From Shanghai to Sharjah, the plumes of smoke and volcanic ash emanating from Iceland are causing chaos across the sporting world.
Airspace remains closed across much of Europe with analysts predicting the billowing cloud will not dissipate until, possibly, the end of the week. The result is a host of international sportsmen altering itineraries in a desperate attempt to reduce havoc.
Those affected most by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano include Valentino Rossi and his fellow MotoGP riders, who were supposed to compete in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. The event was postponed yesterday following air travel problems in Motegi, north of Tokyo.
The race will now take place on October 3, with the next round of the championship scheduled for Jerez, Spain, on May 2.
Elsewhere, members of several Formula One teams the majority of whom live in Europe have been forced to extend their stays in Shanghai following Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. Some staff have flown to Dubai and Singapore, but found their flights grounded.
Jaime Alguersuari, the Spanish driver for F1's Scuderia Toro Rosso, opted to take connections in Beijing and New York before finally arriving in Madrid in a bid to maximise his preparation ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona next month.
The Barcelona football team, in contrast, travelled by coach to Italy where they are scheduled to play Inter Milan in the semi-finals of the European Champions League tonight. In the other final-four pairing, Lyon are driving from France to Munich, Germany. And in the Europa League, both Fulham and Liverpool have been ordered to play their respective semi-finals, meaning the Merseyside team face a 900-mile journey to meet Atletico Madrid.
As reported in The National yesterday, the Afghanistan cricket team, following the closure of European airspace, have been forced to prepare for their World Twenty20 campaign at a makeshift training camp in Sharjah. The team are scheduled to face India on May 1 in St Lucia, but had planned to travel to the West Indies early in order to to acclimatise. However, the team's flight to the Caribbean involved a connection in the UK.
The Moroccan Golf Classic in El Jadida, which was due to start on Thursday, has been postponed, while the London and Boston marathons have been affected.
Abdellah Falil, the Moroccan runner, failed in several attempts to fly to Boston and is stranded in Paris.
In London, elite athletes such as Sammy Wanjiru, who won the capital's marathon last year, and Irina Mikitenko of Germany could be forced to miss the race on Sunday if airspace does not reopen.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Brief scores:
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
RESULT
Deportivo La Coruna 2 Barcelona 4
Deportivo: Perez (39'), Colak (63')
Barcelona: Coutinho (6'), Messi (37', 81', 84')
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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
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
HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
