Pennsylvania court permanently blocks effort to make power plants pay for greenhouse gas emissions
A court says Pennsylvania can't enforce a regulation to make power plant owners pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions
2023-11-02 03:51
Addiction can lead to financial ruin. Ohio wants to teach finance pros to help stem the loss
Across the country, family members of children, parents and other relatives struggling with the disease of addiction are facing new financial burdens whether it’s missing work, blowing through their savings or becoming parents again in their 60s and 70s
2023-11-02 02:57
Why France's Emmanuel Macron is courting Central Asia
Uranium is of interest to Paris, unsure about its supply of the fuel after a coup in Niger in July.
2023-11-02 02:55
Republican mega-donor Adelson met with Haley in Las Vegas -sources
By Alexandra Ulmer Casino billionaire and mega Republican donor Miriam Adelson met in Las Vegas with 2024 presidential
2023-11-02 02:46
Zimbabwe president's niece convicted of gold-smuggling
She was caught travelling to Dubai with over $300,000 worth of gold.
2023-11-02 01:53
Raiders fire offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi, AP source says
The Las Vegas Raiders fired offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi on Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press
2023-11-02 01:51
French dealer sued for buying African mask ‘rarer than da Vinci painting’ for £130 and selling it for £3.7m
A second-hand deader in France is facing a lawsuit for allegedly deceiving a couple by selling an African mask at almost a 2,800,000 per cent markup. An unnamed pensioner couple, who live in Eure-et-Loir, southwest of Paris, sold the rare mask to the dealer at €150 (£130) who further sold it at €4.2m (£3.7m). As the case brought by the French couple opened on Tuesday, the dealer appeared in court. But the Gabon government and campaigners have said that the rare artefact should instead be returned to its country of origin. The rare 19th-Century “Ngi” mask which was made by the Fang people of Gabon was lying in dust in the attic of the couple’s holiday home in Gard, southern France. The couple had called the dealer as they had decided to sell their home. The wooden mask was found in a cupboard in the house that belonged to the man’s grandfather, René-Victor Fournier, who had been a colonial administrator in Africa in the early 20th Century. The dealer bought several items from the couple, including the wooden mask. It was six months later that the couple while reading a newspaper found out that the mask had been in action in Montpellier and that it was an artefact even rarer than a Leonardo da Vinci painting. The couple said they had “almost fallen off their chairs” when they recognised the photo and the auction catalogue said it was collected around 1917, in unknown circumstances by Fournier. The discovery prompted excitement among art dealers and media, with one expert telling a French TV that only 10 such items were made by Fang masters. “This type of mask is even rarer than a Leonardo da Vinci painting – we know of 22 paintings by the great master, but we only know of 10 to 12 masks created by the different Fang masters in Gabon,” the expert said. At an auction in March 2022, the mask was bought for £3.7m by an unnamed person bidding by phone after being initially valued at £2.6m. The couple later filed a civil suit against the dealer for giving them an unfair price and demanded the sale be annulled. During the hearing in an Ales court, the lawyers for the couple contended that the couple should receive the profits from action fairly after they unknowingly sold it at £130. “One has to be in good faith and honest; my clients would never have given up this mask at that price if they knew it was an extremely rare object,” their lawyer, Frédéric Mansat Jaffré, said this month to French outlets. Representatives of the Gabon government however said that the mask was stolen in the first place and should be returned. Solange Bizeau of the Collectif Gabon Occitanie said: “That mask was stolen at the time of colonisation … All these works of art – and so many that we see in museums – were taken, and the people who made them were told they were the devil’s work and they should instead believe in the Bible. And from that point on, these artefacts have appeared in Europe, enriching people who have made money from them for decades.” “This mask has a soul, it was used to establish justice in our villages. The discussion in court has been about morality, but what about the morality of the spoliation of works of art and our dignity? Where is the morality in that?” A decision by the court is expected in December. Read More US removes four African countries from trade deal for ‘gross human rights violation’ UN Security Council fails again to address Israel-Hamas war, rejecting US and Russian resolutions Putin’s warplanes ‘drop bombs’ on civilian shipping lanes as Kyiv advances - live Putin’s warplanes ‘drop bombs’ on civilian shipping lanes as Kyiv advances - live Israeli envoy to Russia says Tel Aviv passengers hid from weekend airport riot in terminal A media freedom group accuses Israel and Hamas of war crimes and reports deaths of 34 journalists
2023-11-02 01:50
Storied football rivalry in Maine takes on extra significance in wake of shooting
Lewiston, Maine, takes another step in its recovery from the state's worst mas shooting, as high school football resturns
2023-11-02 01:49
Ukraine war: Russia hits most settlements in one day, says Kyiv
Some 118 towns and villages were struck in 24 hours, the most this year, Kyiv's interior minister says.
2023-11-02 01:45
Renowned glass artist and the making of a gigantic church window featured in new film
A renowned glass artist in Mexico played a key role in the creation of a gigantic church window in the U.S. The 81-year-old Narcissus Quagliata is the master of the glass-fusion technique that made the Kansas church’s colossal stained-glass artwork possible
2023-11-02 01:24
The woman accused of killing pro cyclist Mo Wilson tracked her on a fitness app, prosecutors say
A murder trial in Texas is underway in the fatal shooting of pro cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson
2023-11-02 00:50
US House to vote on proposal to expel embattled Republican George Santos
WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Wednesday on whether or not to expel Republican congressman
2023-11-02 00:26