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Russian ghost returns to hover on Trump administration

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Russian ghost returns to hover on Trump administration

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]New York Times spoils his maiden foreign trip

By Abu Turab

A recent New York Times story about what transpired during US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak in the Oval Office on May 10 at the White House, may affect Trump’s maiden five-country eight-day foreign trip. It might be a “considered” move, on behalf of NYT, to spoil the US media priorities while Trump meets Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia, reach out to Israel’s leadership on Middle East crisis, visits the Vatican and attends the NATO summit in Brussels next week.

The New York Times broke the story on May 19, on the basis on an undisclosed document, that President Trump told Russian officials that firing FBI Director James B. Comey had relieved him of “great pressure”.  He told the Russians: “I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job.” The document was claimed to be read to the NYT by an American official. Trump was quoted as saying, “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.” He assured Russians saying “I’m not under investigation.” President Trump met the Russian officials on May 10, the day after he fired Comey on May 9.

After the news was broken, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended Trump saying it was Comey’s  “grandstanding and politicizing” of the Russian investigation that put pressure on the administration’s ability to engage Moscow. He further said President Trump has always emphasised the importance of making deals with Russia as it relates to Syria, Ukraine, defeating ISIS and other key issues for the benefit and safety of the American people.

A White House spokesman further said, “The investigation would have always continued, and obviously, the termination of Comey would not have ended it. Once again the real story is that our national security has been undermined by the leaking of private and highly classified conversations.”

Lot of contradictions were reported over the White House’s decision to fire FBI chief Comey. Initially, it was argued that he was fired based on the recommendations of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstien. But Trump embarrassed the White House with a tweet saying he “wanted to fire Comey for months”. In an NBC interview last week, Trump was quoted saying that “regardless of the recommendation, I was going to fire Comey”.

However, a person familiar with Comey’s thinking, was quoted by CNN, saying Comey now believes that President Donald Trump was trying to influence his judgement about the Russia probe.

The source admitted that Comey’s relationship with Trump was uncomfortable from the start. One Comey memo reportedly claims that Trump asked FBI director to “let this go” — referring to the FBI investigation into General Michael Flynn’s contacts with the Russians. However, Trump had, on Thursday, angrily denied asking Comey to end the investigation.

Flynn served as National Security Adviser from January 20 to February 13, 2017, the shortest stint. He was forced to resign after information surfaced of him misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the nature and content of his communications with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Finding himself in the centre of cyclone, Trump also raised alarm over the appointment of former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential elections. Trump said on Thursday that the appointment of a special counsel which “hurts the country”- proves he (Trump) is the subject of the “single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history”.

It was interesting to note that during Trump’s meeting with top Russian officials, the US media was not invited. A photographer associated with Russian state media organisation TASS was in the room for part of the meeting. The high profile interaction was organised after Russian President Vladimir Putin made a personal request to President Trump when he spoke with him earlier this month.

The New York Times had announced on January 17 that it will spend $ 5 million for covering the new President in the White House. Jack Shafer, a Politico media columnist, in one of his articles, said, “Trump is making Journalism great again.” Shafer wrote a few months later, “Donald Trump and his forthcoming presidency maybe the greatest gift to Washington journalism since the invention of the expense account.”

President Trump has more than once changed his stance about Russian involvement in the run-up to presidential elections held in 2016. Recent developments clearly indicate that the Russian ghost will keep President Trump busy for some time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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World Earth Day 2024: Google Doodle showcases aerial view of planet’s natural beauty

Google celebrated Earth Day 2024 with a special doodle featuring an aerial view of our planet’s biodiversity.

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Google shared a doodle today to celebrate World Earth Day 2024, which showcased aerial photos of the planet’s biodiversity and natural beauty. Google reminded us of the importance of protecting planet earth for future generations with the help of this doodle.

The Google letters depict specific locations across the globe where people, communities, and governments work every day to help protect the planet’s natural beauty, biodiversity, and resources, according to the explanation of the annual Earth Day 2024 doodle on their website.

It said, these examples remind us that there’s much more to do to address the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, but also offer the promise of hope and optimism.

The islands of Turks and Caicos are represented by the letter “G.” The islands’ conservation efforts are concentrated on protecting important regions for biodiversity and addressing persistent environmental problems.

The largest reef in the southern Gulf of Mexico and a UNESCO biosphere reserve, Scorpion Reef National Park, is represented by the letter “O” in the Mexican flag.

The letter “O” features Iceland’s Vatnajokull National Park, which was designated as a national park in 2008 following decades of advocacy. The ecology within and surrounding the biggest glacier in Europe is safeguarded by this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The letter “G” has the Jau National Park in Brazil on it. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the biggest forest reserves in South America.

The Great Green Wall of Nigeria is represented by the letter “L,”  and the Pilbara Islands Nature Reserves of Australia are represented by the letter “E.”

Meanwhile, Earth Day is a worldwide event that promotes protection of the environment every year. April 22 serves as a reminder of the importance of conservation efforts and sustainable practices to guarantee a healthier world and a brighter future.

The occasion inspires people across the world to come together and take action to protect the environment, strengthening our bonds with nature and promoting good change.

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Bigg Boss 14 contestant Rahul Vaidya struggles walking in knee deep water, compares Dubai rains with Mumbai floods

Singer and TV personality Rahul Vaidya was recently stranded in the Dubai rains.

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Rahul Vaidya, who was in Dubai ahead of his show which was scheduled to take place today, left the country due to heavy rains and reached Kolkata. The artist shared on social media his encounters in the UAE city, including challenges like walking through knee-deep water. Rahul provided an update regarding the heavy rainfall in Dubai on his Instagram profile.

The Bigg Boss 14 contestant revealed that he was in Kolkata and prepared to do an evening performance. Recalling the terrifying period he went through, Vaidya said there was a lot of confusion and panic in Dubai. The situation was similar to that when heavy floods hit Mumbai in 2005.

Vaiday also posted seval other images and videos of cars that were underwater and flooded roadways. The Bigg Boss 14 contestant, who shared his ordeal, claimed that even though it had just rained for two hours, the situation was dire.

In one of the video, which went viral he can be seen struggling in walking in knee-deep water. He can be also seen holding his sneakers in one hand and with other hand he was seen managing other things.

This is the result of the two hours of rain that it had, he can be heard saying in the video. Vidya also said he dosen’t believe Dubai is accustomed to a lot of rain. Everything had stopped working, he remarked.

After taking part in the first season of the singing reality show Indian Idol, Rahul Vaidya gained widespread recognition. In addition to Bigg Boss, he took part in Khatron Ke Khiladi 11.

Meanwhile, heavy rains that triggered flooding in the UAE and Bahrain, which left 18 people dead in Oman on Sunday and Monday, have paralyzed the financial hub of the Middle East, Dubai.

A lot of incoming flights were diverted from Dubai’s international airport because of the rain. At 7:26 p.m., the busiest airport in the world for foreign visitors stopped accepting new arrivals; a gradual resumption was announced for more than two hours later.

Images of planes navigating flooded tarmacs are making the rounds on social media.

According to pictures shared on social media, the flagship malls Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates both experienced heavy floods, while at least one Dubai Metro station had water up to the ankles.

There were several road collapses, severe flooding in residential areas, and numerous reports of leaks from windows, doors, and roofs.

Due to the unfavourable weather, schools around the United Arab Emirates were forced to close, and as more storms are predicted, the closures are anticipated to last until Wednesday. The government of Dubai allowed its staff to work remotely till this Wednesday.

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Dubai sky turns green during storm in UAE, video goes viral

The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain.

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1 person was killed in UAE as it witnessed heavy rainfall on Tuesday, stranding commuters, flooding roads, disrupting trains and flights and resulting in water leakage from mall ceilings. The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain. It is being said that the rainfall was the highest documented since the start of data collection in 1949.

The heavy rainfall in UAE came days after a similar situation in neighbouring Oman, where 13 people were killed in flash floods. Many parts of Oman saw torrential rains, which caused students to be trapped in buses and swept away motorists and trapped people in their homes.

Videos from Dubai circulating on social media showed widespread waterlogging on roads in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other important cities. This left daily commuters in cars and other vehicles struggling to get back home. Dubai metro station too was seen flooded and closed.

One such video circulating on social media shows the aerial view of the city of Dubai from the top of a building. In the video the stormy winds are seen blowing over the city of Dubai. As the storm intensifies the Dubai sky turns green and ultimately gets covered by heavy rainfall. The video has gone viral on social media with more than 1.1 million views.

Another video showed water leakage from the ceilings of shopping malls, flooding the floors and destroying goods. A video which was shot in the famous Mall of the Emirates, showed pieces of ceiling falling as the rainwater gushed inside. Videos from many outlets of the Deira City Centre mall chain showed escalators being rendered unusable. Majid Al Futtaim, the company which owns the Mall of Emirates, said that the shopping complexes have been kept open and the customers are being sent away from the flooded areas. 

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