishment of settlements by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories a “flagrant violation under international law,” which it said was “dangerously imperiling the viability” of peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state. “Senegal abided by its diplomatic vision. Since 1975, Senegal has been a member of the (UN) Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People,” he added.

In relation to reports that Israel had also canceled all its aid programs in the west African nation, he noted that the government had not yet been officially informed of such a move. “When it is informed of such a decision, it will issue a response,” Gueye noted. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has summoned the US ambassador to Israel to discuss the Washington’s abstention in the UNSC vote. Earlier, Israel summoned the ambassadors to Britain, China, Russia, France, Egypt, Japan, Uruguay, Spain, Ukraine and New Zealand over the resolution.

Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip have collectively welcomed the resolution, with Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki describing the vote as a “victory for the Palestinian people.” Prior to the vote, Tel Aviv attempted to block the vote and prompt a veto by its strongest ally, the United States.More than half a million Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

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The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has called on Gambia’s longtime head of state, Yahya Jammeh, to hand over power to President-elect Adama Barrow, who won the December 1 polls in the West African country.

In a statement read at an open council meeting on Wednesday, the 15-member body said it was “encouraged” by decisions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union to recognize Barrow as Gambia’s future leader.

Barrow and Jammeh secured 43.3 and 39.6 percent of the vote respectively. Jammeh, who has governed the country for 22 years, initially accepted the results but later reversed his position, saying the polls were riddled with irregularities and vowed to challenge the outcome in the Supreme Court.

ECOWAS, in turn, urged Jammeh to honor his initial pledge to accept electoral defeat and threatened “to take all necessary action to enforce the results” of the polls. However, Jammeh said he would not step down and accused West African leaders of violating the ECOWAS principle of non-interference. “I am not a coward. My right cannot be intimidated and violated. This is my position. Nobody can deprive me of that victory,” he said during a televised speech.

Reports said ECOWAS might seek approval from the UNSC, of which Senegal is a non-permanent member, for the use of force against the Gambia. The UNSC said ECOWAS initiatives “aimed at ensuring a peaceful and orderly transition process.” It further urged Barrow’s security to be “fully ensured” and called on Gambian defense and security forces to “demonstrate maximum restraint to maintain an atmosphere of calm” in the capital, Banjul.

Barrow’s inauguration ceremony is expected to be held on January 19. Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 military coup, has come under fire by human rights groups for what is said to be his crackdown on opponents.

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The former French prime minister and the Republican party’s presidential candidate has criticized the Western policy towards Syria’s nearly six-year-old conflict, stating that Europe’s stance vis-à-vis the deadly crisis has shown “indignation.” Speaking to reporters following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of European center-right parties in Brussels on Thursday, Francois Fillon stated that Europe has to engage in negotiations with parties involved in the Syrian conflict to save lives. “I told European leaders that what we are forced to concede today is that Western diplomacy and in particular European diplomacy has failed,” he said, rejecting the option of a US military onslaught against Syria.

The 62-year-old French politician, who has previously called for restoring ties with the Syrian government, added, “The other option is a strong European diplomatic initiative to bring around the table all those who can stop this conflict,” which started in March 2011. Commenting on the European strategy with regard to Russia, which has been conducting an air campaign against militants in Syria for over a year, the French presidential hopeful said, “I simply have a lot of respect for Russia. I’ve always said whether Russia’s leader is called Vladimir, Boris or Igor, he is the leader of the biggest country in the world. Europe must have a long-term strategy with Russia and not just act emotionally.”

Fillon’s comments come as Russia has criticized the West for its failure to contain extremist militants it supports in Syria and “indefinite” procrastination when it comes to peace talks for the war-ravaged Arab country. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last month that the West had been unsuccessful to wield influence on Takfiri militants in Syria. “As a result, the prospects for the start of a negotiation process and the return to peaceful life in Syria are postponed for an indefinite period,” he said at the time.

The United States has been supporting militants it calls “moderate.” Russia has in return emphasized there are no such militants in Syria, and all militant groups are perpetrating savage acts of terror in the conflict-ridden country. Washington refuses to designate specifically what groups it deems “moderate,” even though Moscow has expressed preparedness for potential cooperation in that regard.

US officials have been campaigning strongly against Russian aerial attacks in Syria, saying the strikes may target the “moderates.” Russia began its air campaign against Daesh and other terrorist groups in Syria in September 2015 upon a request by the Damascus government. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.

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US President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly called Mitt Romney, one of his fiercest critics and the 2012 Republican nominee, to tell him that he is not getting the post of secretary of state. After Bloomberg and some other sources revealed this information on Monday night, the former Massachusetts governor also confirmed that he was not being considered for the job by Trump.

“It was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country,” Romney wrote on his Facebook page. “My discussions with President-elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening. I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace,” he stated.

Trump announced on Monday night on his Twitter handle that he will pick a person to lead the State Department on Tuesday morning. Romney — a figure with orthodox Republican views — was on the shortlist for the post of top US diplomat until the end, Bloomberg reported. But now ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson is expected to be named by the president-elect as his secretary of state, according to reports.

Romney had been a virulent critic of Trump throughout his Republican primary campaign, imploring voters to reject his candidacy. In March, he said the victory of Trump in the 2016 presidential election “will have profound consequences for the Republican Party and, more importantly, for the country.”

“If we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished,” he warned.  “Here’s what I know: Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud,” claimed Romney. The former Massachusetts governor said in June if Trump would be elected president, he could legitimize racism and bigotry and change the moral fabric of American society.

In response, Trump, who endorsed Romney in 2012, denounced him as an “ungrateful” person, adding that Romney begged for his endorsement and “would’ve dropped to his knees” for it. “I believe I won for him, or helped him win, fives states that he was going to lose in the primaries. … He was ungrateful,” Trump said.

Trump had propelled himself as the president-elect by framing himself as an anti-establishment outsider. However, his campaign had been defined by controversy from the beginning, including disparaging remarks about women, Mexican immigrants and Muslims.

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