ISLAMABAD: The family of two Pakistani men who died in the implosion of a submersible as it descended to the wreckage of the Titanic held a virtual memorial service Tuesday and thanked everyone who tried to rescue the father and son or sent condolences from around the world.
The prayer service was arranged by the family of Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, days after authorities confirmed that everyone on the Titan died. The submersible carrying five people imploded near the site of the shipwrecked Titanic and killed everyone on board.
Shahzada Dawood's widow, Christina Dawood, was in tears as she shared memories of her husband and son. She was on board a support vessel on June 18 when she got word that communications with the Titan submersible had been lost during its voyage to the ocean floor.
In her remarks, she thanked those who had helped the family in its time of grief. The service was broadcast on YouTube through the family’s charity, the Dawood Foundation.
Shahzada and Suleman Dawood were members of one of Pakistan’s most prominent families. The elder man's father, Hussain Dawood, said during Tuesday's service that his son and grandson were gifts of God that had been taken back by God.
He also described the two as martyrs and said “martyrs go straight to paradise.”
“What does the father say” when he faces such a tragedy, he asked.
Hussain Dawood, said Suleman and Shahzada were very excited about going to see the Titanic and before leaving for their voyage convinced him that“we should go to Antarctica, too" next winter.
“I’m actually convinced they have enriched our lives beyond measure,” Dawood said, vowing, “We will take forward their legacy.”
Christina Dawood shared memories of when she first met her husband and their wedding in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore.
When Suleman was born, her husband was happy like other fathers but “when he held his son for the first time, I just knew these two belong together,” the wife and mother said. She sensed then that he had “found a long-lost companion for his adventures to come.”
Family of Pakistani father and son who died in Titan submersible shares memories and gratitude
https://arab.news/jg2m4
Family of Pakistani father and son who died in Titan submersible shares memories and gratitude
- The prayer service was arranged by the family of Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, days after authorities confirmed that everyone on the Titan died
- Shahzada Dawood's widow, Christina Dawood, was in tears as she shared memories of her husband and son
Trump vows ‘turnaround for the ages’ in State of the Union
- “As president, I will make peace wherever I can — but I will never hesitate to confront threats to America wherever we must”
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday of a “turnaround for the ages” in a State of the Union speech, seeking to reverse his dismal polls and see off mounting challenges at home and abroad ahead of crucial midterm elections.
Arriving to address a joint session of Congress, Trump was welcomed with cheers and a standing ovation from Republicans — while Democrats remained seated in protest.
“My fellow Americans, our nation is back bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before,” Trump said.
The 79-year-old hoped the primetime stage will help him to sell voters on the achievements of a breakneck and deeply divisive first year back in power.
Trump is deep underwater in opinion polls and Republicans fear they could lose their tiny majority in the House to the Democrats — paralyzing the rest of Trump’s second term and exposing him to a possible third impeachment.
The Republican however struck a defiant tone in the first official State of the Union of his second term.
“Tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages,” Trump said.
And he sought to seize on national enthusiasm over Team USA’s gold medal winning Olympic ice hockey performance, inviting the players to join him on the floor of the Chamber to massive cheers and chants of “USA.”
He then announced he was awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian honor — to the team’s goalie.
The New York Times said at least 40 Democrats were set to skip the speech.
‘Confront threats to America’
As US naval and air forces massed around Iran, Trump struck a tough posture.
There was intense scrutiny over whether Trump would use the speech to announce his next moves in Iran, where he has threatened to use force to crush the country’s nuclear ambitions.
“As president, I will make peace wherever I can — but I will never hesitate to confront threats to America wherever we must,” Trump was to say, according to the excerpts.
He also boasted that Venezuela, where US forces toppled longtime strongman Nicolas Maduro in January, was now shipping oil to the United States.
Long speech
Speculation mounted that the speech could be as long as three hours — far outstripping the hour and 40 minutes that Trump gave in the longest ever speech to lawmakers last year.
The annual speech to Congress is a rare chance to appear on all the major television networks simultaneously — and Trump is hoping to take advantage to shift the country’s mood ahead of November’s Midterms.
Trump has been battered by a series of blows in the second year of his second term, most recently with the Supreme Court’s striking down of his trade tariffs policy.
Trump, who earlier branded the court’s justices “fools and lapdogs” over the tariff ruling, briefly shook hands with several of the justices in attendance but went on in his speech to declare their ruling “very unfortunate.”
The billionaire has also been rocked by a backlash by the killing of two US citizens in immigration raids in Minneapolis, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and a new partial government shutdown.
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll published on Sunday showed his approval rating at 39 percent. Only 41 percent approved of his handling of the economy overall, and just 32 percent on inflation.
Hockey players, Epstein victims
Adding to the interest were guests that both Republicans and Democrats brought to watch the address from the gallery, part of a long tradition.
In addition to inviting the men’s ice hockey team, Trump announced that the women’s team — which also won gold at the Olympics — would be coming to the White House.
This came after the team said it would not attend the State of the Union amid controversy over Trump’s public joke to the men’s team about having to bring the women too.
Two Democratic members of the House of Representatives said they were bringing as guests the family members of a victim of Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking ring.
