Like many churches across the world, the Duomo di Milano in Italy will be closed this Easter in an effort to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.
The pews will be empty, but the historic cathedral will be far from quiet.
Andrea Bocelli will perform at the cathedral on Sunday, in an audience-free concert that will be live-streamed on his YouTube channel at 9pm, UAE time.
As part of the concert, titled Bocelli: Music for Hope, the Italian tenor, who will be accompanied by cathedral organist Emanuele Vianelli, will perform hymns such as Ave Maria and Sancta Maria.
The Duomo is normally full during Easter Mass, and tourists flock to the Gothic structure all year round.
Bocelli's concert will ensure the cathedral does not fall into an unprecedented quietude on the holy day. The concert is being organised by Universal Music Group, which is working with the City of Milan, the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano – the institution responsible for the conservation and development of the cathedral – record label Sugar Music and YouTube, to put on the virtual show.
“This year, Easter will be very different for all of us,” said Giuseppe Sala, the mayor of Milan. The joyous serenity that usually comes with this day has been greatly troubled by the pandemic we are experiencing. I am sure that the extraordinary voice of Bocelli will be the embrace we are missing these days; a strong, special hug, capable of warming the heart of Milan, Italy and the world.”
According to a press release, the artist will be performing at the cathedral pro bono. He said he hopes the Easter concert will provide some comfort to viewers regardless of their religion.
The virtual show is not the first time the famed tenor has attempted to help out during the coronavirus pandemic. Bocelli’s foundation has raised more than Dh500,000 to help hospitals in Italy purchase medical supplies.
He will also be performing in the "One World: Together at Home" benefit on Saturday, April 18. Several artists are scheduled to perform at the virtual concert, including Billie Eilish, Burna Boy, Chris Martin, Eddie Vedder, Elton John and John Legend.
One World: Together at Home, which will be streamed on YouTube, Facebook, Amazon Prime Video and Instagram, will be hosted by late-night television hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
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Plastic tipping point
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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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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Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
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British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
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Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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