POMPANO BEACH, UNITED STATES: US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited a Florida hospital Friday to offer their respects to the victims of a mass shooting that claimed 17 lives at a nearby high school.
The first couple visited Broward Health North Hospital, where a White House official said they would thank medical staff “for their life-saving assistance.”
The pair are also expected to visit the Broward County sheriff’s office “to meet with the law enforcement officials whose bravery helped save lives.”
Trump’s visit to the hospital had not been announced in advance.
The US leader is spending the long President’s Day holiday weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort, which is only about a 45-minute drive from Parkland, where the Valentine’s Day shooting rampage took place.
A troubled former student, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, has confessed to gunning down 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School north on Wednesday, in the country’s worst school massacre since the horror at Sandy Hook six years ago.
In the wake of the attack, Trump has vowed to tackle mental health and school safety, but has yet to make any mention of gun control.
While the latest atrocity has reignited questions about US gun laws, Trump — the first president to have addressed the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby — staunchly opposes any additional controls.
In a televised address to the nation on Thursday, Trump suggested the root cause of the mass shootings that regularly stun the United States was a crisis of mental health — an argument regularly made by opponents of gun curbs.
Since January 2013, there have been at least 291 school shootings across the country — an average of one a week, according to the non-profit group Everytown for Gun Safety
Since the shooting, Trump has faced teary pleas from some relatives of the dead including Lori Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter Alyssa was killed.
“We need action! Action! Action!” Alhadeff urged in an interview with CNN, addressing Trump as the father of an 11-year-old son of his own.
“Let’s protect Barron, and let’s also protect all these other kids here in Parkland, in Florida, and everyone everywhere else,” she said.
Trump visits Florida hospital to pay respects after shooting
Trump visits Florida hospital to pay respects after shooting
Kremlin says Putin is mediating in Iran to normalize situation
- Putin had then been briefed by Pezeshkian in a separate call on what the Kremlin called Tehran’s “sustained efforts” to normalize the situation inside Iran
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin is mediating in the Iran situation to quickly de-escalate tensions, the Kremlin said on Friday, after the Russian leader spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Moscow has condemned US threats of new military strikes after Iran acted against protests that broke out late last month.
Putin in his call with Netanyahu expressed Russia’s willingness to “continue its mediation efforts and to promote constructive dialogue with the participation of all interested states,” the Kremlin said, adding he had set out his ideas for boosting stability in the Middle East.
No further details were given on Putin’s mediation attempt.
Putin had then been briefed by Pezeshkian in a separate call on what the Kremlin called Tehran’s “sustained efforts” to normalize the situation inside Iran.
“It was noted that Russia and Iran unanimously and consistently support de-escalating
the tensions — both surrounding Iran and in the region as a whole — as soon as possible
and resolving any emerging issues through exclusively political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin said.
Putin and Pezeshkian had confirmed their commitment to their countries’ strategic partnership and to implementing joint economic projects, the Kremlin added.
Separately, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes Russia, China, India, and Iran, among others, said it opposed external interference in Iran and blamed Western sanctions for creating conditions for unrest.
“Unilateral sanctions have had a significant negative impact on the economic stability of the state, led to a deterioration in people’s living conditions, and objectively limited the ability of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to implement measures to ensure the country’s socio-economic development,” the SCO said in a statement.
Protests erupted on Dec. 28 over soaring inflation in Iran, whose economy has been crippled by sanctions.
Asked what support Russia could provide to Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Russia is already providing assistance not only to Iran but also to the entire region, and to the cause of regional stability and peace. This is partly thanks to the president’s efforts to help de-escalate tensions.”
The US Treasury on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Iranian officials, including Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security.
