Ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson has made his first appearance on his new show on Twitter, in which he disparaged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, defended Russia's President Vladimir Putin and peddled conspiracy theories.
In a 10-minute monologue, published late on Tuesday, Carlson kicked off his video by accusing Ukrainian forces of destroying the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, which flooded nearby cities and villages, forcing thousands to flee.
Ukraine said Russian forces had destroyed it, while Russia accused Ukraine of sabotaging it as part of a war tactic.
“So really, once the facts are coming in, it becomes much less of a mystery what might have happened to the dam,” Carlson said, “and a fair person would conclude that the Ukrainians probably blew it up, just as you would assume they blew up Nord Stream, the Russian natural gas pipeline last fall.”
Carlson went on to call Mr Zelenskyy a “sweaty and rat-like comedian-turned-oligarch” and “a persecutor of Christians”.
He added that, “it's not like Vladimir Putin is anxious to wage war on himself”.
Later, he asked a series of rhetorical questions on issues surrounded by conspiracy theories – potentially in a hint of future show topics.
“What exactly happened on 9/11? Well, it’s still classified,” he said. “How did Jeffrey Epstein make all that money? How did he die? How about JFK and so endlessly on.”
Carlson was fired from his popular show in April after the Fox Corporation settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million with Dominion Voting Systems over the spreading of falsehoods about the results of the 2020 presidential election. The former Fox host decried the election as fraudulent on his show – though privately expressed scepticism.
Last month, he announced he would relaunch his show on Twitter, called Tucker on Twitter.
“As of today, we have come to Twitter, which we hope will be the short wave radio under the blankets,” Carlson said.
“We’re told there are no gatekeepers here. If that turns out to be false, we’ll leave. But in the meantime, we’re grateful to be here.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 74 million times.
Elon Musk, who owns Twitter, retweeted the video and said it would be “great to have shows from all parts of the political spectrum on this platform”.
But others, such as Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at progressive media watchdog Media Matters for America, blasted the video.
“That Tucker video is bleak,” Mr Gertz said in a tweet.
“It’s jarring how his schtick just does not work without the Fox bells-and-whistles. He was maybe the most powerful man in rw [right-wing] media; now he’s just another streamer with half-baked opinions peddling conspiracy theories.”
He signed off his first show by promising viewers: “We'll be back with much more very soon.”
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
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Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
