Two of the most influential companies in the technology world have confirmed they will be attending Gitex Technology Week, after staying away from last year's gathering.
The event, the largest technology exhibition in the Middle East, had only the informal participation of Microsoft and Intel last year, with companies meeting partners and attending portions of the programme, but not booking booth space. Their absence raised questions regarding the status of Gitex as a must-attend event for the industry.
But both companies said yesterday they would be taking part in this year's event as exhibitors.
Samir al Schamma, the general manager for the GCC region at Intel, said the company would exhibit its new generation of Centrino 2 microchips from a stand in the Dubai Internet City section at the event.
Intel is also a partner of the Electronic Sports League, an international competitive gaming league that will host a special championship during Gitex.
Microsoft will be exhibiting under the Microsoft Dynamics brand, a line of software targeted at small and medium businesses.
At Gitex 2006, the company regionally launched Windows Vista, its first new operating system in more than five years. But one year later, it chose not to exhibit at Gitex for the first time in 16 years, saying it had no major new products to release.
Although Microsoft will not launch anything new at this year's event, it will preview new Microsoft Dynamics products that will be released next year, according to Tamer Elhamy, the business solutions manager for Microsoft Gulf.
"We're very pleased to see so many major industry leaders in business technology using the Gitex platform," said Helal Saeed al Marri, the director general of Dubai World Trade Centre, which manages Gitex.
To avoid scheduling conflicts with another event and the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, last year Gitex was pushed forward by more than a month, from its usual date in late October to the second week of September. Many participants were unhappy with the timing, which came at the tail-end of the quiet summer period and just days after the conclusion of a major telecommunications conference at the same location.
Combined with the absence of major industry players and what some exhibitors said was a more generalist, non-business visitor profile, it led to a conference that was considered lacklustre when compared to previous years.
Gitex organisers acknowledged the problem and said the timing would not be repeated. This year's event runs from Oct 19-23, and its organisers are expecting more than 3,300 exhibitors.
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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
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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BLACKBERRY
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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
