Egyptians Al Ahly top an eight-club field of African title winners when the CAF Confederation Cup group stage kicks off this weekend.
The Cairo-based outfit won the second-tier competition last year and raised to 19 the record number of CAF trophies they have lifted.
Ahly, compatriots Zamalek, Tunisians Esperance and Etoile Sahel and South Africans Orlando Pirates have won the CAF Champions League, the marquee event on the African club football calendar.
Completing the field are Tunisians CS Sfaxien, Congolese AC Leopards and Malians Stade Malien, all former CAF Confederation Cup holders.
Ahly host Esperance Sunday in the final and standout matchday 1 fixture and the visitors are among the seven most successful African clubs with five titles.
This match at the Suez Army Stadium marks the debut of former Olympique Marseille coach Jose Anigo as boss of Esperance, who have won every African competition except the Confederation Cup.
The 54-year-old, who spent two spells in charge of Marseille, must tackle Ahly without six first choices.
Defenders Mohamed Ben Mansour and Chamseddine Dhaouadi and Cameroonian striker Yannick N’Djeng are injured.
Suspensions rule out Ghailene Chaalali and Iheb Mbarki and fellow midfielder and captain Oussama Darragi has gone missing.
“It is true that a week is a very short time to prepare for a match of this magnitude,” Anigo said.
“But we will try and do well against Ahly, who are a great African club.”
Anigo succeeded Portuguese Jose De Morais, a former assistant of Jose Mourinho at several clubs, who quit after failing to land the Tunisian title.
Ahly and Esperance have been involved in some classic CAF clashes down the years, most recently the 2012 Champions League final won by the Egyptians.
Etoile Sahel and Stade Malien are the other Group A clubs and they get the ball rolling with a Friday night clash in Mediterranean resort Sousse.
Notorious for changing coaches, Etoile have put veteran Faouzi Benzarti in charge a fifth time as they try to improve on 2013 group results against the Bamako outfit.
After forcing a goalless draw in Mali, Etoile suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to Stade and spoilt their chances of a semi-finals place.
Orlando Pirates return Saturday to Dolisie, where they were sunk by a cross-cum-shot Leopards goal in the Champions League two years ago.
The Soweto side impressed in qualifying for the group stage, scoring two goals each in away games against Ugandan, Gabonese and Guinean opponents.
Should the South Africans equal that scoring feat, they stand a good chance of securing at least a point against the shock 2012 Confederation Cup winners.
Zamalek host Sfaxien in Cairo later Saturday in the other Group B game, which brings together two highly decorated African clubs.
The Egyptians are the second most successful CAF club with nine titles while Sfaxien have lifted the Confederation Cup a record three times.
Each team plays their three rivals at home and away and the first and second-place finishers in both groups advance to the semi-finals of a competition worth $660,000 (590,000 euros) to the winners
CAF Confederation Cup matchday 1 fixtures (all times UAE):
Saturday
Group A
At Sousse, Tunisia
Etoile Sahel (TUN) v Stade Malien (MLI) — 01.00am
Saturday
Group B
At Dolisie, Congo Brazzaville
AC Leopards (CGO) v Orlando Pirates (RSA) 6.30pm
At Cairo
Zamalek (EGY) v CS Sfaxien (TUN) — 11.30pm
Sunday
Group A
At Suez, Egypt
Al-Ahly (EGY, holders) v Esperance (TUN) — Midnight
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
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Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
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BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS
Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
All material must be decontaminated.
Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
