Greece seeks return of Parthenon Marbles amid restoration project

Greece has made the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum in London one of its top priorities.

Greece has made the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum in London one of its top priorities.

In the meantime, a restoration project is under way to undo the damage done to the building, when a British aristocrat removed the sculptures in the early 19th century.

Al Jazeera’s John Psaropoulos reports from Athens.

Portland protests against police abuses enter ninth week

Demonstrations started in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but anger has also been growing over President Donald Trump’s decision to send federal agents to the city.

Protests against racism and police brutality in the US city of Portland have entered their ninth week.

The demonstrations started in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

But anger has also been growing over President Donald Trump’s decision to send federal agents to the city as local politicians and Democrats in Congress accuse the officers of using excessive force.

Al Jazeera’s Leah Harding reports.

COVID-19 crisis has devastating effect on artists, performers

In the United States, museums have shut, theatres sit empty, and concerts and festivals have been cancelled.

The coronavirus pandemic has been devastating for artists and performers.

Museums have shut, theatres sit empty, and concerts and festivals have been cancelled.

Governments have stepped in with support, but performers in the United States are pushing Congress to do more.

Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo reports from New York in the US.

Sophy Ridge On Sunday: Treat them mean, keep them quarantine(d) | Dominic Raab & Tony Blair

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab explains why the government has reimposed quarantine for Britons returning to the UK from Spain, and why it was done with so little notice.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair calls for more coronavirus testing, and lays out his concerns about the future of the Union. Plus Sophy and the team look back over the last few months.

South Africa Names First Projects in $138 Billion Drive

South Africa’s presidency has designated the country’s priority infrastructure projects, paving the way for the beginning of private investment in a 2.3 trillion rand ($138 billion) program over the next decade.

The Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission Council issued a list of projects ranging from key water supply and irrigation developments to energy, roads, housing and fish-farming plans.

While to date most infrastructure has been funded by the state, the country is now saddled with debt and the coronavirus outbreak has limited the amount of money available for investment. The government is now seeking funds from development finance institutions, mulitilateral institutions and private pension funds.

The announcement is a first step in getting the drive, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month, going. In total 276 projects have been earmarked for potential investment.

Still, many of the projects have been planned for years and are fraught with problems.

“The gazetting of the list is welcome but seems to lack any detail at all and we still await a policy statement,” said Peter Attard Montalto, the head of capital markets research at Intellidex. It’s unclear how they can be invested in, he said.

Gold Still Chasing Its 2011 Record With Fed Set to Meet

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Spot gold heads into a busy week just shy of its 2011 record high, after posting a seventh consecutive weekly advance, the longest streak since the same year. Fueled by flaring U.S.-China tensions, mounting global growth concerns and the coronavirus pandemic, the metal seems poised for more gains as the Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting on Tuesday, with forecasts for no change to its benchmark rate. “When interest rates are zero or near zero, then gold is an attractive medium to have because you don’t have to worry about not getting interest on your gold and you see the gold price will rise as uncertainty in the markets are rising,” Mark Mobius, co-founder at Mobius Capital Partners, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

Spain asks UK to exempt returning British tourists from isolation

Spain is asking the UK to exempt British tourists visiting the Balearic and Canary Islands from a requirement to self-quarantine on their return home.

Spain is asking the UK to exempt British tourists visiting the Balearic and Canary Islands from a requirement to self-quarantine on their return home.

The British government reimposed the two-week rule after new outbreaks of the coronavirus in Spain.

Al Jazeera’s Nadim Baba reports from London.

Indians call for compensation over oil well blaze

Firefighters have so far failed to put out a huge oil well blaze which has been burning for two months after thousands of farming families in Assam state were forced from their homes.

Firefighters in India have so far failed to put out a huge oil well blaze which has been burning for two months.

Thousands of farming families in Assam state have been forced from their homes.

They are calling for compensation from the oil company involved for causing widespread environmental damage.

Al Jazeera’s Raheela Mahomed has the story.

Finance’s Gender Gap Widens as Female Applicants to Top Jobs Dip

Women made up only a fifth of job applications to senior manager roles in the U.K. finance sector, highlighting sluggish progress on efforts to make the industry more diverse.

A review of 4,044 individuals who applied to senior roles at firms including banks, insurers, fund managers, hedge funds and private equity in the year through March shows that 833 were women and 3,211 were men, according to law firm Pinsent Masons. The previous year women represented 26% of applicants across a smaller set of firms.

The data underscores the finance sector’s longstanding and persistent gender gap. Recent legislation in the U.K. requiring big companies to disclose pay data has drawn further attention to the issue. One reason often cited for the lack of progress is that women, who are oftentimes the primary caregiver, favor flexibility. The coronavirus pandemic has seen thousands of City of London employees work from home for months boosting the case for diversity advocates.

“Women will be hoping that City employers are going to be much more receptive to flexible working requests and this won’t be used as an excuse for the low levels of women at senior levels,” said Elizabeth Budd, partner at Pinsent Masons.