内容摘要：It is molded into noodles and sheets and fermented into wine. In busy markets, motorcyclists lug 10-kilogram (22-pound) bags to their homes. Barges haul mountains of the grain up and down the Mekong River. Rice kernels are then dried and hulled by machines before they’re packed for sale in factories, lined from floor to ceiling with sacks of rice.

It is molded into noodles and sheets and fermented into wine. In busy markets, motorcyclists lug 10-kilogram (22-pound) bags to their homes. Barges haul mountains of the grain up and down the Mekong River. Rice kernels are then dried and hulled by machines before they’re packed for sale in factories, lined from floor to ceiling with sacks of rice.

The world said goodbye last month to someone who made history as the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress.Former Utah congresswoman Mia Love, who died after battling brain cancer, didn’t emphasize her race during her campaigns, but acknowledged the significance of her election after her 2014 victory. She said her win defied naysayers who had suggested a Black, Republican, Mormon woman couldn’t win a congressional seat in overwhelmingly white Utah.

March also saw the death of boxing great George Foreman, who lost the “Rumble in the Jungle” to Muhammad Ali but had an inspiring second act as a surprising champion and successful businessman.Other notable deaths in March include former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson, basketball standout Junior Bridgeman, R&B singer Angie Stone, Cold War spy Oleg Gordievsky and actors Richard Chamberlain and Émilie Dequenne.Here is a roll call of some influential figures who have died in the first two months of this year (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):

, 73. A singer, guitarist and founding member of the million-album-selling family act The Osmonds, who were known for such 1970s teen hits as “One Bad Apple,” “Yo-Yo” and “Down By the Lazy River.” Jan. 1., 89. A witty and prolific British novelist and critic who gently satirized academia, religion and even his own loss of hearing in such highly praised narratives as the Booker Prize finalists “Small World” and “Nice Work.” Jan. 1.

, 93. The matriarch of the iconic Italian fashion house that made colorful zigzag-patterned knitwear high fashion and helped launch Italian ready-to-wear. Jan. 1.

, 67. A self-help guru whose multimillion-dollar business toppled after he led a sweat lodge ceremony in Arizona that left three people dead. Jan. 3.Michael Oren, a historian and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., said there is at least one precedent for Trump’s approach.

“It’s going to drive the people in Washington crazy, but it most closely resembles the Obama administration,” he said.On Barack Obama’s first visit as president to the Middle East, he too skipped Israel. Oren, a critic of that administration who was Israel’s envoy to the U.S. at the time, said Obama repeatedly violated an unspoken rule of U.S.-Israeli relations — that there be no surprises. That led to public spats with Netanyahu, especially around the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.

Few expect a repeat under Trump — or that he will publicly press Israel to wind down the war in Gaza, despiteunleashed by its war and blockade.