عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Cairo, Rome Hold Talks on Smuggled Egyptian Artifacts

TT
20
TT

Cairo, Rome Hold Talks on Smuggled Egyptian Artifacts

Egypt's Foreign Ministry said a meeting was held between assistant Foreign Minister for Protocol Affairs Ayman Mosharafa and acting Italian ambassador to Egypt Stefano Catani.

Mosharafa and Catani held talks on the Italian authorities’ seizure of 118 smuggled Egyptian artifacts were found concealed in "a diplomatic container" owned by an Italian national.

The talks come within the framework of the Foreign Ministry’s keenness to uncover all facts related to the incident, with the Egyptian diplomat noting that the Egyptian ambassador in Rome was informed about the matter in March 2018, 10 months after the smuggled artifacts were discovered and seized.

This raises several questions by the Egyptian government about the cause of delay, particularly in light of the close ties binding Cairo and Rome, Mosharafa said.

The Egyptian diplomat also inquired about the identity of the person to whom the diplomatic parcel containing the smuggled artifacts reportedly belongs.

Mosharafa called for completing relevant investigations as soon as possible to reveal facts behind the incident for the Egyptian public opinion. "Cairo is looking forward to Rome’s cooperation in this regard", he said.

Meanwhile, the acting Italian ambassador said he has contacted the authorities concerned in his country in order to accelerate the pace of investigations into the incident.

Catani also stressed Italy’s keenness to cooperate with Egypt in all issues of mutual concern.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Faint Glow in Saturn… Did a Mystery Object Crash into the Gas Giant on Saturday?

New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
TT
20
TT

Faint Glow in Saturn… Did a Mystery Object Crash into the Gas Giant on Saturday?

New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA

Astronomers have called for help to identify a mystery object that may have hit Saturn on Saturday in what could be the first recorded instance of a space object crashing on to the gas giant.

Studies suggest large objects- measuring over a kilometer across – strike Saturn once every 3,125 years on an average, according to The Independent.

Although data shows seven or eight small space rocks hit the planet every year, none have been spotted in the act by astronomers so far.

Compared to rocky planets where cosmic collisions leave impact craters, gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn don’t reveal such signs.

But a new image captured by a Nasa employee and amateur astronomer Mario Rana appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time.

Since gas giants have outer layers made of hydrogen and helium, strikes by asteroids or comets can quickly fade out.

Rana is part of the DeTeCt project, which analyzes images of Jupiter and Saturn using computer software. Videos taken of Saturn by the astronomer last Saturday show a faint glow in the left side of the footage, which seems like an impact event.

The Planetary Virtual Observatory and Laboratory, or PVOL, a consortium of professional and amateur astronomers, has called for experts in the field to attempt to confirm or refute the potential impact on Saturn.

“Marc Delcroix reports a potential impact in Saturn captured in a few frames in a video observation obtained by Mario Rana. The potential impact would be very faint and is unconfirmed,” PVOL said in a statement.

“The very short impact flash occurred on Saturn on 5 July 2025, between 9am and 9.15am UT. It is very important to get other videos of Saturn taken during that time frame.”

PVOL has urged astronomers who may have also captured observations from this time to contact Delcroix and submit their data.

Leigh N Fletcher, a planetary science professor at the University of Leicester, also called for amateur space observers to share any potential videos they may have of the impact.

“Amplifying the call from Marc Delcroix and co over the weekend: the team are looking to verify/refute a potential impact on Saturn on 5 July, 9am to 9.15am UT,” Dr Fletcher wrote on BlueSky.

“Videos taken by amateur observers at that time might hold the key.”