Month: June 2023

A portrait of an unnamed woman by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt sold for 85.3 million pounds ($108.4 million) on Tuesday, setting a record price for any work of art sold at an auction in Europe, London-based auction house Sotheby’s said.   The painting, which had been given a guide price of 65 million pounds ($82.9 million), was sold after a tense 10-minute bidding war as auctioneer Helena Newman, Sotheby’s head of impressionist and modern art, eked out the final bids in half-million pound increments. Described by Newman as a “technical tour de force, full of boundary-pushing experimentation, as well as …

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The United States on Tuesday accused companies in the United Arab Emirates, the Central African Republic and Russia of engaging in illicit gold deals to help fund the mercenary fighters of Russia’s Wagner Group. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement it has sanctioned four companies linked to Wagner and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that it alleged were used to help pay the paramilitary’s forces fighting in Ukraine and undertaking operations to support Russian interests in Africa. “The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali. …

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Italy’s culture and tourism ministers have vowed to find and punish a tourist who was filmed carving his name and that of his apparent girlfriend in the wall of the Colosseum in Rome, a crime that resulted in hefty fines in the past. Video of the incident went viral on social media. The message reading “Ivan+Haley 23” appeared on the Colosseum at a time when residents already were complaining about hordes of tourists flooding the Eternal City in record numbers this season. Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano called the writing carved into the almost 2,000-year-old Flavian Ampitheater “serious, undignified and a …

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While Ukrainian pilots could soon be training to fly U.S.-made F-16s, analysts say the jet fighters won’t be seen on the battlefield anytime soon. In the meantime, the Ukrainian military is using a variety of aircraft in the field. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. VOA footage by Pavel Suhodolskiy. …

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A German court gave Rupert Stadler, the former head of Audi, a suspended sentence along with a fine Tuesday as he became the highest-ranking executive to be convicted in connection with an emissions cheating scandal.  As part of a plea deal, the court gave Stadler a 21-month suspended sentence and ordered him to pay $1.2 million.  Prosecutors did not accuse Stadler of orchestrating the system in which Audi’s parent company, Volkswagen, admitted it used software to rig emissions tests in 11 million diesel vehicles to make them seem less polluting.  Stadler admitted to continuing to allow vehicles potentially equipped with …

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Russia’s Federal Security Service announced Tuesday it was closing an investigation into the armed mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin and members of his Wagner mercenary group. In a statement carried by Russian news agencies, the FSB said those involved “ceased activities directed at committing the crime.” Not prosecuting the fighters was part of an agreement late Saturday that brought the mutiny to an end. Russia’s defense ministry also said Tuesday that the Wagner group was preparing to transfer heavy military equipment to the Russian military. Prigozhin’s whereabouts were not clear Tuesday. Flight tracking websites showed a jet linked to Prigozhin landed …

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Latest developments:             President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States had “nothing to do” with Wagner’s revolt against the Russian military leadership. “This was part of a struggle within the Russian system,” Biden said, adding that he was briefed “hour by hour” on the developments by his national security team and allies.   A new U.S. military aid package for Ukraine, worth up to $500 million, will be announced as soon as Tuesday. The package will include ground vehicles for Ukraine’s counteroffensive, two U.S. officials said.      Ukrainian officials advocated Monday for gaining membership in the NATO alliance, as NATO …

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Turkish police have ramped up a crackdown on LGBTQ activists as dozens of people were detained Sunday at Pride marches in Turkey’s metropolitan Istanbul and Izmir provinces.   Istanbul’s governor said police detained 113 people attending the 31st LGBTQ Pride March there on Sunday (June 25).   “Our national future depends on keeping the family institution alive with our national and moral values,” Davut Gul, the governor of Istanbul, said on Twitter Monday as he announced the number of detentions. “We will not allow any activity that would weaken the family institution,” Gul said.  Bans on Pride marches    Authorities have banned the …

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