Category World News

A 37-year-old suspect was accused of theft by an organized gang and a criminal conspiracy, according to Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau in a statement on Saturday, while a 38-year-old woman is accused of being an accomplice.

Both have been detained and have not yet pleaded guilty, according to Beccuau.

Adrien Sorrentino, the woman’s attorney, claimed Adrien Sorrentino’s client is “devastated” by the woman’s allegations.

He claimed that “she does not comprehend how she is a part of any of the things she is accused of.”

One of the five people who had their DNA at the crime scene when the case was being investigated by Paris police on Wednesday was identified as a suspect. According to Beccuau, three of them have been freed without charges. Total, seven people have been detained.

In broad daylight last month, thieves stealing jewelry worth an estimated $ 102 million took just seven minutes to break into the Louvre, the world’s most popular art museum.

Two male suspects’ arrests were initially announced by French authorities as part of the Louvre robbery.

After “partially admitting to the charges,” Beccuau said this week, the two men were charged with theft and criminal conspiracy.

The two suspected of being the two who entered the gallery while two accomplices sat outside.

Both of Aubervilliers, a suburb of Paris, were once there.

One of the scooters used to flee the heist was identified as a 34-year-old Algerian national who lives in France. The second man is a 39-year-old unlicensed taxi driver.

Both had theft histories, according to the police.

The first was detained at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport as he prepared to board an aircraft bound for Algeria.

The second was apprehended close to his home shortly after, according to the prosecution, and there was no evidence to support his intentions to travel abroad.

The loot is still missing, though.

As they fled, the thieves dropped an Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, with a diamond- and emerald-studded crown.

Eight more jewelry pieces were taken from the burglars.

A diadem once owned by the Empress Eugenie and a chain of emerald-and-diamond necklaces that Napoleon I gave to his second wife, Empress Marie-Louise, are included among them, which are dotted with nearly 2, 000 diamonds.

The Louvre director claimed last week that the museum’s security staff “did not soon detect the arrival of the thieves.”

In its campaign to rule the entire eastern Donetsk region, Russia has been attempting to annex Pokrovsk, known as “the gateway to Donetsk.”

Oleksandr Syrskii, the head of the Ukrainian army, announced on Facebook on Saturday that “we are holding Pokrovsk.” “Pokrovsk is conducting a comprehensive operation to destroy and dislodge enemy forces.”

Prior to the Russia-Ukraine war’s start in February 2022, Pokrovsk, which had more than 60 000 inhabitants, served as a major supply hub for the Ukrainian army.

Since Moscow took control of Avdiivka in early 2024 following one of the bloodiest battles of the conflict, taking control of the city would be Russia’s most significant territorial gain inside Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine have contradictory accounts of recent events in Pokrovsk.

The Ukrainian special forces team were sent to the city, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, who claimed on Saturday that their forces had defeated them. Later, it published videos of two men who it claimed were Ukrainians who had surrendered.

The men are seen squatting against a peeling wall in a dark room as they describe fierce fighting and Russian forces’ encirclement, one wearing fatigues and the other wearing a dark jacket.

Kyiv’s response to the claims of the Russian ministry was not immediately public, and the video’s authenticity could not be independently verified.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, claimed last week that his forces had surrounded the Ukrainian defenses.

However, according to Syrskii, the head of the Ukrainian army, there is no encirclement or blockade in Pokrovsk, as Russia has claimed on Saturday, even though the situation there is still “hardest” for Ukrainian forces.

According to Syrskii, “the main burden lies on the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ units, particularly UAV operators and assault units.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, acknowledged on Friday that some Russian forces had enshrined Pokrovsk, but he insisted that Kyiv is weeding them out.

Cairo is set to open the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum that Egypt hopes will celebrate the nation’s heritage and also revitalise its struggling economy and tourism sector.

World leaders, including monarchs and heads of state and government, were scheduled to attend the Egyptian presidency’s press conference on Saturday, in Cairo.

It referred to the opening of the museum as “an extraordinary event in the history of human culture and civilisation.”

The 24, 000 square meters (258, 000 square feet) of permanent exhibition space will house large statues and historical pieces from the nation’s ancient civilisation. The museum’s location, which has been in development for 20 years, is close to Cairo’s Giza Pyramids.

The museum will “unify the genius of the ancient Egyptians and the creativity of the modern Egyptians, enhancing the world culture and art with a new landmark that will attract all those who cherish civilization and knowledge,” according to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s tweet on social media.

El-Sisi has spearheaded a number of megaprojects since taking office in 2014, including the museum, which aims to revive an economy that has fallen victim to decades of stagnation and unrest following the uprising in the Arab Spring in 2011.

The grand reveal preparations have been kept secret. Prior to the ceremony’s opening ceremony, the government announced that Saturday would be a public holiday, which has increased security in the city. The museum’s final two-week of preparations were delayed due to the limited number of visitors over the past few years.

The museum’s location and the nearby Giza Plateau, home to the Sphinx and pyramids, have been transformed by the government. To improve access, the path was made paved, and a metro station is being built near the museum’s gates. West of Cairo, 40 minutes from the museum, has also opened an airport, Sphinx International Airport.

Construction on the $1 billion facility began in 2005 but was halted due to political unrest, with several delays.

A magnificent six-storey staircase with views of the nearby pyramids and ancient statues ascends from the atrium. According to museum officials, a bridge connects the museum and the pyramids, allowing visitors to move either on foot or by electric vehicle between them.

The museum’s 12 main galleries, which opened last year, are organized by era and themes to display antiquities dating back to prehistoric times and the Roman era.

The 5, 000 pieces from King Tutankhamun’s collection will be displayed in its entirety for the first time since British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered his tomb in Luxor in 1922, in two halls dedicated to him.

The government hopes that the museum will draw more visitors who will stay for a while, as well as offer the foreign currency needed to bolster Egypt’s struggling economy.

According to official figures, Egypt received a record-setting number of visitors in 2024, accounting for about 15.7 million of the country’s gross domestic product. Egypt, which has repeatedly needed bailouts to stabilize its economy, uses tourism-related foreign currency to pay for important imports like wheat and fuel.