This renaissance masterpiece had been hidden for centuries—until now
The town of Llerena in southwestern Spain has no lack of historical monuments. A Muslim settlement at the time of Arab rule over southern Spain, it came under Christian control in the 13th century. For a brief period in the mid-1400s, Llerena was a center of religious tolerance and scholarship, a place where Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived and worked together.
This rich history produced a cluster of fine churches and no less than seven convents, enriched with large numbers of artworks for such a small town.
In fall 2023, restoration began on an altarpiece in the parish church of St. James the Apostle. The altarpiece consists of an 18th-century painting of John of Nepomuk, a 14th-century Czech priest martyred for refusing to reveal the secrets of the confessional.
The painting is an import ant artwork in its own right. But the restorers found some thing even more exciting behind it: frescoes that had been hidden for centuries.
(Some of the most magnificent frescoes can be found in the 'Paris of the Balkans'.)
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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Briton stranded in Jerusalem during Iran attacks says city ‘like a ghost town'
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Newsweek
a day ago
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The 'Beautiful Game' at Risk From Ugly U.S. Migration Policies
The United States is preparing to host the 2026 FIFA soccer World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico. Meeting in March in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said, "America will welcome the world. There will be millions of people coming, Mr. President, millions of people!" At a May 6 convening of the White House Task Force on the World Cup 2026, Vice President JD Vance announced, "Everyone is welcome to come and see this incredible event." When these millions arrive to cheer one of 48 country teams, they may find themselves interrogated, detained, or even denied visas for their social media posts. Transgender people, including athletes, may be stigmatized by visa rules requiring them to declare their sex assigned at birth. President of FIFA Gianni Infantino unveils the Club World Cup trophy alongside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on March 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. President of FIFA Gianni Infantino unveils the Club World Cup trophy alongside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on March 7, 2025, in Washington, June 4, the Trump administration issued an executive order barring entry for visitors from 12 countries, with severe barriers to entry for seven more nations. This proclamation is an escalation of Trump's discriminatory first-term travel ban that primarily targeted Muslim-majority countries. Although the order has carve-outs for World Cup athletes, any ban on visitors based solely on nationality contradicts the values of inclusion and global participation that the World Cup and FIFA claim to uphold. The new travel ban bars entry for fans from countries including Iran, Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, with severe restrictions on citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Iran is already confirmed to play in the 2026 World Cup and tens of thousands of Iranian fans traveled to cheer its team for the last three World Cups. Meanwhile, The Athletic reports wait times for visa interviews at U.S. embassies for fans are as high as 700 days in Colombia, 560 days in Turkey, and 332 days in Morocco. This World Cup was supposed to be the largest and most welcoming sporting event ever, the first to take place across three countries. The U.S. is slated to host matches in 11 cities and the closing tournament games. When FIFA awarded the 2026 World Cup to the then-"United Bid" of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, it heralded the tournament as one that would "unite and inspire people to create positive change through football." After anti-LGBTQ discrimination at Russia's 2018 World Cup and the catastrophe of Qatar's 2022 World Cup—where thousands of migrant workers died building infrastructure—FIFA promised greater accountability. The 2026 World Cup is also the first men's World Cup with a published Human Rights Strategy, advertised as raising the bar for sports events worldwide. Since taking office, President Trump has issued executive orders overturning refugee rights and targeting vulnerable populations. New policies halt all student visa applications pending social media vetting. Tourist visa applicants must disclose social media account details and face heightened screening at border crossings, leading to denials of entry for ordinary travelers, conference participants, and teenage tourists. The administration has carried out detentions and visa revocations of international students, and wrongfully deported asylum seekers and legal U.S. residents to El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, and Rwanda. Even refugees vetted and cleared by the U.S. have been blocked from entry. The chaos that unfolded in 2017 during Trump's first travel ban should serve as a warning. Families were separated at airports. Legal U.S. residents were detained. International students, workers, and visitors found themselves suddenly unwelcome. So even with a visa to attend the World Cup, will players, fans, journalists, government officials, and families of athletes really want to be interrogated, detained, strip-searched, and possibly turned back at the U.S. border? Why risk thousands of dollars to be humiliated and possibly denied entry? So far, FIFA hasn't criticized Trump's harmful immigration policies. Infantino's silence represents not just a business risk failure but also a betrayal of FIFA's own human rights principles. FIFA's statutes and human rights policy say that it will use its leverage to protect human rights "and positively contribute to their enjoyment," including through "constructive engagement with relevant authorities." As the countdown to the 2026 World Cup advances, FIFA must do more than claim "the world is welcome in America"—when all the evidence is to the contrary. Trump named himself chairman of the White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup, so FIFA is in a good position to demand that the U.S. government ensure that all qualified teams, media, and fans will have equal access to the tournament regardless of nationality, religion, gender, or opinion. FIFA needs to press the Trump administration to roll back the pernicious visa policies and practices that threaten migrants and foreign visitors in the U.S. Without such guarantees, FIFA needs to be prepared to reconsider its hosting decision. The beautiful game deserves better than to be played against a backdrop of ugly anti-human rights policies. Minky Worden oversees sport at Human Rights Watch and is the editor of China's Great Leap, a book on the Beijing Olympics. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
York teenagers prepare to fly 6,000 miles for East Africa volunteer work
TEENAGERS from a York school are preparing to fly more than 6,000 miles to do community and volunteer work in East Africa. Nineteen students from Archbishop Holgate's School are embarking on the once-in-a-lifetime trip to Uganda after raising thousands of pounds to cover the costs. Pupils from Years 9, 11 and 12 are going on the adventure in early July for two weeks, travelling with the Christian-based charity Abaana which invests in children in Africa, helping them to break the chains of poverty through education. The group will undertake a range of volunteer work, which will include painting both the inside and outside of a primary school building. School show, The Masked Singer, helped boost their fundraising efforts (Image: Submitted)They will also be teaching and running a range of activities and experiences for primary school children in the town of Kuluba, a sub-county in the Koboko district of Uganda. Group members are paying for their own flights, accommodation and food and will be staying in one of Abaana's guesthouses on the outskirts of Kampala. They have also raised money for the renovation materials for the primary school and to buy resources and gifts to take on the adventure. Each student threw themselves into a range of challenges, including scaling great heights and throwing themselves out of a plane, to bring in the pounds. RECOMMENDED READS: Fantastic news' as more than 5,000 children eligible for free school meals 'The world is changing': head at top York school joins others in smartphone plea New light show to bring vibrant colour to Museum Gardens Joanna Kitney, assistant headteacher and trip lead, said: "It's been so impressive to see them working hard to ensure we meet our aim. 'Brodie Barrow cycled a mile a day for a month, Oscar East has been sorting and selling items on EBay, Reuben Stockdale and Miles Hall walked the Three Peaks. 'Charlie Summers has completed a sponsored bike ride, Charlotte Brannan and Dora Escombe have been busy making and selling homemade products to family and friends and Bryn Wade did a parachute jump.' As a team, the group has also run whole school events which included The Masked Singer show in December and a school disco in April. Collectively both events made more than £1,000. Students who helped to organise the fundraising school disco (Image: Submitted) The group also has a JustGiving page which has received more than £2,400 in donations. To donate to the students' fundraising efforts, visit It is not the first time students from Archbishop Holgate's School have travelled to far-flung destinations to do overseas volunteer work. Back in 2012, pupils from the school, which is named after one of the city's most famous clerics, went to South Africa to do community and voluntary work in schools and orphanages. The group of ten Year Ten students were joined by teachers Richard Nihill and Hannah Turvey as they visited the Diocese of Cape Town for two weeks, and got the chance to meet the city's Nobel Prize-winning former archbishop, Desmond Tutu who was taking a small service at the city's cathedral.
