STOLEN BYZANTINE MOSAIC RETURNED TO CYPRUS

THE HAGUE: One of the last missing pieces of Byzantine art stolen from Cyprus in the 1970s was handed back this week by a renowned, and proud Dutch art investigator. Arthur Brand said Friday he handed back the sixth century depiction of Saint Mark during a private ceremony at the Cypriot embassy in The Hague. For Brand, dubbed the “Indiana Jones of the art world” because of his exploits to recover stolen works, the handover was a highpoint in his life- long interest in the Byzantine saint — and the result of a nearly two- year chase across Europe. “This is a very special piece that’s more than 1,600 years old. It’s one of the last and most beautiful examples of art from the early Byzantine era,” said the art sleuth. He showed AFP the mosaic hours before it was handed back. The Cypriot embassy and Church of Cyprus declined to comment when asked about the mosaic and the Cypriot Department of Antiquities did not respond to phonecalls.

off a strong challenge from rival coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka. The Fiji election result, confirmed four days after the island nation went to the polls for only the second time since “Frank” Bainimarama seized power in 2006, gave FijiFirst a three- seat majority in parliament. Bainimarama was not in Fiji to hear the final result but told Fiji Broadcasting Corporation from New Zealand, where he has been attending his brother’s funeral, that he was “proud to become your prime minister once again.” FijiFirst took 50.02 percent of the vote, enough to claim 27 seats, while Rabuka’s SODELPA party with 39.85 percent and the National Federation Party with 7.38 percent got 24 seats between them in the 51- seat parliament. Support for FijiFirst had dived from 59.17 percent in 2014 when Bainimarama first went to the polls following eight years of political reforms after he overthrew the previous government of then prime minister Laisenia Qarase.