London’s benchmark FTSE 100 stocks index topped 10,000 points for the first time on January 2, 2026, extending a record run seen last year. Image used for representation purpose only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Travellers pause and walk past a closed London Underground entrance during the morning rush hour, as London Tube rail strikes continue, at Waterloo Station in London, Britain, on September 8, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

New Delhi:

Jewellery valued at 10.4 million pounds (roughly Rs 111 crore), along with designer handbags worth 150,000 pounds (around Rs 1.6 crore) and 15,000 pounds (around Rs 16 lakh) in cash, were stolen from a London house in what is believed to be one of the largest-ever thefts from a home in the United Kingdom.

According to the Metropolitan Police, the thief has been described as a man aged in his late 20s to 30s. He broke into the house on the Avenue Road in St John’s Wood in London on December 7 by climbing through a second-floor window, BBC reported.

The owners of the house have announced a reward of 500,000 pounds (roughly Rs 5 crore) for any information leading to the arrest of the suspect in the case. Another reward is on offer of 10 per cent of the value of any of the missing items recovered.

The detectives are searching for the “lone wolf” burglar who broke into the 13-bed house at around 5.11 pm (local time) on December 7 and spent five minutes searching through the rooms before moving down stairs to the first floor, where he discovered the high-value items, The Guardian reported, adding that he escaped via the same second-floor window at around 5.30 pm.

During the 19-minute heist at the 22,000 sq ft mansion in London, the thief somehow managed to break into a safe where he found the jewels, The Guardian added.

The security cameras at the five-storey mansion have captured the suspect, who was armed with a weapon. The footage showed him scouring rooms. His face remained covered throughout.

At the time of the incident, there were eight people on the property, including staff and some members of the family.

According to police, the thief managed to escape with bespoke jewellery valued at 10.4 million pounds, 150,000 pounds worth of Hermes Crocodile Kelly handbags as well as 15,000 pounds in cash in total.

As per The Guardian report, the jewellery items included a Graff 10.73-carat diamond ring, two butterfly diamond rings by De Beers, a Hermes 3.03-carat ring, aquamarine ring and Niloticus Lumiere necklace. Also, items like pink sapphire earrings from Katherine Wang shaped like butterflies were missing from the spot.

The suspect was wearing a dark hoodie, cargo pants and grey baseball cap at the time of incident.

His weapon appeared to be a “small flamethrower or canister of noxious spray,” which was meant to incapacitate those he came across. 

In the CCTV, he was seen looking for his weapon every time he heard a noise inside the house, while at one point he even appeared close to bumping into a house help.

Police noted that the stolen items were easily identifiable and have warned people against selling them.

London, United Kingdom:

UK families of some 240,000 people who died from Covid-19 have hung festive lights on a London wall, a symbol of love, anger and pain ahead of another Christmas overshadowed by loss.

As the fifth anniversary of the global pandemic approaches, emotions still run raw across the UK amid lingering accusations that the then government responded too slowly to the crisis.

Some 240,000 hearts have been painted by hand on the wall, nestled on the banks of the Thames, opposite the British parliament.

Each heart on the 500-metre-long (540-yard) wall represents one of the UK victims of the disease, which shattered and disrupted lives around the globe after being first detected in China in December 2019.

“We put up lights every Christmas, just as a way to reflect and remember those people who are not with us,” said Kirsten Hackman, 58, whose mother died from Covid in May 2020.

“For many of us, there is that empty place at the table this Christmas,” she added.

The wall is a collective “therapy session,” say volunteers.

Since 2019 more than seven million people have been reported to have died from Covid worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. But the true toll is believed to be much higher.

Thousands of messages written on the hearts on the London wall reveal the depth of the emotional toll and scars left by the pandemic on UK lives.

“Mamy, love you forever,” reads one, while another says: “Phil, always in my heart”.

The remembrance wall was originally meant to be temporary, and was constructed without permission in March 2021 in protest at then prime minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the pandemic.

He faced accusations of being too slow to recognise Covid’s threat and then taking too long to lock down the country to try to prevent the spread of the highly infectious disease.

The wall is an “outpouring of love, anger, rage”, Lorelei King, whose husband died of Covid in March 2020, told AFP.

The 71-year-old is part of the “Friends of the Wall” group, a dozen volunteers who come every Friday to clean the monument, repaint the rain-washed hearts and rewrite the messages.

“It’s quite meditative”, she said.

The group continues to draw new hearts as Covid claims new lives.

Wall ‘comforts me’

But on the Friday before Christmas, the volunteers met for another, more joyful mission: to hang lights along the wall.

They illuminated them on Monday, and the decorations will remain in place until the beginning of January.

Nearly five years after the start of the pandemic, the pain remains the same, said King, adding she was one of many who had not been able to grieve properly.

“We weren’t able to have a real funeral,” due to lockdown rules, she explained, referring to the severe restrictions put in place on visiting loved ones in their dying hours, and then from holding large gatherings to mourn their loss.

Instead, she focuses her energy on the wall. “It comforts me. And I don’t want the people we care about to be forgotten,” said King.

“We are all in the same boat”, added Michelle Rumball, 53, whose mother died of Covid in April 2020.

She was there on the first day that some hearts were painted, following a social media call by activist group Led By Donkeys.

Over the next 10 days, hundreds of people who had lost loved ones showed up to add their tribute, despite risking arrest for damaging a listed wall.

“I was very angry at that time. It was a demonstration,” recalled Rumball.

The group is in discussions with the authorities to make the wall, whose upkeep depends on donations, “permanent” and officially recognised, meaning it could be better protected.

And a few days before Christmas, they had a “very positive” meeting, King said.

According to the WHO, more than 232,000 people have died with Covid in the United Kingdom. By comparison, there have been around 168,000 deaths in France.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Climate protesters have become a daily sight on London’s streets, undeterred by the honking horns of irate motorists, personal insults and even arrests. This time, Ocean Rebellion campaigners pretended to drown themselves in oil and gas in a protest outside a United Nations agency in London. The climate change activists staged the frightening demonstration on the steps of the International Maritime Organisation, the UN agency responsible for regulating maritime transport. “A drowning ocean goddess symbolizes the dire threat LNG poses to our oceans,” the group wrote on X while sharing pictures of the stunt show. 

The images show, one activist, dressed as an “ocean goddess”, donning a fishbowl on her head filled with black liquid as though she was drowning. She could be seen screaming as the liquid engulfed her face before it quickly drained from the bowl. Other protesters around her were seen wearing gas masks and brandishing petrol pumps with flames spouting out of them. 

“Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is not a “green” solution. Methane leaks from LNG ships are 80x more damaging than CO2. The IMO must wake up to this reality before it’s too late,” Ocean Rebellion wrote on X. 

2/5 Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is not a “green” solution. Methane leaks from LNG ships are 80x more damaging than CO2. The IMO must wake up to this reality before it’s too late. #SayNoToLNG #ClimateCrisis @OceanRebellion pic.twitter.com/8tFqfqTvV4

— Ocean Rebellion (@oceanrebellion) October 4, 2024

According to the New York Post, the protest took place on Friday, the final day of meetings for the UN agency’s Maritime Environment Protection Committee, which had convened to discuss reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. The protesters accused the agency of manipulating the fossil fuel industry and failing to protect the ocean. 

“The IMO is failing to protect our oceans. LNG is a dirty fuel disguised as clean. We demand transparency and accountability. Stop listening to fossil fuel lobbyists, start protecting our planet!” the group wrote on the microblogging site. 

Also Read | Antarctica Turning Green At An Alarming Rate, Says Study

Meanwhile, climate change activists have been in the news with their high-profile direct-action protests, such as disrupting Premier League Football matches, and sporting events, to publicise their cause. They have thrown tomato soup on famous paintings and glued themselves to picture frames in galleries. They want the government to end all new oil and gas exploration and have promised not to let up in its protests until it does so.

A few weeks ago, three activists from Just Stop Oil threw soup at two of Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” paintings at London’s National Gallery. This incident occurred just hours after two other members of the protest group were sentenced to prison for a similar act in 2022.

An EasyJet flight, bound for Kos International Airport in Greece, was forced to make an emergency landing at Munich International Airport after an allegedly drunk passenger caused midair chaos and terrorised others onboard. According to the New York Post, the incident took place on Tuesday. The trouble began about two hours after flight U28235 took off from London Gatwick Airport. As the Airbus A320 flew through some turbulence during the scheduled four-hour flight, the passenger, who was clearly intoxicated, stood up to disrupt the flight and also berated the Captain. 

A video shared on X by @FlightModeblog captured the dramatic aftermath. In the clip, passengers were seen erupting into cheers, with some even shouting, “Get off, you loser”, as German police escorted the rowdy traveller off the plane. Another passenger also received applause for reportedly holding the man down until the Captain landed the plane safely. 

Take a look at the video below: 

On September 3, #easyJet Airbus A320 (G-EZUR) flight #U28235 from #London Gatwick to #Kos, Greece, was forced to divert to #Munich after a drunk passenger allegedly attempted to open an emergency exit door during the flight.

©Charlotte_keen1/TikTok#aviation#AvGeek#avgeekspic.twitter.com/ZakIQO8FEv

— FlightMode (@FlightModeblog) September 5, 2024

According to The Post, EasyJet said that the emergency landing stemmed from a “passenger behaving disruptively on board”. 

The outlet reported that the passenger, whose identity hasn’t been revealed, got into a war of words with other passengers. He even broke the onboard intercom and fought with the flight crew, which led to a brawl and the traveller being detained. 

“Safety is easyJet’s highest priority and our cabin crew are trained to assess and act quickly and appropriately in all situations to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time,” the airline told The Post. “While such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard,” it added. 

The remaining passengers, on the other hand, disembarked the plane and received hotel and meal accommodations overnight before the flight departed for Greece on Wednesday. “While this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused,” the airline said. 

Also Read | Harris Or Trump? ‘Nostradamus’ Of US Presidential Elections Makes Final Prediction For 2024

Meanwhile, in another incident, a US man was arrested in August for his alleged disruptive and life-threatening behaviour on an American Airlines flight. Twenty-six-year-old Eric Nicholas Gapco, travelling on flight 2101 from Seattle to Dallas on July 18, exhibited what authorities described as “unruly” behaviour. 

Apart from propositioning a female crew member for sex, Gapco also reportedly attempted to open the plane’s door mid-flight multiple times, forcing the emergency landing. According to the outlet, he removed his shirt mid-flight and began inhaling on a vape pen while cursing and hitting on a crew member, proposing to her for sex. The passenger also allegedly assaulted a flight attendant.

London:

Eight people were stabbed and police arrested hundreds during last weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world’s largest street festivals held annually in west London.

Updating on their policing operation late Monday, the capital’s Metropolitan Police said five people were stabbed on the final day of the world-renowned three-day celebration of British Afro-Caribbean identity. 

That followed three knifings on Sunday, with three of the victims of the violence over the long weekend left in a life-threatening condition, the force said. 

Officers made at least 230 arrests on Monday, including 49 for possession of an offensive weapon, on top of scores of arrests the previous day.

Three firearms were seized and 35 officers were also injured during the event, which attracts around a million people annually over the August bank holiday weekend.

The policing numbers were similar to last year, when there were 10 stabbings and around 300 arrests.

Hundreds of thousands of revellers packed the streets of west London for the carnival, filling the Notting Hill neighbourhood and surrounding districts with colour, costumes, dancing and music.

Around 7,000 officers were on duty for the event, which has repeatedly been marred by violence, in particular knife crime, but is enjoyed by the vast majority incident-free.

However, the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner Ade Adelekan said he was “tired of saying the same words every year” after a woman attending the carnival with her child was among those stabbed.

“We only very narrowly avoided a fatality,” he added, urging carnival-goers to report any crimes they witness.

The celebration of British Afro-Caribbean culture traces its roots back to the 1950s after the first surge in arrivals from former British colonies post-World War II.

Feathered dancers, steel bands and earth-shaking sound systems feature in the vibrant yearly event.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London:

 British police said they arrested a man after an 11-year-old girl and a 34-year-old woman were stabbed in Leicester Square, an area in central London popular with tourists.

The police said they didn’t believe there were any outstanding suspects and they were awaiting an update on the condition of the victims, both of whom were taken to hospital.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London:

King Charles III made his first comments on Friday about riots that have shaken British cities, praising the work of police in countering the violence.

While the monarch and Queen Camilla conveyed their condolences to the families of three girls killed in a mass stabbing on July 29, Buckingham Palace had not commented on the near-daily riots which followed.

The king praised British police and emergency services “for all they are doing to restore peace in those areas that have been affected by violent disorder”, according to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson.

He hoped the “shared values of mutual respect and understanding will continue to strengthen and unite the nation”, the spokesperson added.

Many observers had been watching to see if the king, who is on his annual summer holiday in Scotland, would end his noticeable silence on the disturbances.

Hundreds of people have been arrested in the near-nightly unrest that hit cities across England and in Northern Ireland and which authorities have blamed on far-right agitators.

Officials say the rioters took advantage of the killings of the girls in the northwestern English coastal town of Southport to launch racist and Islamophobic protests. The suspect accused of the killings was born in Britain.

Traditionally, the monarch does not comment on anything that could cause political controversy.

But in calls with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and police chiefs, the king said he had been “greatly encouraged” by the reaction “that countered the aggression and criminality from a few with the compassion and resilience of the many”.

While extra police have been put on standby, there have been many counter-demonstrations in cities where far-right protests had been planned.

 ‘Perilous moment’ 

His call for unity followed a silence that had concerned some royal watchers.

“I am surprised that the king as head of state hasn’t come out more forcefully, given that it’s a perilous moment for the United Kingdom,” historian and royal commentator Ed Owens said before the statement’s release.

According to constitutional law expert Craig Prescott, however, “the monarchy does not comment on current political events”. The late Queen Elizabeth II remained similarly quiet during the last wave of riots which shook England in 2011.

“Once the riots have subsided, you might expect members of the royal family to visit places affected and perhaps to see them more in multicultural settings,” Prescott said in a post on the X social media platform.

“If the king speaks out about this, then what about the next big issue and the one after that.”

Owens argued that Charles, who has gradually resumed public duties after a cancer diagnosis earlier this year, may not have publicly reacted for two main reasons.

He may have been “advised by his government that it would be unwise at this stage” to intervene directly.

And the monarch might himself have deemed the issue too “combustible”. The question of “illegal migration” is politically divisive and sensitive in Britain, said Owens.

But as heir to the throne, Charles made known his opposition to the previous government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

And the king has been more vocal about topics such as climate change over the years. Since becoming the monarch he is seen as having presented himself as more accessible than his predecessors, including by opening up about his health.

But for Graham Smith, head of Republic, a pressure group which campaigns for an elected UK head of state to replace the monarch, the lack of a response to the riots showed that the monarchy is an institution “for someone who isn’t able to speak really”.

According to media reports, quoting palace sources, the king has asked for a daily update on the crisis.

But Smith said: “There’s no value in a billionaire sitting in his holiday home being updated about what’s happening. I mean, it’s easy to be updated — switch the TV on.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London:

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet senior police leaders on Thursday, his office said, between after a second night of clashes between protesters and police prompted by the deaths of three young girls in a frenzied knife attack at a dance class.

There were angry scenes in London on Wednesday evening as thousands of anti-immigration protesters gathered near Starmer’s Downing Street office and residence chanting “save our kids” and “we want our country back”.

The previous night more than 50 police officers were injured in violent clashes in the English seaside town of Southport, where Monday’s stabbings took place.

A 17-year-old male was in police custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after the bloody rampage on Monday at a “Taylor Swift yoga and dance workshop”, a summer vacation event for children aged 6 to 11.

Starmer’s office said he would use Thursday’s meeting with police to “offer them the government’s full backing following multiple high-profile incidents of extreme violence and public disorder on our streets”.

“While the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, he will be clear that criminals who exploit that right in order to sow hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law,” his office added.

The disorder took place after false information was spread on social media that the suspect was a radical Islamist migrant.

Police are legally restricted in the details they can provide about the alleged teenage attacker, but they have said the incident was not terrorism-related and that he was born in Britain, quashing speculation on his origins.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)