BAGHDAD: Over 17,000 looted ancient artifacts recovered from the United States and other countries were handed over to Iraq’s Culture Ministry on Tuesday, a restitution described by the government as the largest in the country’s history.
The majority of the artifacts date back 4,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia and were recovered from the US in a recent trip by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. Other pieces were also returned from Japan, Netherlands and Italy, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in a joint press conference with Culture Minister Hasan Nadhim.
Nadhim said the recovery was “the largest in the history of Iraq” and the product of months of effort between the government and Iraq’s Embassy in Washington.
“There’s still a lot of work ahead in this matter. There are still thousands of Iraqi artifacts smuggled outside the country,” he said. “The United Nations resolutions are supporting us in the international community and the laws of other countries in which these artifacts are smuggled to are on our side.”
“The smugglers are being trapped day after day by these laws and forced to hand over these artifacts,” he added.
The artifacts were handed over to the Culture Ministry in large wooden crates. A few were displayed but the ministry said the most significant pieces will be examined and later displayed to the public in Iraq’s National Museum.
Iraq’s antiquities have been looted throughout decades of war and instability since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Iraq’s government has been slowly recovering the plundered antiquities since. However, archaeological sites across the country continue to be neglected owing to lack of funds.
At least five shipments of antiquities and documents have been returned to Iraq’s museum since 2016, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Iraq gets back looted ancient artifacts from US, others
https://arab.news/jprj2
Iraq gets back looted ancient artifacts from US, others
- The majority of the artifacts date back 4,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia and were recovered from the US in a recent trip by PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi
- Iraq’s antiquities have been looted throughout decades of war and instability since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein
‘The Wrecking Crew’ — Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista head enjoyable romp
RIYADH: Angel Manuel Soto directs this odd-couple action-comedy with a confidence and flair that — along with the chemistry between its central performers and its better-than-you’d-ever-expect script — just about raises it above the slop swarming the streamers.
Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista play estranged half-brothers Jonny and James Halle. Both have the same father — a not-much-liked private detective called Walter who’s just been killed in a hit-and-run in Hawaii (where they were raised and where James, a Navy SEAL, still lives). Neither brother is particularly upset to hear the news of Walter’s death, but when Yakuza henchmen attack Jonny in his Oklahoma home (where he’s a maverick, heavy-drinking cop) demanding a package sent by Walter (a package he hasn’t yet received), he decides to return to Hawaii for the first time in years to attend the funeral and investigate further.
Jonny’s reunion with James is less than cordial, but he does meet James’ wife Leila and their kids for the first time. Leila is a child-psychologist — not afraid to call the brothers out on their emotional shortcomings, nor to try and help them fix their fractured fraternity.
The brothers’ investigation uncovers a plan to build a casino on Hawaiian home lands (an area held in trust for Native Hawaiians). The developer is the extremely wealthy Marcus Robichaux (played with gleeful pantomime-villain campness by Claes Bang), who — it turns out — had hired Walter to investigate his wife, who had hired Walter to investigate her husband.
Now our heroes know who they have to bring down, they’re into far more comfortable territory (both for the characters and, you suspect, the actors). Yep. Forget the dialogue, it’s action time.
Cue multiple scenes of high-octane mayhem expertly helmed by Soto in what’s essentially a slightly updated (emotional healing!) throwback to the dumb-but-fun action blockbusters of the Eighties and Nineties. The nostalgia isn’t hidden, either. The soundtrack starts with Guns N’ Roses and ends with Phil Collins. And there’s a shoutout to Jean-Claude Van Damme in between.
There’s a plot here too, but, honestly, who cares? Momoa and Bautista get to flex their considerable muscles, show off their ink, and make a few wisecracks. No one’s watching this for a clever twist, right? Watch it hoping for a couple hours of entertaining excitement and you’ll be well satisfied.
