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Greece again asks London to return the Parthenon marbles

Greece again appealed to Britain with a request to give away the Parthenon marbles exported from the country more than 200 years ago.

Marble bas-reliefs depicting the battle of the Greeks with centaurs make up about half of the frieze that adorned the ancient temple. They were taken to London by Lord Elgin, a British diplomat, in 1816 and sold to the British Museum. Now they are one of his most famous exhibits.

"The opening of our archaeological sites [after quarantine - ed.] Is an occasion for the international committees that advocate the restitution of the Parthenon marbles to again express their constant request and the request of the Greek government to return the marbles to their homeland," said Lina Mendon , Minister of Culture of Greece.

She added that Greece would never recognize the British Museum’s ownership of them.

Greece has been asking Britain for restitution of the Parthenon marbles for decades, but London does not agree, referring to the fact that the marbles were removed with the allowance of Porta, the power of the Ottoman Empire, which at that time controlled the territory of the country.

In recent years, Athens has offered to resolve the issue through the mediation of UNESCO, the British Museum does not agree.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, having assumed office, formally requested that the monument be loaned to Athens on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the celebration of the country's independence in 2021.

On May 21, the Parthenon International Sculpture Reunion Association sent a letter to the Greek Ministry of Culture with a proposal to renew pressure on the British Museum.

England eased strict quarantine: allowed meetings with friends in parks

In England, quarantine restrictions imposed to curb the corona virus epidemic have been loosened since Wednesday.

On Wednesday, milder quarantine measures which were announced on Sunday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after seven weeks of strict quarantine, began to take effect in England.

People who, by type of employment, cannot work remotely, from today can return to work. At the same time, they are asked to avoid using public transport as much as possible.

They allowed to open gardening centers that sell seedlings and related products.

From today it is allowed to go outside without time limits - for physical training, relaxing in parks and sports games (the latter - only with people living together). However, playgrounds remain closed.

In addition, you can go pick up the ordered delivery of goods or go to the station for the reception of secondary raw materials.

The meetings with people who do not live together are allowed - provided that it will be in the parks and in compliance with the two-meter distance.

Now you can also travel without restrictions to the country, to national parks or to the coast - within England. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid popular vacation spots and keep a distance, and spending the night at your dacha is still not allowed.

Violators of restrictions face a fine of £ 100, with a doubling in the event of a repeated violation - up to a maximum sanction of 3200 pounds.

London will be more convenient for cyclists

The city of London plans to make the city more convenient for cyclists and pedestrians to unload public transport during the quarantine period.

London Mayor Sadik Khan proposes to make the city convenient for cyclists and pedestrians in order to reduce the burden on public transport and, thus, reduce the risk of corona virus infection during quarantine. It is proposed to create more bike paths, existing bike paths, where necessary, to protect from traffic lanes. Also, expand the sidewalks, and in some areas — increase speed limits for transport.

“The capacity of our public transport in the aftermath of the epidemic will be drastically reduced due to the need to ensure social distance. The creation of temporary bicycle paths and the closure of individual roads for motor traffic will help millions of people to change their usual way of moving around the city,” Sadik Khan explained.

Some of these changes are planned to be maintained after quarantine.

According to the BBC, the London metro operator at the quarantine exit stage will reduce passenger transportation by more than six times to make it possible to maintain a safe distance between people. If before, during peak hours, up to 325,000 Londoners came into trains every 15 minutes, now it will be no more than 50,000 passengers.