TASK DEFINITION: Given a document and an entity the task is to select the author's sentiment towards the entity. Sentiments can be Positive, Neutral and Negative. Select Positive if the article expresses a positive view towards the given entity or praises its quality or skills. Select Neutral if the document expresses no clear view towards the entity or has equal amounts of positive and negative statements or expressing some fact/quote by someone else. Select Negative if the article expresses a negative view towards like harsh remarks, criticizing entities action/decision etc. Note that URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].
PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Susan Collins ? According to CNN  members of the group met in  GOP Sen. Susan Collins'  office and passed a stick around to ensure there were no interruptions. Only the member holding the stick could speak.
The stick was relatively effective  members told CNN  but there was one incident in which a senator threw the stick at another member who was asking questions while the first spoke. The stick missed the mark and ended up damaging a glass elephant on  Collins ' shelf.
In a statement after the Senate vote on the deal   Collins  applauded the work of the bipartisan group.
"Today  we saw the power of the center in the US Senate  " Collins  said. "Joe [Manchin] and I worked very hard in leading the effort of the Common Sense Coalition â a group of 25 Republicans  Democrats  and Independent Angus King â which proposed the compromise to end the government shutdown."

SOLUTION: Neutral

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Benjamin Netanyahu ? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  accompanied by  his  wife Sara cuts the ribbon during the opening ceremony for a bomb-proof emergency room in a hospital in Ashkelon  Israel  Tuesday  Feb. 20  2018. (Tsafrir Abayov/Associated Press)
JERUSALEM â  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  is fighting for  his  political life as a dizzying array of scandals has engulfed  him    his  family and  his  inner circle.
Police last week announced they have sufficient evidence to indict  Netanyahu  for bribery  fraud and breach of trust in two separate cases. And this week  a new case emerged that threatens to be the most damaging of all  after one of his closest confidants agreed to testify against him in an influence-peddling scandal.
 Netanyahu  and  his  wife  Sara  have long been saddled with a penchant for expensive tastes and questionable use of public funds.  Netanyahu  has denied all wrongdoing and accuses the media of orchestrating a campaign aimed at ousting him from office.
But with those closest to him under intense police and public scrutiny  and his typically loyal political allies suddenly turning silent   Netanyahu  faces the stiffest challenge yet to  his  lengthy rule.
Police have recommended indicting  Netanyahu  over accepting nearly $300 000 in gifts from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer. Police say that in return for lavish gifts that included jewelry  expensive cigars and champagne   Netanyahu  had operated on Milchanâs behalf on U.S. visa matters  tried to legislate a generous tax break for  him  and sought to promote  his  interests in the Israeli media market.
Police have not commented on what Packer may have received  and  Netanyahu  has said everything  he  received were gifts from friends. Attorney General Avihai Mandelblit  a  Netanyahu  appointee  will make the final decision on whether to file charges â a process that is expected to take several months.
Police have also recommended indicting  Netanyahu  for supposedly offering a newspaper publisher legislation that would weaken  his  paperâs main rival in return for more favorable coverage.  Netanyahu  reportedly was recorded asking Arnon Mozes  the publisher of the Yediot Ahronot daily  for positive coverage in exchange for helping to weaken Israel Hayom  a free pro-Netanyahu newspaper that had cut into Yediotâs business.
Israel Hayom is financed by  Netanyahuâs  American billionaire friend Sheldon Adelson and largely serves as the prime ministerâs mouthpiece.  Netanyahu  has noted that a proposed law to weaken Israel Hayom never passed  and this week said  he  had even dissolved  his  coalition and called a new election in 2015 because of  his  opposition to the proposal.  The attorney general  will have to rule on this case as well.
This week two close  Netanyahu  confidants were arrested on suspicion of promoting regulation worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Israelâs Bezeq telecom company. In return  Bezeqâs popular news site  Walla  allegedly provided favorable coverage of  Netanyahu  and  his  family. Nir Hefetz  a former  Netanyahu  family spokesman  and Shlomo Filber  the former director of the Communications Ministry under  Netanyahu   are in custody as well as Bezeqâs controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch  along with his wife  son and other top Bezeq executives.
Former journalists at the Walla news site have attested to being pressured to refrain from negative reporting of  Netanyahu .  Netanyahu   who held the communications portfolio until last year  has not yet been named as a suspect in the case but is expected to be questioned. Filber has reportedly agreed to turn state witness against  Netanyahu  in return for a lesser sentence.
 Netanyahu  has not been named as a suspect  but some of  his  closest associates have been implicated in probe related to a possible conflict of interest involving a $2 billion purchase of German submarines.  Netanyahu âs personal attorney  who is also  his  cousin  represented the German firm involved and is suspected of using  his  influence over the prime minister in return for a hefty cut of the deal.
As if  Netanyahu  didnât have enough problems  police said Tuesday that Hefetz  his former media adviser  is suspected of trying to bribe a judge in exchange for dropping a corruption case against the Israeli leaderâs wife. Hefetz is suspected of suggesting  through a middleman  to Judge Hila Gerstel in 2015 that she could be appointed attorney general if she dismissed a pending case against Sara Netanyahuâs excessive household spending.

SOLUTION: Negative

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Cyril Ramaphosa ? JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africaâs finance ministry is set to spell out âtough decisionsâ in its 2018 budget on Wednesday to plug a revenue gap and narrow the deficit  providing an early look at  how new President Cyril Ramaphosa  plans to repair the ailing economy.
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba  whose position is uncertain now amid talk of an imminent reshuffle by  Ramaphosa   sent shock waves through financial markets last October when  he  announced the projected revenue shortfall and flagged weak growth estimates and rising government debt.
Though it remained to be seen whether Gigaba would be the one tabling the budget in parliament on Wednesday   his  spokesman indicated there was no stepping back from tough measures which have also been emphasized by  Ramaphosa .
In his maiden state of the nation address on Friday  a day after his election as president by parliament   Ramaphosa  also warned of tough decisions to reduce the fiscal deficit and stabilize debt after years of weak growth.
 Ramaphosa  took over after Zuma stepped down on orders of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) ending nine years of office plagued by corruption allegations and economic mismanagement.
FILE PHOTO: Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba speaks to members of the media at Parliament before the State of the Nation Address by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town  February 16  2018. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham/File Photo

SOLUTION:
Positive