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Buyer of $450 million da Vinci revealed to be Saudi prince

Dave Lawler, author of World

Painting by Leonardo da Vinci entitled 'Salvator Mundi'. Photo: Hoo-Me.com / MediaPunch/IPX

A major art world mystery has been solved as the anonymous buyer who spent a record $450 million on a da Vinci painting last month has been revealed to be a little known Saudi prince, per the NY Times.

As the Times points out, the buyer, Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, is close associate of Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's crown prince. Two weeks before Prince Bader bid on the painting, Prince Mohammad was conducting what he called an anti-corruption purge, targeting dozens of wealthy Saudis and their assets.

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Oriana Gonzalez
2 hours ago - World

Brazil begins distributing AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine

Containers carrying doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine arrive in Brazil. Photo: Maurio Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images

Brazil on Saturday began distributing the 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine that arrived from India Friday, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: Brazil has the third highest COVID-19 case-count in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The 2 million doses "only scratch the surface of the shortfall," Brazilian public health experts told the AP.

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Barak Ravid, author of from Tel Aviv
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Sullivan speaks with Israel's national security adviser for the first time

Israeli national security adviser Meir Ben Shabbat U.S. Photo: Mazen Mahdi/Getty Images. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Photo: Chandan Khanna/Getty Images

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on the phone Saturday with his Israeli counterpart Meir Ben Shabbat, Israeli officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: This is the first contact between the Biden White House and Israeli prime minister's office. During the transition, the Biden team refrained from speaking to foreign governments.

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Axios
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden speaks to Mexican president about reversing Trump's "draconian immigration policies"

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Ismael Rosas/Eyepix Group/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

President Biden told his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on a phone call Friday that he plans to reverse former President Trump’s “draconian immigration policies.”

The big picture: The Biden administration has already started repealing several of Trump’s immigration policies, including ordering a 100-day freeze on deporting many unauthorized immigrants, halting work on the southern border wall, and reversing plans to exclude undocumented people from being included in the 2020 census.

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