RIYADH // When it was disclosed two weeks ago that Tunisia's former president, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, had arrived with his family in Saudi Arabia, many Saudis were not happy that he had been given refuge in their country.
"We have everything to lose and nothing to gain by accepting him in Saudi Arabia," a Riyadh businessman, Turki Faisal al Rasheed, wrote in an e-mail. "What will be the Saudi position when we receive a court order from the Tunis government to deliver back Ben Ali in Tunis?"
That moment came closer when Tunisia announced on Wednesday that it had issued an international arrest warrant through Interpol for Mr Ben Ali and six family members. They are wanted for alleged theft of public funds and currency violations.
A press release on Interpol's website confirms that its office in Tunis issued a global alert via its international network seeking the location and arrest of Mr Ben Ali.
However, the release notes that the alert was issued "without the involvement" of Interpol's General Secretariat, and that it would be up to Tunisian authorities to "forward any formal request for extradition via diplomatic channels".
So far, Riyadh has not received an extradition request, according to a source who requested anonymity. If it does in the future, it is unlikely to turn over Mr Ben Ali, given the close ties between his government and the Saudi government in the past, several Saudi attorneys said.
"I think they will discreetly ask him to find a different place to live and then say it's not our problem anymore," said one Jeddah attorney, Bassim Ali.
Mr Ben Ali, like other deposed leaders given sanctuary here, including Uganda's Idi Amin and Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif, is forbidden to engage in political activities or meet the media.
The decision to take him in was unpopular among both reform-minded progressives and religious conservatives because the Tunisian leader was seen as repressing both currents when in power.
After his arrival, the royal court sought to mollify its critics, saying in a statement that Mr Ben Ali was received because of "the exceptional situation that the people of Tunisia are facing".
It added that Saudi Arabia gives "its full backing for the people of Tunisia [and] hopes for greater co-operation between Tunisians so they can surmount this difficult phase in their history".
Meanwhile, all eyes in the kingdom are on Egypt, though with different hopes for the eventual outcome. Many young Saudis are sympathetic to the Egyptian people, judging from the traffic on Twitter.
But other Saudis are fearful of an Egypt that could spiral out of control and face an uncertain future. Such concerns were reflected in a conversation that took place between King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and Mr Mubarak early yesterday, according to the state news agency, SPA.
The Saudi monarch, who is in Morocco recovering from back surgery, called the Egyptian leader to express his support. King Abdullah condemned "intruders" he said were "tampering with Egypt's security and stability … in the name of freedom of expression", SPA added.
Saudi Arabia, the king said, "stands with all its means with the government and people of Egypt".
Mr Mubarak assured King Abdullah that "the situation is stable [in Egypt] … and what the world has seen is nothing more than an attempt by some ... suspicious groups which do not want stability and security for Egyptians", the news agency said.
Events closer to home, however, are preoccupying many people in Jeddah, Saudi's second largest city, where Wednesday's floods killed 10 people, caused extensive damage and left thousands of homes without electricity, according to Saudi newspapers. Three others are missing.
The flooding was caused by insufficient capacity in Jeddah's drainage system, a problem the government had promised to fix after devastating floods in November 2009 that left 120 dead.
Angry about the failure to solve the problem, about 50 Saudis marched down a major street after Friday prayers shouting complaints. They were quickly stopped by police, who arrested dozens of them, according to news agency reports.
cmurphy@thenational.ae
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
%3Cp%3EThe%20Punishment%20of%20Luxury%3Cbr%3EOMD%3Cbr%3E100%25%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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
More on Quran memorisation:
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
