As the great Eid getaway begins, most major roads remain clear of heavy traffic on Sunday morning.
The E11 Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai heading north from the Deira Clocktower and the E311 in Mirdif in the direction of Sharjah experienced the heaviest accumulation of traffic, although only slight delays to usual travel times.
Traffic was light across much of Abu Dhabi, with no reported problems on roads in and out of the capital on Sunday.
Plans are in place by the Roads and Transport Authority Events Security Committee and Dubai Police to help cope with the expected increase in traffic throughout the Eid Al Adha holiday.
In Dubai, police road patrols are being stepped up to ease traffic movement during common choke points around Airport Road, popular tourist hot spots and malls.
The plan covers the Burj Khalifa district and Business Bay, directing traffic from Oud Metha via Al Asayel St, Zabeel Bridges via the Happiness Street and internal access roads to Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road.
It is hoped the measures will ease pressure on Financial Centre Street and Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard during peak times.
Two other parking lots at Al Wasl Club and Jafiliya will be ready to accommodate surplus vehicles in case parking slots of Dubai Mall are full, with buses ready to shuttle riders between Dubai Mall and the alternative parking zones.
“Bus and taxi services ensure the deployment of the maximum possible number of vehicles at the pick-up and drop-off points of Dubai Mall, and the deployment of additional taxis during peak hours and at the alternative parking lots," Brigadier Khalil Obaid Al Bishri, acting director of the police's major events team.
During Eid Al Adha holiday the Dubai Metro Red Line will operate from Tuesday, August 21 to Thursday, August 23 from 5.00am to 2.00am and on Friday, August 24 from 10.00am to 2.00am.
The Green Line will operate from Tuesday, August 21 to Thursday, August 23 from 5.30 am to 2.00 am and on Friday, August 24 from 10.00am to 2.00am.
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Read more:
Some private sector companies extend Eid holidays
Abu Dhabi road to close for three months
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Read more from Johann Chacko
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
More from our neighbourhood series:
RESULT
Bayern Munich 3 Chelsea 2
Bayern: Rafinha (6'), Muller (12', 27')
Chelsea: Alonso (45' 3), Batshuayi (85')
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
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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