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Brady Lum, former chief operating officer at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, pleaded guilty on Monday to a federal charge of theft. Lum “pilfered more than $600,000 from the museum by doctoring invoices and approving transactions for personal purchases,” says an announcement from the Justice Department.  “Over several years, Lum deceptively plundered the southeast’s premier museum of visual art, embezzling more than half a million dollars,” said US Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg in the announcement. “Criminals like Lum who steal from institutions that receive taxpayer money to serve the public will face prison time for their thievery and be compelled to repay their ill-gotten gains.” Lum served in his post from 2019 until he resigned amid a probe in 2025, and was responsible for overseeing the museum’s operational and financial activities. He repeatedly purchased non-business items and services for himself, says the Justice Department, including an expe...

The two prime suspects in the infamous 2025 Louvre jewel heist claimed they were recruited by a “mysterious sponsor,” according to statements made to Paris judicial authorities that were published by Le Monde over the weekend. Arrested one week after the robbery and indicted on charges of “organized gang robbery,” Abdoulaye N., 40, and Ghelamallah A., 36, remained silent for months in pre-trial detention. In June, however, they appeared before investigating judges and, for the first time, offered an expanded account of the theft of the French Crown Jewels from the museum’s Apollo Gallery. According to the men, they were hired two or three days before the crime by a sponsor whom they do not name. That sponsor is reportedly still sought by police.  The alleged mastermind reportedly sent the pair a video filmed inside the Apollo Gallery, showing the royal jewels on display, along with concise instructions: break the gallery’s windows and retrieve the j...

2026 Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest winner Samuel Mataele. PC: Hagen Hopkins RNZ Online of RNZ A 19-year-old countertenor from Auckland is the 2026 Kiri Te Kanawa Song Quest winner. Samuel Mataele won the $50,000 first prize at a gala event in Wellington on Saturday night, in Aotearoa New Zealand’s most prestigious opera competition. The runner up was 23-year-old soprano Sarah Mileham from Tauranga who won $20,000. Samuel Downes a 29-year-old Auckland born tenor came third and took home $15,000. The six finalists performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Wellington’s Michael Fowler Cente in the presence of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and International Head Judge, the acclaimed American opera star Frederica von Stade. Mataele hailed as one of New Zealand’s most promising young singers has earned multiple competition prizes, performed major Handel and Bach roles with leading ensembles, and studies Music and Psychology at the University of Auckland. C...

The moment of victory – Bulls players celebrate the fulltime whistle after beating Te Kawau 48-20 to win the Houlihan Cup in the Manawatu Premier club rugby curtain-raiser match inside the Stadium on Ssturday. Welcome to the resumption of community rugby in Wellington. In scheduled Premier semi-final matches this weekend at a glance these are...

Seaspan and other Canadian partners move to the front as Ottawa begins negotiations on its largest-ever procurement Canada’s selection of Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) does more than narrow the submarine question. It brings Canada into an established German-Norwegian program, positions a group of Canadian partners for the next phase, and leaves companies aligned with Hanwha Ocean looking for other routes into the country’s naval buildup. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the decision at CFB Halifax on July 6, 2026, calling the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, a program for up to twelve submarines, the largest defence procurement in Canadian history. Ottawa’s line. Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr said Canada completed a competition of this scale in roughly eight months while maintaining a rigorous and fair evaluation. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly tied the announcement to jobs and domestic supply chains under the Industrial a...

British archeologists have uncovered a type of Neolithic earthwork called a long enclosure on the Suffolk coast. The news was first reported by Heritage Daily , following an announcement by Oxford Cotswold Archeology , which has been excavating in the area ahead of the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power station. The Neolithic period in Britain spanned roughly 4000 to 2500 BCE. During this period, humans shifted from nomadic hunting and gathering to sedentary farming, cultivating crops, domesticating animals, producing pottery, and, most remarkably, building monumental ceremonial structures like Stonehenge. Long enclosures—rectangular open spaces defined by ditches—are among the earliest of these monuments and are quite rare. They are believed to have served a ceremonial or communal function for communities that built them; because they were not dwelling places or burial sites, they usually yield few artifacts. The long enclosure at the Siz...