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California Man Convicted of Illegally Importing an Ancient Mosaic from Syria

This undated photo provided by the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California shows an ancient Roman-era mosaic that was illegally imported. (US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California via AP)
This undated photo provided by the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California shows an ancient Roman-era mosaic that was illegally imported. (US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California via AP)
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California Man Convicted of Illegally Importing an Ancient Mosaic from Syria

This undated photo provided by the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California shows an ancient Roman-era mosaic that was illegally imported. (US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California via AP)
This undated photo provided by the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California shows an ancient Roman-era mosaic that was illegally imported. (US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California via AP)

A California man has been found guilty of illegally importing an ancient mosaic from Syria, federal prosecutors said.

Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi, 56, of Palmdale, was convicted by a jury Wednesday on one count of “entry of falsely classified goods,” the US attorney's office said in a news release.

The mosaic, which depicts a tale from mythology in which Hercules rescues Prometheus, dates to the Roman Empire, prosecutors said. Authorities believe it was looted from war-torn Syria, The Associated Press said.

According to prosecutors, Alcharihi purchased the mosaic for $12,000 and falsely classified its value and quality when it was imported through the Port of Long Beach, California.

It arrived as part of a container shipment from Türkiye that was declared as ceramic tiles worth less than $600. The approximately 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) mosaic was trucked to Alcharihi's home, where federal agents seized it from his garage in 2016.

Alcharihi had paid $40,000 to restore the mosaic and a government appraisal expert valued it at $450,000, the US attorney’s office said.

Alcharihi faces up to two years in prison. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Aug. 31.

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A Zoo Elephant Dies in Indonesia after Being Swept Away in a River

The carcass of an elephant is covered with a blue tarp after it was found dead on a riverbank after being swept away by the river's current the previous evening, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 17 December 2024. (EPA)
The carcass of an elephant is covered with a blue tarp after it was found dead on a riverbank after being swept away by the river's current the previous evening, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 17 December 2024. (EPA)
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A Zoo Elephant Dies in Indonesia after Being Swept Away in a River

The carcass of an elephant is covered with a blue tarp after it was found dead on a riverbank after being swept away by the river's current the previous evening, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 17 December 2024. (EPA)
The carcass of an elephant is covered with a blue tarp after it was found dead on a riverbank after being swept away by the river's current the previous evening, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 17 December 2024. (EPA)

An elephant that lived at the zoo on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali was found dead on Tuesday after being swept away by a strong river current.

Molly, a 45-year-old female Sumatran elephant was one of two being guided by a mahout to a holding area outside of the zoo grounds through a river on Monday afternoon. The activity was part of their daily routine of mental and physical stimulation.

The first elephant had made it across and Molly was in the river when the current suddenly increased due to heavy rain upstream, the zoo said in a statement.

"In this situation, Molly lost her balance and was swept away by the current," it said. The mahout was uninjured.

A team from Bali Zoo and Bali Natural Resources Conservation Agency conducted an intensive search. The dead elephant was found Tuesday morning in Cengceng river in Sukawati subdistrict in Gianyar district, Bali.

"The entire team at Bali Zoo is deeply saddened by the loss of Molly, a female elephant who has been an important part of our extended family. Molly was known to be a kind and friendly elephant," the zoo said.

"This was an unavoidable event, but we are committed to conducting a thorough evaluation of our operational procedures and risk mitigation measures, especially during the rainy season, to ensure the safety of all our animals in the future," said Emma Chandra, the zoo's head of public relations.

Seasonal rains from around October through to March frequently cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands.

Sumatran elephants are a critically endangered species and fewer than 700 remain on Sumatra island. This subspecies of the Asian elephant, one of two species of the largest mammal in the world, is protected under an Indonesian law on the conservation of biological natural resources and their ecosystems.