Blog

A necklace believed to contain jewels from the infamous Marie Antoinette "Affair of the Diamond Necklace" has been sold for £3.7m.Set with nearly 500 diamonds and weighing about 300 carats, it smashed price expectations at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva. The Marchioness of Anglesey wore it at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953, and it was also worn 16 years earlier at King George VI's crowning.However, the link to Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, may have been the most intriguing selling point for the mystery buyer.Some of the jewels are believed to have been at the centre of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace - a scandal which is said to have paved the way for Antoinette's eventual downfall. The scandal erupted when a hard-up noblewoman, Jeanne de la Motte, pretended to be ...

In the courtyard of a farmhouse now home to soldiers of the Ukrainian army's 47th mechanised brigade, I'm introduced to a weary-looking unit by their commander Captain Oleksandr "Sasha" Shyrshyn.We are about 10km from the border with Russia, and beyond it lies the Kursk region Ukraine invaded in the summer - and where this battalion is now fighting. The 47th is a crack fighting assault unit.They've been brought to this area from the fierce battles in the country's eastern Donbas region to bolster Ukrainian forces already here.War latest: Russia ready to carry out 'massive attack' Image: The captain known by his men as 'Genius' Image: In the summer, Ukraine launched an incursi...

The situation in northern Gaza has been described as "apocalyptic" by acting UN aid chief Joyce Msuya, as Israel's military offensive against Hamas in the area continues. Using satellite imagery and analysing Israeli evacuation orders, Sky News examines the scale of destruction in northern Gaza since the latest offensive began and the increase in military activity in an area near the Israeli border. It comes as an independent report into the displacement of Palestinians by Human Rights Watch (HRW) suggests that Israel is pursuing a policy of "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza and its policies and practices are evidence of "crimes against humanity".It amounts to what the HRW calls war crimes - a breach of the Geneva Conventions and a crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court...

Argentinian negotiators have been summoned home from global climate talks in Azerbaijan by the President Javier Milei's government.The team were ordered to pack up and leave on Wednesday, just three days into the two-week COP29 summit in Azerbaijan. No reason was given, but the Argentinian president - a right-wing populist who has previously dubbed the climate crisis a "socialist lie" - had communicated with US president-elect Donald Trump the day before, according to his spokesperson.Mr Trump had told Mr Milei "you are my favourite president", spokesperson Manuel Adorni wrote on X.Read more: Who thinks oil state Azerbaijan is 'perfectly suited' to hosting a climate summit? It means Argentina, South America's second-largest economy, loses its chance to influence the talks in Baku, which wi...