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The Trumpean Paradox

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Donald Trump

Cool towards new friends while strong-arming frenemies, the US president’s first fortnight is a study in contradictory decision-making

By Sujit Bhar

Here are some weird weekend vignettes from the US of A.

President Donald J Trump somehow forgot how bally-ho Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at his election, ordering more settlements to be built on disputed Palestinian territory. Netanyahu’s decision was to build 3,600 new homes on Palestinian territory in the West Bank.

The White House released a statement on February 2, saying: “While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond the current borders may not be helpful.”

White House spokesman Sean Spicer added: “The Trump administration has not taken an official position on settlement activity and looks forward to continuing discussions, including with Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu when he visits with President Trump later this month.”

There has been a combined gulp of disbelief within the American borders, while Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, has been careful in what he had to say. He reportedly told Israel Radio: “It’s too early to tell… I would not categorise this as a U-turn by the US administration but the issue is clearly on their agenda… the issue will be discussed when the prime minister (Netanyahu) meets the president in Washington. We will not always agree on everything.”

Fair enough. But, wait, there is more, and it has nothing to do with Trump aide Kellyanne Conway’s obtuse reference to an imaginary “Bowling Green massacre” in Kentucky where many people who did not die apparently didn’t even get  mentioned in the national media because it just “did not cover” this non-incident. Of course, Conway apologised later for her imagination run awry, but we are here to talk more important things that Trump has done.

Yes, the other incident, that did actually happen, has to do with Trump’s new buddy-buddy, Vladimir Putin, the Russian chief executive. This was the other massive combined “gulp” incident.

US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, was giving her inaugural statement when she went ahead and condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine. America’s far rightist electorate was aghast. How is this India-origin ex Governor of South Carolina making such sacrilegious statements?

Said Haley: “I consider it unfortunate that the occasion of my first appearance is one in which I must condemn the aggressive actions of Russia. It is unfortunate because it is a replay of too many instances over many years in which United States representatives have had to do that.”

Mind this, The New York Post’s observation is that this comment might actually improve the image of Trump.

Haley warned, it has been reported, saying: “This escalation of violence must stop. The United States stands with the people of Ukraine who have suffered for nearly three years under Russian occupation and military intervention.”

Hmm. So that was a weird weekend, right? Hold it, that isn’t all. Trump became Trump again in issuing another order through which he slapped sanctions on Iran over its missile test. The signals are so mixed, even the die-hard Trump follower would be left scratching his/her White Supremacist head.

That too happened on February 3.

Technically, this has nothing o do with the nuclear treaty with Iran that the Barack Obama administration so meticulously put together and Trump criticised. This was to purportedly “mark a more aggressive approach by the Trump administration to counter Tehran’s ballistic missile development and support for militant groups across the Middle East,” as USA Today put it.

The daily asked and answered some key questions. First question it handled was the timing.

Regarding last Sunday’s missile test by Iran, the daily quoted a senior administration official: “The sanctions are initial steps to retaliate for provocative actions that violate regional norms.” Interestingly, the daily points out that the official was speaking anonymously, because he “was not authorized to speak publicly on the subject.”

The daily then came to the critical question. Could all this lead to yet another war? Guess the reading from the Trump side? In the 1988 Iran-Iraq war, when the US took Iraq’s side Iran supposedly developed weak knees and negotiated peace. And the reading was also that Iran was made to sit at the negotiating table regarding the nuclear deal when it was scared the US would invade it, because there was now the precedent of the US having already invaded Iraq.

So, yes, no war; Iran is scared.

Without going into the after-effects of the George Bush-led misadventure with the “The Axis of Evil”, one must realise that the first two actions do clash with this one. How’s that?

Of course, Trump had already signed the executive order banning the entry of refugees and even visa holders from seven Muslim countries. That had already created a massive uproar with several federal courts simply rejecting the order.

Are you counting? That’s 2-2 actually. Two against and two self-goals.

Phew! That was some crazy week at office. So Trump takes off for his first presidential holiday, in the weekend. While you are reading this, he is relaxing with family and acolytes at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach. A fortnight at his job and he is tired.

That’s Trump 3 vs Trump 2.

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Five news stations receive letter bombs in Ecuador, one explodes in journalist’s face

Minister says the bombs were sent as a clear message to silence journalists in violence-ridden Ecuador

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Police officials searching for bombs in a new station in Ecuador

Ecuadorean authorities have reported that a series of letter bombs were mailed to five different TV and radio new stations in Ecaudor. The explosive devices were delivered to journalists on Monday, March 20.

Interior Minister Juan Zapata informed that one of these letters exploded in Guayaquil’s Ecuavisa private TV station. The bomb burst in the middle of the newsroom in presenter Lenin Artieda’s face. He was injured but not severely. Lenin informed the police that the device was structured like a USB drive, and it exploded as he plugged it into his computer.

Zapata added that all the devices were similar and sent from the town of Quimsaloma, on the Los Rios coast. The Ecuadorean attorney-general’s department has begun their investigation on the letters as an act of terrorism. Journalists have said that the bombs were sent to intimidate the free press and silence the media.

 Zapata also said that the government condemns such attacks and freedom of expression is a right that must be respected. The other four explosives sent through post never exploded as they failed or were never opened.

Police officer Xavier Chango informed the USB drive sent to Artieda seemed to be loaded with a military-type explosive RDX.

Ecuador lies between Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest cocaine producers, and has become a hub for global drug trade in the recent years. The increased violence is a result of competition and clashes between drug criminal gangs for territory and charge.

In 2022, the RTS TV station came under gunfire attack and in 2020, a bomb exploded at Teleamazonas. President Guillermo Lasso had declared war on the gangs controlling drug trade from prisons, and has led to the death of more than 400 inmates since 2021. Ecuador’s murder rate has jumped from 14 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021 to 25 per 100,000 in 2022.

Two local gangs, the Lobos and Los Tiguerones, working with Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation cartel, have been responsible for these deadly prison riots. The Jalisco cartel is considered one of the five most dangerous criminal organizations in the world and its leader, Nemesio Oseguera, aka El Mencho, is among the most wanted by both Mexican and U.S. authorities.

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Earthquake leaves 11 dead in Pakistan, tremors shake North India

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled parts of Northern India on Tuesday night, left at least 11 people dead and over 160 others wounded in neighboring Pakistan, reports said.

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Pakistan Earthquake

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled parts of Northern India on Tuesday night, left at least 11 people dead and over 160 others wounded in neighboring Pakistan, reports said.

According to reports by Pakistani media, tremors were felt in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, and other areas of the country. In a statement, Pakistan Meteorological Department said the epicenter of the quake—which hit at a depth of 180 kilometers, at a latitude of 36.09 and a longitude of 71.35. — was the seismically active Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan.

Reports said that tremors and aftershocks were also witnessed in Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kot Momin, Madh Ranjha, Chakwal, Kohat and in Gilgit-Baltistan areas.

Pakistani news channels showed panicked citizens running out of their home and on the streets to seek refuge from the tremors.

According to a report by Pakistan-based Geo News, eleven people, including two women were killed while over 160 people were injured due to the earthquake.

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The strong jolts also led to the collapse of several buildings in impacted regions while a stamped was witnessed in markets of Rawalpindi when the earthquake hit, according to The Express Tribune newspaper.

State-run Associated Press of Pakistan released a statement by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has directed disaster management authorities to remain vigilant to handle any situation while Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel declared an emergency in Islamabad hospitals.

A statement by the international seismological centre said that apart from Pakistan, tremors were also felt in India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China and Kyrgyzstan.

Tremors of the earthquake, that hit at around 10:17 pm on Tuesday night, were felt across Northern India including Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. However, no casualties were reported. However, reports of damages to buildings are coming in from different parts of North India.

6.6 magnitude earthquake hits Delhi-NCR

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Rupert Murdoch set to marry for 5th time at 92

Murdoch, who met 66-year-old Smith last September at an event held at Murdoch’s vineyard in California, is planning to marry her in the summer.

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Rupert Murdoch Smith

Rupert Murdoch, an Australian-born American business magnate, announced on Monday that he will be marrying for the fifth time at the age of 92. Murdoch is already engaged to former San Francisco police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith.

Talking about his fifth marriage, Murdoch, the 31st richest person in the United States, said he was very nervous, and dreaded falling in love, but he knew it would be his last. He said he is happy about it.

Murdoch, who met 66-year-old Smith last September at an event held at Murdoch’s vineyard in California, is planning to marry her in the summer. He said that they both are looking forward to spending the second half of their lives together. They will spend their time between California, the UK, Montana and New York, reports state.

Smith is the widow of an American country singer and media executive who died in 2008. Speaking about the relationship with Murdoch, Smith said the two bonded over their shared knowledge of the media business.

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She said for both of them it’s a gift from God. She said she is a widow for 14 years. Smith went on to say that like Rupert, her husband was a businessman. Worked for local papers, developed radio and TV stations, and helped promote Univision. So she speaks Rupert’s language. They share the same beliefs, she added.

Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corp., has six children from his first three marriages. Prudence MacLeod, with his first wife Patricia Booker, then Elisabeth and sons Lachlan and James with his second wife Anna Mann. He has two more daughters, Grace and Chloe, with his third wife Wendi Deng.

Later, he married former supermodel Jerry Hall for the fourth time. But the couple decided to part ways eight months ago after being together for six years.

According to Forbes, Murdoch is believed to have a fortune of around $17 billion. His empire includes Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and a string of other media assets around the world.

Rahul Gandhi says he won’t be intimidated days after Delhi Police search his residence

Traffic chaos as rain lashes Delhi NCR, more showers forecast tomorrow

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