Latest news with #Repatriation
New York Times
31-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Ancient Gems Linked to Buddha Are Returned to India
The Piprahwa Gems, Buddhist relics taken by an English explorer from a sacred burial ground in British-occupied India in 1898, have been repatriated and will go on display to the public, the Indian government announced on Wednesday. The gems are back in their 'rightful home of India' according to a statement by the Indian culture ministry. The Indian government secured their return after intervening in a planned auction of the gems. They had been scheduled to be sold at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong in May on behalf of the English descendants of William Claxton Peppé, who dug them up more than 120 years ago. Instead, an Indian conglomerate, Godrej Industries Group, bought the gems, according to a statement from Sotheby's. The auction house did not disclose the sale price. In its announcement, India's ministry of culture praised its collaboration with Godrej Industries as an 'exemplary public-private partnership,' without giving further detail. The collection comprises more than 300 delicate gems — some just millimeters in length, arranged in intricate patterns of circles and lines. Found alongside bone and ash said to be remains of Buddha, they are among the holiest relics in contemporary religion. Sotheby's postponed its May auction after India's culture ministry issued a legal order saying that the Peppé family did not have the authority to sell the objects and that the relics should be returned to India for 'preservation and religious veneration.' The relics were 'part of India's and the global Buddhist community's spiritual and cultural heritage,' the Indian culture ministry said at the time. 'Their sale violates Indian laws, international norms, and U.N. conventions.' On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India wrote on social media that it was 'a joyous day' for his country. 'These sacred relics highlight India's close association with Bhagwan Buddha and his noble teachings,' he wrote, using a Hindi word for god. Mr. Peppé found the artifacts while excavating land in Piprahwa, a village in northern India, at a sacred burial ground known as a stupa near where Buddha is believed to have been buried. He turned over much of the find to the British state, which occupied India at the time. He donated other parts to scholars and museums, including the Indian Museum in Kolkata, but was permitted to keep some relics, which were passed down in his family. Members of the Peppé family said in a statement shared by Sotheby's that they were excited to return the gems to India, where they would join the collection already on display at the Kolkata museum. 'We are happy that the true significance of the Piprahwa discovery has finally received the public recognition it always deserved,' the statement said.
Al Arabiya
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Israel to reopen airspace at 1100 GMT for repatriation flights: Official
Israel is to temporarily reopen its airspace for flights from 1100 GMT on Sunday as it repatriates thousands of citizens left stranded overseas by its war with Iran, the country's airport authority said. Israel's main Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv 'will open for landings from 02:00 pm - 8:00pm as part of Operation Safe Return,' the authority said in a statement, referring to the government's efforts to bring home citizens. According to the Israeli Ministry of Transport, between 100,000 and 150,000 Israelis were stranded abroad when Israel closed its airspace following the launch of a massive bombing campaign against Iran on June 13. Tehran has respond with daily barrages of missiles and drones. Sharon Kedmi, head of the Israeli airport authority, said Sunday that flights to Israel to repatriate citizens were set to gradually resume. 'Ben Gurion airport is prepared to resume flights to Israel. The return will take place gradually, with a focus on the safety of passengers, flights crews and aircraft, and prior cooperation with security services,' he was quoted as saying. A first boat carrying 1,500 Israelis from Cyprus docked in the Israeli port of Ashdod on Friday. The eastern Mediterranean island has become a major transit point where thousands of Israelis have gathered either awaiting repatriation or having left the country.
Al Bawaba
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
China evacuates about 800 citizens from Iran, Greece repatriates people from Israel
ALBAWABA - About 800 Chinese citizens were evacuated from Iran since Israel launched military attacks against the country on Friday, June 13, Beijing revealed Wednesday. Also Read Iran uses Fattah-1 missiles for the first time in war with Israel "Currently, 791 Chinese nationals have been relocated from Iran to safe areas," foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a news conference. Moreover, he added, "More than 1,000 other people are in the process of relocating and withdrawing." On the other hand, Greece said it repatriated 105 citizens and foreign nationals from Israel, the foreign ministry revealed Wednesday, as the Iran-Israel conflict continues to become more serious. "The people repatriated were transported to Athens from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, onboard C-130 and C-27 Greek air force planes," a statement by the foreign ministry read. Greece added, along with nationals and their families, other people on the flight included citizens of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the US.
SBS Australia
18-06-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
When Australia 'couldn't help', Ron took leaving Israel into his own hands
Ron Gelberg arrived in Israel shortly before the Israel-Iran conflict erupted. Source: SBS News Nearly 2,000 Australians want to leave Israel and Iran as the conflict between the two countries continues to intensify, with family members fretting and some abroad taking matters into their own hands to leave. As speculation grows that the United States is preparing to enter the conflict, more than 1,000 Australians have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for help to leave Israel. A further 870 Australians and family members want to leave Iran, after Friday's escalation in the conflict with Israel attempting to wipe out Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Iran's airspace, and Israel's main airport, Ben Gurion International, are both closed "until further notice". Ron Gelberg arrived in Israel shortly before the conflict escalated and had planned to holiday there as part of an international trip. The Australian had been staying put at his hotel, where he and other guests had been sent to its bomb shelter on several occasions, and while he felt relatively safe there, he wanted to return home. Gelberg, who was in Israel's capital Tel Aviv, told SBS News on Monday he had called Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) which he said couldn't do much to help because there were no scheduled repatriation flights. "So I took matters into my own hands," he said. Gelberg said he had paid a driver who would take him across the border into Jordan and fly from there to Denmark and then on to Australia. He said he would have preferred to have been repatriated from Tel Aviv. He acknowledged the difficulties the Australian government may face in organising such flights amid missile fire, but believed they could have offered assistance getting to Jordan and repatriating from there. Meanwhile, Asal (not her real name) is helplessly watching from Melbourne as missiles fall around her mother's home in Iran. A brief phone call each day is the only contact she can make with the eighty-year-old, who has now fled north of the capital. "My mum is quite a strong woman. All my life, I never … heard her being that vulnerable," she told SBS News. "But I could see her voice was shaking." The journey to what Asal called a "safer city where there are not many military bases" took her mother more than 12 hours, with traffic gridlocked for hundreds of kilometres out of Iran's capital, Tehran. Many of the Iranian capital's nearly 10 million residents have either left the city or taken shelter indoors as Israeli airstrikes continue to pound major cities across the country for six consecutive days. "It's pretty much everywhere being bombed now," Asal said. Iranian officials said at least 224 people have been killed, mostly civilians, and another 1,200 injured in the recent strikes. Israel says 24 civilians have been killed in attacks by Iran. Kambiz Razamara, who is the vice-president of the Australian Iranian Society of Victoria, said the difficulty in getting hold of people in Iran had exacerbated the worry many in the community were feeling. While his own family has been confirmed as safe after the bombing attacks, he was concerned about an escalation of violence in the region. "A big part of my family is near where the main nuclear reactors are, and if the reactors are bombed, then my whole family is exposed," he said. "People are trying to reach people, but you can't contact people online and you can't call." Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Australian government was examining options for those who want to return, but evacuations were proving difficult due to airspace being closed. "We're obviously working very closely with those Australians via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade," he told ABC Radio on Wednesday. "We're monitoring developments in that very dangerous part of the world very closely. The treasurer said Australia and other countries were examining US President Donald Trump's statement about the conflict. The president has demanded Iran unconditionally surrender . "The US President has signalled that he wants a deal. I think there's a broad, there is broad international support for a return to dialogue and diplomacy," Chalmers said. "It's a perilous place, the Middle East right now, it's a perilous time for the global economy." DFAT is asking anyone in the region who wants to return home to register with the government's Smartraveller website. Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran , on Friday after saying it had concluded the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran's nuclear development is disabled, while Trump says the Israeli assault could end if Iran agrees to strict curbs on enrichment. Before Israel's attack began, the 35-nation board of governors of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years. With reporting by the Australian Associated Press and Reuters news agencies.
The Independent
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Dozens of British nationals unable to return home amid Israel-Iran conflict
Leeds teenager Bella Baker is among dozens of British nationals stranded in Israel after authorities closed the country's airspace amid an escalation in its conflict with Iran. Bella, 15, travelled to Haifa with her mother for a family bar mitzvah but is now unable to come home due to the missile strikes. Bella's father, Leslie Baker, said his daughter should be sitting her GCSE mock exams, but is instead experiencing air raid sirens and hiding in a bomb shelter. The Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Israel and urged British nationals to follow local authorities' advice, but with the airspace closed, some are considering land crossings to escape the conflict. Other British nationals are also stranded and calling for UK government repatriation flights.
