CAPE TOWN // As the front-running Spanish boat Telefonica made a straight-line sail for Cape Town last night, Volvo Ocean Race organisers estimated the gun announcing the first-leg winner would go off late this afternoon.
Barring more of the woe that has struck three of the six entries, Iker Martinez, the skipper, and Telefonica would reach Cape Town between 3pm and 8pm (7pm and midnight UAE).
"We're very happy as we're running first with no major breakages, which counts as a success," wrote Diego Fructuoso, the Telefonica media crew member from a race in which Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (broken mast), Team Sanya (broken bow) and Puma (broken mast) all retired from Leg 1.
Telefonica held a gaping lead over the Spanish-New Zealand entry Camper, which held an even more yawning lead over the French yacht, Groupama, in third.
If that form held, Telefonica would dart from last to first with 31 points (one for a last place finish in the Alicante in-port race of October 29, 30 for first in Leg 1). Camper would lie second with 29 with Groupama on 22.
As one of three teams without points for the leg, Abu Dhabi's Azzam will stand fourth (six points) as most of its sailors and crew arrive in Cape Town during the weekend.
"We're trying to look forward, not backward," Ian Walker, the skipper, told the race website. Puma will be fifth (five points) and Team Sanya sixth (three) when the fleet leaves for Abu Dhabi on December 11, after the Cape Town in-port race.
All through Thursday night, Telefonica and Camper churned west with 30-knot winds, with Telefonica's lead 170 nautical miles by late afternoon yesterday (and Groupama 552 behind). Camper co-navigator Andrew McLean called the night "blind racing" and wrote, "It's like driving a rally car at 100kmph on a back country road with no headlights and never slowing down."
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
DSC Eagles 23 Dubai Hurricanes 36
Eagles
Tries: Bright, O’Driscoll
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey 3
Hurricanes
Tries: Knight 2, Lewis, Finck, Powell, Perry
Cons: Powell 3
The%20specs
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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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani