Catalan restaurant in the Rosewood hotel. Courtesy Rosewood
Catalan restaurant in the Rosewood hotel. Courtesy Rosewood

Five things to do today: try the new signature menu at Catalan and book watersports seesios at Watercooled on Yas Island



ENJOY the new signature menu at Catalan, which is inspired by Barcelona’s celebrated culinary traditions. Open from 7pm to midnight for dinner, Rosewood Abu Dhabi, Sowwah Square, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, 02 813 5552, AbuDhabi.Dining@rosewoodhotels.com

BOOK now to take advantage of the sports that will be available from the watersports company Watercooled when it opens at a new location on Yas island on September 15. Try wakeboarding, waterskiing, wakesurfing, knee-boarding, mono-skiing, Zapcat thrill rides and more. Yas Marina, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, www.facebook.com/watercooleduae

SIGN up for Creative Movement Classes, in which you can discover ways of moving through fundamental dance concepts of body, space and time, rather than copying steps. Starting September 15, various timings for toddlers, ages 4 to 6, ages 7 to 12 and adults, from Dh800 for 10 classes, Ductac, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, register at 056 690 9255, www.movelabdance.com

TAKE a friend to SensAsia Urban Spa's ladies' night, where you can both enjoy two-for-one specials on 90-minute signature massages. From 6pm to 10pm, from Dh460 for the Bali Chic, Thai Yoga Stretch and Pillow Talk massages, Souk Al Manzil, Downtown Dubai, 04 456 0866, www.sensasiaspas.com

CATCH the final week of Dubai Summer Surprises. Enjoy world-class entertainment, great shopping deals, cultural events, performances and fun for the whole family during this annual festival. Various malls and shopping centres in Dubai, www.summerisdubai.com

listings@thenational.ae

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

Remaining Fixtures

Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Long read

Mageed Yahia, director of WFP in UAE: Coronavirus knows no borders, and neither should the response

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

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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