MOSCOW: Moscow is reclaiming bragging rights for having Europe’s tallest building after losing the distinction for a few months to London.
The mixed office and residential tower called Mercury City has topped out at 338 meters (1,109 feet), officials of its development company said Thursday.
The tower, sheathed in copper-colored glass, actually became Europe’s tallest in September, while still under construction, when it exceeded London’s 310-meter (1,017-foot) Shard, according to the construction information company Emporis.
Mercury City’s reign is likely to be almost as short. It’s next-door to the under-construction Federation Tower, which is to reach 506 meters (1,660 feet) when it’s completed next year.
Both are in a sprawling development called Moscow City that also holds two other buildings that once were Europe’s tallest.
The complex is an eye-catching demonstration of Moscow’s transformation from drab shabbiness to swaggering prosperity, driven largely by oil and natural gas revenues.
Mercury City “distinctly shows the activity of Russian business ... it demonstrates that all of Russia is on a level with countries of the eurozone, continuing its planned development and moving forward,” Igor Kesayev, director of the Mercury company, was quoted as saying by the news agency Interfax.
But competing with European countries for tallest building is playing in the minor leagues. There are nearly 60 buildings in North America, Asia and the Middle East that are taller, topped by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa — about 2.5 times taller than Mercury city at 828 meters (2,717 feet).
Moscow reclaims Europe’s tallest building
Moscow reclaims Europe’s tallest building
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
