Theft of Swedish crown jewels sheds light on other high-stakes robberies
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TODAY:
- The theft of Sweden's crown jewels baffles investigators. It's not the first time it has happened.
- Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former warlord in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was facing a lengthy prison term, but now returns to the DRC as a front-runner in the next presidential race.
- Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte oversees the destruction of dozens of "smuggled" luxury cars in the latest publicity stunt of his anti-corruption campaign.
- Missed The National last night? Watch it here
The ultimate smash and grab
A pair of brazen thieves appear to have made a clean getaway after stealing Sweden's crown jewels.
The daring daylight robbery took place yesterday at the hilltop Strangnas Cathedral, 80 kilometres west of Stockholm. Two men smashed their way into a display cabinet and grabbed two historic royal crowns and an orb.
An alarm sounded, but no one in the church was able to stop the men as they hopped aboard two bicycles and made their way down to the shore of nearby Lake Malaren, where they had moored a speedboat.
Police carried out a search using their own boats and a helicopter on Malaren and a series of interconnected lakes, as well blocking off surrounding roads, but could find no trace of the thieves.
"By boat you can reach Malaren, Koping or Arboga in the west, or Vasteras, Eskilstuna or Stockholm if you drive east," Thomas Agnevik, a police spokesman, told reporters. "The score is 1-0 for them right now, but we don't know what it will be like tomorrow."
The police are appealing to the public for information and assistance, and have registered the stolen items with Interpol. Divers are scouring the lake for clues, and one theory being floated by investigators is that the thieves might have abandoned their boat and taken to jet skis.
One of the missing crowns belonged to King Charles IX, who ruled Sweden from 1604 to 1611, and the other to his consort, Kristina, who died in 1625. They were both entombed with their gold-, enamel- and jewel-encrusted regalia, but the crowns and orb were later retrieved and put on public display. All the items are considered to be a priceless part of Sweden's heritage, and should prove almost impossible to sell.
It's not the first time that someone has walked off with a portion of Sweden's crown jewels. In 2013, a crown, sceptre and golden apple that were used in the funeral of King Johan III, who ruled from 1568 to 1592, were stolen from a cathedral in Vasteras, on the other side of Lake Malaren.
The items were found in a trash bag left along the side of a highway a few days later, after authorities received an anonymous tip.
England's Crown Jewels have been stolen twice, most recently in 1671. And Ireland's state jewels went missing from Dublin Castle in 1907, and have never been recovered.
Modern technology, however, makes it harder to get away with such a brazen, high-profile theft.
Last month, police in Serbia arrested four men accused of snatching $530,000 worth of jewellery and watches from a store in Belfort, in eastern France, in September 2003.
The daylight heist had all the hallmarks of an operation by the notorious "Pink Panther" gang, who are believed to have carried out at least 380 armed robberies between 1999 and 2015, making off with more than $500 million US in loot.
It took more than a decade, but the Serbian suspects were eventually identified via DNA analysis of trace amounts of blood left behind on a cupboard and a Cartier box when they smashed their way through glass display cases.
A warlord's homecoming
Two months ago, Jean-Pierre Bemba was staring down another decade inside a cramped cell at the Hague's Scheveningen prison.
Today, he returned home to the Democratic Republic of Congo to find cheering crowds lining the streets from the airport, solidifying his status as a front-runner to become the country's next president.
In March 2016, the International Criminal Court convicted the 55-year-old former rebel leader of war crimes and crimes against humanity for failing to stop his forces from raping and murdering civilians as they sought to help quash a rebellion in the neighbouring Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003.
Bemba was one of just four people who have been convicted since the permanent war crimes body went into operation in 2002. But this June, an appeals panel quashed his 18-year sentence, ruling that he shouldn't have been held responsible for the actions of his troops.
The former warlord and ex-DRC vice-president, who had been in custody since his 2008 arrest, was freed on June 13 and quickly announced his intention to return to the political arena and challenge his longtime rival Joseph Kabila for the presidency.
Kabila's term ran out in late 2016, but he has pushed back the election date several times. At the moment, a vote is set for Dec. 23.
In an interview with the Associated Press last weekend, Bemba said it would be "a disaster for Congo" if Kabila finds a way to cling to the power he has wielded since 2001.
Bemba finished second in the 2006 presidential vote, but fled the DRC for Belgium a year later after fighting between his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) loyalists and government troops.
The MLC acclaimed Bemba as its presidential candidate in mid-July, but he needs to formally file his papers before the Aug. 8 deadline.
Kabila's government did not stand in the way of Bemba's return to Kinshasa, but this week, a presidential spokesman suggested that the former vice-president might be "ineligible" to run under DRC election law, because his ICC conviction for witness tampering during his original trial still stands.
It's still not clear whether Kabila is preparing to defy the constitution and run for a third term in December, or whether he intends to anoint a successor. But either outcome has a high potential for violence.
Security forces have killed dozens of anti-Kabila protesters over the past two years, and today police fired tear gas to clear Bemba's supporters from the streets.
A national poll published in late March suggested that 80 per cent of Congolese voters disapprove of Kabila, but that seven out of 10 don't believe the December vote will be fair.
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A bulldozer in China shop
Rodrigo Duterte is a big believer in setting examples.
And so it was earlier this week, as the Philippine president put some teeth into his anti-corruption campaign by overseeing the destruction of 68 luxury cars and eight high-end motorcycles.
The vehicles, valued at more than $7 million Cdn, were all said to have been "smuggled" into the country in an effort to avoid government duties and taxes, and were a small portion of the 800 "contraband" cars recently seized by port authorities in northern Cagayan province.
Video of the Monday event shows Duterte in a white construction hat and safety glasses, looking on approvingly as two bulldozers drive over Lamborghinis, Porsches, Mercedes-Benzes and a Ford Mustang, crushing roofs and hoods under their tracks.
It's not the first time that the Philippine strongman has put on such a show. Last February, a Jaguar, Corvette and Lexus were among the 30 or so luxury cars flattened in events in Manila and two other cities. Fourteen more were crushed while Duterte and members of his cabinet looked on in March. Another 100 scooters and motorcycles were added to the scrap heap in May.
The Philippines Bureau of Customs used to auction off seized vehicles and turn the proceeds over to the government, but Duterte ordered their destruction instead, in a bid to stop smugglers from rigging the process in concert with corrupt officials.
Duterte has been waging a high-profile battle against graft — along with his deadly war on drugs — since taking office in 2016. But the results have been mixed.
Almost 30 senior officials have been fired or forced to resign, but as this recent report detailed, a quarter of them have since found plum new posts with his administration.
In his state of the nation address last week, Duterte called out his backers and confidants, warning them to embrace his efforts to clean up government.
"I value friendship, make no mistake about it. But it has its limits," he said. "This is a lonely place I am hemmed in. Do not make it lonelier by forcing me to end our friendship because you gave me the reason to end it."
The annual global corruption index prepared by Transparency International ranks the Philippines as one of the world's more dishonest places. It ranks 111th out of 180 nations, just behind Vietnam and one point ahead of Algeria, Niger and Bolivia.
The Philippines has shown little or no improvement over the past five years, according to the Berlin-based NGO.
In 2017, the world's most transparent countries were judged to be New Zealand and Denmark, while South Sudan and Somalia were ranked the most corrupt.
Quote of the moment
"I opened up the lid of the coffee and out pours this pungent smell of chemical. It wasn't a latte at all."
- Sarah Douglas, a seven-month pregnant Alberta woman who was mistakenly served a cup of hot cleaning solution at a Lethbridge McDonald's.
What The National is reading
- Liberals plan to soften carbon tax following competitiveness concerns (CBC)
- Apple closes in on trillion-dollar valuation (CNN Money)
- Infowars' Alex Jones seeks dismissal of lawsuit by Sandy Hook parents (CBC)
- Anti-gay journalist rejected as president of Italian state broadcaster (Guardian)
- Hundreds of asylum seekers to be housed in Toronto-area hotels (CBC)
- France's Macron survives no-confidence vote (RFI)
- Largest King Penguin colony in the world declines by 90 per cent (NY Times)
- Zombie walk in Russia cancelled over religious concerns (Moscow Times)
Today in history
Aug 1, 1996: Georgia's Redneck Games
A couple of days before the flame was lit at the Atlantic Olympics, CBC's Peter Jordan takes in the Redneck Games in tiny East Dublin, Georgia. Events include cherry-pit spitting, hubcap hurling, bobbing for pigs feet and the armpit serenade. Jordan wins a bronze in the mudpit belly flop.
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