Donald Trump has attacked US federal government measures to control Covid-19, including mandatory vaccination for government workers in key sectors and employees in large businesses, saying they represent overbearing influence from Washington.
He also accused health services of discriminating against white people by withholding Covid-19 vaccines and treatment.
It's almost like a MAGA Woodstock. It's patriots from around the country getting together for the common good of this country
Rally attendee
Mr Trump made the claims in a speech to thousands of supporters in Arizona on Saturday, insisting yet again that he won the 2020 US presidential election.
The former president said hospitals were “denigrating” white people, claiming that “If you’re white, you don’t get the vaccine or if you’re white you don’t get therapeutics … In NY state, if you’re white, you go to the back of the line if you want help.”
It is not clear on what Mr Trump based his allegations.
On Thursday Fox News host Tucker Carlson said that race-based discrimination against white Covid patients was happening in Texas.
The claim appears to have first surfaced in November in a Facebook post by conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, USA Today reported. It has been repeatedly denied by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Supporters arrived in the area days in advance from as far away as Florida or Texas, waiting to hear the former president trot out a familiar list of grievances.
“We are done having our lives controlled by politicians in Washington. We are done with the mandates,” Mr Trump said, in a reference to rules brought in to control the coronavirus pandemic.
“The radical Democrats want to turn the United States into a communist country,” he continued.
“We won those elections. We won them big. We can't let them get away with it.”
Silence on Capitol Hill riot
Earlier speakers had kept to similar themes, slamming 2020 election victor President Joe Biden as “weak” and “deranged,” and taking aim at the “lamestream” media, who were duly booed by the crowd.
Flags proclaiming “Trump 2020" and “Trump 2024" fluttered in the desert wind, as chants of “Let's Go Brandon” erupted from the crowd. The slogan has become code in right-wing circles after a news reporter mistook coarse anti-Biden chants.
“It's just a party atmosphere,” said Jonathan Riches, who was attending his 40th Trump rally.
“It's almost like a MAGA Woodstock. It's patriots from around the country getting together for the common good of this country. We love our president.”
MAGA is an acronym for Trump's 2016 campaign call to “make America great again.”
Trump abandoned a pledged press conference on January 6 — the anniversary of the invasion of the Capitol by his supporters — and the rally was his first major public outing since October.
As is customary, he proclaimed it to be “the biggest” crowd, going “further than the eye can see,” though accurate figures on attendance were not immediately available.
In the lead-up to his election win in 2016, and throughout his presidency, tens of thousands of supporters would throng venues to hear him speak.
But crowds have since dwindled, and Saturday's turnout appeared to be far smaller than those of earlier rallies.
The gathering, on farmland in Florence, 100 kilometres from Phoenix, featured a selection of Republicans who have echoed Mr Trump's unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was fixed.
They included Kari Lake, whom Trump has endorsed for governor of Arizona in this year's race. She previously said she would not have certified Mr Biden's victory if she had been in office at the time.
Mr Trump, who lost his Twitter megaphone for his claims about the poll, has been a much lower-key presence in US politics since leaving office.
But he still looms large in the Republican party, where adherence to his theories — or at least not publicly denying them — is often vital to survival for members of Congress and state legislatures.
Covid risk runs high
Mr Trump has largely shunned major media outlets since leaving office.
However, he ventured on to National Public Radio (NPR) last week to say he recommends that people get vaccinated against Covid-19 — a controversial issue in the US, where there is widespread vaccine hesitancy on the right.
There were almost no masks or other anti-Covid precautions in evidence among the crowd in Florence, despite the Omicron variant wave that is washing over the US.
Nationwide, more than 750,000 people a day are testing positive for the disease.
The rally comes 24 hours after pro-Trump TV channel OAN was dumped by its main distributor.
Mr Trump had repeatedly directed his fans towards the conspiracy theory-peddling outlet, which is hoping to take a bite out of the market for right-wing viewers dominated by Fox News.
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
