The thieves who stole crown jewels from the Louvre in October evaded police with just 30 seconds to spare due to avoidable security failures at the Paris museum, a damning investigation revealed on Wednesday, December 10.

The probe, ordered by the culture ministry after the embarrassing daylight heist, revealed that only one of two security cameras was working near the site where the thieves broke in on the morning of Sunday, October 19. Agents in the security headquarters also did not have enough screens to follow the images in real-time, while a lack of coordination meant police were initially sent to the wrong place once the alarm was raised, the report unveiled at the French Sénat's Culture Committee stated.

"It highlights an overall failure of the museum, as well as its supervisory authority, to address security issues," the head of the committee, Laurent Lafon, said at the start of a hearing.

Louvre thieves escaped with just 30 seconds to spare, probe reveals

A parliamentary inquiry into the October robbery, in which over $100 million of jewellery was stolen, revealed that several known security issues, technical failures and poor coordination allowed the thieves to escape.

^{Le Monde with AFP (Le Monde)}

cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/43380797

European firms are accelerating efforts to diversify away from Chinese supply chains as Beijing's self-reliance drive and export controls deepen global trade uncertainty, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Wednesday.

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The EU's trade imbalance with China widened to 1:4 in container terms, compared with 1:2.7 in 2019, the lobby group said in a report. Persistent deflation and the ongoing depreciation of the yuan against the euro have exacerbated European firms' trade woes.

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As a result, more than 70% of European firms in China have reviewed their supply chain strategies over the past two years, the report said ... Sectoral disparities are stark: 80% of pharmaceutical firms and 46% of machinery makers are increasing localisation, while 33% of IT and telecom firms and 25% of retailers are diversifying away from China, according to the report.

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The report said China's willingness to use its supply chain dominance to exert pressure on trade partners is being met with increasing pushback from affected countries, such as a more "offensive" China policy from the EU.

The European Commission will make proposals next month to bolster EU industry, with requirements to prioritise locally manufactured goods that would reduce its reliance on imports from China.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/eu-firms-china-accelerating-supply-chain-diversification-report-finds-2025-12-10/

Police officers in western Germany made a shock discovery after they noticed a woman using her phone in the driver's seat. It turned out that someone else was behind the wheel.

A police patrol in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate made a shocking discovery after they came across a driver who appeared to be typing on her mobile phone.

While such behaviour would already be hazardous, what they saw on closer inspection stunned officers. A toddler, less than two years old, was sitting on her lap with both hands on the steering wheel.

According to police, the woman showed no understanding of the risk. She insisted that the child had not been feeling well and that she was simply driving to a fast-food restaurant.

Police spot toddler steering car on German autobahn

^{Richard Connor (Deutsche Welle)}

Fewer than 60,000 people – 0.001% of the world’s population – control three times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity, according to a report that argues global inequality has reached such extremes that urgent action has become essential.

The authoritative World Inequality Report 2026, based on data compiled by 200 researchers, also found that the top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90% combined, while the poorest half captures less than 10% of total global earnings.

Wealth – the value of people’s assets – was even more concentrated than income, or earnings from work and investments, the report found, with the richest 10% of the world’s population owning 75% of wealth and the bottom half just 2%.

In almost every region, the top 1% was wealthier than the bottom 90% combined, the report found, with wealth inequality increasing rapidly around the world.

“The result is a world in which a tiny minority commands unprecedented financial power, while billions remain excluded from even basic economic stability,” the authors, led by Ricardo Gómez-Carrera of the Paris School of Economics, wrote.

Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds

Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%

^{Jon Henley (The Guardian)}

During Donald Trump’s first administration, commentators sagely advised that his words, were to be “taken seriously, not literally”. Experience suggests that formula puts the cart before the horse.

A new US National Security Strategy and a series of comments from US officials, presidential proxies and Trump himself, have culminated in what could be one of the most profound crises for Atlanticism, the security doctrine that has sustained peace and democracy in Europe since the end of the second world war.

Where Trump’s point of departure was once the failure of Europe to contribute sufficiently to its own security, he has now embraced a more alarming vision.

Coloured both by racism and a staggering contempt for Europe’s political institutions and leaders, he has warned of the risk of civilisational collapse on a continent he barely knows, and that he has viewed more often from the window of an armoured sedan.

New Trump doctrine identifies ‘weak’ Europe’s problem: not enough racism

A new US national security strategy represents one of the most profound crises for the Atlantic alliance since 1945

^{Peter Beaumont (The Guardian)}

The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is “safe” and “will be” in Oslo after “a journey in a situation of extreme danger,” although she will not attend the Nobel peace prize ceremony this afternoon, organisers have said.

Machado has been seen only once in public since going into hiding in August last year amid a tense showdown with the president, Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela’s attorney general has said Machado, 58, would be considered a “fugitive” if she left the country to accept the award.

Starmer, Merz and Macron take phone call with Trump on Ukraine peace talks – as it happened

European leaders confirm that they spoke with the US president earlier today about ‘the state of talks’

^{Fran Lawther (The Guardian)}

U.S. President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy appears to blow up some of the key principles behind 80 years of European collective defence, challenging the foundation of the continent’s relationship with the country.

But on whether the White House will — or even can — follow through on many of its more radical or transformative demands, many European capitals will likely need more convincing.

In a blistering attack, Trump’s new policy portrays Europe’s governments as weak and ineffective. Migration has destroyed the continent’s self-confidence, it claims, accusing the European Union of contributing to a loss of national sovereignty, weakened political freedoms and the diminished effectiveness of individual nation states.

Not a word is mentioned of Russia being an adversary — or the instigator of a horrific, ongoing war against its neighbour Ukraine.

The document does not say the U.S. core interest should be the defeat of Russia and the return of Ukraine’s territories, but rather that it should seek to restore “strategic stability" with Russia.

If you've ever been catcalled late at night, you may be familiar with the stress response it can spark. Your defensive guard can go up and leave you feeling physically shaken and vulnerable.

All my female friends have had such experiences, and all of us have at one point or another walked home in the dark holding our keys in our hands. I even joined a karate club at university, in case the worst should happen, and through repeated drills learnt how to efficiently throw an opponent to the ground and hit the right pressure point to cause pain.

When unwanted sexual attention isn't immediately threatening, however, it is often shrugged off and ignored. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have a lasting psychological effect. Research now shows even everyday acts of sexism can have repercussions that stretch throughout people's bodies and lives.

'Brain scars': The hidden forms of sexism that harm women's health

Subtle sexism that pervades everyday life often gets shrugged off. But research shows it can still have lasting psychological effects – including "thinning" parts of the brain.

^{Melissa Hogenboom (BBC)}