• "Nice to hear Run Fat Boy Run was trending tonight. It's a sweet movie and I'm very proud of it. In other news, this chowder is delicious!!!" We're glad that Twitter has come up trumps for you, Simon Pegg, but we don't think we'll ever see the appeal in chowder. January 10.
• "Jar Jar Binks is almost an anagram for Justin Bieber." Thank you, Russell Brand, for that sage piece of advice. And thank you for making the last three Star Wars movies even more of an ordeal to sit through. January 9.
• "Ugh, I forgot I was pretending to listen to @JoelMadden talk about football. Who won? I need to look informed.” Uh oh. Looks like the newly married designer, Nicole Richie, needs some football advice. Fast. January 9.
• “Some great football today! Marshawn Lynch definitely had play of the day!” Maybe Richie should follow Demi Moore if it’s football talk she’s after. January 9.
• “Thank u so much for your kind and beautiful messages!!!we are all so happy and very excited!!!!!!x vb x” We’re all really happy for you too, Victoria Beckham. Here’s hoping you finally get a girl to add to your brood. January 10.
• “Vacation, day 2: Rome seems ‘ruined’. Why can’t someone put the columns upright?” Funny man Steve Martin takes some time out from sightseeing to make some wisecracks on Twitter. January 10.
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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now