Ukrainian long-range drones have struck the oil refinery complex in Ufa, Russia this morning. It’s one of Russia’s largest oil refinery complexes, representing around 8% of Russia’s total oil refining capacity. It’s now on fire

This ancient Roman mosaic, discovered at the Baths of Caracalla, features the faces of athletes and dates to the 3rd or 4th century AD. These remarkably lifelike faces belonged to professional Roman athletes nearly 1,700 years ago. They are details from a magnificent floor mosaic discovered at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, one of the largest and most lavish public bath complexes ever constructed in the Roman Empire. Created during the 3rd or early 4th century AD, the mosaic originally comprised more than 100 individual panels depicting wrestlers, boxers, other athletes, judges, and scenes of victory. It once adorned the floors of the halls of the baths’ grand public library before being excavated and transferred to the Museo Gregoriano Profano in the Vatican Museums, where it remains today. What makes these portraits especially remarkable is their realism. Rather than portraying emperors or mythological heroes, they depict real professional athletes, likely competitors in the imperial games. Each face displays its own distinctive features, hairstyle, and expression, giving the figures a striking sense of individuality. Many of the athletes can be identified by the cirrus, a knot of hair tied at the back of the head that served as a recognizable mark of their profession. Together, these mosaics provide a rare glimpse into the people of the Roman world, preserving the faces of athletes whose lives unfolded nearly two millennia ago with a realism that still feels surprisingly modern. They remain among the finest surviving examples of Roman mosaic art and offer an extraordinary window into everyday life in ancient Rome.