A priest from Ukraine’s Orthodox Church has been arrested along with four others for stealing £52m of illegally obtained ancient jewellery. The items consisted of 11 gold artefacts, including a belt, earrings and necklaces. They were smuggled out of Ukraine in 2016 and had allegedly been put up for sale in Madrid. The gold is believed to be from the eighth and fourth centuries BC and to be a part of Ukraine’s national heritage. Spanish police on Monday said they had made the arrests in connection with the case and had confiscated all the items. According to authorities, the valuable items went missing from public display between 2009 and 2013 at an undisclosed museum in Kyiv. The pieces were then transported out of Ukraine with the aid of forged documents falsely claiming affiliation with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Spanish law enforcement officers managed to seize an ornate gold belt in 2021, while the remaining artefacts were confiscated in recent weeks after attempts to sell them in the Spanish capital. The police operation involved cooperation from various countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, North Macedonia and Ukraine. Police said the arrests were made in recent weeks after attempts were allegedly made to sell the valuable items in Madrid. The arrested individuals include two Ukrainians, one of whom is a member of the clergy and three Spaniards. The artefacts are currently undergoing examination by Spain’s National Archaeological Museum and the country’s Cultural Heritage Institute. The Scythians who dominated eastern Europe, including what is present-day Ukraine, were known for their metal work and artefacts and jewellery from the era are among Ukraine’s best-known historical heritage. In a separate incident, Ukrainian authorities recovered 14 archaeological items allegedly stolen from areas occupied by Russia. A Russian man was arrested after attempting to smuggle them into the US. Read More Ukraine-Russia war - live: Putin pushes more soldiers to frontline despite failing offensive Headteacher who helped young Ukrainian refugees to be honoured at Windsor Castle Ukraine destroys all Russia-launched drones and cruise missile in overnight attacks

France’s President Emmanuel Macron is chairing a crisis meeting of senior ministers in the wake of a second night of rioting following the police killing of a 17-year-old boy, identified as Nahel, in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. There were 150 arrests across the country into Thursday. Police and firefighters struggled to contain protesters and extinguish numerous blazes through the night that damaged schools, police stations and town halls or other public buildings, according to a spokesperson for the national police. Authorities also re fires or skirmishes in multiple cities overnight, from Toulouse in the south to Lille in the north – although the nexus remained Nanterre and the surrounding areas. What happened during the shooting? The 17-year-old, identified as Nahel, was driving a car on Tuesday morning when he was pulled over for breaking traffic rules, prosecutors said. The teenager was too young to hold a full driving license in France. Police initially reported that one officer had shot at the teenager because he was driving his car towards him. But this version of events was quickly contradicted by a video circulating on social media. On Thursday, The Nanterre prosecutor said that witness statements, CCTV video footage, amateur video footage, and statements from police offers were being used to piece together the timeline of events from Tuesday morning. Pascal Prache confirmed that two motorcycle police noticed a Mercedes, with one young driver and two passengers travelling quickly in a bus lane at 7:55am on Tuesday. Police twice attempted to indicate to the car to pull over and park, but the driver continued driving and the two police pursued the vehicle. The Mercedes had to stop at a at a traffic light, at which point the police asked the driver to turn off engine and exit the vehicle. The police officers said they drew their weapons and aimed them at the driver to stop him from taking off in the vehicle. However, the driver did pull away at which point the police decided to shoot. A bullet hit the driver through arm and chest, and the car crashed. One of the passengers fled. Firefighters were called to the scene at 8:21am. They provided first aid to the driver which was unsuccessful. The officer who fired a single shot said he wanted to prevent the car from leaving and because he feared someone may be hit by the car, including himself or his colleague, according to Mr Prache. The police officer is being investigated for voluntary homicide for shooting Nahel. Based on an initial investigation, the prosector Mr Prache said, he concluded that "the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met." How did the riots begin? Nahel was of North African descent. The incident has fed longstanding complaints of police violence and systemic racism inside law enforcement agencies from rights groups and within the ethnically diverse suburbs that ring major cities in France. Several people have died or sustained injuries at the hands of French police in recent years, prompting demands for more accountability. France also saw protests against racial profiling and other injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minnesota. Tuesday’s killing was the third fatal shooting during traffic stops in France so far in 2023. Last year there were a record 13 such shootings, a spokesperson for the national police said. There were three such killings in 2021 and two in 2020, according to a Reuters tally, which shows the majority of victims since 2017 were Black or of Arab origin. Clashes first erupted Tuesday night in and around the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where Nahel was killed. Bins were set alight and some protesters threw fireworks at police. Officers used tear gas on the crowds. The government deployed 2,000 police to maintain order Wednesday. But violence resumed after dusk. How far have the riots spread? Police and firefighters struggled to contain protesters and extinguish numerous blazes through the night that damaged schools, police stations and town halls or other public buildings, according to a spokesperson for the national police. The national police on Thursday reported fires or skirmishes in multiple cities overnight, from Toulouse in the south to Lille in the north, though the nexus of tensions was Nanterre and other Paris suburbs. Police arrested 180 people around the country on Wednesday night, more than half of them in the Paris region. The interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, said 170 officers had been injured in the unrest but none of the injuries were life-threatening. The unrest has revived memories of riots in 2005 that convulsed France for three weeks and forced then-president Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency. That wave of violence erupted in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and spread across the country following the death of two young people electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police. Two officers were acquitted in a trial ten years later. What has been the response from the government? President Emmanuel Macron held a crisis meeting with senior ministers over the shooting on Thursday morning and Mr Darmanin announced afterwards that 40,000 policemen would be deployed across the country, including 5,000 in the Paris region, on Thursday evening to put on end to the unrest. "The response of the state must be extremely firm," Mr Darmanin said. Both Darmanin and the prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, have ruled out declaring a state of emergency for now. On Wednesday, Mr Macron had said the shooting was unforgivable. As he convened his emergency meeting he also condemned the unrest. "The last few hours have been marked by scenes of violence against police stations but also schools and town halls, and thus institutions of the Republic and these scenes are wholly unjustifiable," he said. Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report Read More Who is Nahel M? The teen shot dead by police in France Fiery protests grip France for 3rd night over deadly police shooting of a teenager French suburbs are burning. How a teen's killing is focusing anger over police tactics ‘This is war’: France burns amid angry protests after teenager shot dead by police France’s highest administrative court says the soccer federation can ban headscarves in matches AP News Digest 3:15 am

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called for cancelling Juneteenth after he had previously posted a video celebrating the holiday, NBC News reported. Mr Ramaswamy spoke in Vail, Iowa, about how to make elections more secure. In his speech, he called for Election Day to be made a national holiday. “Cancel Juneteenth or one of the other useless ones we made up,” he said. In addition, he called for paper ballots and voter identification cards despite the fact there is little evidence of widespread voter fraud. When asked if he considers Juneteenth a “useless” holiday, he said, “I basically do.” Juneteenth commemorates when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas on 19 June 1865 and announced that enslaved people were officially freed. In the ensuing years, it became a day of celebration in Black communities across Texas. In 2021, Congress voted overwhelmingly and President Joe Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth a national holiday. But two months ago, Mr Ramaswamy posted a video celebrating Juneteenth. “We don’t just look back and flog ourselves, that’s beside the point,” Mr Ramaswamy said. “What we celebrate is how far we’ve come, and as a first-generation American myself, you better believe I’m proud of it. Happy Juneteenth, everybody.” When asked by NBC News whether he thought Veterans Day or Memorial Day were useless, Mr Ramaswamy deferred. “I stand with the presumption of time-tested traditions,” he said, calling Juneteenth “redundant” of Martin Luther King Jr Day and Presidents Day. “The reason for making it a holiday was under political duress. It was a political hostage situation on the back of the death of George Floyd,” he said. Read More Vivek Ramaswamy's Hindu faith is front and center in his GOP presidential campaign Republicans rage against Jack Smith after latest indictment of Donald Trump over 2020 election conspiracy Indictment ignored, Trump barely a mention, as GOP candidates pitch Iowa voters to challenge him Vivek Ramaswamy's Hindu faith is front and center in his GOP presidential campaign GOP presidential hopeful Chris Christie says 'inhumanity' of war is palpable during visit to Ukraine

An influencer who splurged £130,000 on leg extension surgery now has regrets. Theresia Fischer, 31, added 5.5 inches to her height after claiming her husband encouraged her to do so. Fischer, who appeared on Germany's Celebrity Big Brother, spoke on the radio station MDR, where she claimed her partner said: "Theresia, you know I like big ladies. So I would really like this. You could get up to 14cm more." She continued: "[He would say] 'You can’t do anything without me. You need me'. And if you are told that 20, 30, 60, 70 times – then you believe that you are nothing without him." Fischer said she didn't even know such surgery existed until her husband brought it to her attention. The influencer, who was 5 foot 6 inches and is now 6 feet after the surgery, had adjustable telescopic rods inserted into her shins at the age of 24. "I am ashamed because I consented to an operation that I shouldn’t have had," she said. Around the time of the procedure, Fischer reportedly claimed the operation had improved her sex life and that she followed through with it after years of bullying as a teenager. She also previously described the grueling procedure to Bild, candidly sharing how the shin bone was broken and the calf muscles were split. "You stretch your lower legs independently by holding your knee with one hand and screwing your foot inward with the other hand until it clicks," she said. "Ten clicks a day on each side bring an additional 0.5 millimetres ." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

One of the key building blocks required for human life has been found in the depths of space. Astronomers have been looking out into a region 1,000 light-years from Earth, known as the Perseus Molecular Complex, and they’ve found an amino acid which is essential in human growth. Tryptophan is one of the 20 amino acids required for humans to develop. Babies require it to grow and it’s also important for protein development and muscle function in adults Readings from the Spitzer telescope, which is no longer in use, were crucial to the discovery. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The Perseus Molecular Complex is only visible when viewed through infrared instruments, and tryptophan gives off an identifiable light reading when observed in this way. Dr Susana Iglesias-Groth is from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and was lead author on the new research. "The evidence for tryptophan in the Perseus molecular complex should encourage additional effort to identify other amino acids in this region, and in other star-forming regions,” Dr Iglesias-Groth said. “It is a very exciting possibility that the building blocks of proteins are widely present in the gas from which stars and planets form – it may be key for the development of life in exoplanetary systems.” The findings were published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. It comes after research showed that life forms could potentially be able to survive in the conditions in the clouds above Venus. The key point revolves around the presence of the biosignature gas phosphine, which is often identified as a sign of life. It also posits the idea that potential life forms on the planet could use sulphuric acid the way life forms on Earth use water. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

After trading Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers, general manager Billy Eppler insists the New York Mets are not tearing down their underachieving team

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Australia missed out on a first appearance in a Women’s World Cup final after a 3-1 defeat to England in Sydney. The Matildas fell behind in the first half at Stadium Australia before Sam Kerr levelled with a spectacular finish from distance. But goals from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo secured victory for the Lionesses late on to take Sarina Wiegman’s side through to a second consecutive major tournament final. Australia had flourished on home soil during the World Cup, even in the injury-enforced absence of star Kerr for much of the campaign, to progress to the last four for the first time. A last-four defeat nonetheless left the nation wondering what might have been, with Tony Gustavsson’s side now heading to Brisbane for the third place play-off against Sweden on Saturday. Domestic media reports took in the defeat and the emotion of the occasion afterwards with a string of headlines and front pages reflecting on their semi-final appearance. The front page of The Australian reflected both the disappointment and how support has swelled behind the Matildas during the tournament, saying: “Dream Kerr-tailed but national love affair’s just begun”. Sydney’sDaily Telegraph similarly played with the star forward’s name, describing the result as a “Heart breakerr”. “Pride and pain,” read the front of Melbourne daily The Age, whileThe Sydney Morning Herald also reflected a similar theme, describing the Matildas as “queens of hearts” over an image showing the Australia squad gathered together in a heart shape after their defeat. In Perth, meanwhile, The West Australian went with “It hurts …but we’re so proud” on the front of Thursday’s edition. Australian television coverage of the semi-final was watched by more than 11 million people on Channel 7 in the country. The broadcast was the most watched TV event in the nation’s history. Read More Women’s World Cup LIVE: Latest news as England reach first final Can England break cycle of World Cup shocks or will underdogs continue to thrive? USA face ‘critical’ decision as Andonovski exits after disastrous World Cup

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is expected to start Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams after clearing the concussion protocol