Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has described herself as a “proud Islamophobe”, has been growing closer to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
She has been appearing more frequently at Trump campaign events in recent days, including a ceremony commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – despite being a proponent of the theory that the attacks were an inside job.
Ms Loomer is well known for her controversial remarks and social media posts, which have included saying that Muslims should not be allowed to seek public office in the US.
According to reports, Mr Trump had wanted to give Ms Loomer a role in his campaign, but The New York Times reported there was resistance from some supporters who thought she would be a liability.
One person close to the former president's campaign told Semafor they were “100 per cent” concerned about her exacerbating his weaknesses.
“Regardless of any guardrails the Trump campaign has put on her, I don’t think it’s working,” the person said.
Ms Loomer, who describes herself as an investigative journalist, has worked with a variety of conservative organisations and outlets, including Project Veritas and Alex Jones's InfoWars.
She rose to notoriety not only for her views but also the number of times those views have got her banned by social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook, which accused her of spreading hate speech and misinformation. Her Twitter – now X – account was reinstated once Elon Musk bought the platform.
In one of her statements, she said on social media in 2018 that “someone needs to create a non-Islamic form of Uber or Lyft” because she did not want to support Muslim immigrant drivers.
Mr Trump has been accused of Islamophobia, issuing a 2017 order that barred people from certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.
Ms Loomer attempted to ride her fame to Congress but she lost two primaries. On her loss, she told supporters not to vote Republican.
Apart from her growing closeness to Mr Trump, Ms Loomer has made headlines this week due to a public feud with fellow Trump supporter Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The feud began after Ms Loomer made a racist post on X that said, should Vice President Kamala Harris – who is half Indian – win the presidency, the White House will “smell like curry” and her “speeches will be facilitated via a call centre”.
Ms Taylor Greene, one of Mr Trump's most outspoken allies in Congress, responded by saying: “This is appalling and extremely racist. It does not represent who we are as Republicans or Maga [Make America Great Again].”
Ms Loomer instantly went on the attack and hit out at Ms Taylor Green for her alleged marital infidelities and her own racism, calling her an anti-Semite and a “trailer trash harpy”.
Asked about Ms Loomer's comments on Ms Harris, Mr Trump said he was not aware of them.
“She's been a supporter of mine, she speaks very positively of the campaign,” Mr Trump said on Friday. “I don't control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants. She's a free spirit … She is a strong person, she's got strong opinions.”
In a Truth Social post later on Friday, Mr Trump clarified that Ms Loomer does not work for the campaign and she is a private citizen.
“I disagree with the statements she made but, like the many millions of people who support me, she is tired of watching the Radical Left Marxists and Fascists violently attack and smear me, even to the point of doing anything to stop their Political Opponent, ME,” he wrote.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
