Black banquet hall found in ruins of Pompeii

Pompeii: Archaeologists excavating new sites in Pompeii have uncovered a banquet hall decorated with intricately frescoed mythological characters inspired by the Trojan War, officials have revealed.

The hall, which features a mosaic floor, was uncovered as part of a project to shore up the areas dividing the excavated and unexcavated parts of Pompeii, the ancient city near Naples that was destroyed in 79 AD, when the Mount Vesuvius volcano erupted.

The banquet hall was used for refined entertaining and features black walls, a technique that prevented the smoke from oil lamps from being seen, said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological park.

The figures painted against that black backdrop include Helen of Troy and the god Apollo.

Experts said the reference to mythological figures was designed to entertain guests and provide conversation starters.

Bologna: Divers in northern Italy have discovered two more bodies of workers who died in an explosion that collapsed and flooded several levels of an underground hydroelectric plant, bringing the number of confirmed dead to five, officials said.

The explosion on Tuesday at the Enel Green Power plant, close to the city of Bologna, occurred at a depth of some 40 metres (130 feet) below water level. The search for two other missing workers was continuing.

Divers who have been working to recover victims likened the scene to an underwater earthquake-struck building.

The blast at the Enel Green Power’s Bargi plant happened during maintenance work. A fire broke out when a turbine exploded on the eighth floor below the surface, flooding the floor below. The cause was still unknown.

Barcelona: Spain will deport more than 60 Bolivians who arrived last week by cruise ship in the north-eastern port of Barcelona but were not allowed to disembark because their visas were false.

The Spanish government’s office in Barcelona said 65 of the 69 Bolivians who arrived will be flown to the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz.

The plane will be paid for by MSC Cruises, which owns the ship in which they arrived from Brazil.

Four members of a family with Spanish relatives will be allowed to enter Spain.

Spanish authorities said the Bolivian passengers had false visas to enter the European border-free Schengen area, an Id-check-free travel zone comprising 29 European countries.

The Bolivians’ visa problems meant that the cruise ship with more than 1,000 passengers was stuck for two days in Barcelona and unable to continue on its route in the Mediterranean Sea until the situation was resolved.

The cruise ship set sail after the Bolivians were temporarily accommodated in another boat while police interviewed them.

MSC Cruises said last week that the Bolivian passengers’ documentation appeared correct upon boarding in Brazil.