
-
Global stocks mostly rise, shrugging off US tariff threats
-
Solar becomes Europe's main energy source in June: consultants
-
Last-gasp Xhemaili fires Swiss into Euro 2025 quarters
-
NBA champion Thunder agree contract extension with Jalen Williams
-
Gaza civil defence says Israeli strike kills children at clinic
-
Swiatek surprised by surge to Wimbledon final
-
Lyles back, ready to 'run fast', as Tebogo lurks
-
Anisimova proves doubters wrong with run to Wimbledon final
-
Spurs set to sign £60m Gibbs-White - reports
-
Booker agrees to record $145 mn extension with Suns: reports
-
Sabalenka criticises Anisimova behaviour after shock Wimbledon exit
-
Russia and US hold 'frank' talks on Ukraine war
-
Swiatek swats Bencic aside to reach Wimbledon final against Anisimova
-
Root's 99 not out keeps India at bay in third Test
-
Delta offers upbeat outlook on travel demand, lifting shares
-
Sara Netanyahu: the ever-present wife of Israel's prime minister
-
Italy can hurt rampant Spain, says coach Soncin
-
Djokovic faces Sinner in Wimbledon blockbuster as Alcaraz meets Fritz
-
Rebooted and 'vulnerable': Superman is back on screens
-
Sri Lanka steamroll Bangladesh to win first T20
-
Swiatek routs Bencic to reach first Wimbledon final
-
Anisimova shocks Sabalenka to reach Wimbledon final, Swiatek in action
-
Europe court says S.African Semenya's gender eligibility trial wasn't fair
-
Ten rescued after deadly Huthi ship sinking off Yemen
-
Scrutiny over Texas flood response mounts as death toll hits 120
-
Rami Al Ali becomes first Syrian in Paris fashion programme
-
London stocks hit record high on tariff optimism
-
Ireland's Healy pulls off solo win at Tour de France
-
French appeals court clears two over first lady gender rumours
-
French appeals court court clears two over first lady gender rumours
-
Barry Callebaut cuts outlook as chocolate sales volumes melt away
-
The $10 mn bag: Original Birkin smashes records at Paris auction
-
Anisimova stuns Sabalenka to reach Wimbledon final
-
Root leads England revival after Reddy's double strike for India
-
Snap, crackle and pay: Ferrero to buy WK Kellogg for $3.1 bn
-
Shein faces 150-mn-euro fine in France
-
Rubio says Asia might get 'better' tariffs than others
-
India wicketkeeper Pant leaves field injured in third Test
-
Russia says holds 'frank exchange' with US on Ukraine war
-
Tendulkar says 'life has come full circle' with Lord's portrait
-
Wall Street stocks stall, London hits record high
-
Duplantis unfazed by late world champs in Tokyo
-
Europe court says S.African athlete's gender eligibility trial wasn't fair
-
Dzeko, 39, returns to Serie A with Fiorentina
-
Scrutiny over Texas flood response mounts as death toll tops 120
-
Iran threats in UK 'significantly increased': Intel watchdog
-
Volkswagen halts electric minivan exports to the United States
-
EU chief von der Leyen comfortably survives confidence vote
-
India's Reddy strikes twice to rock England
-
EU opens new probe into TikTok data transfer to China

Restored 'Apollo Belvedere' marble back on show in the Vatican
The Vatican Museums on Tuesday unveiled the restoration of the celebrated second-century "Apollo Belvedere" sculpture following five years of work.
Once considered to epitomise classical Western ideals of beauty, the 2.24-metre-high (seven-feet-tall) marble statue shows the Greek god of medicine and poetry in motion, his left arm having just let fly an arrow from his bow.
Its around 260,000-euro ($280,000) restoration aimed to fix serious structural defects detected late in 2019, the restorers said.
Those notably included fragilities in the legs and an overall lack of balance in the structure, they told a press conference.
Thanks to the introduction of a carbon-fibre rod fixed to the back of the base, the "Apollo Belvedere" was successfully stabilised and presented to public applause at the Vatican's Pio-Clementine Museum.
The most difficult thing was "not to touch anything on the sculpture" and avoid having to move and dismantle it, the restoration workshop's head Guy Devreux told AFP.
"We found this new system, which is a dynamic structural system based on the use of carbon fibre... and which, used in the right way, can give extraordinary results," he added.
For the Vatican Museums' director Barbara Jatta, "the main challenge was to have the courage to close access to such an important icon for our museums".
Discovered in 1489 among the ruins of an ancient Roman house, the "Apollo Belvedere" was brought to the Vatican by Pope Julius II.
Besides the carbon-fibre rod, the restorers also replaced the statue's left hand with a cast taken from a fragment of a plaster copy of the original Greek statue made in Roman times.
The "Apollo Belvedere" is in fact considered to be a marble copy of a bronze from around 330 BC attributed to Leochares, one of the foremost sculptors of his time.
L.Harper--AMWN