Every week The National's Luxury magazine team puts together Black Book, a cheat sheet of the most interesting and noteworthy arrivals in fashion, watches, jewellery and cars.
Bentley Flying Spur
Bentley has launched its fourth generation Flying Spur as its first four-door supercar. An all-new hybrid, it blurs the line between a performance sedan and an electric vehicle. The V8 engine can do 0-100 kilometres per hour in 3.5 seconds, half a second faster than its predecessor. This latest model is the result of nearly 20 years of refinement to create what Bentley describes as a ‘spirited’ drive.
Pat McGrath
Pat McGrath is the make-up artist behind some of the most famous runway looks of all time – such as the glassy skin of the Maison Margiela haute couture show earlier this year. Now she has now added a bronzer to her line of cosmetics. Skin Fetish: Divine Bronzer comes in eight lightweight, silky shades and is designed to be swept on to cheeks and temples for a subtle, sun-kissed look. The vegan recipe is available in demi-matte or pearl finish.
Miu Miu
Miu Miu has launched a series of pop-ups for a collection inspired by regal British style. Miu Miu Balmoral – it is named after the Royal retreat in Scotland – is a wardrobe filled with diamond-patterned knitwear and tweed-covered bags mixed with mini skirts and baseball caps. The pop-ups are currently only in Asia, featuring in stores in Seoul, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo and Shanghai, but the collection can be found online at miumiu.com. The limited-edition collection is only available in September and October.
Louis Vuitton
The famous Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag turns 17 this year. To mark the occasion, the fashion house has released a new iteration – the Neverfull Inside Out.
As the name suggests, this is the same roomy tote but is now fully reversible. It is made with a traditional coated canvas exterior, one side showcasing Vuitton’s distinctive monogram and the other, once flipped inside out, showing off the striped interior (including the stamped pocket) that was previously hidden away.
Available in numerous colourways, the striped side bag comes in a neutral shade, a bold yellow or a sassy pink and contrasts the classic Vuitton brown. A separate, detachable pocket can be matched to the inside colour.
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
The specs: 2018 Kia Picanto
Price: From Dh39,500
Engine: 1.2L inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Four-speed auto
Power: 86hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 122Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0L / 100km
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
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