UK PM Sunak Rules Out Law Change for Return of Parthenon Marbles

An employee poses as he views a horse's head which forms part of the Parthenon sculptures, sometimes referred to in the UK as the Elgin Marbles, on display at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. (Reuters)
An employee poses as he views a horse's head which forms part of the Parthenon sculptures, sometimes referred to in the UK as the Elgin Marbles, on display at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. (Reuters)
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UK PM Sunak Rules Out Law Change for Return of Parthenon Marbles

An employee poses as he views a horse's head which forms part of the Parthenon sculptures, sometimes referred to in the UK as the Elgin Marbles, on display at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. (Reuters)
An employee poses as he views a horse's head which forms part of the Parthenon sculptures, sometimes referred to in the UK as the Elgin Marbles, on display at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. (Reuters)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ruled out changing a law which prohibits the British Museum handing the Parthenon marbles permanently back to Greece.

Sunak said there are no plans to amend the legislation, which states the museum can only dispose of objects within its collection in limited circumstances. However, the museum could still arrange a loan of the sculptures.

Since independence in 1832, Greece has repeatedly called for the return of the sculptures - known in Britain as the Elgin Marbles - that British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon temple in Athens in the early 19th century, when Greece was under Ottoman rule.

Sunak is unlikely to break with the stances of his two predecessors who were both against any kind of loan of the marbles to Greece.

"The UK has cared for the Elgin Marbles for generations. Our galleries and museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a huge asset to this country," Sunak told reporters on his plane as he flew to the United States.

"We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it."

The former finance minister George Osborne, the chair of the British Museum, has been working on a new arrangement with Greece through which the sculptures could be seen both in London and in Athens.

The Parthenon Project, which has been backed by British politicians from different political parties to settle the issue, said on Sunday the British Museum's Parthenon collection could be returned to Greece under a long-term cultural partnership agreement.



Nepal Waives Climbing Fees for Some Peaks to Lure Mountaineers

FILE PHOTO: Mountaineers practice walking on a ladder during a training session at Everest base camp, Nepal April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima Shrestha/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Mountaineers practice walking on a ladder during a training session at Everest base camp, Nepal April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima Shrestha/File Photo
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Nepal Waives Climbing Fees for Some Peaks to Lure Mountaineers

FILE PHOTO: Mountaineers practice walking on a ladder during a training session at Everest base camp, Nepal April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima Shrestha/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Mountaineers practice walking on a ladder during a training session at Everest base camp, Nepal April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima Shrestha/File Photo

Nepal will waive climbing fees for nearly 100 peaks in the remote northwestern Himalayas for the next two years to try and lure more mountaineers to the less developed region bordering China, an official said on Monday.

The country has opened 491 of its peaks but climbers typically focus on around 25 in the northeast and central parts of Nepal, including the world’s highest peak Mount Everest, which hundreds scale every year, Reuters reported.

Tourism Department official Himal Gautam said the decision to waive permit fees to 97 peaks, ranging from 5,870 meters (19,258 feet) to 7,132 meters (23,398 feet) in Nepal’s Karnali and Far Western provinces, was aimed at promoting mountaineering on smaller mountains in remote areas.

"The idea is to encourage climbers to go to unexplored yet scenic areas and mountain peaks," Gautam told Reuters.

Nepal has just increased the fees it will charge from September for permits to $350 for a smaller mountain, from a previous $250, to $15,000 for Everest from $11,000.

Gautam said the permit fee waiver would help promote tourism and improve economic conditions for people in the least developed areas of Nepal.

Mountain climbing and trekking are the main attractions for tourists and a key source of income and employment in the cash-strapped nation.