Prices have risen steadily in Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in Ukraine [BBC]
“Life is becoming more expensive,” complains Alexander, a Moscow-based advertising specialist who works for a big corporation.
In the course of one month his monthly food budget soared by more than 22% – from 35,000 roubles (£330; $450) to 43,000 (£406; $555).
With Russia’s economy hanging somewhere between stagnation and decline, ordinary Russians have begun to feel the pinch from the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine, as it approaches its fourth anniversary.
The cost of almost all essentials has gone up in local supermarkets, from eggs and chicken fillets to seasonal vegetables, Alexander has noticed. We have changed the names of everyone we have spoken to for this piece.
Even his daily treat on the way to work – an Americano from a local cafe – has suddenly surged 26% from 230 to 290 roubles.
Russians have noticed a sharp increase in food prices since the start of the year [Getty Images]
Prices have risen steadily in Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, driven by a federal budget dominated by the war effort and defence industry.
This in turn has led to rapid economic growth and raised living standards across the country.
Until now, high levels of inflation have gone largely unnoticed by the general population, especially in the big cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg. Big spending masked the mounting economic consequences of the war, as well as Western sanctions and the exodus of foreign investment from Russia.
That rapid economic growth slowed sharply in 2025, and as salaries could no longer keep up with inflation, rising prices started to hit people’s pockets.
Then at the start of 2026, supermarket prices jumped by a sharp 2.3% in less than a month, according to data from Russia’s statistics service Rosstat.
Everything became more expensive at the start of the year: meat, milk, salt, flour, potatoes, pasta, bananas, soap, toothpaste, socks, laundry detergent, and many medicines too.
Every other January since 2019, the BBC has bought the same selection of 59 basic goods from the same supermarket chain, Pyaterochka, in Moscow. The basket includes vegetables and fruits, dairy and meat products, canned goods and instant noodles, sweets and beverages, including beer.
In 2024, the basket cost 7,358 roubles (£63; $83). Last month, it cost 8,724 (£83; $112) roubles – an increase of 18.6%.
That tallies with Rosstat’s own 18.1% measure of overall accumulated food inflation from January 2024 to the end of January 2026.
One of the most noticeable price increases in our basket has been a hike of almost 15% in the cost of fruit and vegetables since 2024.
Russia relies on imported fruit and vegetables, so store prices are highly sensitive to fluctuations in the rouble exchange rate and disruptions in the supply chain. Both occurred after the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, the price of dairy products – which tend to be locally produced – has soared 41%, the biggest rise in our sample basket in the last two years. This is because Russia’s dairy industry has been hit by rising farm costs, expensive loans and staff shortages.
The most recent factor influencing price rises is a two-point increase in VAT from 20% to 22% since 1 January.
The sales tax hike is directly related to the war in Ukraine, as Russia’s finance ministry said it was needed to finance the country’s “defence and security”.
Dairy products have seen the biggest price surge in BBC’s basket in the last two years [Getty Images]
While Alexander from Moscow told the BBC he was not going to change his eating habits, others say rising food prices have hit their diets and family budgets significantly.
Nadezhda, 68, says she can no longer afford to buy beef and has resorted to cheap varieties of fish.
She and her husband, who are both retired, live in Moscow on their state pensions and his additional income. Nadezhda says her entire monthly pension of almost 32,000 roubles (£302; $413) now goes on food.
That means other expenses have been put on hold.
They had been saving to fix their car, but recently had to rely on savings to pay for food. Similarly, buying a new winter jacket for Nadezhda’s husband, which would have cost about 17,000 roubles (£160; $220), will have to wait until next year.
Kristina, a Moscow marketing specialist in her mid-40s, also had dig into her savings to buy food last month. She lives with her husband, who is a personal trainer, and says she has started paying attention to discounts and has noticed others in supermarkets doing so as well.
“Now I take a very pragmatic approach: not what I want or don’t want to eat, but how much protein is in 100 grams of this product,” Kristina says.
She and her husband can no longer afford to eat out, but even when cooking at home, the price of a dinner for two has more than doubled – from around 1,000 roubles (£9.46; $12.92) to more than 2,000 roubles (£18.91; $25.85).
In summer 2025, Russia’s Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said that the economy was close to a “scenario of balanced rates of economic growth”.
However, some economists suggest that after slowing down significantly last year, the Russian economy is now at risk of going into the red.
One of the main risks this year will come from the oil market.
The federal budget is based on a high oil price, but market rates have fallen since the start of this year and there is no expectation of any imminent rise.
Russian oil sales have also been hit by latest US sanctions that have cut off supplies to one of Moscow’s main trading partners, India.
As a result, Russian authorities are likely to face a bigger budget deficit than they had planned.
Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin paying a visit to India in December last year, India’s Russian crude imports have fallen since the beginning of 2026 under pressure from US [Getty Images]
Borrowing is difficult due to high interest rates – few are willing to lend to a country currently waging war and with a reputation for being unreliable.
That could mean further unpopular measures – either further tax rises, which would hurt people and businesses, or cutting budget spending, primarily in the public sector. That would slow down the economy and bring down household incomes further.
“Overall, there is a trend towards stagnation and a possible decline in GDP,” Tatiana Mikhailova, an economist and visiting assistant professor at Penn State University, told the BBC.
For the moment nothing indicates the economy is in decline, but she believes there is a high likelihood of it happening.
“Every time oil prices fall, a recession is possible in Russia,” she says, even if she believes the economy can carry on without growth for some time.
That may be of little comfort to ordinary Russians, who will still feel the effects in their pockets.
At least 21 people have died after a passenger boat sank in River Nile state in northern Sudan, a medical group has told the BBC.
The boat was travelling between the villages of Tayba al-Khawad and Deim al-Qarai, carrying nearly 30 passengers, including women, elderly people and children, the Sudan Doctors Network said.
“Rescue teams are continuing with their work since there could be more bodies,” said Dr Mohamed Faisal Hassan, the network’s spokesperson.
Authorities in River Nile state said on Thursday that 21 bodies had been recovered, AFP news agency reported.
Eyewitnesses said the boat capsized due to high waves on Wednesday evening in the Shendi area.
In an earlier statement, the medical group said six people had survived.
The group urged authorities to deploy specialised rescue teams and equipment to accelerate search efforts.
It urged authorities to “take immediate measures to ensure river transport safety and prevent the recurrence of such disasters that claim innocent lives”.
“This painful humanitarian tragedy once again reveals the fragility of river transport and the absence of basic safety requirements,” it added.
Dr Hassan told the BBC that weak regulation of river transport may have contributed to the tragedy.
He said many of the boats operating on the Nile were privately owned and that authorities lacked proper regulatory systems and safety measures.
Authorities did not immediately respond.
Sudan often sees accidents involving traditional boats, which are commonly used to cross the Nile because bridges are scarce, particularly in rural areas.
The country has been engulfed in a brutal conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The war has devastated large parts of the country, particularly the capital Khartoum and regions such as Darfur, displacing millions and crippling basic services.
River Nile State, where the boat accident occurred, has been largely spared from frontline fighting, though the broader instability has strained resources and infrastructure nationwide.
More about Sudan from the BBC:
[Getty Images/BBC]
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Sustained heavy gunfire and loud explosions have been heard in Niger near the international airport outside the capital, Niamey.
Multiple eyewitness accounts and videos showed air defence systems apparently engaging unidentified projectiles in the early hours of Thursday.
The situation later calmed down, reports say, with an official reportedly saying the situation was now under control, without elaborating.
It is not clear what caused the blasts, or if there were any casualties. There has been no official statement from the military government.
The gunfire and blasts began shortly after midnight, according to residents of a neighbourhood near the Diori Hamani International Airport, the AFP news agency reports. They said calm returned after two hours.
The airport houses an air force base and is located about 10km (six miles) from the presidential palace.
Niger is led by Abdourahamane Tiani who seized power in a 2023 coup that ousted the country’s elected civilian president.
Like its neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali, the country has been fighting jihadist groups who have carried out deadly attacks across the region.
It is also a major producer of uranium.
A huge uranium shipment destined for export has been stuck at the airport amid unresolved legal and diplomatic complications with France after the military government nationalised the country’s uranium mines.
“The situation is under control. There is no need to worry,” the Anadolu news agency quoted a Foreign Affairs ministry official as saying, without elaborating.
The official told the agency they were trying to determine whether the gunfire was linked to the uranium shipment.
More about Niger from the BBC:
You may also be interested in:
[Getty Images/BBC]
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Ugandans under the age of 40 – and that is more than three-quarters of the population – have only known one president.
Yoweri Museveni seized the top job in 1986 following an armed uprising and at the age of 81, he shows no signs of budging.
His time at the helm has been accompanied by a long period of peace and significant development, for which many are grateful. But his critics say he has maintained his grip on power through a mixture of sidelining opponents and compromising independent institutions.
A year later, the age limit for a presidential candidate was removed – paving the way, many believe, for Museveni to become president for life.
Museveni’s journey began in 1944, when he was born into a family of cattle keepers in Ankole, western Uganda.
He came of age during Uganda’s struggle for independence from the UK, which was followed by a period of brutality and turbulence under Milton Obote and Idi Amin.
For many years, Museveni did not know his birth date, writing in his memoir: “We had real life-threatening challenges such as extra-judicial killings and looting… we had no time to worry about details such as dates of birth.”
In 1967, Museveni left Uganda to attend the University of Dar es Salaam in neighbouring Tanzania. There, he studied economics and political science and forged alliances with politically active students from around the region.
Museveni’s name gained currency in the 1970s, after a coup by the notorious Amin.
Museveni helped form the Front for National Salvation – one of the rebel groups that, with Tanzania’s help, ousted Amin. Amin was infamous for crushing dissent and expelling the country’s Asian community. Under his eight-year rule an estimated 400,000 people were killed.
Museveni, wearing his trademark hat, with Nelson Mandela in 1998 [AFP via Getty Images]
Following Amin’s fall, former President Milton Obote returned to power via a general election. However, Museveni refused to accept Obote’s leadership, claiming the vote had been rigged.
He launched a guerrilla struggle in 1981 and five years later, his rebel group, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), seized power and Museveni became leader.
Uganda’s economy began to grow steadily and over 10 years, the country saw an average annual growth of more than 6%. Primary school enrolment doubled and HIV levels dropped because of an anti-Aids campaign spearheaded by the president.
Museveni became a darling of the West, but his reputation took a hit in 1998, when Uganda and Rwanda invaded neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo in support of rebels fighting to overthrow the government.
Around this time, critics also complained that the president was growing less tolerant of opposing views. It also became clear he had no plans to cede power.
Museveni had said, in a 1986 collection of writing: “The problem of Africa in general, and Uganda in particular, is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power.”
But by 2005 his views had seemingly changed and Uganda’s constitution was amended, removing the cap on how many terms a president could serve.
Museveni has also faced allegations that he has weakened the independence of key institutions.
In particular, Uganda’s judiciary has been accused of recruiting so-called “cadre judges” whose loyalty lies with the government.
When judges have gone against the government, they have sometimes found themselves at loggerheads with the authorities.
For example, in December 2005, armed security personnel raided the High Court in the capital, Kampala, re-arresting members of a suspected rebel group, who had just been acquitted of treason charges.
The media has also had its independence threatened. On the surface, Uganda has a lively media industry, but numerous outlets have been raided and journalists detained.
Perhaps the most significant factor in Museveni’s longevity is the neutering of potential opposition forces.
When it became clear that Museveni did not intend to leave power, some of his former associates started to break away. As they did, the security agencies turned their attention to them.
Uganda’s security forces have been accused of arbitrarily arresting opposition supporters [AFP via Getty Images]
Pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine is the latest Museveni critic to face the wrath of the state.
The 43-year-old opposition leader, whose star power draws huge crowds of youngsters, has been arrested, imprisoned and charged with crimes including treason. These have all later been dropped.
In 2021 the police tear-gassed and even shot at Bobi Wine and his supporters, saying they had defied coronavirus restrictions on large gatherings.
“Forty years ago, we were among the biggest exporters of refugees among the neighbouring countries that surround us,” Dombo told the BBC. “Right now Uganda is the biggest host of refugees in Africa.”
Museveni’s government has also recently been encouraging foreign investment, striking deals with the likes of China, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. He says he wants Uganda to become a middle-income country by 2040.
Museveni sees himself not only as a stable, ambitious presence, but also as a nurturing figure for Uganda’s youth. He fondly calls his young followers Bazukulu (meaning grandchildren in the Luganda language) and they refer to him by the nicknames M7 or Sevo.
But with an eye on Bobi Wine, who is roughly half of Museveni’s age, the president has been keen to show his vitality.
In 2020, to encourage exercise during lockdown he was filmed doing press-ups, and then repeated the trick several times that year, including in front of cheering students.
He has addressed his health on numerous occasions, saying late last year: “I have been here with you for 40 years now. Have you ever heard that I have been in hospital? Except when I had [coronavirus] for 21 days.”
As Museveni ages, critics worry that he is turning the country into his family’s fiefdom.
They note that the president’s wife, Janet, is the education minister and his son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba is head of the army. Museveni’s grandson also enrolled into the army in July, a move seen as potentially perpetuating the family dynasty.
The NRM has said little about how it will manage Museveni’s succession, but speculation that 51-year-old Gen Kainerugaba will step up is rife.
Insider stock sales amounted to $16 billion in 2025, according to data from Washington Service.
Jeff Bezos cashed in nearly $6 billion of Amazon stock throughout the year.
Detailed below are the top five sellers of 2025, ranked by proceeds.
2025 was — on the whole — a good time to cash in profits on stock positions, considering the S&P 500 finished 16% higher.
The gains were even bigger in tech, particularly for companies with their wagons hitched to the red-hot AI trade, which lifted the likes of Alphabet and Nvidia to market-beating performance.
Data from Washington Service shows that insider stock sales totaled $16 billion last year. The biggest seller of all was Jeff Bezos, who liquidated $5.7 billion.
Listed below are the details around Bezos, as well as the four other biggest sellers across the market. Note that nearly all of the sales tallied for this exercise were part of established plans, with purchases happening at pre-signaled intervals.
Jeff Bezos
BezosAlexander Tamargo/Getty Images for America Business Forum
Company: Amazon
Total shares sold: 25,000,000
Total value sold: $5.7 billion
The Amazon founder turned chairman turned many heads in 2025 with his high-profile wedding to media personality Lauren Sanchez, which pumped roughly $1.1 billion into Venice Italy’s local economy.
During the year, though, Bezos also offloaded 25,000,000 shares of Amazon stock, taking home $5.7 billion. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index reveals that his most recent stock sale netted $3.5 billion. While the billionaire’s net worth increased by $15 billion in 2025, he still slipped one notch on the list of the world’s wealthiest people.
Safra Katz
Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Company: Oracle
Total shares sold: 12,500,000
Total value sold: $2,531,343,305
Oracle enjoyed an overall strong year, despite a lackluster third-quarter earnings report that pulled the stock down in December. Former CEO Safra Katz exercised some stock options in the first half of the year, freeing up $1.8 billion.
She ended the year as the company’s top insider seller, and still holds a position of 1.1 million shares.
Michael Dell
President Trump previously mentioned Michael Dell as an individual involved in the TikTok deal.ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images
Company: Dell Technologies
Total shares sold: 16,253,968
Total value sold: $2.2 billion
Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell sold more than sixteen million shares, totaling $2.2 billion. His most recent sale netted $1.9 billion.
Dell and his wife Susan were in the news recently, investing $6.25 billion into “Trump Accounts,” a move that inspired fellow billionaire Ray Dalio to do the same.
Huang offloaded a total of 6,000,000 shares of Nvidia stock in 2025, resulting in $1 billion of proceeds. His highly profitable year helped him rise four places on the world’s wealthiest list, rising from 12th place to 9th.
A manhunt is under way after a shooting at a tavern in South Africa left nine people dead and another 10 injured.
Police said seven men and two women were killed in Bekkersdal, near Johannesburg, after about 12 unidentified gunmen arrived in two vehicles and opened fire at patrons.
The shooting happened at about 01:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 GMT Saturday) and the perpetrators “continued to shoot randomly as [people] fled the scene”, police added.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Sixty-three people were killed every day on average between April and September this year, according to police figures.
Murders are often the result of arguments, robberies and gang violence. The motive for this attack is not clear.
At the scene, deputy provincial police commissioner Maj-Gen Fred Kekana told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the perpetrators, armed with pistols and one AK-47, were “unprovoked”.
“The poor patrons were just enjoying themselves when people came and shot,” he said.
Two of the victims were shot outside the tavern as they tried to flee and a third was a taxi driver who had dropped off a passenger nearby, Maj-Gen Kekana added.
Police have been carrying out investigations at the tavern [AFP via Getty Images]
Resident Nokuthula Bhukwana went to the tavern after she heard the shooting.
“When we arrived at the scene, we opened the doors and indeed scores of people were lying on the floor,” she told the Reuters news agency.
“We rushed around and others were calling the police, and we also called the ambulance and they arrived. We had to carry some of the injured people using wheelbarrows to the clinic.”
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, one resident described how gunfire had become a normal thing at night in Bekkersdal.
“Criminals, they do as they please here,” the unnamed man said.
“These guns, they sound each and every evening… as soon as it’s dusk we know that gunshots are about to sound and they will sound severely.
“It is terrorising our communities.”
Interviewed at the scene, deputy mayor for the local municipality Nontombi Molatlhegi said that locals were afraid of speaking out and identifying those responsible.
She said that the police were under-resourced, and too thinly spread, and called for the military to get involved in protecting residents.
“We are crying, as well as the city political leadership, for the intervention of the national government to release [the army] so that they can be able to come in this space” and be visible.
There are about three million legally held firearms in South Africa, but there are at least the same number of unlicensed weapons in circulation in the country, which has a population of 63 million, according to statistics cited by Gideon Joubert from the South African Gunowners’ Association.
There has been a significant increase in mass shootings – where four or more people are either killed or injured – since 2020, Claire Taylor, a researcher at campaign group Gun Free South Africa, told the BBC.
Looking at media reports from 2024 her organisation recorded 80 such incidents, which was up from 71 the previous year. There has, however, been a decline in reported mass shootings in 2025.
Among the most common locations are licensed taverns, such as in Bekkersdal this weekend, or illegal drinking spots, known locally as shebeens, which was the case in the 6 December killings.
Additional reporting by Damian Zane
More from South Africa:
[Getty Images/BBC]
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A group of military officers say they have seized control of Guinea-Bissau amid reports that the president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, has been arrested.
Shortly after gunshots were heard in the capital, Bissau, government sources told the BBC that Embaló had been detained.
Military officers then appeared on state TV, saying they had suspended the electoral process and would be in charge until further notice.
The West African nation had been awaiting the outcome of Sunday’s presidential election, in which the main opposition candidate had been disqualified from running.
The results were expected on Thursday – both Embaló and his closest rival Fernando Dias have claimed victory.
Late on Wednesday afternoon, Embaló told France 24 in a phone call: “I have been deposed.”
Witnesses in Bissau heard gunfire earlier on, at around 13:00 GMT, but it was not immediately clear who was involved in the shooting or if there were any casualties.
Hundreds of people on foot and in vehicles fled, seeking shelter as the shots rang out, the AFP news agency reported.
Later on, General Denis N’Canha, head of the military household at the presidential palace, read out a statement declaring a takeover.
He said officers had formed “the High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” and closed the border.
Embaló was elected in December 2019 [Corbis via Getty Images]
Gen N’Canha instructed the population to “remain calm”.
In addition to Embaló, the president’s army staff and a number of ministers have reportedly been arrested.
Guinea-Bissau, one of the poorest countries in the world, has seen nine coups or attempted coups since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974.
Embaló has said he has survived multiple coup attempts during his time in office. However, his critics allege he has fabricated crises in order to crack down on dissent.
Guinea-Bissau has a population of just under two million people and has been called a “narco-state” by the UN, due to its role as a key transit point in trafficking cocaine from Latin America to Europe.
[BBC]
[Getty Images/BBC]
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Two girls, who were among at least 25 children and a teacher kidnapped from their boarding school in north-western Nigeria’s Kebbi state on Monday, have managed to escape, a local official has told the BBC.
The pair ran away as their armed captors were leading them into the bushes before escaping across farmland, Hussaini Aliyu of Danko Wasagu council said.
He added that the girls were “back and are safe”, but one of them needed medical treatment as she had wounded her leg while fleeing.
A team of soldiers, police and volunteers are combing forested areas in attempt to rescue the captives who were seized by gunmen.
“You must continue day and night fighting. We must find these children,” Maj Gen Waidi Shaibu, Nigeria’s army chief of staff, told troops sent to Kebbi state.
Over the past decade, schools in northern Nigeria have become frequent targets for armed groups, who often carry out abductions to seek ransom payments or leverage deals with the government.
Police say the gunmen, described locally as “bandits”, invaded the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town at about 04:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Monday.
Parents face an agonising wait.
One inconsolable father, whose daughter is still being held captive, told BBC Hausa that his family had been crying non-stop and “it’s hard to go back home and look at their faces”.
He said he had two daughters enrolled at the school – one of whom successfully hid from the attackers, but the other was not so lucky.
“My two daughters hid in the toilet when the armed men invaded their hostel.
“When the [gunmen] ordered all those hiding to come out, or else they’ll kill them, one of my daughters got scared and came out,” the father said.
He added that he heard of the abductions after the Muslim early-morning prayer on Monday, and he rushed to the school and has been there ever since.
“My daughter is a very bright and easy-going person,” he said.
Police say the attackers “engaged police personnel on duty in a gun duel” before climbing over the perimeter fence and taking the girls from their hostel.
The assault left two members of staff dead – they were a teacher who was killed while trying to protect the girls, and a security guard who later died in hospital from gunshot wounds.
The attack highlights the persistent security crisis plaguing the region, leaving families in a state of fear.
Nigeria’s central government says it is “deeply concerned” by the abductions.
In a statement on Monday, Information Minister Mohammed Idris Malagi said the authorities “share in the pain” of the affected families and were working urgently to rescue the girls.
He added that President Bola Tinubu remained “unwavering in his commitment to protect every Nigerian, especially schoolchildren”.
More stories from the BBC:
[Getty Images/BBC]
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There’s something about the idea of Lapland in winter that has captivated me for years. Maybe it’s the promise of landscapes so pristine they look photoshopped, or the chance to experience a kind of magic that feels increasingly rare in our hyper-connected world. Whatever it is, this Arctic wonderland sits firmly at the top of my travel bucket list, and here’s exactly why.
Chasing the Northern Lights
Let’s be honest—this is probably number one on most people’s Lapland wish list, mine included. The Aurora Borealis has been dancing across my Instagram feed for years, but seeing those ethereal ribbons of green, purple, and pink light with my own eyes? That’s a different story entirely.
Finnish Lapland offers some of the best Aurora viewing conditions on the planet, with roughly 200 nights per year when the lights make an appearance. I’m dreaming of bundling up in thermals, lying back in the snow, and watching the sky put on a show that no amount of screen time could ever replicate. The best viewing months run from September through March, with December through February offering the darkest skies and longest viewing windows.
Sleeping in a Glass Igloo
Here’s where my bucket list gets seriously cozy. I’ve been obsessing over those glass igloos—heated domes with panoramic ceilings that let you watch for the Northern Lights from the warmth of your bed. Imagine sinking into crisp sheets, hot chocolate in hand, while the Arctic sky performs above you. No setting alarms for midnight Aurora alerts, no trudging outside in the cold. Just pure, comfortable wonder.
Places like Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort and Arctic SnowHotel have perfected this concept, combining the raw beauty of the wilderness with just enough comfort to make it unforgettable rather than merely survivable.
Meeting Real Reindeer (and Maybe Santa)
I’ll admit it—part of me is still that kid who believed in Christmas magic. Lapland is the official home of Santa Claus, and Rovaniemi’s Santa Claus Village lets you meet the man himself year-round. Cheesy? Maybe. But also kind of wonderful.
What really draws me, though, is the chance to learn about indigenous Sámi culture and their relationship with reindeer herding. These animals have been central to Sámi life for thousands of years, and I’d love to experience a traditional reindeer sleigh ride through snow-laden forests, learning from people who’ve mastered life in this extreme environment.
Husky Sledding Through Frozen Forests
If you’ve ever wanted to feel like you’re in a Jack London novel, husky sledding is your answer. I can already imagine the rhythmic panting of the dogs, the whisper of runners on powder snow, and the absolute silence of a frozen forest broken only by the sound of the sled.
Most tours let you take turns driving the sled and being a passenger, and many include time to bond with these incredible working dogs. It’s not just a ride—it’s a partnership with animals bred for thousands of years to thrive in these conditions.
Trying a Traditional Finnish Sauna and Ice Plunge
Finland has more saunas than cars, and the traditional smoke sauna is a cultural experience I’m genuinely excited (and slightly nervous) to try. The Finnish sauna ritual isn’t just about getting clean—it’s about social connection, mental clarity, and the incredible contrast between extreme heat and cold.
The real test? Following up a 180°F sauna session with a plunge into an ice-cut hole in a frozen lake. Yes, it sounds terrifying. Yes, I absolutely want to do it. The Finns swear by the rush of endorphins and the feeling of being completely alive in your body.
Experiencing the Polar Night
Between early December and early January, the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon in parts of Lapland. Called “kaamos” or polar night, it’s not complete darkness—instead, you get these magical twilight hours with blue and purple hues painting the snow.
While some might find the darkness oppressive, I’m intrigued by how it might change my perception of time and space. Plus, those extended “golden hours” make for absolutely stunning photography, and the darkness enhances Aurora viewing opportunities.
Staying in an Ice Hotel
For one night—because let’s be real, that’s probably all I could handle—I want to sleep in a hotel carved entirely from ice and snow. These architectural marvels are rebuilt every winter by artists who create everything from the beds to the drinking glasses from ice.
The SnowVillage in Kittilä features ice sculptures, an ice restaurant, and even an ice chapel. Sure, it’ll be cold (despite the thermal sleeping bags and reindeer hides), but how often do you get to sleep in a work of art that melts away each spring?
Tasting Lapland’s Wild Cuisine
My food-loving heart is ready for Arctic flavors: smoked salmon, reindeer stew, cloudberry desserts, and leipäjuusto (Finnish squeaky cheese). I want to try traditional Sámi dishes, forage-to-table restaurants that serve lichen and wild mushrooms, and maybe even ice fishing for my own dinner.
There’s something appealing about eating food that’s so connected to place—ingredients that can only come from this specific environment, prepared using techniques passed down through generations.
Finding Complete Silence
Perhaps what I’m most looking forward to is something Lapland offers in abundance: silence. Real silence—the kind that’s increasingly hard to find. No traffic hum, no neighbor’s TV, no notification pings. Just the crunch of snow underfoot and maybe the distant call of a raven.
In winter, even the landscapes seem to hold their breath under blankets of snow. I’m craving that reset, that chance to hear my own thoughts without competition.
When to Go
While Lapland is magical throughout winter, timing matters for different experiences:
November to January: Darkest period, best for Northern Lights and polar night
February to March: More daylight, still reliably snowy, slightly warmer temperatures
December: Peak Christmas atmosphere if you’re visiting Santa
Making It Real
Is Lapland easy to reach? Not particularly. Is it budget-friendly? Definitely not. But some destinations earn their bucket list status by offering something you simply can’t find anywhere else. For me, Lapland represents a chance to step completely outside my everyday life and into something that feels both ancient and utterly unique.
So yes, it’s still on my bucket list. And with each passing year, the pull of those snow-covered forests, dancing lights, and crystalline silence only grows stronger. One day soon, I’m trading the familiar for the extraordinary—and finally experiencing Lapland’s winter magic for myself.
Attackers have boarded a ship off the coast of Somalia after firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the vessel, according to a UK maritime agency.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has issued an alert about the raid, which it said happened about 560 nautical miles south-east of the Somali town of Eyl.
Private security firm Ambrey said the attackers were probably Somali pirates, who have been active in the region in recent days.
Greek shipping company Latsco Marine Management also confirmed the attack, saying all the ship’s 24 crew were “safe and accounted for” and “we remain in close contact with them”.
“The Master of a vessel has reported being approached by one small craft on its stern. The small craft fired small arms and RPGs towards the vessel,” UKMTO said in a statement.
According to Latsco, the attack on the Malta-registered vessel occurred at around 11:48 local time (08:48GMT). It said the vessel was a tanker carrying gasoline.
“[Latsco] has activated its emergency response team and is coordinating with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety and welfare of the crew,” it said.
The vessel, named Hellas Aphrodite, was built in 2016, and was en route from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa, it said
The attack comes amid a resurgence of piracy in the region, which had declined after peaking more than a decade ago.
There were at least seven reported incidents last year, and several fishing vessels have already been seized by pirates this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
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A South African court has ordered an anti-migrant group to stop blocking foreign nationals from accessing public health facilities and schools, saying such actions are illegal.
Operation Dudula has in recent months picketed hospitals and clinics in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, checking identity cards and stopping anyone who is not South African from entering. This has since extended to schools.
But the high court in Johannesburg has ordered the group to stop “intimidating, harassing [or] interfering with access” to these facilities.
South Africa is home to about 2.4 million migrants, just less than 4% of the population, according to official figures.
Most come from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which have a history of providing migrant labour to their wealthy neighbour.
Xenophobia has long been an issue in South Africa, which has been accompanied by occasional outbursts of deadly violence, and anti-migrant sentiment has become a key political talking-point.
Judge Leicester Adams, handing down judgment on Tuesday, also barred Operation Dudula from making statements that can be construed as hate speech, “unlawfully evicting foreign nationals from their homes… [or] from their trading stalls” and instigating others to do so.
“Dudula” means to remove something by force in the Zulu language.
The organisation says it is disappointed by the ruling and intends to appeal against it, according to South African online publication News24.
More BBC stories on South Africa:
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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) extended declines on Tuesday as investor concerns over the government shutdown and slowing economic growth led to a selloff of the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
The token declined more than 3% to hover below $104,000 per token, more than 17% off its all-time in early October.
Fundstrat’s head of digital assets Sean Farrell pointed out “whale selling,” or investors with large amounts of holdings had mounted over the past few weeks, making way for weakness in the market.
“Whales— they continue to hammer price,” said Farrell on Monday evening, noting billions in bitcoin have recently been moved from private wallets to exchanges, presumably to be sold.
Net sales from long-term holders have exceeded 1 million bitcoin since the end of June as wealth shifts to new owners, according to Compass Point analyst Ed Engel.
“While selling from Long-term Holders is a common feature in bull markets, retail spot buyers have been less engaged than prior cycles,” Engel said in a note on Tuesday morning. He added that bitcoin ETF inflows have slowed in recent weeks.
“While we see support for BTC above $95k, we also don’t see many near-term catalysts. ‘Uptober’ failed to materialize for the first time since 2018, which was followed by a 37% decline in November 2018,” said Engel.
Bitcoin dropped below $104,000 as investor concerns over the government shutdown and slowing economic growth led to heavy selling of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. (Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) ·SOPA Images via Getty Images
Data showing the manufacturing sector contracted in October for an eight straight month in a row and lack of breath in the overall equity market could also be spooking investors, along with Fed Chair Powell’s non-committal tone to a December rate cut following the central bank’s policy meeting last week.
Strategists point to concerns about tightening market liquidity due to the government shutdown as spending from the Treasury General Account, essentially the government’s checking account, remains stalled.
“The government shutdown’s likely extension into December delays expected TGA drawdowns and stalls liquidity tailwinds that were expected to support risk assets into year-end,” said Fundstrat’s Farrell.
The strategist notes and end to the shutdown would be a positive catalyst that is expected to drive bitcoin prices higher into year-end.
“I’m still optimistic for year-end,” he said. “I just think that’s some volatility that w’ere going to have to manage.”
Fundstrat predicts a $150,000-$200,000 price target range for bitcoin by the end of the year.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is being sworn in shortly for a second term following an election marred by violent protests and rejected by the opposition as a sham.
The inauguration ceremony is being held at a military parade grounds in the capital, Dodoma, in an event closed to the public but broadcast live by the state-run TBC.
Samia was declared the winner on Saturday with 98% of the vote. She faced little opposition with key rival candidates either imprisoned or barred from running.
International observers have raised concerns about the transparency of the election and its violent aftermath, with hundreds of people reportedly killed and injured.
The authorities have sought to downplay the scale of the violence. It has been difficult to obtain information from the country or verify the death toll, amid a nationwide internet shutdown in place since election day
In her victory speech, Samia said the poll was “free and democratic” and described the protesters as “unpatriotic”.
Opposition leaders and activists say hundreds were killed in clashes with security forces. The opposition Chadema party told the AFP news agency that it had recorded “no less than 800” deaths by Saturday, while a diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.
The UN human rights office earlier said there were credible reports of at least 10 deaths in three cities.
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This week’s trial of three undercover operatives, accused of helping the Kremlin to wage a hybrid warfare campaign to “destabilise” France, sounds like a surefire recipe for drama, sophistication, and intrigue.
If only.
Over the course of three days, in a spacious, pine-panelled courtroom on the northern edge of Paris, the case against three seemingly unremarkable Bulgarian men, seated behind glass and shadowed by three police officers who seemed absorbed with their own mobile phones, unfolded with all the panache and excitement of a half-whispered lecture in a library.
“I had absolutely no idea where we were.”
“I did it for the money.”
“In the future I plan to get involved in charity work.”
These few lines from the men’s testimony may help convey the general tone.
All three were jailed on Friday for two to four years.
But to bemoan the barely audible banality of it all – the dull motives, the mumbled attempts to shift blame, the sullen complaints about prison life and unsatisfactory psychiatric evaluations – is to miss the truth.
The banality is the whole point.
Like the cheap drones that both Russia and Ukraine now use to patrol their front lines, the three men on trial in courtroom 2.01 at the Palais de Justice in Paris represent a low-budget evolution of modern hybrid warfare.
Improvised and startlingly effective.
The Wall of the Righteous in Paris was vandalised with red hand prints in May 2024 [AFP via Getty Images]
Rising in turn inside their glass cage, Georgi Filipov, Nikolay Ivanov and Kiril Milushev admitted carrying out the acts, but denied working for a foreign power as well as antisemitism.
Early one morning in May 2024, on the banks of the River Seine in the heart of Paris, the three men conspired to spray red paint – and filmed themselves doing so – on the Wall of the Righteous, a monument to those who saved French Jews from the Holocaust during World War Two.
Thirty-five red handprints were left on the Shoah memorial. Five hundred more were painted elsewhere.
It was the first in a series of symbolic attacks in France: pigs’ heads placed outside mosques (an act blamed on a group of Serbians); coffins left ominously by the Eiffel Tower; Stars of David painted around the capital.
News of each event was swiftly broadcast around the world – not just by regular media outlets, but by the automated army of Russian social media trolls which, according to the French agency monitoring such activity, routinely seeks to weaponise each sliver of news that might raise doubts about the stability of French society, and the strength of Europe’s democracies, its institutions, and its values.
France is seen as a particularly tempting target for the Kremlin, given its current political and social divisions, its often ambiguous attitude to Nato, its large Muslim and Jewish populations, the increasing popularity of the far right, and a history of close ties to Moscow on both extremes of the political spectrum.
French politics is increasingly divided – a perfect opportunity for the Kremlin [AFP via Getty Images]
In another era, the Kremlin might have used its own deep undercover agents to carry out acts of sabotage or vandalism.
But – to make the drone warfare comparison again – why rely solely on valuable assets like highly trained spies, giant ballistic missiles, or submarines used to cut undersea cables, when for a few thousand euros you can, through discreet and easily deniable channels, recruit your own disaffected army of petty criminals, or unemployed wannabe fascists?
“I had absolutely no idea where we were,” said Georgi Filipov, as he tried to play down his alleged role in the “red hands” operation, arguing that he had travelled from Bulgaria simply to make a little money to help with child support payments for his nine-year-old son.
He was allegedly paid €1,000 (£875) plus travel expenses.
In the dock, Filipov, 36, cut a gaunt but muscular figure, twitching slightly like a boxer before a fight as he attempted to defuse awkward questions about his tattoos. In particular, the swastika on his chest and the social media photos showing him giving a Nazi salute and wearing a t-shirt that claimed Hitler “was right”.
“I made bad choices in the past,” Filipov explained, and pointed out that he had already removed several tattoos.
The Paris criminal court sentenced him to two years in jail.
Having been successfully extradited from Bulgaria and Croatia to face trial in France, the men all sought to place the blame on a fourth man, Mircho Angelov, who remains at large but is alleged to have links to a Russian intelligence officer. He was given a three-year term in absentia.
The second defendant, Kiril Milushev, 28, said he had only come to France because he had broken up with his partner, was struggling with a bipolar disorder, and wanted to keep his friend, Mircho, company. He was given two years.
Seated beside Milushev, Nikolay Ivanov creased his forehead as he denied any links with Russia.
He spoke of his grandparents’ role in saving Jews during World War Two and said his ambition now was to obtain a master’s degree in law, and to be reunited with his girlfriend – if she’d still have him, when all this was over.
Considered the mastermind behind the plot, he was given the heaviest jail term of four years.
As for Russia’s alleged role in the red-hands affair, even the defence lawyers openly admitted that “we suspect” Moscow’s hand.
But they insisted, as did their clients, that they were unwitting pawns, proxies – one might even say “drones” – in a shadow war against the West.
Perplexity AI has agreed to a multi-year licensing partnership with Getty Images that will allow its users to access the latter’s extensive library of images. Leveraging Getty’s API, Perplexity will integrate the visual media distributor’s huge collection of stock and editorial imagery within its AI search and discovery tools, with correct attribution being a key part of the agreement.
In a , Getty said that Perplexity will be “making improvements on how it displays imagery, including image credit with link to source, to better educate users on how to use licensed imagery legally.” As generative AI tools become more widely accessible, thorny issues around copyright and attribution have been the source of a number of lawsuits, no shortage of which have been targeted at Perplexity.
In August, the company was by two Japanese media groups, Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun, for allegedly copying and storing article content from the pair’s servers illicitly, as well as crediting them with inaccurate information Perplexity supplied. It was also one of four companies sued by earlier this month for allegedly using scraped data without the correct license. Even the dictionary has taken the AI company to court.
Getty itself has bumped up against AI many times on the road to its new deal with Perplexity. Back in 2022 the company outright AI-generated art on its platform due the legal murkiness around copyright, and it later the AI art tool Stable Diffusion over for allegedly copying and processing millions of protected images from its collection.
On the Perplexity agreement, Getty Images’ Vice President Strategic Development, Nick Unsworth, said that “partnerships such as this support AI platforms to increase the quality and accuracy of information delivered to consumers, ultimately building a more engaging and reliable experience.”
On a Sunday in Jaunti, a small village on Delhi’s outskirts, a hardened Indian farmer stretched out his hand to a visiting farm scientist.
“Dr sahib, we will take up your seed,” he said.
The scientist was MS Swaminathan – later hailed by Time magazine as “the Godfather of the Green Revolution” and ranked alongside Gandhi and Tagore among India’s most influential figures of the 20th Century.
When Swaminathan asked what had convinced the farmer to try his experimental high-yield wheat that day, the man replied that anyone who spent his Sundays walking from field to field for his work was driven by principle, not profit – and that was enough to earn his trust.
The farmer’s faith would change India’s destiny. As Priyambada Jayakumar’s new biography The Man Who Fed India shows, Swaminathan’s life reads like the story of a nation’s leap from “ship-to-mouth” survival to food self-sufficiency – reshaping not just India, but Asia’s approach to food security.
Years of colonial policies had left Indian agriculture stagnant, yields low, soils depleted, and millions of farmers landless or in debt. By the mid-1960s, the average Indian survived on just 417g of food a day, reliant on erratic US wheat imports – a daily wait for grain ships became a national trauma.
So dire was the shortage that the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru urged citizens to substitute wheat with sweet potatoes, while the nation’s staple carb, rice, remained critically scarce.
The ‘Green Revolution’ turned parched fields into golden harvests, doubling wheat yields in just a few years and transforming a nation on the brink of famine into one of Asia’s food powerhouses. It was science in the service of survival, and Swaminathan led the way.
Born in 1925 in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, Swaminathan grew up in a family of landlord farmers who prized education and service. He was expected to study medicine, but the 1943 Bengal Famine, which killed more than three million people, stirred him.
“I decided to become a scientist to breed ‘smarter’ crops which could give us more food… If medicine can save a few lives, agriculture can save millions,” he told his biographer.
So he pursued plant genetics, earning his PhD at Cambridge and then working in the Netherlands and at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. In Mexico, he met Norman Borlaug, the American agronomist and Nobel Prize winner, whose high-yielding dwarf wheat variety would become the backbone of the ‘Green Revolution’.
High-yielding grains helped the northern states of Punjab and Haryana turn into breadbaskets [AFP via Getty Images]
In 1963, Swaminathan persuaded Borlaug to send Mexican wheat strains to India.
Three years later, as part of a nationwide experiment, India imported 18,000 tonnes of these seeds. Swaminathan adapted and multiplied them under Indian conditions, producing golden-hued varieties that yielded two to three times more than local wheat while resisting disease and pests.
The seed import and rollout was far from smooth, Jayakumar writes.
Bureaucrats feared dependence on foreign germplasm, logistics slowed down shipping and customs, and farmers clung to tall, familiar varieties.
Swaminathan overcame these challenges with data and advocacy – and by personally walking the fields with his family, offering seeds directly to farmers. In Punjab, he even enlisted prisoners to stitch seed packets for rapid distribution during sowing season.
While the Mexican short-grain wheat was red, Swaminathan ensured the hybrid varieties were golden to suit leavened Indian breads like naans and rotis. Named Kalyan Sona and Sonalika – “sona” means gold in Hindi – these high-yielding grains helped turn the northern states of Punjab and Haryana into breadbaskets.
With Swaminathan’s experiments, India quickly shifted to self-sufficiency. By 1971, yields had doubled, turning famine into surplus in just four years – a miracle that saved a generation.
Swaminathan’s guiding philosophy was “farmer-first”, according to Jayakumar.
“Do you know the field is also a laboratory? And that farmers are actual scientists? They know far more than even I do,” he told his biographer.
Scientists, he insisted, must listen before prescribing solutions. He spent weekends in villages, asking about soil moisture, seed prices, and pests.
In Odisha, he worked with tribal women to improve rice varieties. In the dry belts of Tamil Nadu, he promoted salt-tolerant crops. And in Punjab, he told sceptical landowners that science alone wouldn’t end hunger and that “science must walk with compassion”.
Swaminathan was keenly aware of the challenges facing Indian farming. As chair of the National Commission on Farmers, he oversaw five reports between 2004 and 2006, culminating in a final report that examined the roots of farmer distress and rising suicides, calling for a comprehensive national farmers’ policy.
Even in his late 90s, he stood with farmers – at 98, he publicly supported those protesting in Punjab and Haryana against controversial agricultural reforms.
Swaminathan’s influence extended far beyond India.
As the first Indian Director-General of the IRRI in the Philippines in the 1980s, he spread high-yield rice across Southeast Asia, boosting production in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
From Malaysia to Iran, Egypt to Tanzania, he advised governments, helped rebuild Cambodia’s rice gene bank, trained North Korean women farmers, aided African agronomists during the Ethiopian drought, and mentored generations across Asia – his work also shaped China’s hybrid-rice programme and sparked Africa’s Green Revolution.
Norman Borlaug (right) in India – his high-yield dwarf wheat became the backbone of the ‘Green Revolution’ [Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images]
In 1987, he became the first recipient of the World Food Prize, honoured as a “living legend” by the UN Secretary-General for his role in ending hunger.
His later work through the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai focused on biodiversity, coastal restoration and what he called a “pro-poor, pro-women, pro-nature” model of development.
The Green Revolution’s success also brought serious costs: intensive farming drained groundwater, degraded soil and contaminated fields with pesticides, while wheat and rice monocultures eroded biodiversity and heightened climate vulnerability, especially in Punjab and Haryana.
Swaminathan acknowledged these risks and, in the 1990s, called for an “Evergreen Revolution” – high productivity without ecological harm. He warned that future progress would rely not on fertiliser, but on conserving water, soil, and seeds.
A rare public figure, he paired data with empathy – donating much of his 1971 Ramon Magsaysay Award amount to rural scholarships and later promoting gender equality and digital literacy for farmers long before “agri-tech” was a buzzword.
Reflecting on his impact, Naveen Patnaik, former chief minister of Odisha, says: “His legacy reminds us that freedom from hunger is the greatest freedom of all.”
In Swaminathan’s life, science and compassion combined to give millions that very freedom. He died in 2023, aged 98, leaving a lasting legacy in sustainable, farmer-focused agriculture.
In a swift robbery, which officials believe took place within seven minutes, thieves disguised as museum workers rode a truck-mounted basket lift up the famed museum’s exterior and forcibly entered through a window, just 30 minutes after the Louvre had opened for the day. After smashing display cases in the Galerie d’Apollon, the masked robbers fled the scene on motorbikes. Eight “objects of inestimable heritage value” were stolen, per France’s Ministry of Culture, and one item, an ornate gold crown, was recovered near the scene.
“Thanks to the professionalism and swift action of the Louvre’s agents, the criminals were put to flight, leaving behind their equipment and one of the stolen objects, namely the crown of Empress Eugénie, the condition of which is currently under review,” read a statement from the Ministry of Culture.
Empress Eugénie’s crown was discovered near the scene. (Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images)
Art detective Arthur Brand said on Monday that police have only one week to find the missing jewels before they’re potentially gone forever. Because of how famous the jewels are, Brand told Sky News, the “only thing” the thieves can do is “melt the silver and gold down, dismantle the diamonds” and “try to cut them.” If this is done, he added, the jewelry “will probably disappear forever.”
“They [the police] have a week,” Brand told the outlet. “If they catch the thieves, the stuff might still be there. If it takes longer, the loot is probably gone and dismantled. It’s a race against time.”
Below, Yahoo breaks down what was stolen.
Diamond and pearl tiara and diamond brooch
A tiara of Empress Eugénie. (Musée du Louvre)
Consisting of diamonds, oriental pearls and silver, Empress Eugénie’s tiara is considered one of the Louvre’s most prized pieces. The tiara, made by jeweler Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier in 1882, per the Louvre, is composed of 212 pearls and 1,999 diamonds and 992 rose-cut stones.
A diamond brooch that belonged to Empress Eugénie. (Musée du Louvre)
Empress Eugénie’s large bodice bow was also stolen in the heist. The item, which is made of diamonds, silver and gold, features tassels and articulated fringes. It was designed by jeweler François Kramer.
Composed of 2,438 diamonds and 196 rose-cut stones, the brooch also originally formed the buckle of a diamond belt of more than 4,000 stones, which was exhibited at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 before being worn by Empress Eugénie, according to the Louvre.
Eugénie, per CNN, reportedly wore the belt during a visit by Queen Victoria to the Palace of Versailles in 1855, and once more for the baptism of the Prince Imperial in 1856, before eventually transforming the item into a brooch.
Sapphire jewelry set
A sapphire and diamond set worn by Queen Hortense, Queen Marie-Amélie and Isabelle of Orléans. (Musée du Louvre)
A sapphire and diamond set, consisting of a tiara, necklace and single earring, was worn successively by Queen Hortense, Queen Marie-Amélie and Isabelle of Orléans. According to the Louvre, the articulated necklace is adorned with eight sapphires of varying sizes and 631 diamonds. The tiara and single earring are composed of Ceylon sapphires in their natural state.
While its origins and designer remain unknown, the Louvre considers the set “a precious testament to Parisian jewelry.”
Emerald necklace and earrings
Marie-Louise of Austria’s emerald set. (Musée du Louvre)
Napoleon delivered this set to Marie-Louise of Austria, his second wife, in 1810, with the intention of adding it to her personal jewelry case, according to the Louvre. Crafted by jeweler François-Régnault Nitot, the necklace is composed of 32 emeralds and 1,138 diamonds. The necklace and the pair of earrings, which were preserved in their original state, joined the Louvre’s collection in 2004.
‘Reliquary’ brooch
The reliquary brooch. (Musée du Louvre)
Created in 1855 by jeweler Paul-Alfred Bapst for Empress Eugénie, the diamond and gold brooch, known as the “reliquary brooch,” consists of seven diamonds surrounding a rosette, followed by two large diamonds that lie opposite each other, and additional diamonds that suspend from them. According to the museum, a total of 94 diamonds were used to craft this piece. On the back of the brooch are engravings of leaves and foliage.
A manhunt is under way for a gang of thieves who carried out a broad daylight raid on Paris’s Louvre Museum and stole jewels described as priceless.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said it took just minutes for the masked suspects to carry out the burglary on Sunday morning, shortly after the museum opened to visitors.
The gang appear to have used a mechanical ladder to reach a first-floor window, before breaking into display cases and escaping on mopeds.
The gallery targeted houses France’s royal jewels. Officials said nine items were taken. One – a crown belonging to Napoleon III’s wife – was seemingly dropped and found nearby.
The Louvre was evacuated and remained closed on Sunday.
The jewellery was stolen from the Galeria d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) at around 09:30 local time (08:30 GMT), the French interior ministry said.
The thieves used battery powered disc cutters to gain access to the building, Paris prosecutors told the BBC.
Four people were involved in the robbery, with two entering the building and threatening guards once inside, they added.
A vehicle-mounted extendable ladder was seen leading up to a window a stone’s throw from the River Seine, apparently left behind by the gang.
The gang appear to have used a ladder to reach a first-floor window [DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images]
France’s culture ministry said the gang tried to set fire to the vehicle before they left but they were prevented by a member of museum staff.
No one was injured in the incident.
The nine items stolen from the gallery all date from France’s 19th century royalty and are encrusted with thousands of diamonds and other precious gemstones.
Among them was a brooch that once belonged to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, and a pair of emerald earrings.
Empress Eugénie’s crown was found near the scene, apparently dropped by the thieves in their haste to get away.
[BBC]
The ornate crown features golden eagles and is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, according to the Louvre’s website. Investigators are checking it for damage.
It is thought that criminals prefer to steal jewels because they can be broken down and sold for cash, whereas it is more difficult to make money from precious stolen artworks which are easily recognisable.
Beyond their commercial value, Nuñez said the stolen pieces have a cultural and historical value that could not be calculated, describing them as “priceless” and “of immeasurable heritage value”.
Police were seen turning tourists away from the museum, the world’s most visited, throughout Sunday as people continued to arrive oblivious to the closure and investigation.
American tourists Jim and Joan Carpenter said they were about to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa when security guards “swept us out of the gallery”.
The couple were ushered past the Galeria d’Apollon and out through an emergency exit, Mrs Carpenter told Reuters news agency.
Mr Carpenter said there was “lots of confusion” in the museum, and guards told the couple there were “technical difficulties” when they asked what was going on.
“I knew something was up because of the way they swept the whole museum,” Mrs Carpenter said.
Mr Carpenter added: “But it’s great. This is our last day of a long trip and it’s the most exciting part today.”
Vote counting is under way in Cameroon following Sunday’s presidential election in which incumbent Paul Biya is seeking to extend his 43 years in power.
Biya, who at 92 is the world’s oldest head of state, is being challenged by nine candidates. If he wins, it will be his eighth consecutive term in office, with the next election due in 2032.
No official results have been announced, but one of Biya’s main rivals, former government spokesperson Issa Tchiroma Bakary, has claimed victory.
His declaration flouts a government warning that any unilateral publication of results would amount to “high treason”. The Constitutional Council has to announce the election outcome within 15 days of the vote.
In the run-up to the poll there were complaints from the opposition of attempts to suppress their support.
In August, the Constitutional Council barred 71-year old Maurice Kamto, widely viewed as the main challenger, from taking part.
Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji said on Sunday that voting had taken place “hitch-free” across the country. But there was a call for a boycott in the English-speaking regions in the west and there were reports of clashes in the north.
In the two restive Anglophone regions, where separatists attempted to bar residents from voting, some did turn out at the polling stations. But many others stayed away for fear of reprisals.
On Sunday, angry Tchiroma supporters took to the streets in his stronghold of Garoua. They clashed with security forces, who fired tear gas, after his residence was cordoned off.
Earlier in the day, the former Biya ally had said he was the subject of threats.
“It is not Tchiroma who is the problem, he told reporters, adding that he “places himself under the protection of God and the Cameroonian people”.
“I am at home; I will not move. If they intend to come and take me away from home, I will not move,” he declared.
Despite this Interior Minister Nji said the polls were held without major incidents in all 10 regions of the country.
He did not comment on the situation in Garoua but rather repeated previous statements that some presidential candidates were planning to publish the results of the election ahead of the official declaration.
Nji described this as a major red line, threatening action against anyone suspected of breaking the law.
More from the BBC on Cameroon’s election:
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