Culture

Switzerland returns stolen 2,000-year-old marble head to Libya

Published

5 months ago

December 7, 2023

In what has been described as a significant move, Switzerland federal authorities have returned the marble head of a young woman from the Hellenistic period believed to be around 2,000 years old to Libya, 10 years after it was discovered in a warehouse in Geneva.

The Swiss Federal Office of Culture said in a statement on Wednesday that it had handed over the marble sculpture to the Libyan Embassy in Bern as part of restitutional framework of the law on the international transfer of cultural property.

The sculpture, which is 19 centimetres high, according to the North African Federal Office of Culture, dates from between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD.

Historians say the object probably came from the archaeological site of the ancient city of Cyrene in present day Libya.

“It is an archaeological vestige of great value and an exceptional testimony to Hellenistic expansion in North Africa,” the office of culture said in a statement.

Local media reports that the cultural artefact was found during a customs inspection in a customs warehouse in Geneva in 2013, and was confiscated during criminal proceedings in 2016 on suspicion that it had come from a looted excavation.

“The marble head is entirely covered with a reddish patina which provides information on its origin, according to which the Cyrenaica region is one of the rare regions in the Mediterranean basin where we find terra rossa and marble of such quality,” a media report said.

Related Topics:Artifact Featured Libya Switzerland

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Culture

Kenyan officials arrest four Tiktokers for filming robbery prank video outside police station

Published

1 day ago

May 11, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Kenyan Police authorities have arrested four young Tiktokers for filming a robbery prank outside a police station in the Kilifi North Sub-county.

Local media reports that the four young people who were aiming for social media fame, were arrested after filming and publishing on Tiktok a fake robbery outside the police station.

“The four young people, one of whom is 17 years old, made a video titled ‘wezi mbele ya police station’ (robbery outside a police station), and posted it on the popular video platform. However, police didn’t take it lightly,” one report wrote.

“In the video, a seemingly drunk man exits the Administration Police (AP) canteen and gets robbed by two others on a motorcycle.

“The 18-year-old cameraman was among those arrested. Police identified them through CCTV footage at the AP canteen. The youths were arrested at their homes in Kilifi, with the oldest being 27 years old,” another report said.

The Kilifi North Sub-county Police Commander, Kenneth Maina, who confirmed the incident and arrest of the suspects, said investigations are still ongoing, and the suspects will face charges, including cybercrimes.

“The viral video of a daylight robbery at the Kilifi Administration Police canteen in Kilifi was not real but a prank by a group of youths creating content for their TikTok account,” Maina said.

Maina said they were pursuing another suspect who was still at large, adding that the youths revealed they only wanted to attract followers to their TikTok account.

“There were five youths and we managed to arrest four of them and the other one we have a crucial lead that will lead us to an arrest,” the Police Commander said.

Culture

Ghanaian Supreme Court begins hearing in case challenging anti-LGBTQ+ bill

Published

4 days ago

May 9, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

The Ghanaian Supreme Court Thursday began hearing on a suit challenging the anti-LGBTQ+ bill passed by parliament in February.

The suit filed by lawyer and journalist, Richard Dela Sky, seeks to challenge the controversial bill which prescribes a three-year jail term for people identified as gay and five to 10 years for LGBT advocates.

The lawsuit, which was filed in March, sought the court to prevent the parliament Speaker and Clerk from sending the bill to President Nana Akufo Addo, while also seeking that the president should not sign the bill into law.

A second case brought before the apex court by academic researcher, Dr Amanda Odoi, is challenging the constitutionality of the bill and was also heard by the court.

Presiding judge, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, however, expressed concern about the strong language used in some of the sworn statements.

“I think that the language is intemperate, a lot of the paragraphs contain language that is inappropriate, scandalous, so I want to give you directions,” Torkornoo said.

Local media reports that the tense events on day one of the hearing did not come as a surprise to many given the controversial nature of the bill, which has been condemned by Western donors and human rights groups.

“The hearing was presided over by the chief justice along with four other Supreme Court judges and broadcast live on television, because of the keen interest in the case among Ghanaians,” the report said.

“President Akufo Addo had said he would await the verdict of the Supreme Court before deciding whether or not to sign the bill into law and the case has been adjourned to 17 May,” the report said.