SHARJAH // Organisers of the second Arab Women’s Sports Championship hope to attract twice as many supporters this year.
This year’s biennial event, which begins on Sunday, has been expanded with new countries taking part, new venues and new sports.
Fencing and archery have been added to the line-up, which also features shooting and athletics.
Eight countries from the region, including the UAE and Jordan, took part in the inaugural championship in 2012 – this year they will be joined by Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, Oman, Lebanon and Libya.
About 900 athletes will compete.
Events will be spread across the emirate, at Wasit Youth Centre, Al Andalus School, Al Dhaid Sports and Cultural Club, Sharjah Cultural and Sports Club and Al Shaab Cultural and Sports Club.
Men and women are welcome at the events and entry is free.
Majda Al Bloushi, 21, a table-tennis player, is competing for the second time. She hopes local supporters will come and cheer the teams on.
“It makes a big difference,” she said.
She competed in the recent world championships in Dubai this month but said there was more pressure this time.
“We are all on more of an equal level at this tournament and have a similar amount of experience,” she said, although she believes playing at home will be an advantage.
“Last time we didn’t have so many people come to watch but this year there has been more awareness about the event, so we really hope people will come, even if that is in the evening events when they have finished work.”
She is training for up to six hours a day for her debut match at Al Manal School on February 3.
“Even if we don’t win, I really hope we at least give a great performance,” she said.
Her teammate, Sumaya Al Bloushi, 28, a member of the shooting team, is nervous, despite having competed in the last event.
“It has come around so quickly,” she said. A police gun instructor, Ms Al Bloushi is doing as much as she can to relax when not working or training.
“I am trying to exercise, like walking or swimming, just to keep calm as it’s a big pressure,” she said. “I need to do things to take my mind off the competition as I am thinking about it all the time.”
Certified by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees and the Arab League, it is the first pan-Arab sports event of its kind in the world.
Reem Binkaram, head of the communications and event committee, said she hoped that the “cosmopolitan community of the UAE”, would help to double the number of spectators compared with the first event.
In 2012 about 850 people came to watch over the 10 days, but with more sports and more countries added, she hopes this will increase.
“We have really stepped up our efforts to raise awareness through the media and linking with the Ministry of Education to inform schools as well as inviting government entities,” she said.
Last week, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed, chairman of the organising committee, said the tournament would be a display of “world- class” talent.
For more information and tournament schedules visit www.awst.ae.
mswan@thenational.ae
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
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BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
