It is one of the most enduring images of Diana, Princess of Wales. Wearing a visor and bombproof vest, she picked her way carefully through an active minefield in Angola, where one person in every 333 had lost a limb to the explosive devices. "I am not a political figure," she said in response to criticism from parliamentarians, "my interests are humanitarian."
That expedition in 1997 put the issue of landmines on the international agenda and was partly credited with attracting 122 signatories to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty the same year, banning the stockpiling, production and use of mines.
More than 20 years on, we are seeing an ever more pressing need for action on mines, whose deadly legacy survives long after conflicts have ended.
In Yemen, UAE and Saudi armed forces have defused more than 40,000 and say Houthi rebels have planted a suspected one million mines across the country, some disguised to look like rocks or toys.
Syria is facing an unprecedented landmine crisis, with departing ISIS fighters booby trapping household items like teapots, pillows and fridges to target families returning home for the first time in years.
In the 60-plus countries still contaminated by landmines, they wreak unspeakable devastation, killing and maiming indiscriminately and activating years after they were rigged. Their presence is difficult to detect but they cause a ripple effect of fear among populations and hinder recovery from warfare and development, long after peace has been established.
The retreating Houthis who have peppered the Yemeni landscape with these killing machines supplied by Tehran have only one purpose in mind: to spark terror in the very civilians they sought to govern by force.
UAE mine specialists have been combing the land to destroy them, a ceaseless battle as the Houthis often return to plant devices overnight.
The rebels care little for the havoc and destruction they are perpetuating on a scale not seen since the Second World War.
As Emirati minesweeper Ghaneem Al Kaabi says, Yemen is unlikely to be clear of mines in his lifetime.
That is a sobering thought. Yemenis who have lost so much at the hands of the rebels are being robbed a second time of their right to peace of mind.
Paris%20Agreement
%3Cp%3EArticle%2014%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E1.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20periodically%20take%20stock%20of%20the%20implementation%20of%20this%20Agreement%20to%20assess%20the%20collective%20progress%20towards%20achieving%20the%20purpose%20of%20this%20Agreement%20and%20its%20long-term%20goals%20(referred%20to%20as%20the%20%22global%20stocktake%22)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20undertake%20its%20first%20global%20stocktake%20in%202023%20and%20every%20five%20years%20thereafter%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
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.
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
