President Trump In Israel: An Awkward Selfie And Bonding Over Media Gripes

May 23, 2017

Jerusalem, May 23: Warm words were spoken in public by Israeli officials upon President Donald Trump's arrival Monday. Then things got a little off-script at the airport near Tel Aviv.

Israel

A pushy Israeli parliament member named Oren Hazan pulled Trump aside and started taking a selfie in the receiving line.

Trump kept a stone face. He might have looked even more dour if he knew the full extent of Hazan's infamous reputation.

Israeli Channel 2 had aired an investigative report alleging that Hazan managed a casino in Bulgaria, where he sampled drugs with guests and procured prostitutes for them. Hazan denied the accusations and sued for libel. He's a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayu's Likud party, but has been shunned.

"It may be worth noting," the Times of Israeli said in its report, "that Hazan was not even supposed to be in the front row of dignitaries."

As Hazan whipped out his phone, Netanyahu stepped into the situation and tried to pull Hazan's arm down.

But Hazan managed to get his money shot anyway - and crop out the prime minister's arm.

Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, also had an unscripted moment, captured by journalists and the official Government Press Office.

The Netanyahus were shown speaking with Trump and first lady Melania Trump. The couples exchanged praise and mutual fandom, then ...

Sara Netanyahu points at Melania Trump: "I talk every place about how great she is, how great you are."

The prime minister inserts: "I can testify to that."

Sara Netanyahu continues: "Because the majority of the people in Israel, unlike the media, they love us."

Her husband is actually not super popular, and she more so, in public opinion polls. Also Israel runs on a parliamentary system, and Netanyahu's Likud party won the last election in 2015 but needed other political factions to form a government.

Sara Netanyahu continued: "So we tell them how you are great and so they love you."

The president interjects: "So we have something very much in common."

The prime minister: "Sounds familiar."

Then Sara Netanyahu closes with: "Very much in common, we will talk about it at dinner. A lot in common, the same media. Anyhow, we'll talk about it."

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Agencies
June 2,2020

Washington, Jun 2: There is no place for hate and racism in the society, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said, asserting that empathy and shared understanding are a start, but more needs to be done. Nadella’s remarks come in the wake of the custodial death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man who was pinned to the ground in Minneapolis on May 25 by a white police officer who kneeled on his neck as he gasped for breath.

“There is no place for hate and racism in our society. Empathy and shared understanding are a start, but we must do more,” Nadella said in a tweet on Monday.

“I stand with the Black and African American community and we are committed to building on this work in our company and in our communities,” Nadella said.

A day earlier, Google CEO Sunder Pichai expressed solidarity with the African-American community.

“Today on US Google & YouTube homepages we share our support for racial equality in solidarity with the Black community and in memory of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery & others who don’t have a voice,” Pichai wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

“For those feeling grief, anger, sadness & fear, you are not alone,” Pichai said, sharing a screenshot of the Google search home page which said, “We stand in support of racial equality, and all those who search for it.”

Nadella’s Microsoft also said they will be using the platform to amplify voices from the Black and African American community at the company.

Nadella had also spoken out a few months ago about the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act passed in his native country. Talking to BuzzFeed’s editor-in-chief, Ben Smith, in Manhattan, Nadella said what’s happening in the country is “sad.”

“I think what is happening is sad. I feel, and in fact quite frankly, now being informed (and) shaped by the two amazing American things that I’ve observed which is both, it’s technology reaching me where I was growing up and its immigration policy and even a story like mine being possible in a country like this.

“I think, it’s just bad, if anything, I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or becomes the CEO of Infosys. That should be the aspiration. If I had to sort of mirror what happened to me in the US, I hope that’s what happens in India,” Microsoft’s India-born CEO was quoted as saying by BuzzFeed.

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News Network
April 17,2020

Washington, Apr 17: The confirmed coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 32,917 on Thursday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The toll as of 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Friday) marked an increase of 4,491 deaths in the past 24 hours, by far the highest daily toll in the pandemic so far.

But the figure likely includes "probable" deaths related to COVID-19, which were not previously included. This week, New York City announced it would add 3,778 "probable" coronavirus deaths to its toll.

As of Thursday night, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recorded 31,071 coronavirus deaths, including 4,141 "probable" virus deaths.

The US has the highest death toll in the world, followed by Italy with 22,170 dead although its population is just a fifth of that of the US.

Spain has recorded 19,130 deaths, followed by France with 17,920.

More than 667,800 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the United States, which has seen a record number of deaths over the past two days.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump unveiled plans Thursday evening to reopen the US economy, allowing each state's governor "to take a phased deliberate approach to reopening their individual states".

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News Network
January 30,2020

New York, Jan 30: Three Indian citizens were arrested by border patrol agents here for entering the US illegally.

US Border Patrol agents stopped a vehicle near Massena in New York state along the county's northern border on January 24. During the vehicle checking, the agents found that two of the passengers were Indian citizens who entered the US illegally and not at a designated port of entry.

Both the passengers were transported to the Border Patrol Station for processing and charged.

The vehicle driver, also an Indian citizen who originally entered illegally into the US in 2012 and was ordered removed from the country in absentia last December, was charged with alien smuggling, a felony, which carries a penalty of a fine and up to five years of imprisonment for each violation.

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