RAS AL KHAIMAH // The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology today denied reports about mild tremors that residents of Ras Al Khaimah reportedly said they had felt yesterday.
Some people in the emirate said they felt the disturbance yesterday afternoon, according to reports. The earthquake itself was registered in southern Iran, nearly 400 kilometres away from the UAE.
However, the Abu Dhabi-based meteorology centre said its seismic monitoring network had not registered any activity in the UAE. Considering that the Iran earthquake was weak and its epicentre was far away, it is not possible that it affected the UAE, a spokesman at the centre said.
"Most likely people misunderstood information on our website, which reported an earthquake 385 kilometres north of Ras Al Khaimah," the spokesman said.
While the wording may have misled some people to believe that the event happened in the UAE, it was only in Iran, he said. The 4.2-magnitude earthquake hit near the Iranian town of Jiroft. The area is known to be seismically active and is on a major fault line, with moderate to strong seismic activity.
In contrast to its northern neighbour, the UAE has relatively minor earthquake activity. In January of last year, residents were awakened by tremors from a 7.1-magnitude quake with an epicentre in Pakistan. In March of the same year, there was a minor 2.6-magnitude earthquake in Fujairah.
vtodorova@thenational.ae
Detailed information about seismic activity in the UAE and neighbouring countries is freely available online and can be followed in real time on the Abu Dhabi meteorology centre's website.
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
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 five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg