Matthew Bogdanos

Italy has celebrated the return of around 600 antiquities from the US, including ancient bronze statues, gold coins, mosaics and manuscripts valued at 60 million euros, that were looted years ago, sold to US museums, galleries and collectors and recovered as a result of criminal investigations.

In the latest repatriation of items of Greek cultural heritage, the United States has returned 29 looted antiquities.

They were delivered to Greece by Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, in a special ceremony at the Greek Consulate General in New York.

A fresco depicting Hercules and originally from Herculaneum, a city destroyed along with Pompeii by the 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius, was back in Italy on Jan. 23, along with 59 other ancient pieces illegally trafficked to the United States.

At a meeting in New York with representatives of leading Jewish organizations from USA, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev called for more investments by USA and Israel in Bulgaria in the sphere of information technologies and other spheres with high value added.