'Cool' Murray is now hot property

With all due respect to Lewis Hamilton, Joe Calzaghe and even Sir Chris Hoy, Andy Murray can now lay claim to being Britain's biggest sports star. I concede that we are less than two weeks into 2009 and anything could happen in the year ahead. Wayne Rooney might score a hat-trick to inspire Manchester United to a famous victory in the Champions' League final. Andrew Flintoff could smack 500 runs and capture 50 wickets in leading England to triumph in the Ashes Series against Australia. Hamilton must be considered a racing (sorry!) certainty to win back-to-back F1 world championships.

But at this moment in time Murray stands supreme as the nation's No 1. I say this for several reasons. Impact: Motor-racing, boxing and cycling remain esoteric sports. I do not know of many youngsters who have persuaded their parents to mortgage the family home to fund a career in F1, been moved to don a pair of boxing gloves or check the internet to discover the whereabouts of the nearest velodrome, whereas tennis clubs across the land have been inundated with junior application forms.

To the youth of today, Andy Murray is 'cool'; not only is he one of the most recognised sports celebrities on the planet with a portfolio of endorsements that will make him a multi-millionaire, the Scot, 21, comes with 'attitude' and gets to wear trendy Fred Perry T-shirts and caps. Achievements: Murray may not have won a 'grand slam' title (an oversight he may well address at next week's Australian Open) but he is among the elite in his chosen sport. His victory over Roger Federer in the final of the Qatar Open on Sunday was the ninth ATP title of his brief career and his fifth win in seven meetings with the man many regard as the greatest player of all time.

Style: No one wields a tennis racket quite like Murray. As Peter Fleming, John McEnroe's long-time doubles partner, puts it: "Andy's the closest thing I see to John. There are a lot of similarities. Murray has got a wonderful talent. He has something quite special." Although he is a product of the modern game with his double-fisted backhand, thumping serve and searing pace, Murray is a throwback to a bygone age with his sublime 'touch'; he is a rarity in combining third Millennium power with 1960s touch, grace and artistry.

The X-Factor: Whatever that ingredient is, Murray has it in spades. Hence the reason the 19 Entertainment company, who handle the global marketing of David Beckham among many others, was so swift to sign him up last week when he split with his agent of three years Patricio Apey. Like McEnroe before him, Murray is compulsive viewing. The older generation may sneer that 'he's not as gentlemanly as Tim Henman' but Murray makes no apologies for showing his emotions on court. Having been a friend of the family for many years, I admit to being biased but I find him to be unfailingly polite, wryly amusing and eminently likeable. But the very fact that he is such a temperamental spirit is surely part of his magnetism. No one is likely to watch an Andy Murray match and passionately not want him to win or lose. Not for nothing are he and John McEnroe kindred spirits.

@Email:rphilip@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

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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.