A tourist filmed carving names into the wall of Rome’s ancient Colosseum last week has been identified as a fitness trainer living in Britain. The identification was made using photographic comparisons, said Italian police. They did not identify the suspect, saying only that the man and his girlfriend were “a couple who are resident in England”. However, he was named by the Daily Telegraph as Ivan Dimitrov, a 27-year-old fitness instructor and delivery driver who is originally from Bulgaria and lives in Bristol. He was filmed by an onlooker etching his and his girlfriend’s name into a wall of the 2,000-year-old monument last Friday. He used a key to write “Ivan + Hayley 23”. An angry bystander who filmed the incident asked: “Are you serious, man?” The video, titled: “A*****e tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome,” was uploaded to YouTube and went viral. Italian police will send a note to the suspect’s home in England to inform him that he is under investigation, according to Il Messaggero, though it is unclear what will happen next. It was reported that the man could face a fine of up to €15,000 (£12,850) and a prison sentence of up to five years if convicted of defacing the historical monument. Rome’s Colosseum is a Unesco world heritage site where gladiators fought with one another and with wild animals including lions, leopards, bulls and ostriches. Its construction began under the reign of the emperor Vespasian in the first century AD. The Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano thanked the police for identifying the alleged suspect of the “uncivilised and absurd act committed at the Colosseum”. “It was an act that offended those around the world who appreciate the value of archaeology, monuments and history,” he said. “Now I hope justice will take its course by rigorously applying the laws.” The minister said that the government was considering a law that would impose stringent punishment on those found guilty of defacing or damaging the country’s historical and cultural heritage sites. “Those who cause damage will pay,” he said. In 2014, a Russian tourist was fined €20,000 (£17,000) for engraving a “K” on a wall at the site, and given a suspended four-year jail sentence. Italian tourism lobby Federturismo, backed by statistics bureau ISTAT, has said 2023 is shaping up as a record for visitors to Italy, surpassing even pre-pandemic levels that hit a high in 2019. Read More Outrage in Rome after tourist filmed carving his and girlfriend’s names into Colosseum Italy looks for man seen in viral video carving names into Rome's almost 2,000-year-old Colosseum Watch: Couple carve names into Italy’s ancient Colosseum as hunt for vandals is launched Tourist who carved name into Rome’s Colosseum ‘is British fitness trainer’ Is it safe to travel to Paris right now? Britons warned to ‘avoid’ violence hotspots as riots shake France

During an episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience', host Joe Rogan talked about getting obsessed with things

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON Former U.S. President Donald Trump has become the most high-profile person to ever

South Korea's military says a nuclear-propelled U.S. submarine has arrived in South Korea in the second deployment of a major U.S. naval asset to the Korean Peninsula this month

MOULINS-SUR-TARDOIRE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2023--

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON A federal judge sentenced former far-right Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs to 17

Caleb Rogers made a desperate attempt to steal another $79,000 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in February last year

COPENHAGEN, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 30, 2023--

French police are investigating the suspected poisoning of a Russian state TV journalist who denounced Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine live on air and later fell suddenly ill. Marina Ovsyannikova, who escaped Russia after her on-air protest and settled in France, reported feeling suddenly ill as she left her Paris apartment and was hospitalised after she called emergency services. She said she suspected she was poisoned, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, adding that they were examining her apartment and an investigation was underway. Ovsyannikova, who worked for Russian state television’s Channel One before the war began, drew international headlines in March 2022 when she appeared on screen in the background of a live broadcast by another news anchor and flashed a sign that said: "Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here." She was fined 30,000 roubles (£460) for her protest but continued her opposition to the war. During a subsequent solo protest in Moscow, she held up a poster which read: “Putin is a murderer, his soldiers are fascists.” She was then arrested and put under house arrest in August before she fled along with her daughter in the dark of the night. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which assisted Ovsyannikova in her efforts to escape a lengthy trial in Moscow and potentially a prison sentence, helped her settle in Paris. Christophe Deloire, director general of RSF, said he met Ovsyannikova after her malaise outside her Paris apartment. Deloire, writing on X, said the possibility Ovsyannikova had been poisoned had not been ruled out, though she was feeling better since the incident. “We have opened an investigation,” a spokesperson for the Paris tribunal prosecutor’s office said by telephone,” he said. “She said she had a malaise.” “All we have for the moment is what she said.” RSF said its team has been ‘’at her side" since she sought medical attention, though they have not disclosed any further details regarding the incident. Earlier this month, a Moscow court sentenced Ovsyannikova in absentia to eight and a half years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian military. Her sentencing was the latest example of Russia’s crackdown on dissenting voices in the country, which has intensified since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine around 20 months ago. Russia has called its attack on Ukraine a “special military operation” and banned organisations or the media from referring to it as a war or invasion. Read More FA slammed over decision not to light up Wembley in Israel flag colours Russian state TV journalist who spoke out against war live on air recounts daring escape from country Could Putin be arrested? President to leave Russia for first time since international arrest warrant issued

The U.S. could have the first Ukrainian pilots trained on F-16 fighter jets before the end of the year, though it will be longer than that before they are flying combat missions

Oil executives betting they’ll be able to meet net zero emissions goals by relying on carbon-capture technology are

The North American parrots vanished mysteriously in the early 20th century. Now scientists are closer to solving their disappearance.