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.
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
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