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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News Network
April 26,2020

Seoul, Apr 26: A train presumed to belong to North Korean's Kim Jong-un has been spotted at a station in the state's eastern coastal town of Wonsan amid speculation about the leader's health, a US monitor said on Sunday, citing commercial satellite imagery on the region, Yonhap news agency reported.

According to 38 North-- a website devoted to analysis about North Korea, the imagery showed a train "probably belonging to Kim Jong Un parked at the Leadership Railway Station servicing his Wonsan compound since at least April 21."

"The approximately 250-metre long train, although partially covered by the station's roof, can be seen at a railway station reserved for use by the Kim family. It was not present on April 15 but was present on both April 21 and 23," it said.

"The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it added.

The report came as rumours about his health have spread as Kim apparently skipped an important annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the April 15 birthday of late state founder and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung.

CNN intensified the speculation by reporting earlier last week that the United States is looking into intelligence that Kim is "in grave danger" after surgery.

Seoul officials have disputed recent media reports about Kim, saying there have been no unusual signs from the North. Some said that Kim is presumed to be staying in Wonsan for unspecified reasons.

Washington has also dismissed the reports, with US President Donald Trump calling such reports "incorrect" in a press briefing late last week.

On Saturday, other media reports stated that China has dispatched a team of medical doctors and officials to North Korea "to advise on" Kim, citing multiple unnamed people familiar with the situation.

North Korea's state media, however, has not made any mention of Kim's public activity for two weeks since he was last seen in April 11 presiding over a major party meeting, though it has reported on his handling of routine state affairs, such as sending diplomatic letters.
But not all speculation has proven to be false.

When he was absent from public for about a month in 2014, speculation arose about his health and a political crisis in the secretive state. He later reemerged with a cane and a limp reportedly after having a cyst removed from his ankle.

The 36-year-old leader is known to have various health problems apparently caused by obesity and heavy smoking. He took office as leader of the communist state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died of a heart attack in late 2011.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Geneva, Mar 30: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has reached 634,835, among them 29,957 fatalities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday.

Over the past 24 hours, 63,159 people were confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus and 3,464 people died, the WHO said.

According to the latest situation report, the majority of the confirmed cases - more than 361,000 - are presently concentrated in Europe, with Italy leading the tally with over 92,000 cases, followed by Spain with over 72,000 cases, and Germany with over 52,000 cases.

Italy and Spain are also the countries that top the worldwide death toll from COVID-19, with 10,023 and 5,690 fatalities, respectively.

The second most affected region is currently the Americas with over 120,000 verified COVID-19 cases, of which the majority - over 103,000 - have been found in the United States. The US is also the country with the highest single tally of COVID-19 cases at the moment.
The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11.

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News Network
June 24,2020

Geneva, Jun 24: The global cumulative count of confirmed coronavirus cases is approaching nine million, with 133,326 cases recorded over the past day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its daily situation report on Tuesday.

Over the past 24 hours, 3,847 people died from COVID-19 worldwide, taking the cumulative death toll to 469,587 fatalities, according to the report.

The global case total has now reached 8,993,659.

The Americas still account for the majority of cases and deaths -- 4.4 million and 224,207, respectively.

The United States remains the country with the highest count of cases and fatalities -- 2.3 million and 119,761, respectively.

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