British pensioner jailed for 15 years in Iraq antiquities case


By AFP - Jun 06,2022 

People walk outside Baghdad’s Karkh Appeal Court on Monday, during the trial of a British and a German detainee, accused of smuggling antiquities out of Iraq (AFP photo)

BAGHDAD — An Iraqi court on Monday jailed a British retiree for 15 years for trying to smuggle antiquities he found on holiday, a judgement his family called “tantamount to a death sentence”.

His German co-defendant was acquitted.

The maximum penalty for the offence is death by hanging but the court decided on a lesser sentence for James Fitton, 66, “because of the advanced age of the accused”, the judge said.

Fitton’s lawyer said that he would appeal.

The court found “insufficient evidence” to convict co-accused Volker Waldmann, 60, who was visiting Iraq with Fitton on an organised tour when they were arrested in March at Baghdad airport.

War-ravaged Iraq’s tourism infrastructure is almost non-existent but the country is timidly opening to visitors.

Iraq has also been trying to recover antiquities that were looted over a period of decades from the country whose civilisation dates back thousands of years.

When the judge asked the men whether they were guilty or not guilty “of trafficking antiquities”, each replied: “Not guilty”.

‘Absolutely shattered’ 

They appeared in court dressed in yellow prisoners’ clothing, but not handcuffed, an AFP journalist at the hearing said.

They were charged under a 2002 law against “intentionally taking or trying to take out of Iraq an antiquity”.

Fitton’s son-in-law Sam Tasker, 27, told Britain’s PA news agency that his family was devastated at the sentence, and was launching an appeal.

“We are absolutely shattered by this news,” Tasker said. “For a man of Jim’s age, 15 years in an Iraqi prison is tantamount to a death sentence.”

Tasker also lambasted the British government for what he said was their “total lack of action in this case” to date.

“We are completely heartbroken that our own best efforts, a strong legal defence and constant campaigning, have led to this outcome,” he added.

Fitton’s MP, Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, said it was “a devastating outcome”, and that the government had “failed to take action”.

“There is now no other option but for the foreign secretary to intervene at a ministerial level,” Hobhouse said, according to PA.

‘Extreme’ 

According to statements from customs officers and witnesses, Fitton’s baggage contained about a dozen stone fragments, pieces of pottery or ceramics.

Waldmann, a Berlin psychologist, allegedly had two pieces but at the trial’s opening on May 15 denied they were his.

When the judge asked Fitton why he tried to take the artefacts out of Iraq, he cited his “hobby” and said he did not mean to do anything illegal.

“I didn’t realise that taking them was against the law,” Fitton said, adding that some of the ancient sites were open and unguarded.

In his verdict the judge found that Fitton was “aware” that the location from where he collected the fragments was “an archaeological site” and that it was illegal to take them.

The judge concluded there was criminal intent.

Defence lawyer Thaer Saoud denied this, and called the judgement “extreme”.

In Waldmann’s case, the judge accepted the defence argument that the German did not know the pieces from Fitton were antiquities.

The two men were not acquainted before their trip to Iraq.

They heard the verdict two weeks after court had adjourned to allow time for further investigations at the request of Waldmann’s lawyer, Furat Kuba.

“We don’t have any more details: What site do these pieces come from? What era, what civilisation do they date back to?” Kuba said at the time.

Marathon dhow race seeks to preserve ancient Gulf heritage


By AFP - Jun 07,2022 - 


Sailors participate in the annual long-distance dhow sailing race, known as Al Gaffal, near Sir Abu Nuair Island towards the Gulf emirate of Dubai, on Saturday (AFP photo)

SIR BU NAIR, United Arab Emirates — Under a blazing sun, far from the skyscrapers and SUVs of modern Dubai, hundreds of enthusiasts took to Gulf waters in traditional wooden vessels, keen to preserve an ancient heritage.

Around Sir Bu Nair, a teardrop-shaped island roughly 100 kilometres from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, two of seven emirates that make up the UAE, 118 teams raced dhows, the sailboats that have plied the Arabian Peninsula’s waters for centuries.

“I started about 10 years ago, when I was 23, with my father and my brothers,” one of the sailors, Abdullah Al Mheiri, told AFP under the setting sun.

He had just ventured out across choppy waters with 11 crew mates to take part in the Al Gaffal dhow race, a gruelling annual tournament that stretches from early morning to early afternoon.

On one dhow, the crew, clad in white robes, toiled to unfurl a white sail, pulling at arm’s length on ropes and then scrambling for balance as the giant fabric caught the wind.

For Mheiri, taking part is his way of paying tribute to his heritage — Al Gaffal refers to the return of fishermen to Dubai’s coasts after journeying out to sea.

‘Duty’ to preserve environment 

Like much of the Gulf prior to the discovery of oil, the settlements that now make up the United Arab Emirates, including Dubai, were formed largely around maritime activities, notably pearl-diving using the once-ubiquitous dhows.

But with the establishment of the federation in 1971 and the advent of oil driven development, the UAE’s economic activity would swiftly balloon to become the Arab world’s second largest after Saudi Arabia.

Despite sitting on relatively low oil wealth compared to its neighbours, the emirate of Dubai saw a spectacular rise, capitalising on its strategic location to transform itself into a finance, air travel and tourism hub.

But away from the flitting of social media influencers and luxury high-rises, Mheiri prefers the quiet respite that he finds on the open sea.

The race’s starting point, Sir Bu Nair, is ideal, he believes, as it is also home to a nature reserve.

“We have lived with the sea for hundreds of years,” he said. “Preserving the environment is a duty.”

According to the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO, the island “is one of the most important hawksbill nesting sites within the entire Arabian Gulf and certainly by far the most important location in the UAE”.

Preserving heritage is vital for the organisers of Al Gaffal and they have sought to set an example with the competing sailboats, which are not fitted with engines.

“One of the most important messages we send is the transmission of this heritage from one generation to the next,” tournament Director Mohammed Al Falahi told AFP.

“But the fact is that it also doesn’t pose a risk for nature,” he added. “We haven’t forgotten that Sir Bu Nair is a nature reserve that shelters many species of turtles” in the Gulf.

The teams of sailing enthusiasts set off at dawn on Saturday, at times battling the searing heat as much as the waters.

Their sails hoisted, the vessels caught the wind, like white clouds floating across the expanse of blue, towards the Dubai shoreline, where the nearby Burj Al Arab hotel towers in the shape of a sail.

THE MOST HOMOEROTIC SPORT OF ALL

UFC Fighter Jeff Molina Smacks Down Homophobic Fans


Rachel Shatto

THE ADVOCATE
Mon, June 6, 2022

Jeff Molina

UFC fighter Jeff Molina got fiery in his defense of the LGBTQ+ community and his decision to wear Pride-themed shorts during his fight on Saturday after it drew hateful comments from the sport’s fans.

The backlash began June 1 when the flyweight fighter posted a video of the new shots on Twitter saying, “Pretty sick the @ufc is letting us rep for pride month!! Get your pride gear @ufcstore,” with a fist bump and Pride flag emoji. The UFC also released a Pride Month tee with proceeds supporting The Center, an LGBTQ+ center in Southern Nevada.

While some fans were vocally upset about Molina’s allyship, others were excited by the fighter’s support of the LGBTQ+ community — and took the opportunity to shoot their shot with him, while he let them down gently.

“To all the dudes sliding in my DM’s I’m a straight guy but pshhh I’m flattered! For all the homophobic dudes upset by me repping pride month on my fight kit y’all some fruit cups,” he tweeted.

Undeterred by the backlash, Molina wore his rainbow shorts during his bout against Zhalgas Zhumagulov in Las Vegas on Saturday, which he won.

The subject of the shorts and fan reaction came up during the post-fight press briefing. Molina didn’t hold back on his thoughts about the hate and hypocrisy of those who oppose his support of the LGBTQ+ community.


“You’re gonna get me riled up. Dude, it’s f***ing ridiculous,” Molina began. “Man, who’d have thunk it, in 2022 … Who the f**k cares, bro? It’s not even about being an ally — I’m not saying I’m not — but it’s just like, just be a decent f***ing person. Just be a decent human being. Judging someone, and then trying to justify it with religion, and saying all sorts of spiteful, hateful shit is crazy to me. It’s mind-boggling.”

“Who cares who someone wants to be with, their sexual preference, and then the irony of trying to justify it with religion of something that’s supposed to be so accepting. You’re going to get me going on a tangent, man. I was honestly shocked,” he added.

Molina went on to explain how the decision to wear the shorts came about. “I picked the colors because I thought it looked cool, and then also it supports a good cause. I’ll support anything of a community that’s been oppressed and ostracized for some time for something they can’t help. I’ll get behind any of that,” the fighter explained.

“It wasn’t that long ago that there was school segregation, and that was like less than a person ago, man, that wasn’t that long ago. And the same thing with something like Stonewall, that was like 50 years ago. That’s not even a whole person ago, man – this is like recent s**t,” Molina continued. “I just thought in 2022 people would be a little more open-minded and not pieces of s**t, but I guess I was wrong. It’s just crazy to me.”

“People were saying some crazy shit and like, dude, what would you do if your kid’s gay? And people trying to justify it like god is going to send you to [hell],” he added in frustration. “Dude, mind your own business, it doesn’t concern you. Get f**ked.”

'Very ignorant rumour': Misinformation abounds about monkeypox


Julie CHARPENTRAT
Tue, June 7, 2022


The recent emergence of hundreds of cases of monkeypox worldwide has already triggered a flood of misinformation online, much of it modelled on conspiracy theories that have been circulating since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

AFP Fact Check examined three claims that have arisen in the month since monkeypox cases began being recorded outside of areas in western and central Africa where it is endemic.

- Not a vaccine side effect -

Social media posts shared across the world have incorrectly claimed that the recent monkeypox cases are a "side effect" of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

The claim is linked to the fact that AstraZeneca's jab uses a chimpanzee adenovirus vector.

But health experts told AFP that this idea "has no basis in fact", in part because the viruses belong in different families -- poxvirus for monkeypox, and adenovirus for the Covid vaccine.

The vaccine "cannot generate new viruses inside humans and cause something like monkeypox," said Professor Eom Jung-shik, an infectious disease expert at the Gachon University Gil Medical Center.

The adenovirus is the vaccine vector, which means it is only a vehicle to transport genetic instructions to the body to trigger the production of a spike protein similar to that of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This then prompts an immune response so the body can fight a real infection.

As in other viral vector vaccines, the chimpanzee adenovirus has been altered so it does not infect humans or replicate.

Professor Yoo Jin-hong, an epidemiologist at the Catholic University of Korea, said the AstraZeneca claim "appears to stem from the idea that chimpanzees are broadly referred to as monkeys, but this is a very ignorant rumour with no basis in fact".

Monkeypox was given its name because it was first discovered in a group of macaques in 1958 that were being studied for research purposes, but they are not the only animals that catch the disease.

Rodents are the most likely natural reservoir of monkeypox, according to the World Health Organization.

- Pfizer does not have a monkeypox vaccine -

Social media posts have also claimed that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a new monkeypox vaccine from pharma giant Pfizer, which developed the first available Covid vaccine.

This is false; the only vaccine for the prevention of monkeypox in the United States was approved by the FDA in 2019, and Pfizer does not manufacture it.

Abby Capobianco, a press officer at the FDA, told AFP that the vaccine, called Jynneos, was "licensed by FDA for the prevention of smallpox and monkeypox disease in adults 18 years of age and older determined to be at high risk for smallpox or monkeypox disease."

Jynneos is not a new vaccine -- the FDA approved it in September 2019.

Pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic, which produces Jynneos, announced on May 18, 2022 that the US government had placed a $119 million order for freeze-dried doses.

Jynneos is the only FDA-approved vaccine for monkeypox, however data has shown that a smallpox vaccine is 85 percent effective in preventing the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pfizer told AFP that the company does not have a monkeypox vaccine.

- False Canada shingles claim -

Social media posts shared an image of a purported article from Canada's CTV News claiming that 95 percent of the monkeypox cases investigated by Canadian officials turned out to be shingles.

However Rob Duffy, CTV News manager of communications at its parent company Bell Media, told AFP that the network "never published such a story and that the screenshot does not show an authentic article from CTV News".

While some symptoms might be similar in cases of shingles and monkeypox, they are not caused by the same virus, according to Isaac Bogoch, professor at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

"There may be some overlap in their clinical presentation," but "monkeypox and shingles are two completely different infections," he told AFP.

jc/dl/ach

French health workers protest over pay ahead of polls

Tue, June 7, 2022


Health workers demonstrated in cities across France on Tuesday to demand higher pay and more staff for services stretched to breaking point, just days before the country votes in parliamentary elections.

Although recently re-elected President Emmanuel Macron has ordered a probe into which emergency units need immediate help with people in the sector warning there is no time to lose.

"Not a single department is spared, our public hospitals are in the process of dying for lack of resources," said Pierre Wach, head of the CGT union in eastern city Strasbourg.

Protests began at hospitals in the morning Tuesday and continued at the health ministry in Paris in the afternoon, where staff, some wearing white medical coats, brandished placards with messages such as "Hire more and pay us more, it's urgent!".

Casualty workers' group Samu-Urgences de France found in a May survey that at least 120 accident and emergency departments nationwide had already cut back on work or were preparing to do so after years of Covid-19 strain.

Macron told regional newspapers Friday that his review, led by the group's chief Francois Braun, would identify "where there is need, emergency department by emergency department, ambulance service by ambulance service, region by region".

But opposition politicians and unions have accused him of playing for time until after the legislative elections on June 12 and 19 -- as some polls show the president's absolute majority could be at risk.

"It's past time for inquiries," Laurent Berger, head of the powerful CFDT trade union confederation, wrote in left-wing daily Liberation, calling for "urgent talks on how staff are organised" as hospitals were "almost knocked out".

Braun said last week he would not craft "yet another report" but "write the prescription" for hospitals in need.

Among measures he has already suggested to newly-installed Health Minister Brigitte Bourguignon are better pay for night and weekend work or -- more controversially -- a system for filtering calls to the emergency services to identify the most severe.

"We have to switch to crisis management mode to get through the summer," Thomas Mesnier, an MP loyal to Macron who is also an emergency doctor, wrote in the JDD weekly.

Some emergency workers have warned that a summer heatwave, which in past years has proved deadly for elderly people, or a new flare-up of Covid could push hospitals into chaos.

burs/tgb/bp

Dakar Biennale: Rwandan director Rugamba brings masks to life

Through a mask played by French actress Nathalie Vairac, director Dorcy Rugamba traces the history of the vestiges of the colonial period and raises the debate on the restitution of African heritage, during Dakar Biennale.

US Opposes Dictators? Yes! Except When It Supports Them


By Sebastian Smith
06/07/22 

Dictators are bad, except, well, when they're kind of OK: welcome to the moral gymnastics that Joe Biden is only the latest US president to embrace in a complicated world.

Biden's decision to exclude the far-left leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from this week's regional Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles is being touted as US defense of democracy in action.

"We just don't believe dictators should be invited and... and so we don't regret that," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "The president will stand by his principle."

Except when he doesn't.

Biden's determination to bar the trio of self-proclaimed Latin American socialist revolutionaries from US soil came at the expense of a rift with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a key partner who snubbed the Los Angeles gathering in protest.

US President Joe Biden snubbs some dictators, but interacts with others

 Photo: AFP / MANDEL NGAN

But there's a whole lot more flexibility when it comes to the other side of the world, where Biden is preparing to visit Saudi Arabia and meet de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The prince, often referred to as MBS, presides over a country with no elections, few rights for women, or many other norms considered basic in the West. In 2018, according to US intelligence, MBS orchestrated the gruesome murder and dismemberment of a prominent dissident, Jamal Khashoggi, who was both a US resident and columnist for The Washington Post.

As a presidential candidate, Biden said the brazen assassination made Saudi Arabia a "pariah."

Now, though, he's ready to meet with the alleged murder mastermind.

Why? Because that would be good for the United States, Jean-Pierre said.

A handout picture provided by the official Saudi Press Agency shows Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh in 2021 Photo: SPA via AFP

"If he determines that it's in the interest of the United States to engage with a foreign leader and that such an engagement can deliver results, then he'll do so," she said.

Saudi Arabia "has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly 80 years."

The contradictory messaging is causing a stir, particularly against the backdrop of Biden's frequent, passionate argument that his presidency marks an "inflection point" in a titanic struggle between the world's democracies and a growing band of ruthless autocracies.

Traditional Russian wooden nesting dolls depicting former US President Donald Trump (L) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) 

Photo: AFP / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

But really there's nothing new.

Back in 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt supposedly commented that Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza "may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch."

Other accounts ascribe the phrase to different US presidents and different dictators. The point, though, is clear: the White House has always been able to hold its nose with one hand, while using the other to embrace distasteful partners.

US support for right-wing leaders across Latin America during the Cold War struggle against Soviet influence was infamous.

In Asia, the United States long battled communist regimes yet there too displays flexibility when it suits. At an ASEAN regional summit last month, Biden shunned Myanmar while inviting less-than-democratic leaders from the likes of Cambodia and Vietnam.

Then there was Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.

The Republican railed against China yet became friendly with Russia's Vladimir Putin. Trump was also chummy with the full range of unelected Middle Eastern rulers, not least in Saudi Arabia, which he chose for his first foreign trip as president.

"Where's my favorite dictator?" a jovial Trump once called out at a 2019 summit while waiting for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to show up.

Robert Guttman, who teaches politics at Johns Hopkins University, said the consistent inconsistency boils down to "cynical" self-interest.

Facing the risk of devastating losses for Democrats in November midterm elections, Biden is desperate to get soaring domestic fuel prices down, which is what leads him to the Saudis.

And with US-based Latin American communities often fiercely opposed to communism, Biden has little room to maneuver when it comes to the likes of Cuba.

"All you have to think about is Florida in 2024 and they need their votes," Guttman said.

Guttman said the United States does historically try to support democracy -- a fight that Ukraine's war with Russia has put in dramatic focus.

But with exceptions.

"We talk about great ideals but we're more pragmatic when it comes to reality," he said.

"The bottom line is we need oil and we support people who have the oil. For natural resources we need, we bend our ideals, and in an election campaign the president's all over the board."

Pony to plate: Horsemeat trafficking 'gang' on trial in France


Tue, 7 June 2022



Horse traders, veterinarians, merchants and meat industry professionals were among 18 people who went on trial in Marseille on Tuesday accused of running a vast European trafficking ring that led to the slaughter of hundreds of horses unfit for human consumption.

The case is the result of an investigation dating back to 2013 that revealed anomalies in the identification certificates of draft horses, blood horses, sport horses, race horses and even ponies who ended up in butcher shops in France.

The main defendants – from France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain – are charged with "organised fraud" and "forgery and deception of goods that endanger human health”. They face up to 10 years in prison.

At the top of the pile is well-known Belgian horse trader Jean-Marc Decker, who prosecutors say set up an organised gang of illegal horsemeat traders that saw as many as 4,700 horses exported to slaughterhouses in the south of France between 2010 and 2013.

Devastated owners

At least 150 animals were acquired from private individuals who were assured their horses would be sent to educational farms or centres for handicapped children, and used for trail riding or horse therapy.

After being taken from their owners, the old horses were allegedly exported to Belgium and issued with fraudulent Belgian, German or Dutch health certificates before being being sold on to French slaughterhouses.

Aline Oudin, from Meurthe-et-Moselle, testified that a recruiter duped her into handing over her 28-year-old horse with promises the animal would enjoy a happy retirement on a quiet farm.

Six months prison for selling horsemeat as beef

French police question 20 in suspected new horsemeat scandal

“I was deeply hurt … this horse was part of the family,” Oudin said after learning her horse had been killed. “These dealers are bandits, but I blame the veterinarians who were a big part of the trafficking operation.”

Animals that have been infected with parasites or received certain medical treatments are considered to be unfit for human consumption.

Oudin’s horse, who was slaughtered in Alès, had been treated with insect repellent, deworming and anti-inflammatory treatments.

False records

It was in Alès, a town in the Gard department, where authorities first got wind of the trafficking operation after a veterinary inspection of slaughterhouses found that several horses had false medical records and examination passports.

A wholesale company in Alès that supplied the meat on to as many as 80 butchers in the south of France is also being prosecuted for “indifference” in its alleged failures to respect sanitary protocols.

It’s understood the company, Equi'd Sud d'Alès, falsely believed the meat was of French origin.

Also among the accused is a Belgian veterinarian said to have facilitated the traffic ring by providing 154 blank documents to traders and backdating medication treatment sheets.

Two French veterinaries, meanwhile, are charged with complicity for allegedly turning a blind eye during controls at the slaughterhouses in Alès.

The case will be tried until 24 June, and will be followed by two other further court actions set for January and September 2023.

French astronaut Pesquet calls for European space independence

by Issam Ahmed

Thomas Pesquet, 44, recently completed his second deployment to the International Space Station on the NASA-SpaceX Crew-2 mission, and has arguably the highest profile among the European Astronaut Corps.

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet on Tuesday urged Europe to seize the momentum created by its newfound diplomatic unity and "start moving now" to develop its own human spaceflight capacity.

The charismatic engineer and pilot, 44, recently completed his second deployment to the International Space Station on the NASA-SpaceX Crew-2 mission, and has arguably the highest profile among the European Astronaut Corps, in addition to being a celebrity in his native France.

Though he has long extolled international cooperation in space and remains in the mix to possibly go to the Moon as part of the NASA-led Artemis missions, Pesquet said it was vital for Europe's leaders to give the European Space Agency (ESA) the funding and mandate it needs to launch its own people, too.

"That topic is gaining momentum now," he told AFP at NASA headquarters in Washington.

"In the late eighties and early nineties, we had this goal of becoming more independent as far as space access for humans, and then it didn't pan out. Several things happened, Germany had to reunite, they had to redirect budgets etc."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has now unified Europe's once fractious member states, and Pesquest said he hoped ESA member countries will capitalize on the continent's new clout.

"These topics like European diplomacy, European defense are coming back on the table, and part of that process is also that independent human access to space," he argued.

Currently, only the United States, Russia and China have independent launch capacity, while India is looking to acquire the same.

Thomas Pesquet pushed back against the idea the rise of the commercial space sector was making national space agencies obsolete.

One potential option for ESA is launching crew on a spaceship fixed to the Ariane 6 rocket, which is currently under development and is expected to make its debut launch from French Guiana by the end of this year.

"We have to start moving now, because the development cycles are long. You don't want this to happen in 15 to 20 years," he said.

Commercial space benefits and challenges

Pesquet was also keen to push back against the idea that the rise of the commercial space sector was making national space agencies obsolete.

"There's a general perception among the public that the private sector, or Elon Musk, or SpaceX, are calling the shots, which is not true at all."

In fact, said Pesquet, private industry had always been involved—from building the Space Shuttle to Ariane rockets. "What we've done now is give them more autonomy and say, 'Hey, we need the service. You provide the service at an efficient cost,' which they've been delivering."

Musk might grab headlines for his bombastic announcements about colonizing Mars, but "the small print says, when all the agencies put together the budget to go to Mars, then the private sector is going to deliver the hardware," said Pesquet.

While the private sector was bringing a new level of speed and innovation to the table, Pesquet said there were some challenges—for example in working with the private, ticket-paying citizens now visiting the ISS with increasing frequency.

"If you mix up professional astronauts... and the spaceflight participants, obviously, it kind of impacts the work that we're doing, because we have to take care of them, because they're less trained, they have less experience on the board," he said, something agencies will need to consider moving forward.


Explore furtherSpaceX's next crew arrives in Florida for Earth Day launch

© 2022 AFP

Colombia shares unprecedented images of treasure-laden wreck

Hervé BAR
Tue, June 7, 2022


Colombia's army has shared unprecedented images of the legendary San Jose galleon shipwreck, hidden underwater for three centuries and believed to have been carrying riches worth billions of dollars in today's money.

Four observation missions using a remotely operated vehicle were sent to the wreck at a depth of almost 950 meters (3,100 feet) off Colombia's Caribbean coast, the army said in a statement late Monday.

These missions, carried out by the navy under the supervision of the culture ministry, found the galleon untouched by "human intervention."

Cannons partially covered by mud are visible alongside porcelain crockery, pottery, glass bottles and also gold pieces.

A part of the bow can be clearly seen covered in algae and shellfish, as well as the remains of the frame of the hull.

Authorities said they had also discovered two more shipwrecks during their observation mission -- a colonial-era galleon and a schooner from the post-colonial period.

"Thanks to the technological equipment and the Colombian navy's work, we managed to capture images with a level of precision that's never been seen before," said President Ivan Duque.

He said the wreck was "kept intact and protected with a view towards a future retrieval."

When that happens, though, Colombia will face a challenge from Spain and an indigenous group in Bolivia to determine who keeps the bounty.
- Lost for 300 years -


The San Jose galleon was owned by the Spanish crown when it was sunk by the British navy near Cartagena in 1708.

Only a handful of its 600-strong crew survived.

It was heading back from the New World to the court of King Philip V of Spain.

At the time, it was laden with treasures estimated to be worth billions of dollars at current rates.

Before its discovery in 2015, it was long sought after by treasure hunters.

Experts believe it contains at least 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds.

Colombia considers wrecks found in its territorial waters to be part of its cultural heritage, meaning the contents cannot be sold.

Spain insists that the bounty is theirs since it was aboard a Spanish ship, while Bolivia's Qhara Qhara nation says it should get the treasures as the Spanish forced the community's people to mine the precious metals.

When the wreck was discovered, then Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos lauded it as "the most precious treasure ever found in the history of the world."


He had proposed to finance the recovery mission with the proceeds from selling part of the find, but Duque put a stop to that to ensure the entirety of the wreck would remain in Colombia.

Colombian authorities have announced their intention to create a museum of shipwrecks that would be "a source of pride for Colombia, the Caribbean and the world."

Recovering the wreck presents a technological and scientific challenge due to its depth.

Authorities have identified another 13 sites off the coast of Cartagena that they want to explore in search of other shipwrecks.

 VIDEO

Centuries-old shipwrecks containing gold coins found off Colombia

Colombia discovers two historical shipwrecks in Caribbean

Artifacts found in the wreckage of Spanish galleon San Jose

Mon, June 6, 2022

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian naval officials conducting underwater monitoring of the long-sunken San Jose galleon have discovered two other historical shipwrecks nearby, President Ivan Duque said on Monday.

The San Jose galleon, thought by historians to be carrying treasure that would be worth billions of dollars, sank in 1708 near Colombia's Caribbean port of Cartagena.

Its potential recovery has been the subject of decades of litigation.

A remotely operated vehicle reached 900 meters depth, Duque and naval officials said in a video statement, allowing new videos of the wreckage.

The vehicle also discovered two other nearby wrecks - a colonial boat and a schooner thought to be from around the same period as Colombia's war for independence from Spain, some 200 years ago.

"We now have two other discoveries in the same area, that show other options for archaeological exploration," navy commander Admiral Gabriel Perez said. "So the work is just beginning."

The images offer the best-yet view of the treasure that was aboard the San Jose - including gold ingots and coins, cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese dinner service.

Archaeologists from the navy and government are working to determine the origin of the plates based on inscriptions, the officials said.

"The idea is to recover it and to have sustainable financing mechanisms for future extractions," President Ivan Duque said. "In this way we protect the treasure, the patrimony of the San Jose galleon."

(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

New video shows gold coins and treasure from "holy grail" of shipwrecks

CBSNews
Tue, June 7, 2022

New video shows gold coins and other treasure scattered around a long-lost shipwreck off the coast of Colombia — as well as two other historical shipwrecks nearby, officials said Monday. Maritime experts consider the wreck of the San Jose to be the "holy grail" of Spanish colonial shipwrecks.

President Ivan Duque and naval officials said on Monday that a remotely operated vehicle reached 900 meters below the surface of the ocean, showing new images of the wreckage.

The video shows the best-yet view of the treasure that was aboard the San Jose — including gold ingots and coins, cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese dinner service, Reuters reported.

The news agency reported the remotely operated vehicle also discovered two other shipwrecks in the area, including a schooner thought to be from about two centuries ago.

"We now have two other discoveries in the same area, that show other options for archaeological exploration," navy commander Admiral Gabriel Perez said, according to Reuters.

Colombia was a colony of Spain when the San Jose was sunk in 1708, and gold from across South America, especially modern-day Peru and Bolivia, was stored in the fort of its coastal city, Cartagena, before being shipped back to Europe.

The Colombian government considers it a "national treasure" and wants it to be displayed in a future museum to be built in Cartagena.

The Spanish San Jose Galleon sunk in the Caribbean in 1708 after a battle with the British. New data suggests such shipwrecks could reveal the history of hurricanes in the region. / Credit: Samuel Scott

According to a presidential decree released earlier this year, companies or individuals interested in excavating the ship will have to sign a "contract" with the state and submit a detailed inventory of their finds to the government as well as plans for handling the goods.

The uber-loot, which experts estimate to include at least 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds, will be a point of pride for Colombia, Vice President and top diplomat Marta Lucia Ramirez said in a statement. The treasure could be worth billions of dollars if ever recovered.

"The sums of wealth are invaluable, and the responsibility of the protégés has already been extracted, contributing to the history of Colombia, the Caribbean and the world," she said.

Long the daydream of treasure hunters worldwide, the San Jose galleon was sunk by the British Navy on the night of June 7, 1708, off Cartagena de Indias.

The San Jose was at the time carrying gold, silver and precious stones which were to be delivered from the Spanish colonies in Latin America to the court of King Philip V.

Only a few of the San Jose's 600-member crew survived the wreck.

"It makes it very touchy because one is not supposed to intervene in war graves," Justin Leidwanger, an archaeologist at Stanford University who studies ancient shipwrecks, told Live Science in 2015. "Can you pluck treasure off the seabed without disturbing a war grave? I doubt you can. But these are the sort of discussions that will be had."

At the end of 2015, then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced the discovery of the exact location of the wreck, which was confirmed by the ship's unique bronze cannons with dolphin engravings.

Colombia has said it will cost about $70 million to carry out a full salvage operation on the wreckage, which is at a depth of between 2,000 and 3,200 feet.

Spain says the wreck is its own, as a ship of state; and an indigenous group in Bolivia, the Qhara Qhara, says the treasure belongs to them, since their ancestors were forced to mine it from what was in the 1500s the world's largest silver mine.

Artifacts found in the wreckage of Spanish galleon San Jose are seen in this undated handout photo provided by the Colombian Ministry of Culture on December 5, 2015. / Credit: REUTERS/Colombian Ministry of Culture/Handout via Reuters