Genghis Khan's massacres were environment-friendly



Once branded "the destroyer", Genghis Khan is now being reassessed as an environmentalist who halted global warming.

New research claims that the Mongol warlord killed so many people while building his empire that vast areas of cultivated land were abandoned and returned to forest.

One estimate suggests that 40 million people died during his murderous reign, with his armies sweeping across central Asia and what is now Russia.

According the Carnegie Institution's department of global ecology, a side effect of trees replacing farmland was to remove 700 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, thus cooling the planet.

New meaning of 'dead pool'

Plans by a local authority in England to heat its public swimming pool using the nearby crematorium have been described as "sick" by opponents.

Redditch Borough Council wants to use the excess heat generated by the crematorium's incinerator to warm swimmers, saying it will save taxpayers £14,500 (Dh85,000).

The owner of a local funeral company called the proposal "strange and eerie", adding, "trying to save money due to the death of someone's family member or friend is a bit sick".

But the council leader, Carole Gandy, said: "I do recognise some people might not like it, but if they don't, they don't have to use our crematorium."

Like Captain Hook's clock

Workers at an aquarium in Ukraine dismissed reports that one of their crocodiles had swallowed a mobile phone until they heard ringing from the creature's stomach.

A visitor admitted to dropping the phone in the water, where it was then promptly eaten by 14-year-old Gena.

The crocodile is said to be showing signs of depression and constipation and may need surgery; the phone's owner says she would be happy just to recover the Sim card.

Costly speeding tickets

Motorists in Canada are to receive refunds on more than 140,000 speeding tickets after it was discovered that many cars travelling on a certain road were recorded at exactly 143 kph.

Officials in Alberta estimate that the error, caused by an unidentified technical error will cost the city about 17 million Canadian dollars (Dh62 million).

The fault was discovered when a motorist challenged a ticket and it was found that every other car on the road had been recorded going at the same speed.

Man can't dance

A Chinese man has been left with two right feet after an operation to prevent the loss of a leg.

Surgeons performed an emergency transplant after the man's left leg was badly injured in an accident at work. The worker's own foot was stored on ice, but doctors feared the damaged stump would then become infected, making it impossible to reattach.

Instead they attached another foot, hoping to preserve vital arteries and keep the limb healthy. They hope to replace the original left foot in about a month.

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THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

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At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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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

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site

The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.

Leap of Faith

Michael J Mazarr

Public Affairs

Dh67
 

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Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
  • Drones
  • Animals
  • Fireworks/ flares
  • Radios or power banks
  • Laser pointers
  • Glass
  • Selfie sticks/ umbrellas
  • Sharp objects
  • Political flags or banners
  • Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV

Power: 360bhp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh282,870

On sale: now

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.

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