Ethiopia's long wait for the return of the Axum obelisk neared its end yesterday as a plane carrying the first of its three massive pieces arrived here from Italy, where the stele was taken as a prize of conquest by fascist troops nearly 70 years ago.
Applause, cheers and sighs of relief greeted the landing shortly after dawn at Axum's small airport as the giant Russian-built Antonov 124-100 cargo plane touched down with its precious 60-tonne load after four fly-bys.
"I am excited, overjoyed and delighted," said Ethiopian Culture Minister Teshome Toga, one of some 40 officials waiting on the tarmac for the arrival along with about 50 students wearing obelisk T-shirts.
"This is a very historical moment for us, we have waited so long to have the obelisk back," he said. "This operation is a wonderful example of preservation of Ethiopian culture."
The 2,500-year-old, 24m granite funeral stele weighing some 160 tonnes was stolen by Italian troops in 1937 on the orders of dictator Benito Mussolini during his brief attempt to colonize Ethiopia.
Despite a 1947 agreement that called for its return, the monument had remained in Italy, much to the anger of Ethiopia which had accused Rome of stalling on the deal for the past 58 years.
A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses. The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the Strait on Friday morning, ship-tracking data show. However, the same tanker was also recorded as having beached at an Indian demolition yard in October last year, where it is being broken up, according to market participants and port agent’s reports. The ship claiming to be Jamal is likely a zombie vessel that
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) yesterday faced a regional election battle in Rhineland-Palatinate, now held by the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). Merz’s CDU has enjoyed a narrow poll lead over the SPD — their coalition partners at the national level — who have ruled the mid-sized state for 35 years. Polling third is the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which spells a greater threat to the two centrist parties in several state elections in September in the country’s ex-communist east. The picturesque state of Rhineland-Palatinate, bordering France, Belgium and Luxembourg and with a population of about 4 million,
LAW CONSTRAINTS: The US has been pressing allies to send warships to open the Strait, but Tokyo’s military actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution Japan could consider deploying its military for minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz if a ceasefire is reached in the war on Iran, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi said yesterday. “If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaking, then things like minesweeping could come up,” Motegi said. “This is purely hypothetical, but if a ceasefire were established and naval mines were creating an obstacle, then I think that would be something to consider.” Japan’s military actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution, but 2015 security legislation allows Tokyo to use its Self-Defense Forces overseas if an attack,
Ugandan wildlife authorities have reintroduced rhinos into a remote protected area where they were once poached into extinction, an event seen by conservationists as a milestone in efforts to support the recovery of a species threatened by poaching. On Tuesday, two southern white rhinos from a private ranch in the East African country were reintroduced into Kidepo Valley National Park in the country’s northeast. Two more rhinos in metallic crates arrived on Thursday. There have been no rhinos in the park since 1983, the result of poaching. However, a private ranch in central Uganda — the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary — has been
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