Spain Returns Smuggled Artifacts to Egypt

Some of the antiquities, which are to be returned to Egypt by the Spanish Civil Guard, are seen before the news conference at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, Spain, December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina
Some of the antiquities, which are to be returned to Egypt by the Spanish Civil Guard, are seen before the news conference at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, Spain, December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina
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Spain Returns Smuggled Artifacts to Egypt

Some of the antiquities, which are to be returned to Egypt by the Spanish Civil Guard, are seen before the news conference at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, Spain, December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina
Some of the antiquities, which are to be returned to Egypt by the Spanish Civil Guard, are seen before the news conference at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, Spain, December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Spain returned 36 stolen antiquities to Egyptian officials on Monday, including figurines of gods and goddesses and ancient jars meant to hold human remains.

The artifacts - among them a granite carving of the lion's head of the warrior goddess Sekhmet - were taken illegally from archaeological sites, officials said.

Smugglers brought them to Spain where police seized then after an investigation in 2014.

Egypt's ambassador to Spain, Youssef Diaeldin Mekkawy, received them at a ceremony at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid.

"The recovery of these 36 archaeological pieces is a successful operation that has lasted years, an operation coordinated between Egyptian and Spanish authorities," Reuters quoted him as saying.

The artifacts, worth more than 150,000 euros ($170,000), were all probably looted from sites at Saqqara and Mit Rahina, Spanish police said.

Egypt and other states have stepped up campaigns for the return of artifacts taken by smugglers or looted by imperial powers.



Greece to Reinforce Firefighting Teams on Chios as Wildfires Rage for Second day

Canadair planes and firefighting helicopters in action during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 23 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS
Canadair planes and firefighting helicopters in action during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 23 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS
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Greece to Reinforce Firefighting Teams on Chios as Wildfires Rage for Second day

Canadair planes and firefighting helicopters in action during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 23 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS
Canadair planes and firefighting helicopters in action during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 23 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS

Greece will send more than 170 more firefighters on Monday to reinforce teams battling wildfires on the Greek island of Chios for a second day, as winds further whipped up the blaze, bringing power cuts and spurring the evacuation of residents.

"The situation remains critical as firefighting forces are still dealing with many active fronts, several of which being near hamlets," Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told a news conference.

He said another 171 firefighters would be sent to the island in the northeastern Aegean Sea, joining about 190 assisted by 11 aircraft who were trying to prevent the conflagration from spreading to homes and areas known for producing mastiha, a natural resin harvested from mastic trees.

Wind gusts complicated efforts to extinguish the wildfires, which have razed forest and pasture land as they barrel towards the north, west and south of Chios town, the island's capital, causing power cuts and forcing hundreds of villagers to flee to safety.

Sitting at Europe's hot southernmost tip, Greece has felt the economic and environmental impact of frequent wildfires in recent years that scientists say have been exacerbated by a fast-changing climate.

The country has spent hundreds of millions of euros to compensate households and farmers for damage related to extreme weather and to update firefighting equipment.

It has hired a record number of firefighters this year, some 18,000 of them, in anticipation of a challenging fire season.