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☆ China-bashing throws Vodafone a curveball
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Vodafone's (VOD.L) M&A ambitions in Britain are falling prey to anti-China rhetoric. Parliamentarians are also fretting over the security impact on contracts with government departments once the deal goes through. Vodafone may face similar scrutiny, leading to inevitable delays. The fact that CK Hutchison has retained the right to appoint the chief financial officer may be a red flag. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: CK Hutchison's, Li Ka, Franco, Patrick Drahi, Hakan Koc, Pyrros Koussios, Roman Abramovich, CK Hutchison, Pamela Barbaglia, Aston Martin, Lisa Jucca, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, HK, Vodafone, BT, UK's National Security and Investment Act, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson Locations: Britain, China, Hong Kong, Canada

☆ Italy vows to find and punish tourist who defaced Colosseum wall
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, June 27 (Reuters) - Italian authorities are looking for a tourist who scribbled graffiti on a wall of the Colosseum, with Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano calling for exemplary punishment for the so-far unidentified man. The tourist was caught in a video, posted on social media on Saturday, scratching his and his girlfriend's name with a key on an internal wall of the ancient Roman stone amphitheatre. He can be seen smiling, even as the author of the video, speaking in English and using swear words, reprimands him. [1/5]A tourist holding keys carves on the wall of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy June 23, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Built 2,000 years ago, the Colosseum was the biggest amphitheatre in the Roman empire and used to host gladiator fights, executions and animal hunts.

Persons: Gennaro Sangiuliano, Ivan, Hayley, Sangiuliano, Ryan Lutz, ANSA, Alvise, Keith Weir Organizations: Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy

☆ Putin strives to reassert control after Wagner mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For two days after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his abortive mutiny, Russian President Vladimir Putin said nothing in public. Putin thanked security forces at the Kremlin Tuesday, for helping Russia to avoid "civil war." “Putin values loyalty above all else,” Dmitri Alperovitch, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, told CNN. Lukashenko claimed he told Prigozhin that he would be “crushed like a bug” if he continued his advance towards Moscow, and persuaded him to call of the mutiny. Now that the dust has settled after a chaotic weekend, Putin is attempting to project an image of control.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, ”, Putin, clement, Sergei Guneev, Dmitri Alperovitch, Kirill Shamiev, ” Shamiev, Shamiev, Roman Romokhov, they’ve, ’, Alexander Lukashenko, ” Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Alexander Ermochenko, “ Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Sputnik, Homeland Security Advisory, European Council, Foreign Relations, Don, Getty, Federal Security Service, Novosti, Reuters Locations: Russian, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Rostov, AFP, Kremlin

☆ 'Pizza' painting found in ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, June 27 (Reuters) - A fresco that depicts what might be an ancestor of the Italian pizza has been found on the wall of an house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy's Culture Ministry said on Tuesday. While it cannot technically be considered a pizza, since it lacks classic ingredients such as tomato and mozzarella, what was found in Pompeii "may be a distant relative of the modern dish", according to a statement. Pompeii, destroyed by an eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano nearly 2,000 years ago, is only about 23 km away from Naples, the modern-day home of the Italian pizza, a UNESCO-protected food. The fresco was discovered in the hall of a house that had a bakery attached to it, which was partly excavated in the 19th century and where digging resumed in January, the culture ministry said. ($1 = 0.9142 euros)Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Alvise Armellini and Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Cristina Carlevaro, Alvise Armellini, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Culture Ministry, UNESCO, EU, Thomson Locations: Naples

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Google abandons smart glasses, lawsuits against real estate agents, and Snowflake CEO denies rumors of stepping down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Moving forward, we'll be bringing you our top tech stories in our flagship newsletter, Insider Today. What do you want to see in Insider Today? The new tech bro is also becoming louder and brasher — they're trying to make being a techie cool. My colleague Grace Kay breaks down the "peak tech bro" persona and dives into its transformation over time. It currently has four main models: Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X.

Persons: I'm, Siu, Alistair Barr, Hallam Bullock, Nathan Rennolds, we'll, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bottari, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Jeff, Bezos, Mark, Zuckerberg, —, Elon Musk, Grace Kay, Iris, Snowflake, Frank Slootman, Peek, ROMAN ROMOKHOV, Wagner, Tom Stuker, He's, Hope, Diamond Naga Siu Organizations: It's Tech, Insider, Tech bros, Google, ROMAN, Getty, United Airlines, Digital Summit Denver Locations: Sacramento, Tech, AFP, Asia, Singapore, Colorado, San Diego, Silicon Valley, London

☆ Jeffrey Epstein's brother remains convinced the financier was murdered, calling new DOJ report 'blatant bullshit'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The DOJ inspector general released a long-awaited report concluding Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. Mark Epstein, his brother, isn't convinced. On Tuesday morning, the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General published its long-awaiting report into Jeffrey Epstein's death. Epstein's body was examined by Kristen Roman, a medical examiner for the city of New York. Investigators also spoke to three other inmates in the cell block who could see directly into Epstein's cell from their own cells.

Persons: Jeffrey Epstein, Mark Epstein, isn't, —, Epstein, I've, Jeffrey Epstein's, Epstein —, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew —, Kristen Roman, Michael Baden, Baden, Roman, Mark Epstein isn't, Michael Thomas, Spencer Platt, Epstein Mark Epstein, Mark, they're, debrief, Nobody, EMTs, intubated Organizations: Service, Department's, Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Correctional Center, Getty, Justice Department, jail's Health Services Locations: Manhattan, New York, Baden, Epstein

Moscow CNN —Some Russians greeted the weekend’s armed insurrection led by the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, with sympathy, appearing to welcome the mercenary fighters. Roman Romokhov/AFP/Getty ImagesLocals were also seen booing police cars that arrived as the Wagner fighters vacated Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, in an abrupt de-escalation. Over the weekend, checkpoints had been set up on Moscow’s outskirts, and residents braced for Wagner fighters to enter. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters“It was really uneasy yesterday,” Moscow resident Andrey told Reuters, “But look now, people are walking in the streets and it’s all good. But that sentiment runs counter to the messaging from the Kremlin, which has painted Prigozhin and his Wagner fighters as traitors to Russia.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, “ Wagner, Moscow –, Vladimir Putin, “, Roman Romokhov, ”, Dmitry, Natalia Kolesnikova, Maxim Shemetov, Andrey, ” Oleg, Prigozhin’s, Irada Zeynalova, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Alexander Ermochenko, Don, Putin, hasn’t, Putin – Organizations: Moscow CNN —, Kremlin, Southern Military District, Getty, Rostov, Don, ”, Reuters, NTV, Belarusian, Fighters, CNN Locations: Moscow, Russian, Rostov, AFP, ” Rostov, Moscow’s, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Don

☆ How Wagner's short-lived mutiny could shape the direction of Russia's war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Sergei Supinsky | Afp | Getty ImagesUkrainian forces can look to take advantage of the Wagner Group's short-lived armed rebellion, analysts said, with confusion among Russia's military leadership expected to considerably weaken their war effort. A weekend of mayhem has left observers of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine questioning what could happen next. Tony Brenton, former British ambassador to Russia, agreed that the Wagner mercenary group had been the most effective component of Russia's military in Ukraine to date. watch nowUltimately, Barranco said the recent turn of events is likely to provide Ukraine's military leadership with something of an opportunity after more than 16 months of fighting. Head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin left the Southern Military District headquarters on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

Persons: Sergei Supinsky, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, John Barranco, Wagner Barranco, Barranco, Tony Brenton, Brenton, CNBC's, Putin, Roman Romokhov, Oleksii Reznikov, Defense Lloyd Austin, Reznikov, Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Afp, Getty, Belarusian, . Marine Corps, Strategy, Security, CNBC, Southern Military, Southern Military District, Ukrainian Defense, U.S, Defense, Twitter, Wagner Group, Stringer, Anadolu Agency Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Kyiv, Ukraine, Moscow, British, Russia, Rostov, Belarus, Don, U.S, Bakhmut

☆ Analysis: Why Prigozhin's short-lived Russian rebellion failed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

When he packed up his tanks and pulled out of the Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, well-wishers rushed up to say thank you. For weeks, months even, he’d been arguing Russia’s war in Ukraine was being badly and unnecessary fought by an elite who couldn’t care less how many Russian lives were lost. Prigozhin claimed his troops were being starved of ammunition by another of Putin’s trusted inner circle, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. What the Russian public was hearing from Prigozhin, about how badly the war was going, was dangerous for Putin. Prigozhin's actions followed months of feuding with Russia's military top brass.

Persons: CNN — Wagner, Yevegeny Prigozhin, he’d, Putin, Prigozhin, Sergey Shoigu, Wagner, Shoigu, boss’s, Mikhail Mizintsev, Sergey Surovkin, ” Prigozhin, Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters Wagner, Don, Roman Romokhov, Ramzan Kadyrov, “, ” Kadyrov, Kadyrov, ”, kingmakers, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: CNN, Moscow, Don, Russia’s, Kremlin, Army, Reuters, Getty, Wagner PMC, Shoigu, Ministry of Defense Locations: Rostov, Ukraine, Africa, Russian, Kremlin, Moscow, AFP, Belarus, Russia, Mali, Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya

☆ Prigozhin says he's sorry Wagner mercenaries shot down Russian aircraft, but the military might not forgive them for killing its service members
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Wagner fighters downed several Russian military aircraft during their short-lived rebellion. But it's unclear if the Russian military is going to readily forgive the mercenaries for the bloodshed. Wagner fighters also captured a Russian infantry mobility vehicle and a mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle. Video shows Russians cheering for Wagner and Prigozhin as they leave the key military hub of Rostov-on-Don. ReutersQuickly and without any resistance, Wagner fighters captured Rostov-on-Don before making their way toward Moscow.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, —, Prigozhin, ROMAN ROMOKHOV, Russia's ultranationalist, Russia's, Vladimir Putin's, they'd, Antony Blinken, they've, Blinken, Putin Organizations: Service, Group, Institute for, Southern Military District, Getty, Russia's, Reuters, CBS News Locations: Washington, Rostov, Moscow, AFP, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, russia, moscow, Kyiv

☆ Russia is wracked by mutiny and mistakes. Ukraine will seek to take advantage
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But the Russian military may have panicked at seeing mercenaries advance on Moscow and sent help. Wagner forces drove tanks into Rostov-on-Don on June 24, 2023. Firstly, there must have been a radical impact on Russian military morale. Might an earthquake on the battlefield inadvertently rally Moscow’s elite around him, to stave of an existential defeat for Russia as a nation in Ukraine? Moscow’s mistakes have been so plentiful over the past months, at some point Ukraine will likely seize the initiative.

Persons: Wagner, Hanna Mailar, Wagner’s, STRINGER, won’t, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin –, –, Putin’s, Prigozhin's, Putin, ”, Napoleon Organizations: CNN, Rivnopil, Getty, NATO, Troops, Russia Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Donetsk, Mariinka, Russian, Rostov, AFP, Kyiv, Russia, Belarus, Soviet Union, Ukrainian

☆ The secret queer history of flowers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Many of these flowers have deep connections to queer icons or are echoed in other queer symbols. (Even more complex emotions like, say, bashfulness, were associated with their own flowers, which surely wasn’t confusing at all.) It makes sense, then, that queer communities would find both beauty and belonging by continuing this interesting tradition. Today, the lavender flower still appears in newer symbols of queerness. The Japanese word for rose is pronounced “bara,” and experienced a resurgence in queer media in the 1960s and 1970s.

Persons: CNN —, Lavender, Sappho, Betty Friedan, Violet Violets, “, violets, Lesbos ”, Renée Vivien, Edouard Bourdet, Pansy “ Pansy ”, pansy, ”, Paul Harfleet, Rose, Japan’s, Oscar Wilde, Windermere’s Fan, ” Wilde Organizations: CNN, Stonewall, National Organization for Women Locations: Europe, New York City, Lesbos, Paris, British, ”

☆ Ocean exploration: The benefits and risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Ocean secretsA bioluminescent jellyfish is shown in an image taken during exploration of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration/APThe deep ocean is an alien landscape that scientists have only just begun to understand. So much remains to be explored because reaching the bottom of the ocean is an incredibly difficult task. But the ocean depths have much to offer, including lifesaving compounds and the secrets of how life on Earth evolved. The event is nearly 10 months away, but people are already anticipating the total solar eclipse that will pass over Mexico, the US and Canada on April 8, 2024.

Persons: Miles, hasn’t, Jiang Feibo, NASA’s Parker, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Marianas Trench, NOAA, of Ocean Exploration, University of Cambridge, China News Service, CNN Space, Science Locations: Africa, Mexico, Canada, England, Trumpington, Germany, Rome, Lhasa, Tibet, Bermuda, France

☆ Former Trump Campaign Official in Talks to Cooperate in Jan. 6 Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Alan Feuer | Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Michael Roman, a top official in former President Donald J. Trump’s 2020 campaign, is in discussions with the office of the special counsel Jack Smith that could soon lead to Mr. Roman voluntarily answering questions about a plan to create slates of pro-Trump electors in key swing states that were won by Joseph R. Biden Jr., according to a person familiar with the matter. If Mr. Roman ends up giving the interview — known as a proffer — to prosecutors working for Mr. Smith, it would be the first known instance of cooperation by someone with direct knowledge of the so-called fake elector plan. That plan has long been at the center of Mr. Smith’s investigation into Mr. Trump’s wide-ranging efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In the past few weeks, several witnesses with connections to the fake elector plan have appeared in front of a grand jury in Federal District Court in Washington that is investigating the ways in which Mr. Trump and his allies sought to reverse his defeat to Mr. Biden. Among them was Gary Michael Brown, Mr. Roman’s onetime deputy, who was questioned in front of the grand jury on Thursday.

Persons: Michael Roman, Donald J, Jack Smith, Roman, Joseph R, Biden, Smith, Mr, Trump, Gary Michael Brown, Roman’s Organizations: Trump, Mr, Court Locations: Trump’s, Florida, Washington

☆ Abortion is ancient history and that matters today
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

This long view of abortion matters, according to Mary Fissell, a professor of the history of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. That’s because assumptions about how abortion was viewed in the past color present-day arguments about abortion rights. Abortion opponents portray the rights granted by Roe v. Wade and legal access to abortion as an historical aberration, according to Fissell, which is not accurate, historians say. Earliest references to abortionThe first written references to abortion are contained in an ancient Egyptian papyrus written about 3,500 years ago. For most of history, abortion has not been an issue about the fetus, like it is today, but rather about women’s behavior.

Persons: Mary Fissell, Roe, Wade, ”, Fissell, “, Dobbs, it’s, Lysistrata, Aristophanes, —, Lisa Briggs, Briggs, Pliny the Elder, ” Briggs, It’s, Maeve Callan, Callan, ’, Saint Brigid, Patrick, Brigid, Peter Morrison, God, ” Callan, “ quickening, Pope Sixtus V, Pope Gregory XIV Organizations: CNN, Johns Hopkins University, US, Jackson, Health Organization, Cranfield University, British Museum, “, Simpson College, AP, quicken Locations: United States, Dobbs v, Rome, Cyrene, Libya, Iowa, Medieval Ireland, Ireland, Leixlip, Kildare

☆ Stonehenge-like 4,000-year-old sanctuary found in the Netherlands
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old sanctuary made up of ditches and burial mounds in the central Netherlands that they believe may have served a similar purpose to Stonehenge. “This sanctuary must have been a highly significant place where people kept track of special days in the year, performed rituals and buried their dead. Rows of poles stood along pathways used for processions.”While excavating the site in 2017, archaeologists also discovered several graves. The archaeologists took six years to research more than a million excavated objects dating from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. Some of the discoveries will be showcased in a local museum in Tiel and in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities.

Persons: ” Organizations: CNN —, Reuters, Zuma Press, Dutch National Museum of Antiquities Locations: Netherlands, England, Tiel, Rotterdam, Iraq, Roman

☆ 3M agrees to pay $10.3 billion to settle 'forever chemicals' lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —3M announced Thursday that it had reached an agreement to settle lawsuits that claimed that toxic “forever chemicals” had contaminated water supplies in the United States. The company — which produces Post-It notes, Scotch Tape, and n95 masks, among other industrial products — said it would pay up to $10.3 billion over 13 years to fund public water suppliers in the US that have detected these chemicals in drinking water. Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” have been found in hundreds of household items, including makeup and carpeting, and are used to make coatings that repel water, grease, and oil. The settlement comes after 3M faced thousands of lawsuits for the last two decades over its manufacturing of products containing PFAS. These lawsuits allege that 3M knew PFAS caused cancer, developmental defects and other health problems, and that the chemicals contaminated US drinking water systems.

Persons: 3M’s, ”, Mike Roman Organizations: CNN — 3M, 3M, Chemours, DuPont, US Environmental Protection Agency Locations: United States

☆ Brazil's Lula will ask Nicaragua's Ortega to release jailed bishop
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, June 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday he would personally lobby Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega to release a bishop who has been imprisoned in the Central American state. Speaking to reporters a day after meeting Pope Francis, Lula said the Nicaraguan president should have "the courage" to recognize that a mistake had been made. "I intend to speak with Daniel Ortega about this to release the bishop. There is no reason for the bishop to be prevented from exercising his function in the Church," Lula said. "The only thing the Church wants is for Nicaragua to free them," Lula said, referring to Alvarez and a number of detained priests.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, Pope Francis, Lula, Bishop Rolando Alvarez, Ortega, Daniel Ortega, Francis, Alvarez, Alvazez, Philip Pulella, Catarina Demony, Federico Maccioni, Crispian Balmer Organizations: Central, Roman Catholic Church, Thomson Locations: Central American, Nicaraguan, Nicaragua, Latin America, Brazil, United States

☆ 3M Reaches $10.3 Billion Settlement in ‘Forever Chemicals’ Suits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Lisa Friedman | Vivian Giang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The chemical and manufacturing giant 3M reached a $10.3 billion settlement on Thursday with U.S. cities and towns over their claims that the company contaminated drinking water with so-called forever chemicals used in everything from firefighting foam to nonstick coatings. Under the sweeping settlement, 3M said it would pay out the money over 13 years to any cities, counties and others across the country to test for and clean up perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, in public water supplies. 3M, which is facing about 4,000 lawsuits by states and municipalities for PFAS contamination, did not admit any liability. The company said the settlement covered remediation to water suppliers that detected the chemical “at any level or may do so in the future.”In a statement, Mike Roman, the chairman and chief executive of 3M, called the agreement “an important step forward for 3M” and said it built on “our announcement that we will exit all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025.”

Persons: Mike Roman, ” Organizations: 3M

☆ Stonehenge-like 4,000-year-old sanctuary discovered in Netherlands
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] An illustration shows what the researchers believe is the 4,000-year-old Stonehenge-like sanctuary that archaeologists have discovered in Tiel, a town in the centre of the Netherlands, in this handout picture obtained on June 21, 2023. Municipality of Tiel/Handout via REUTERSAMSTERDAM, June 21 (Reuters) - Archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old sanctuary made up of ditches and burial mounds in the central Netherlands that they believe may have served a similar purpose to Stonehenge. While excavating the site in 2017, archaeologists also discovered several graves. The archaeologists took six years to research more than a million excavated objects dating from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. Some of the discoveries will be showcased in a local museum in Tiel and in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities.

Persons: Charlotte Van Campenhout, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Dutch National Museum of Antiquities, Thomson Locations: Tiel, Netherlands, Handout, REUTERS AMSTERDAM, England, Rotterdam, Iraq, Roman

☆ Square where Julius Caesar was killed opens to the public in Rome
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Rome CNN —History buffs will be able to stroll close to the spot where legend says Julius Caesar met his bloody end, when Rome authorities open a new walkway on the ancient site on Tuesday. According to tradition, he died in the capital’s central Largo Argentina square - home to the remains of four temples. They are all currently below street level and up until recently could only be viewed from behind barriers close to a busy road junction. From Tuesday, visitors will be able to move through the site at ground level on the walkway and see the structures up close. Italian fashion house Bulgari funded the work at a site that was first discovered and excavated during building work in Rome in the 1920s.

Persons: Rome, Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, Caesar, Brutus Organizations: Rome CNN Locations: Rome, Largo Argentina, Italian

☆ Rubens painting ‘lost’ for centuries could sell for $7.7 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A Rubens painting lost to history and misidentified for almost 300 years has re-emerged with the help of X-ray analysis and could now fetch up to £6 million ($7.7 million) at auction next month. Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens completed “Saint Sebastian Tended by Two Angels” more than 400 years ago. X-Ray analysis revealed Rubens' changes to the painting. Sotheby'sAnalysis revealed changes beneath the final painting as Rubens sculpted and molded his design to perfection for the first time. Initially, for example, Rubens painted Saint Sebastian facing the other way while he omitted another arrow piercing the saint’s right thigh in the painting’s final form.

Persons: CNN —, Rubens, Peter Paul Rubens, “, Sebastian, George Gordon, Sotheby’s, ” Gordon, Ambrogio Spinola, “ Ambrogio Spinola, …, Spinola, ”, Gordon, Laurent de la, Saint Sebastian, “ Rubens Organizations: CNN Locations: Flemish, Italian, Italy, Antwerp, Missouri, French, Rome, London

☆ Credibility crisis requires BoE to write new plot
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Since May 24, thousands of British people have had their homeowning dreams dashed by a sudden spike in mortgage rates. Unlike many other central banks, the BoE doesn’t provide its own forecasts of how consumer prices will evolve in coming years. The whiplash occurred because traders had to digest the inflation shock without any interest rate guidance from policymakers. Because most banks price home loans off those derivatives, it sent mortgage rates rocketing. The BoE announces its latest interest rate decision on June 22, with traders expecting a 25-basis-point hike, to 4.75%.

Persons: “, Paul Gascoigne, BoE, Andrew Bailey, That’s, Bailey, ”, Charles Goodhart, ’, apocryphally, Seneca, David Roberts, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Bank of England, Monetary, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Reuters Graphics Reuters, MPC, Financial Times, Fed, Thomson Locations: policymaking, BoE’s

☆ Proceeds of Chelsea Sale Have Yet to Reach Any Ukraine War Victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Tariq Panja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was the biggest price paid for a soccer team, and for a while the biggest price paid for a sports team anywhere in the world. And the enormous proceeds were to create what would be one of the biggest humanitarian charities ever established. But 13 months after the forced sale of Chelsea F.C. after the British government sanctioned its Russian oligarch owner, Roman Abramovich, the charity has yet to be established and not a cent of the $3.1 billion (2.5 billion pounds) has gone toward its intended purpose: providing aid to victims of the war in Ukraine. The government’s permission is required before any transfer of the money from a frozen bank account to the charity, to ensure that none of the money is funneled to Russia, or to Abramovich.

Persons: Roman Abramovich, Mike Penrose, Abramovich Organizations: Chelsea F.C, Russian, United Nations Children’s Fund Locations: Ukraine, Russia

☆ Kyiv official named as suspect in bomb shelter deaths probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 20 (Reuters) - Prosecutors served a notice of suspicion to the head of Kyiv's municipal department for security on Tuesday after three people died in a Russian air attack when they were unable to get into a bomb shelter, the prosecutor's office said. The prosecutor's office said the suspect was accused of improperly performing their official duties and that a lack of control over the maintenance and readiness of city bomb shelters led to the deaths and injuries of people. Kyiv's prosecutor's office did not name the suspect, but the capital's city council identified him as Roman Tkachuk and said the municipal security department was cooperating and providing access to available documentation. An audit, ordered by Zelenskiy, showed that condition of 15% of Kyiv's 4,655 shelters was suitable, while only 44% were freely accessible. Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka and Kyiv Newsroom; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kyiv's, Roman Tkachuk, Zelenskiy, Anna Pruchnicka, Tom Balmforth, Conor Humphries Organizations: Prosecutors, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Kyiv's, capital's

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