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America returns over 40 ‘stolen’ antiquities to Italy

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New York authorities on Tuesday returned to Italy several dozen stolen antiquities worth nearly $3.5 million, as the American megapolis strives to shake off the reputation as a key global hub for illicit art trade.

Investigators handed back 42 exceptional pieces – some 2,500 years old – to Italian officials during a ceremony in New York, according to a statement from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg

“We continue to undo the damage wrought by decades of well-organised antiquities smuggling networks throughout Italy,” Bragg said, adding that more than 200 antiquities have been repatriated to Italy since he took office in 2022.

Vincenzo Molinese, commander of the Italian government’s so-called Carabinieri Art Squad, hailed “the great success of the investigation” thanks to a collaboration between the United States and Italy.

Among the works found and returned was a vase from the region of Apulia in southern Italy that dates back to 335 BC. It was stolen from a burial site before being smuggled abroad by Giacomo Medici, a notorious trafficker of Italian antiquities, according to prosecutors.

After passing through London, the bowl, which was used to mix water and wine, was seized in July from a private collection in New York last month.

Since 2017, New York prosecutors have repatriated pieces that were looted from around 20 countries between the 1970s and 1990s.

They have included works from ancient Greece, the Roman and Byzantine empires, Iraq, China, India and Southeast Asia.

AFP

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International

Trump blasts Pope Leo for criticism of U.S. foreign policy

Trump said Leo is “Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me

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President Donald Trump on Sunday blasted Pope Leo XIV over the Roman Catholic pontiff’s criticism of the U.S. war with Iran.

The president said in a Truth Social post he does not “want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.”

Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, and other church leaders have also at times been sharply critical of Trump’s domestic immigration policies.

Trump linked the pope’s ascension to his return to office as president.“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise,” Trump said.

“He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”

Trump said Leo is “Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested,” referring to a recent meeting between the pope and President Barack Obama’s former political aide.

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Hungarian opposition wins election landslide

Results based on 81.5% of votes counted showed the center-right, pro-EU Tisza party of Peter Magyar winning 137 seats for a crucial two-thirds majority in the 199-member parliament, defeating Orban’s Fidesz party.

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Photo: President of the Tisza Party, Peter Magyar / CNBC

Hungary’s veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orban conceded defeat on Sunday after a landslide election victory by the upstart opposition Tisza party, ending Orban’s 16-year rules.

Results based on 81.5% of votes counted showed the center-right, pro-EU Tisza party of Peter Magyar winning 137 seats for a crucial two-thirds majority in the 199-member parliament, defeating Orban’s Fidesz party.

“The election results are not final yet, but the situation is understandable and clear,” Orban, 62, said at the Fidesz campaign offices.

Some of his supporters who had gathered outside cried as they watched him speak on TV screens.

“The election result is painful for us, but clear.”Election officials estimated turnout at a record of 79% or more, in an election that many Hungarians saw as a watershed moment for their country.

Tisza’s Magyar, 45, had cast the vote as a choice between “East and West,” warning voters that Orban and his confrontational stance towards Brussels would take the country further away from the European mainstream.

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Oil jumps 7% to above $100 ahead of US blockade of Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces would begin implementing the blockade ​of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Monday.

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Oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel on Monday as the U.S. Navy prepared to block ships ‌from reaching Iran via the Strait of Hormuz, a move that could restrict Iranian oil exports, after Washington and Tehran failed to reach a deal to end the war.

U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces would begin implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Monday.

Reuters reported that Brent crude futures rose $6.71, or 7.05%, to $101.91 a barrel by 0104 GMT after settling 0.75% lower on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $104.16 a barrel, up $7.59, or 7.86%, following a 1.33% loss in the previous session.

“The market is now largely back to conditions before the ceasefire, except now the U.S. will ⁠block the remaining up to 2 million barrels per day Iranian linked flows through the Strait of Hormuz as well,” said Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday the U.S. Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardising a fragile two-week ceasefire.

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