DUBAI // The Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban has helped to set up a football match between the UAE and Pakistan to promote peace.
Malala Yousafzai, 15, launched the initiative with the British-born Pakistani footballer Kashif Siddiqi, 27, who used to play for Al Wasl in the Pro League.
The match will take place in Dubai on World Peace Day, September 21. Proceeds will go to the education charity set up in Malala's name.
Malala has the power "to be a role model for the next generation and beyond", Siddiqi said at the Peace and Sport Dubai Forum 2013 yesterday.
In a video message, Malala said: "Thank you for bringing awareness and support of education and equality for girls, through the power of sport, on such a significant day."
Malala, an outspoken critic of the Taliban's opposition to educating girls, was shot on her school bus in the Swat Valley on October 9. The militant group say they targeted her because she opposed them and promoted "western thinking".
She is still being treated in Britain for her injuries.
pkannan@thenational.ae
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