Yemeni soldiers drive a tank on the outskirts of the rebel-held Sanaa on February 2, 2018. Government troops are stalled on the edge of the Yemeni capital but have made steady gains elsewhere with support from a Saudi-led military coalition. Jon Gambrell / AP Photo
Yemeni soldiers drive a tank on the outskirts of the rebel-held Sanaa on February 2, 2018. Government troops are stalled on the edge of the Yemeni capital but have made steady gains elsewhere with support from a Saudi-led military coalition. Jon Gambrell / AP Photo
Yemeni soldiers drive a tank on the outskirts of the rebel-held Sanaa on February 2, 2018. Government troops are stalled on the edge of the Yemeni capital but have made steady gains elsewhere with support from a Saudi-led military coalition. Jon Gambrell / AP Photo
Yemeni soldiers drive a tank on the outskirts of the rebel-held Sanaa on February 2, 2018. Government troops are stalled on the edge of the Yemeni capital but have made steady gains elsewhere with sup

Yemeni troops retake Haiys district from rebels in Hodeidah


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Yemeni troops captured the Haiys district of Hodeidah from Houthi rebels on Monday, moving them closer to taking control of the port city after a months-long campaign backed by the Saudi-led military coalition.

The area was taken by the army's Al Amalikah Brigade after heavy fighting in which 30 rebels were killed and 13 captured, the brigade's commander, Maj Gen Abu Zarah Al Muharramy, told The National.

"Our forces stormed Haiys in a sudden offensive and control the centre of Haiys from Al Sakam intersection to the south of Hodiedah," Maj Gen Al Muharramy said.

He said hundreds of rebel fighters fled toward neighbouring Al Garahi district, which will be the next target of the military campaign.

The gain came as Saudi air defences intercepted another rebel ballistic missile fired at the kingdom. The coalition said the missile was fired at the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait from Saada province, the Houthis' northern stronghold bordering Saudi Arabia, and brought down at 7.23am.

The victory in Haiys is the latest advance in a campaign to retake the rebel-held port of Hodeidah, which the coalition says the Iran-backed Houthis are using to smuggle in weapons and launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Control of the district will enable government forces to cut off the rebels' supply route from Hodeidah  to the neighbouring province of Taez, where coalition-backed government forces are fighting the insurgents on several fronts.

On Sunday, troops seized several areas in Taez including Al Safra village and Al Karrash highway in the west of the province.

Government forces also took control of an area north of Taez city, the provincial capital, and advanced towards Al Waesh mountain overlooking the city amid fierce fighting, said Tariq Al Mulaiki, a journalist working with the Yemeni army.

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Federer's 19 grand slam titles

Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal

French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling

Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic

US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray

Company profile

Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
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Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)

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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