ABU DHABI // It is difficult to imagine that the vast desert of the Western Region teemed with elephant, giraffe, greenery and rivers – even if it was 7 million years ago.
Archaeologists and scientists presented fossil records and research at the Baynunah Palaeontology Conference held at Manarat Al Saadiyat on Wednesday, proving the migration of animals from Africa created an ecology that was at one time similar to savannah.
“Like any landscapes, it’s made up of many landscapes,” said Dr Faysal Bibi, co-director of the Baynunah palaeontology project.
“Basically, when you have fresh water, that produces a very different landscape than when you don’t.”
More than 30 years of exploration of the fossil-bearing sediments, known as the Baynunah Formation, have allowed palaeontologists to uncover animal and plant fossils including sabre-toothed tigers, monkeys, hippopotamus and antelope.
After separating from the formation of Pangaea – essentially a super-continent – the Arabian Peninsula moved much closer to the Horn of Africa, where many animals crossed in search of improved living conditions.
Dr Bibi said migrations followed specific geological patterns from Africa to the Arabian Peninsula and carried on to Europe and the Indian subcontinent in some cases.
“As long as the conditions are right, animals will live anywhere that they can, especially big animals,” he said. “As long as they have the kind of water and food they need, then they’ll move there.”
Although animals spent enough time in the region to evolve into variations of species, scientists were able to suggest a migratory path from eastern Africa based on their similarities with the genus endemic to that region.
The Yale-educated Dr Bibi said the animals, whose fossilised remains were found in Baynunah, existed in the region for anytime between 100,000 and a million years.
“We are not only interested in how these animals came to be, but also why they went away, which becomes a very timely topic when you think of what humans are doing to the Earth,” he said.
Dr Bibi, who has been leading expeditions to Abu Dhabi since 2003, said that the extinction of animals was a natural occurrence but that human-induced habitat and species destruction ranked among the most severe.
“Human-induced extinction is on the order of some of the largest extinctions, like meteorites slamming into the Earth or volcanoes erupting causing apocalypse-like scenarios,” he said. “What humans are doing now is going to look equivalent to that.”
Mark J Beech, head of the coastal heritage and palaeontology section for Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, said scientists’ findings should be of more interest to the general public.
“This is something that we must consider natural heritage,” Dr Beech said.
“We want to educate people. There is a lot of information available on the internet but many aren’t aware of it.”
He mentioned that websites set up by various government organisations help amateur archaeologists and developers know where dig sites exist in Abu Dhabi.
One of the websites is the Environmental Atlas of Abu Dhabi, which describes the geological history of the region and the Abu Dhabi Geospatial Map.
In his talk, Dr Beech presented the progression of archaeological documentation and geospatial indicators comparing today’s technology of three-dimensional imaging and global positioning satellite coordination to the first maps from the 1800s drawn by British naval officers.
“Everyone has been asking me, where can we see these fossils, why is there not a natural-history museum, and we really want to do something about this,” he said.
The next step would be establishing a museum to help present and raise awareness about the importance of the UAE for archaeologists and palaeontologists.
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
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Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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
Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
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.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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