It could a sign of the global power struggle to come. China’s leader Xi Jinping has pushed out Russia’s Vladimir Putin from top spot in the latest list of the world’s most powerful people.
In a further sign of changing times, the annual survey by Forbes magazine sees US President Donald Trump slump to third.
Among the newcomers, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia makes the top ten in eighth place, and at 32 is also the youngest.
With 75 names on the list, the President, Sheikh Khalifa, retains his place at 43rd, two places ahead of Egypt’s President el-Sisi.
Inclusion on the list is decided by a complex equation which includes military might, economic resources, and an individual’s power to influence others.
Pope Francis, whose army consists of Vatican guards armed with halberds, and lives in the world’s smallest country, nevertheless guides the spiritual needs of 1.3 billion members of the Roman Catholic Church, and sits in sixth place.
From outside the world of politics, fifth placed Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, outranks Microsoft’s Bill Gates in seventh.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor is fourth and the highest placed woman in a list still dominated by men. Other powerful females include the British prime minister Theresa May, who sits in 14th place despite her struggles with Brexit, and Christine Legard of the International Monetary Fund at 22nd.
One individual whose place on the next list must be doubtful is Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the rapidly diminishing Islamic State. As the hunted leader of a terrorist organisation, he will be lucky to see 2019, let alone retain his place as 73rd in the ranks of the world’s most powerful.
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World's top 10 richest for 2018 revealed as seven from UAE make Forbes' billionaires list
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For the moment, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and President Bashar Al Assad remain on the list, respectively 17 and 62.
Other notable members of the power club include Kim Jong-un, supreme leader of North Korea, in 36th place, Tesla chief Elon Musk in 25th and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in ninth.
At the age of 89, Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-shing is the oldest, and with a fortune of US$34 billion, one of the wealthiest.
For the 2018 list there are 17 new names, including President Macron of France and Reed Hastings of Netflix.
Forbes does not name the 17 unfortunates who have slipped from the ranks of the powerful, but only 15 individuals can claim to have been present since the first list was issued in 2009.
As of 2018 they do not include President Obama, or Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil and who must have hoped to retain his place after being appointed US Secretary of State in early 2017 – until President Trump fired him in March.
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.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
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
