Trump goofs up again! tweets 138 million people dead in Sri Lankan blasts
Washington, Apr 21: Known for his gaffes, US President Donald Trump yet again committed a faux pas on Sunday as he erroneously wrote that "138 million people" were killed in a string of blasts in Sri Lanka.
The near-simultaneous attacks on Easter Sunday at three churches and as many luxury hotels frequented by foreigners killed more than 160 people and injured over 450 others, shattering a decade of peace in the country after the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE.
President Trump offered "heartfelt condolences" to the people of Sri Lanka and said the US stood ready to help.
The US leader, however, erroneously wrote that "138 million people" were killed in the attacks instead of just 138.
"Heartfelt condolences from the people of the United States to the people of Sri Lanka on the horrible terrorist attacks on churches and hotels that have killed at least 138 million people and badly injured 600 more. We stand ready to help!" Trump said in a tweet which was taken down after more than 20 minutes.
Trump's remarks did not go unnoticed as the agile twitterati started poking fun at the appalling tweet.
"You might want to revise that death toll Donald Trump. Not everything is measured in millions. How 'heartfelt' can the condolences be if you aren't even concentrating on the message of condolence when sending it out?" said former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah.
"138 million? Maybe you should wait for the facts pops," wrote one follower of the US president.
"We are a population of 20 million. 138 million is mathematically impossible. Keep your icky condolences, we don't want it," responded another user.
"138 million! More than the population of Sri Lanka. We are now an empty Country as per Donald!!" tweeted another follower.
Sri Lanka has a total population of around 21.7 million.
Trump is known for his wrong tweets and for using embarrassing nicknames as well as 'mispronouncing names' of people such as "Jeff Bozo" in reference to Jeff Bezos of Amazon.
In March, he mistakenly referred to Apple CEO Tim Cook as "Tim Apple", a verbal slip which netizens poked fun at by sharing rib-tickling memes on social media.
Last year, he had called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson "Marillyn Lockheed."
Later, he deleted the tweet and posted a new one:
138 people have been killed in Sri Lanka, with more that 600 badly injured, in a terrorist attack on churches and hotels. The United States offers heartfelt condolences to the great people of Sri Lanka. We stand ready to help!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2019
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
