Dominique Buffin, the head of security at the Louvre, the world's most visited museum, is facing calls to resign as the hunt continues for the gang of four thieves who carried out what's been dubbed the 'heist of the decade'.

Paris

French authorities are urgently searching for historic crown jewels stolen from the Louvre in a recent daylight robbery. Art experts highlight that the initial 48 hours following such a theft are critical for the recovery of the items, which are considered nearly impossible to sell openly. There are concerns that the jewels may be dismantled, with gemstones recut and gold melted down for illegal sale.

The incident has provoked public outrage and has been described as a national humiliation by some French lawmakers. The theft has also led to criticism of the Louvre's security, with officials citing a lack of investment in protective measures. The event is part of a broader trend, as several museums in France have experienced similar robberies in recent months.

France's race against time to recover stolen crown jewels

Over 48 hours have passed since historic jewels were stolen in broad daylight from the Louvre, the world's most visited museum. According to art experts, it's a race against time as the first 48 hours are crucial for the recovery of the jewels. Several speculate the criminals may get caught but the jewellery itself may never be recovered. The stolen jewels are nearly impossible to sell on the open market. Instead, the gemstones may be cut and the gold melted down. They chose this room because it was close to a window. They chose these jewels because they figured that they could break them apart, take out the settings, take out the diamonds and the sapphires and the emeralds and take them to Israel, take them to Antwerp, India, find a dodgy dealer that's willing to recut them and no one would ever know what they did. The heist sparked public outrage and has been criticised as a national humiliation by several French lawmakers. It also raised questions over museum security, for which officials at the Louvre had previously warned there was a lack of investment. The criticism resulted in blame games, with accusations going as far as pointing the finger at the museum's head of security, Dominique Buffin, calling her a diversity hire. But art expert Christopher Marinello says museum heists are on the rise in Europe. In France itself, at least four museums have been robbed in recent months.

Colombia’s top court overturned former President Alvaro Uribe’s convictions for fraud and bribery, citing “structural deficiencies” and insufficient evidence. The decision opens the door for further appeals in the high-profile case.

Bogotá

Colombia court quashes former president Uribe’s conviction

AccuWeather forecasters are warning that the western Caribbean could face extreme impacts from Tropical Storm Melissa as the storm will barely move for nearly a week.

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Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

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A posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain's Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her as a teenager, went on sale in London on Tuesday (October 21, 2025), days after the disgraced prince gave up his Duke of York title.

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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began his five-year prison sentence in Paris on Tuesday (October 21) for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, in a stunning downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.

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Jerusalem

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Amazon.com cloud service returned to normal operations on Monday (October 20) afternoon, the company said, after an internet outage that caused global turmoil among thousands of sites.

Amazon says AWS cloud service back to normal after outage

Japan's parliament has elected the country's first female leader. Sanae Takaichi, 64, of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is seen as a hardline conservative who supports traditional gender roles and hawkish foreign policy.

Tokyo

Sanae Takaichi elected Japan's first female prime minister

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Centrist Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidential runoff, defeating conservative rival Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, as the country's worst economic crisis in a generation helped propel the end of nearly two decades of leftist rule.

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A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway and collided with a security patrol car before both fell into the sea early Monday, killing the two people in the car, authorities said.

Kowloon

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Thieves wielding power tools have struck at the famed Louvre Museum in Paris, stealing priceless jewels in a brazen heist that took just four minutes, according to the government. The thieves struck after the museum had already opened its doors to the public, with a major investigation now underway.

‘Priceless’ jewels stolen from France’s Louvre Museum in four-minute heist

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Tel Aviv-Yafo

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Chicago

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China's second-highest ranking general and eight other senior officials have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and the military on suspicion of serious misconduct linked to corruption.

Beijing

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Doha

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France's world-famous Louvre museum in Paris was forced to close on Sunday after thieves broke into Apollo Gallery and stole valuable crown jewels.

Jewels of 'inestimable' value stolen from Louvre in major heist

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The U.S. State Department issued a warning that Hamas appeared to be planning an attack 'against Palestinian civilians,' warning that such an attack would 'constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement'.

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Britain's Prince Andrew said on Friday he would give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behavior and connections to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Windsor

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy came to the White House on Friday looking for weapons to keep fighting his country's war with Russia, but met an American president who appears more intent on brokering a peace deal than upgrading Kyiv’s arsenal.

Breakdown