Donald Trump arrives at White House after Covid-19 treatment, removes mask immediately

News Network
October 6, 2020

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Washington, Oct 6: President Donald Trump checked out of the hospital Monday after four days of emergency treatment for Covid-19, pulling off his mask the moment he reached the White House and vowing to quickly get back on the campaign trail.

Shortly beforehand, Trump had tweeted that Americans, who have lost nearly 210,000 people to the virus, have nothing to fear.

A series of made-for-TV moments allowed Trump to squeeze the maximum from his medical discharge, starting by exiting alone from the large gold-coloured front doors of the Walter Reed military hospital just outside Washington.

Live on television, he then walked in a mask to a limousine, giving the thumbs up, before boarding Marine One helicopter for the quick flight to the White House -- which he left on Friday after falling ill.

After landing, he walked up the steps onto the South Portico's stately balcony, demonstratively removed his mask and offered a 23-second salute to the departing Marine One.

With less than a month until Election Day on November 3, polls show Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden. The president's hospitalization left him scrambling even harder to catch up.

The return to the White House was minutely stage-managed to show he is physically fit, while a series of striking tweets demonstrated Trump's coming angle of a political attack: that he personally beat Covid and will now lead the country to its own comeback.

"Will be back on the Campaign Trail soon!!!" he said in one tweet.

"Don't be afraid of Covid," he said in another, claiming to be feeling rejuvenated after his illness.

The remark startled his rival, who was campaigning Monday in Florida.

"Tell that to the 205,000 families who lost somebody," Biden snapped.

The former vice president added to his comments later Monday at an outdoor town hall in Miami, where he criticized Trump for downplaying the importance of masks.

"I would hope that the president, having gone through what he went through -- and I'm glad he seems to be coming along pretty well -- would communicate the right lesson to the American people: masks matter," Biden said.

That recommendation appeared to go unheeded, as Trump pushed out a new, unfiltered message to Americans: "Don't let it dominate your life -- get out there, be careful," Trump said in a tweeted video.

The 74-year-old Republican's display of bravado came the same day that his own chief spokeswoman tested positive -- the latest in a viral outbreak raging within the White House.

And despite his claims to be in good health again, a combination of secrecy, conflicting information from officials and the viral spread among his own circle damaged his credibility.

In a briefing at Walter Reed, presidential physician Sean Conley said Trump is "back" but that he would not be "entirely out of the woods" for another week.

Despite Trump's characteristic claim that Covid-19 should not be of major concern, polls show it is a huge worry for Americans. His widely panned handling of the crisis this year is also reckoned to be the main reason Biden, 77, is surging in polls.

Illustrating the divide between the reality described by health experts and the White House's defiance, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany became the latest to announce a positive test result Monday.

Other positive cases close to Trump now include his wife Melania, aide Hope Hicks, campaign manager Bill Stepien, two of McEnany's assistants according to US media, and more than half a dozen others from the president's circle.

Beset by revelations that he avoids paying almost any federal income tax and a slew of other scandals, Trump was already behind Biden when he fell ill.

But the biggest liability in his scramble for a second term was always his pandemic response.

For months, Trump has given the appearance of trying to wish away the catastrophe and get back to his reelection narrative of a strong economy.

Trump now looks poised to try and claim that in getting quickly out of hospital, he has personally vanquished the virus -- and will go on to do the same for the rest of the country.

An unofficial White House-themed gift shop announced Monday it will sell a commemorative coin titled "President Donald J. Trump Defeats Covid" for $100.

For all of Trump's determination to reassert himself, he has lost several precious days of a campaign that revolves heavily around his large-scale rallies and image of personal strength.

The day after he announced his positive test, he was to have flown to battleground Wisconsin, ignoring the fact he would gather crowds in one of the nation's worst coronavirus hotspots.

Biden, meanwhile, has maintained his slow-but-steady campaign that has always emphasized health precautions -- a pared-back style that Trump calls weakness and mocked as recently as last week.

The upheaval has led to unusual interest in this Wednesday's televised debate between the vice presidential candidates -- Republican Mike Pence and Biden's running mate Kamala Harris -- who will be separated by a Plexiglas barrier for the event.

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News Network
September 20,2024

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Kasaragod: In a heartbreaking turn of events, the vibrant life of a young medical student from Kasaragod district was tragically cut short in a road accident in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday night.

Mohammed Rashid, a 20-year-old second-year MBBS student, hailed from the close-knit community of Kattatadka AKG Nagar in Kerala's Kasaragod district. Brimming with hope and aspirations, he had recently returned to Coimbatore to continue his studies after spending cherished moments with his family during a brief vacation back home.

On that fateful evening, around 8 PM, Rashid was crossing the road to grab dinner at a nearby hotel when tragedy struck. A speeding tipper truck hit him, leaving the young student fatally injured. Though he was rushed to the hospital, his fight for life ended before he could make it to the emergency room.

The devastating news sent shockwaves through his family and friends. His father, Ahmed, who works in the Gulf, returned immediately, heartbroken, to mourn the unimaginable loss of his beloved son. Rasheed's relatives, too, made the painful journey to Coimbatore, overcome with grief and disbelief.

The passing of Mohammed Rashid has left a deep void not only in the hearts of those who knew and loved him but in the wider community. His dreams of healing others and serving society as a doctor were tragically cut short, leaving behind an irreplaceable loss.

May his memory be a reminder of the fragility of life and the promise that he once held.

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News Network
September 17,2024

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday halted unauthorised bulldozer action against private property, anywhere in the country, till October 1, dismissing concerns by the government that demolitions sanctioned after following due process could be impacted. 

The "heavens won't fall if we ask you to hold your hands till the next hearing", a bench of Justice BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan declared.

An irate top court - which has already come down hard, twice this month, on 'bulldozer justice' meted out by various state governments - also warned the government against "grandstanding" and "glorification" of this practice. "No demolition, till next, date, without permission of this court," the government was told, and warned the Election Commission may also be put on notice.

The court's reference to the poll panel is significant given elections are due in Jammu and Kashmir (the first Assembly election in a decade) and Haryana, where the Bharatiya Janata Party is looking to return to power. Elections are also due this year in BJP-ruled Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

The court, however, also clarified its order is not applicable to removal of encroachments in public spaces such as roads, railway tracks, water bodies, etc.

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News Network
September 10,2024

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The Israeli regime has attacked displaced Palestinians in the southern part of the Gaza Strip with US-provided 2,000-pound bombs, killing at least 40 civilians, mostly women and children.

As many as 60 others were injured in the attack that targeted an area previously declared by the Israeli military as a “humanitarian zone” at the al-Mawasi refugee camp in the city of Khan Younis on Tuesday.

The military alleged that it had struck members of the Hamas resistance movement, who were “operating a command and control center” inside the targeted area, a claim that was rejected by the group as a “blatant lie.”

“The resistance has repeatedly confirmed the absence of any of its members among civilian gatherings or the use of such areas for military purposes,” Hamas said.

The bloodletting took place as part of the regime’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, which began on October 7 in response to a retaliatory operation staged by the territory’s resistance groups.

So far, close to 41,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 94,800 others wounded in the brutal military onslaught.

The Tuesday massacre came after the refugee camp witnessed an influx of homeless Palestinians, who had fled there from the death and destruction spree caused by the war elsewhere across the coastal sliver. Between 30,000 and 34,000 people were living upon each square kilometer of the camp at the time of the attack, the United Nations estimates show.

The weapons deployed during the massacre have been identified as American-made MK-84 bombs, which carry 900 pounds of explosives. 

The payload can create a crater about 15 meters wide and over 10 meters deep, besides being capable of causing deadly damage around it within a radius of approximately 73 meters. 

This is not the first time when the regime deploys the ammunition against civilian targets during the war. 

More than 70 Palestinians were killed after it struck the refugee camp with the same bombs in July.

As part of its unbridled military support for the regime, the United States has armed it with as many as 14,000 of the bombs since the onset of the war.

Hamas also called the US “complicit” in such massacres that “are being deliberately carried out without regard for international law, humanitarian law, or resolutions calling for an end to the aggression.”

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