West Ham in hunt as Grant quits



West Ham have approached Avram Grant to be their new manager after his decision to quit Portsmouth. The Israeli, who won praise for his unsuccessful attempts to keep the debt-ridden Pompey in the Premier League and led them to the FA Cup final last weekend despite the side being relegated, said resigning had been "one of the most difficult decisions I've had to take in my football career". "After a lot of soul searching and under the circumstances I'm taking a different direction," he said Thursday night in an open letter to fans on the club's website. "It's been both a difficult and complex year for us at the club, but at the same time, it's been a wonderful and uplifting professional and personal experience."

West Ham want Grant to replace sacked boss Gianfranco Zola, and he is believed to have had several other offers. Grant took over from Paul Hart at Portsmouth in November, but his time in the hotseat was beset by off-field problems as the full scale of the club's debt problems began to emerge. They was forced into administration in February and the Premier League deducted nine points, which all but sealed the team's bottom-place finish and relegation to the Championship.

But Grant led his players out of the financial maelstrom to the FA Cup final at Wembley last weekend, where despite a dogged performance they went down 1-0 to his former club Chelsea. Grant paid tribute to the club's fans: "I will never forget you, the loyal fans of Pompey who, without a doubt, helped me protect the team under such complex circumstances. "There are very few teams in the world that have fans as passionate and devoted as you are.

"Seeing you all so proud with your heads held up high is the best reward I can receive." * AFP

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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

The specs

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Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

Price: From Dh79,600

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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

The Specs:

The Specs:

Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Power: 444bhp

Torque: 600Nm

Price: AED 356,580 incl VAT

On sale: now.

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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
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Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
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Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Key facilities
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