DUBAI // A sandstorm tore down billboards and uprooted trees early yesterday, with winds gusting at more than 111kph.
The storm swept south for more than an hour, reducing visibility to a few metres.
"The thunderstorm formed offshore Dubai, in the middle of the Southern Arabian Gulf and moved quickly to the East," a duty forecaster at the Dubai Meteorological Office said.
"It hit the northern emirates, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Qaiwain and Ras al Khaimah and caused rain in some of those areas."
Residents in Ras al Khaimah also reported heavy winds and rain. On highway E65 south towards Liwa the sandstorm reduced visibility to about 20 metres and covered the road with sand.
"The rain and thunderstorms reported were anticipated by a squall line with winds of up to 111kph," said the forecaster. "The storm lasted for about an hour and the mean wind speed was around 55kph.
"Visibility is perfect now that it has passed, but open air visibility would have been very poor at 111kph, almost zero.
"There is no risk of this weather today. We expect normal temperatures with some scattered clouds."
Dubai and Abu Dhabi police said there were no serious accidents or deaths, although residents reported minor incidents.
"A piece of plywood from a construction site hit the side of my car door," said Aziz Rahman from Pakistan. "Luckily the damage was not too bad."
A hotel in Al Barsha removed the umbrellas from its rooftop swimming pool after one of them flew off and landed on the ground floor. "It landed close to the hotel's entrance," said the concierge Ramesh G from India. "We will wait for the weather to get better before we put them back up again."
Taxi drivers said they saw at least two toppled signboards on Sheikh Zayed Road.
"I went to drop some guests at the airport and near the Crowne Plaza hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road there was a signboard that had fallen on top of a car," said Pardeh Shetty from India.
Another driver, Azmad Ali Shah, from Pakistan, said: "The wind was very strong. I saw police cars near the World Trade Centre and broken glass on the road."
A fast food delivery driver in Dubai, Niranjan Alva, said he hurt his leg when his motorbike fell on it and he had to call on someone to help him to lift it.
"My motorcycle fell sideways from the wind," said Mr Alva, from India. "I called my supervisor and he said I should drop off my delivery and go back to the centre until the weather improves."
balqabbani@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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 White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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