I write in response to your article US war hero and former senator John McCain dies at 81 (August 26): The National's article on John McCain's death made for very sad reading. For three decades McCain was a devoted Arizona senator. But he was also a war hero who was liked and respected by people across the US political spectrum.
He had been suffering for a while with a brain tumour and a couple of days ago, he put a stop to his treatment.
His death is a great loss to American politics, which are now more combative than ever. May his soul rest in peace.
K Ragavan, Bengaluru
John McCain certainly made some mistakes when it came to the dreadful decision to invade Iraq. But we must remember he was not the only one.
Name withheld by request
Honest insight into Hajj is much appreciated
I write in reference to Saeed Saeed's opinion piece What I learnt on Hajj: it's no picnic, but then it was never meant to be (August 24): this article was so honest and heartfelt. Thank you Mr Saeed for your insights.
Name withheld by request
Everything in life is brighter if accompanied by a smile
In reference to your article On the move: How to approach immigration officials (August 25), one should approach immigration officials the same way on approaches anybody – with a smile and a friendly greeting. A smile is free, goes a million miles and puts people at ease.
Everything in life is brighter when accompanied by a smile. It is very sad that this article has to be written but understandable after the manner in which Ellie Holman, the Swedish dentist, behaved.
Tanya Milbourne, Dubai
Pakistan suffers from the terrible disease of corruption
I write in reference to your editorial Corruption is the single biggest hindrance to progress (August 9), which highlighted the fallout of corruption in Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan.
Seventy years after independence, Pakistan is a victim of the same disease. The last elected leader Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law, are all in jail for unexplained wealth and fraud, his two sons have been declared absconders.
The convicted prime minister’s brother, a former chief minister of Punjab, is under investigation for corruption. The economy is almost in tatters and domestic and international debt defy imagination.
Clearly the nation has been held hostage to corrupt leadership. Corruption will remain an existential threat unless the nations afflicted with it ensure root and branch transformation is carried out.
Mohammad Hamza, Dubai
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
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
