Ancient Scythian Gold Jewelry Stolen From Ukraine Recovered in Spain
An Orthodox Church priest is among the five people accused of trying to sell the pieces, taken after being put on display at a Kyiv museum between 2009 and 2013.
The Spanish authorities have seized Scythian jewelry worth €60m (£52m) they say was stolen from Ukraine.
Police said the 11 ancient gold pieces were smuggled out of Ukraine in 2016 to be resold in Spain.
The bracelets, necklaces and earrings, from the 8th to 4th Centuries BC, had forged documents saying they belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Five arrests were made previously as part of an investigation into the 2021 sale of a gold belt with rams' heads.
The Scythians were a nomadic people who dominated parts of eastern Europe and Asia, including what is now southern Ukraine, from around 800 BC until 400 AD. They were known for their rich cultural heritage and metalworking skills, particularly in the manufacture of elaborate gold jewelry.
Separately, the Ukrainian authorities said last week that they had recovered 14 archaeological items allegedly stolen from areas occupied by Russia. A Russian man was arrested after attempting to smuggle them into the US.
The items include a Neolithic axe dating from approximately 5,000-3,000 BC.
"It's safe to say that Ukraine has received a new shipment of weaponry. The only catch is that this weaponry is incredibly ancient," Ukraine's acting Minister of Culture Rostyslav Karandieiev wryly noted at a news conference.
Artifacts created by the Scythian civilisation are among Ukraine's best-known historical heritage.
Ukrainian archaeologists say Scythian gold held in Ukrainian museums in areas under Russian occupation has been looted since the full-scale invasion last year.
Losses from alleged Russian plundering of Ukraine's historical and artistic heritage are estimated to run into the hundreds of millions of euros.
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I Come With Knives Pt13
Astarion x gn!Tav/Reader
I'm depressed, have barely eaten all day, and haven't taken my nightly meds yet. All this to say: this is not proofread. (I will be eating and taking my meds right after I post this)
Warnings: references to slavery, discussions about fears, self-doubt, references to abuse/torture, references to blood/gore/viscera, hurt/comfort, light angst
Word Count: 1,635
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You probably wouldn’t have agreed if Karlach hadn’t jeered you on. Tensions were high, the Absolute was hanging over your heads like an executioner’s ax - what could it really hurt?
“Close your eyes, little ones. Be still as stone to earth. And remember to breathe.”
Fidgeting uncertainly, you do as she asks, but you reach over and take Astarion’s hand. He’s quick to hold on, and soon it feels like your world has been tilted on its axis.
When you open your eyes, your hand is empty, and you’re no longer at the circus. You seem to be standing somewhere in nature, but it feels… off, somehow. A manufactured illusion. A waterfall, split by rocks, spills into a river. The river creates a divide between you and Astarion, with only a thick log bridging the gap. If the tadpoles weren’t protecting Astarion, one slip and he’d be reduced to nothing. You didn’t like thinking about it.
To your right, the druid stood. “Ah. Glorious. Your bond is sweeter than nature’s dew. I see you. Know you. But do you know one another?”
You share a look with Astarion. Something silent is communicated with just that one glance - don’t tell her anything true. Karlach may have egged you into this, but telling a random stranger your deepest selves didn’t sit right with either of you.
“A tumultuous past haunts you both - the same story with different tellers. The heart is fraught, so let us begin with the joyous.” She looks at Astarion with her glowing eyes. He feels as though she is looking straight through him into the very core of his being. “Astarion, when is your lover happiest?”
Your heart thuds as he contemplates his answer. His eyes study you, a slight crease between his brow. It’s… difficult to allow yourself to be seen. You’ve shown him so much already, allowed him to witness the horrors you faced, but seeing was far different than speaking it aloud. This question wasn’t something so simple as What is their favorite color? It requires an answer that can only be formed through observation. And, gods, you had no idea how he saw you.
He offers a slight grin, though his brow remains tight. He must sense your worry. “Any time they’re with me, of course,” he said haughtily.
You chuckle slightly. It’s not a lie, and from the glimmer in his eye, he knows it. “It’s hard not to be.”
He steps forward on the log when the druid prompts him to. She turns to look at you. “Now I ask you: when is he happiest?”
If he wishes to play this game of half-truths, you’re happy to indulge him. He smiles when he catches that same look shining in your eye. “When he’s elbow deep in gore.”
He chuckled. “Guilty as charged,” he agreed, before leaning in conspiratorially. “Sometimes literally…”
You stepped onto the log. Even if it was an illusion, you worried for a moment about slipping and falling in.
“Your bond beats in pleasure. It is an honor to behold,” the druid waxes. “Many things delight the heart, but only one makes it sing. Tell me, what do they desire more than anything?”
A salacious grin tugs at his lips. You give him a pointed look. Whatever unholy thoughts crossed his mind are tempered, for now. “A glass of wine under the stars.”
“As long as it’s with you.”
He steps forward. Zethino poses the same question to you.
“Revenge.”
“Oh yes!” he exclaims, becoming giddy. “Yes, please.”
You step forward. You could touch him now if you wished, merely an arm’s length away.
“Our touch has been one of sunlight, but now we must ask the deep. The difficult. Fear sits in the soul of all - to tame it, we must name it. What do they fear most?”
He can see the answer in your eyes. Even just posing the question makes you uneasy. You frown, memories flickering within your irises. He wishes to reach out, touch your cheek, assure you he’s here. But something in the druid’s energy tells him he can’t. Instead, he does his best through his answer alone. “Gale’s cooking.”
It startles a laugh out of you, catapulting every horrible, real fear away in an instant. All you can do is nod as your giggles taper off. He takes a small step forward.
“Astarion - what is his deepest fear?”
With a new confidence, a new self-assurance, you grin as you say, “Breaking a nail.”
That, too, shocks a laugh out of him. He makes a show of checking his nails. “Well, when you look this good…”
You take your own small step forward, and you don’t hesitate to take his hand the moment you’re within reach. “Thank you,” you whisper. The words come spilling out before you can stop them, but you mean them so truly. Where he feared having his truth told to strangers, you feared giving your truth any voice. To speak your master’s name was as good as tying a noose ‘round your neck.
He leans his forehead against yours. “Of course, my love.”
The druid sighs, smiling brightly. ��I press my finger to your bond and find a shield impenetrable. It is… beautiful. Your love is one few have - cherish it.”
-
The day is a staggering success, you think. Sure, you had to fight a few cultists, but the aura of contentment around everyone upon the return to camp was reward enough - a few cuts and scrapes weren’t going to dull that anytime soon.
But even as you go about your routine, lighting a new candle you got from a vendor and setting it in the metal pan, listening to Astarion scoff at a poorly thought out plan from a couple thieves he’d overheard, something uncertain clings to the back of your mind. You must not hide it as well as you think, because Astarion sighs and takes your hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing your fingertips.
“What’s on your mind, dove?”
You sit down fully across from him, frowning as you watch him tenderly care for you. “I keep thinking about the druid,” you admit. “The love test.”
“Thank you again for not divulging everything. I trust you with that information, not a random carny.”
“That’s the problem, I think.” You meet his eyes and you look so utterly uncertain. You search for answers in him, trying to find them before you have to speak the questions aloud, but you come up empty. “She asked how well we knew each other, and- and I know it’s silly. I mean, we know each other well enough to skirt around the truth, but…”
He hums. “You’re worried we don’t really know each other as well as she thinks.”
You nod.
“Well, then, there’s only one thing for it. I don’t have a mystical waterfall, but I think we can make do.” He lowers your hand to his lap, and you subconsciously turn your hands over so you can play with his fingers. He smiles at the gesture. “When am I happiest?”
You study him. Your eyes flicker over his face, taking in every minute twitch, slowly but surely putting the truth together. “I don’t think you’ve been happy in a long time,” you whisper.
He grins, but it’s sad. His eyes betray it all. “I’m starting to learn how to,” he assures softly. “You haven’t been either, have you, love?”
You shake your head slightly. You couldn’t recall a time before your slavery where you were happy; all those memories lost to time and torture. But even now, out of arm’s reach from her, joy was fleeting. A moment here and there, stolen from time, but never consistent. “I am happy with you,” you add. “What do I desire most?”
He sighs. The answer is already one he’s familiar with. “Freedom.” He squeezes your hand, eyes sharpening with determination. “And we will be free. Soon, my dear. You can be sure of that.”
The difficult question, the druid was right about that. Neither of you wanted to ask, and neither of you really wanted to tell. But both of you stayed there, waiting for the shoe to drop.
“Your deepest fear,” you begin, quietly, “is forever feeling like a slave to someone else.”
“Is that yours, too?”
You tear your eyes away to watch as you lightly thumb at the blunt edges of his nails, trailing from one finger to the next. His nails were always so well kept and tidy despite the dirt and viscera that haunted your daily lives. “It used to be. Now…” You inhale shakily. “I’ve made so many wonderful friends. And I’m terrified to go back to- to her. But losing all this - losing you - scares me more than anything.”
He frowns. He can’t say you won’t lose them. This mission you’ve found yourselves on is dangerous; you risk your lives every single day. And once it ends, it’s a terrible truth that everyone will go their own separate ways.
What he can do is bring your hand back to his lips and press a kiss to your palm. He can close your fingers around it and get you to hold that symbol of his love safely. And maybe that’s all he needs to do. Really, what could he possibly say? Any assurance would be like rubbing salve on an arrow still embedded in your side.
And perhaps it’s enough, because you lean forward and wrap your arms around his waist, and he wraps his around your shoulders and back, pulling you close. He’s determined to find better answers to the questions, one day. You both will find consistent happiness, and desire something as simple as a good book. And you won’t be afraid of being alone again.
One day.
---
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EPA restores industrial air pollution rule axed by Trump. (Washington Post)
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday strengthened a rule limiting toxic air pollution from factories, refineries and other industrial facilities, reversing one of former president Donald Trump’s major environmental rollbacks.
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In an update posted on its website, the agency quietly signaled it had finalized changes to the “Once In, Always In” rule, which requires facilities classified as “major” sources of toxic air pollution to always maintain strict pollution controls, even if they are later reclassified.
EPA considers a facility a “major source” if it annually emits 10 tons or more of a single hazardous air pollutant or 25 tons or more of at least two such pollutants, including arsenic and benzene. Inhaling thesepollutants carries a range of health risks.
Short-term exposure to high concentrations of benzene, a sweet-smelling chemical found in gasoline and other petroleum products, can cause headaches, dizziness and unconsciousness. Long-term exposure has been linked to a higher risk of cancer, especially leukemia and other cancers that affect the blood and bone marrow.
The “Once In, Always In” policy was first spelled out in a 1995 memo by a top EPA air official under President Bill Clinton. But Trump officials unofficially ended the policy in 2018 and formally rescinded it in 2020.
Industry groups had chaffed at the rule, calling it overly burdensome. In public comments, the National Association of Manufacturers wrote that“while complying with the existing body of federal regulations can already be costly and confusing, waves of new regulations can make that burden unsustainable.”
Wednesday’s change would not fully restore the Clinton-era policy, since it would allow some facilities to shift from being considered “major” pollution sources if their emissions fall. But most facilities would still have to meet strict requirements for toxic pollutants, including benzene and mercury.
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