New York state's top prosecutor and a public champion of the #MeToo movement resigned on Monday, just hours after being accused by The New Yorker of physically assaulting four women.
It was an abrupt fall from power for Eric Scheiderman, the chief law enforcement officer in the state and a US President Donald Trump opponent whose office had launched multiple legal challenges against the Republican administration.
"In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me," Mr Schneiderman said.
"While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office's work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8."
Earlier, he issued a statement denying that he had assaulted anyone or that he had ever engaged in non-consensual sex.
Two of the women spoke to the magazine on the record, alleging that Mr Schneiderman repeatedly hit them, often after drinking, frequently in bed and never with their consent.
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Both say they sought medical attention after having been slapped hard across the ear and face, and also choked, the magazine said.
The New Yorker said none of the women classified the behaviour as consensual.
In February, Mr Schneiderman sued The Weinstein Company for failing to protect employees from years of disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct despite multiple complaints from staff.
He had also been instructed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to review a 2015 decision by the Manhattan district attorney not to prosecute Mr Weinstein over allegations of assault.
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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
Results
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5