‘An embarrassment’: BBC reports at the scene of Louvre robbery
The Louvre Museum in Paris has been forced to close while police investigate a brazen heist which targeted France’s priceless crown jewels.
Thieves wielding power tools broke into the world’s most visited museum in broad daylight, before escaping on scooters with eight “priceless” items of jewellery.
Here is what we know about the crime which has stunned France.
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The robbers reached a first-floor window and cut through glass panes to gain access to the museum’s gilded Galerie d’Apollon
How did the theft unfold?
The theft occurred on Sunday between 09:30 and 09:40 local time, shortly after the museum opened to visitors.
Four thieves used a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine.
Pictures from the scene showed a vehicle-mounted ladder leading up to a first-floor window.
Two of the thieves cut through glass panes with a battery-powered disc cutter and entered the museum.
They then threatened the guards, who evacuated the premises, and stole items from two glass display cases.
The museum’s alarms sounded correctly and museum staff followed protocol by contacting security forces and protecting visitors, the culture ministry said in a statement.
The gang had tried to set fire to their vehicle outside but were prevented by the intervention of a museum staff-member, it added.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati told French news outlet TF1 that footage of the theft showed the masked robbers entering “calmly” and smashing display cases containing the jewels.
No one was injured in the incident, with Dati saying there was “no violence, very professional”.
She described the thieves as seemingly being “experienced” with a well-prepared plan to flee on two scooters.
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The thieves approached the building from the River Seine bankside
Investigators are looking for four suspects and are studying CCTV footage from the escape route.
The whole raid happened “very, very fast”, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told France Inter radio, and was over in a handful of minutes.
One witness described scenes of “total panic” as the museum was evacuated. Later images showed entrances closed off with metal gates.
Police and staff ushered confused crowds away from the Louvre
What was stolen
According to the authorities, eight items were taken, including diadems, necklaces, ear-rings and brooches. All are from the 19th century, and once belonged to French royalty.
France’s ministry of culture said the stolen items were:
a tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III
an emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from Empress Marie Louise
a tiara, necklace and single earring from the sapphire set that belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
a brooch known as the “reliquary brooch”
Between them, these pieces are adorned with thousands of diamonds and other precious gemstones.
Two more items, including Empress Eugénie’s crown, were found near the scene, apparently having been dropped during the escape. The authorities are examining them for damage.
Nuñez described the stolen jewels “priceless” and “of immeasurable heritage value”.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
The stolen items include Empress Eugénie’s brooch, which is encrusted with more than 2,000 diamonds.
Also stolen was this emerald necklace, which was once owned by Empress Marie Louise
Louvre crowds evacuate after museum robbery
Have similar thefts happened before?
In 1911, an Italian museum employee was able to make off with the Mona Lisa under his coat after lifting the painting – which was then little-known to the public – straight off the wall of a quiet gallery.
It was recovered after two years and the culprit later said he was motivated by the belief the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece belonged in Italy.
Fewer chances are taken with the Mona Lisa these days: the painting, perhaps the most renowned in the museum’s collection, hangs in a high-security glass compartment.
In 1998, the Le Chemin de Sevres – a 19th century painting by Camille Corot – was stolen and has never been found. The incident prompted a massive overhaul of museum security.
There has been a recent spate of thefts targeting French museums.
Last month, thieves broke into the Adrien Dubouche Museum in Limoges and stole porcelain works reputedly worth €9.5m ($11m / £8.25m).
In November 2024, seven items of “great historic and heritage value” were stolen from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in the capital. Five were recovered a few days ago.
The same month, armed robbers raided the Hieron Museum in Burgundy, firing shots before escaping with millions of pounds worth of 20th century artworks.
PARIS — In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world’s most-visited museum, thieves rode a basket lift to the Louvre, forced a window into the Galerie d’Apollon — while tourists pressed shoulder-to-shoulder in the corridors — smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said.
It was among the highest-profile museum thefts in recent memory and comes as Louvre employees have complained of worker and security understaffing.
One object was later found outside the museum, according to Culture Minister Rachida Dati. French daily Le Parisien reported it was the emerald-studded crown of Napoleon III’s wife Empress Eugénie — gold, diamonds and sculpted eagles — recovered just beyond the walls, broken.
The theft unfolded just 270 yards from the “Mona Lisa,” in what Dati described as “a four-minute operation.” No one was hurt.
Images from the scene showed confused tourists being steered out of the glass pyramid and adjoining courtyards as officers closed nearby streets along the Seine.
Also visible was a lift braced to the Seine-facing facade near a construction zone — an extraordinary vulnerability at a palace-museum.
A museum already under strain
Around 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the vitrines, officials said. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the crew entered from outside using a basket lift.
The choice of target compounded the shock. The vaulted Galerie d’Apollon in the Denon wing, capped by a ceiling painted for Louis XIV, displays a selection of the French Crown Jewels. The thieves are believed to have approached via the riverfront facade, where construction is underway, used a freight elevator to reach the hall, took nine pieces from a 23-item collection linked to Napoleon and the Empress, and made off on motorbikes, according to Le Parisien.
Daylight robberies during public hours are rare. Pulling one off inside the Louvre — with visitors present — ranks among Europe’s most audacious since Dresden’s Green Vault museum in 2019, and the most serious in France in more than a decade.
It also collides with a deeper tension the Louvre has struggled to resolve: swelling crowds and stretched staff. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions say mass tourism leaves too few eyes on too many rooms and creates pressure points where construction zones, freight routes and visitor flows meet.
Security around marquee works remains tight — the Mona Lisa is behind bulletproof glass in a bespoke, climate-controlled case.
It’s unclear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday’s breach.
The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia and recovered two years later in Florence.
Today the former royal palace holds a roll call of civilization: Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa”; the armless serenity of the “Venus de Milo”; the “Winged Victory” of Samothrace, wind-lashed on the Daru staircase; the Code of Hammurabi’s carved laws; Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People”; Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa.” More than 33,000 works — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to Europe’s masters — draw a daily tide of up to 30,000 visitors even as investigators now begin to sweep those gilded corridors for clues.
Politics at the door
The heist spilled instantly into politics. Far-right leader Jordan Bardella used it to attack President Emmanuel Macron, weakened at home and facing a fractured Parliament.
“The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture,” Bardella wrote on X. “This robbery, which allowed thieves to steal jewels from the French Crown, is an unbearable humiliation for our country. How far will the decay of the state go?”
The criticism lands as Macron touts a decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — about $800 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the “Mona Lisa” a dedicated gallery by 2031. For workers on the floor, the relief has felt slower than the pressure.
What we know — and don’t
Forensic teams are examining the site of the crime and adjoining access points while a full inventory is taken, authorities said. Officials have described the haul as being of “inestimable” historical value.
Recovery may prove difficult. “It’s unlikely these jewels will ever be seen again,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds. “Professional crews often break down and re-cut large, recognizable stones to evade detection, effectively erasing their provenance.”
The Louvre closed for the rest of Sunday as police sealed gates, cleared courtyards and shut nearby streets along the Seine.
Key questions still unanswered are how many people took part in the theft and whether they had inside assistance, authorities said. According to French media, there were four perpetrators: two dressed as construction workers in yellow safety vests on the lift, and two each on a scooter.
Investigators are reviewing closed-circuit TV from the Denon wing and the riverfront, inspecting the basket lift used to reach the gallery and interviewing staffers who were on site when the museum opened, authorities said.
Adamson writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
Bolivia’s Christian Democratic Party presidential candidate Rodrigo Paz Pereira celebrates with supporters in La Paz, Bolivia, on Friday after securing 32% of votes to qualify for Sunday’s runoff election against former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga. Photo by Luis Gandarillas/EPA
Oct. 18 (UPI) — Bolivia’s presidential runoff election on Sunday is the nation’s first and excludes a socialist candidate after voters narrowed the field to two conservative candidates on Friday.
Christian Democratic Party candidate Sen. Rodrigo Paz Pereira secured 32% of the popular vote to lead all candidates, while former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga secured the second-most with 27% of votes to set up Sunday’s runoff, according to Americas Quarterly.
Paz is a centrist candidate and the son of former Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora, who led the nation from 1989 to 1993.
Quiroga, 67, was serving as Bolivia’s vice president when he ascended to the presidency for one year, from Aug. 7, 2001, to Aug. 6, 2002, following the resignation of President Hugo Banzer due to a cancer diagnosis.
He was elected vice president in 1997 at age 37, which made him the nation’s youngest person to hold that office.
Quiroga was defeated in three prior campaigns to be elected president, but many now view him as the favorite.
His platform includes establishing a free market economic system rooted in capitalism and that supports private property rights for citizens.
He also wants to transfer government ownership of the nation’s ample natural resources, especially natural gas, iron and lithium, to private citizens and entities.
Paz, 58, also wants to establish a market-based economy and made “Capitalism for All” his campaign’s motto.
The lack of a socialist candidate in the presidential runoff is viewed as a public rebuke of the Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Towards Socialism) Party, which has controlled Bolivia’s politics over the past two decades.
Bolivia has been one of South America’s leading socialist states over the past 20 years, but the nation is mired in an economic collapse that many attribute to government mismanagement of natural resources, according to The Telegraph.
MAS presidential candidate Eduardo del Castillo received only 3% of the vote during the first round of voting.
The MAS party also is about to lose its majorities in both houses of the Bolivian Legislature amid recent controversies.
They include an arrest warrant for former MAS Party member and former President Evo Morales being issued due to an alleged statutory rape.
Thieves broke into the Louvre museum in Paris on Sunday by using a crane to smash a window, stealing valuable jewelry from the area housing the French crown jewels before escaping on motorbikes. The French government highlighted concerns about security, noting a lack of investment in the museum, which had 8.7 million visitors in 2024.
The robbery occurred around 9:30 a.m. while the museum was open to the public. Culture Minister Rachida Dati stated that the thieves acted professionally, as the entire theft took only about four minutes. Footage showed they entered calmly, smashed display cases, and left without harming anyone. Dati mentioned that one stolen piece of jewelry was recovered outside the museum, believed to be the broken crown of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez indicated that three or four thieves used a crane positioned on a truck to access the museum and steal jewels of significant historical value. A specialized police unit has been assigned to investigate the incident. Despite the alarm, no injuries were reported, and the museum closed for the day due to “exceptional reasons. ” Earlier, Louvre officials had requested government assistance for renovations and improved security to protect its artworks from organized crime, highlighting a long-standing issue with securing major museums.
The Woman in Cabin 10, the new Netflix thriller fronted by Keira Knightley, has left viewers unnerved with one ‘scary’ crime detail feeling like an all too plausible reality
Jess Flaherty Senior News Reporter
19:08, 19 Oct 2025
Keira Knightley pictured attending the premiere of The Woman In Cabin 10 at BAFTA Piccadilly on September 25, 2025 in London, England(Image: Aimee Rose McGhee/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Netflix)
The film begins with Lo’s return to the newsroom after a traumatic incident where she witnessed a source being murdered for agreeing to talk to her for a story. Her editor encourages her to take some time off, but Lo is adamant about getting back to work.
At first, everything seems fine; Lo is warmly welcomed by philanthropist Richard Bullmer (Guy Pearce), who has organised the trip to celebrate his wealthy wife, Anne (Lisa Loven Kongsli), who is terminally ill with cancer.
It transpires that it was Anne who insisted on Lo joining the group as she admires her work. Anne wants Lo to assist her in refining her speech for the gala, where she plans to announce her intention to donate her vast wealth to those less fortunate upon her death.
Later, Lo hears a commotion in the neighbouring cabin and steps out onto her balcony to investigate. She hears a splash and sees a woman floating in the water below.
A bloody handprint on the glass partition separating their balconies leaves her unnerved. When she seeks answers and clarity, all her fellow passengers and the crew are present and accounted for.
With no one apparently missing, her recent trauma is used to dismiss her claims as a PTSD-induced hallucination, causing growing impatience among the other guests. Despite nobody believing what she knows she saw, Lo embarks on a perilous search for the truth.
Anne begins to act out of character – she forgets a meeting she had previously arranged with Lo, and despite claiming she’s stopped taking her medication, she attributes her confusion to those pills.
In a shocking revelation, it turns out Richard used his friend’s facial recognition software to find a woman who could realistically impersonate Anne and alter her will, transferring her billions to him instead of donating them to charity.
The woman Lo saw being thrown overboard was the real Anne, with the imposter – now sporting a freshly shaven head and dressed in Anne’s clothes – assuming her identity.
This aspect of the film’s twist ending left some viewers feeling uneasy – the unsettling idea that as technology and AI advance, finding doppelgängers to serve as substitutes could become a feasible reality.
One Reddit user commented: “It was good. It’s refreshing to watch a film that doesn’t waste any time. What’s scary is it’s probably possible for someone to use facial recognition to find a doppelgänger.
“My only minor quibble with it was I would’ve expected her to read the room more quickly and keep her suspicions to herself. Because we all know there are no good billionaires.”
One viewer shared: “I rewound the movie to make sure they didn’t cheat by using imposter Anne the whole time, to trick us, and only using two separate actors when they’re depicted in the same room together.
“They didn’t cheat! That’s what was so neat, I didn’t notice the swap either. Never crossed my mind.”
Others simply shared their thoughts on the film overall.
One person commented: “People will nitpick things to death but I rather liked it. Not too long and to the point. 7/10.
“Good Saturday night movie that isn’t complete trash and gives you a decent enough murder mystery with an ending that pays out.”
Author Ruth Ware shared with Netflix’s Tudum that despite her book being published nearly ten years ago, its relevance persists because “the fear of not being believed is perennial, unfortunately”.
Thieves have stolen priceless jewels from the Louvre in a brazen heist that only took minutes, according to the French government. The suspects are believed to have escaped on scooters while the world’s most visited museum was forced to close for the day.
United Nations demands the release of its employees after Houthi forces raided a facility and detained staff in Sanaa.
Published On 19 Oct 202519 Oct 2025
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Yemen’s Houthi authorities have detained about two dozen United Nations employees after raiding another UN-run facility in the capital Sanaa, the UN has confirmed.
Jean Alam, spokesperson for the UN’s resident coordinator in Yemen, said staff were detained inside the compound in the city’s Hada district on Sunday.
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Those held include at least five Yemeni employees and 15 international personnel. A further 11 UN staff were briefly questioned and later released.
Alam said the UN is in direct contact with the Houthis and other relevant actors “to resolve this serious situation as swiftly as possible, end the detention of all personnel, and restore full control over its facilities in Sanaa”.
A separate UN official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said Houthi forces confiscated all communication equipment inside the facility, including computers, phones and servers.
The staff reportedly belong to several UN agencies, among them the World Food Programme (WFP), the children’s agency UNICEF and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The incident follows a sustained crackdown by the Houthis on the UN and other international aid organisations operating in territory under their control, including Sanaa, the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, and Saada province in the north.
According to UN figures, more than 50 staff members have now been detained.
Houthis claim UN staff are spying for Israel
The Houthis have repeatedly accused detained UN staff and employees of foreign NGOs and embassies of espionage on behalf of the United States and Israel, allegations that the UN has denied.
In reaction to previous detentions, the UN suspended operations in Saada earlier this year and relocated its top humanitarian coordinator in Yemen from Sanaa to Aden, the seat of the internationally recognised government.
In a statement on Saturday, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric warned: “We will continue to call for an end to the arbitrary detention of 53 of our colleagues.”
Dujarric was responding to a televised address by Houthi leader Abdelmalek al-Houthi, who claimed his group had dismantled “one of the most dangerous spy cells”, alleging it was “linked to humanitarian organisations such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF”. Dujarric said the accusations were “dangerous and unacceptable”.
Saturday’s raid comes amid a sharp escalation in detentions. Since August 31, 2025, alone, at least 21 UN personnel have been arrested, alongside 23 current and former employees of international NGOs, the UN said.
Ten years of conflict have left Yemen, already one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, facing what the UN describes as one of the gravest humanitarian crises globally, with millions reliant on aid for survival.
An extendable ladder used by thieves to access one of the upper floors of the museum is seen during the investigation at the southeast corner of the Louvre Museum on Quai Francois-Mitterrand, on the banks of the River Seine, after a robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday. Photo by Mohammed Badra/EPA
Oct. 19 (UPI) — A group of thieves broke into the Louvre Museum on Sunday morning and stole priceless jewels before fleeing on motorcycles, the famed institution confirmed to UPI.
A representative for the Louvre said that several people broke in through a window in the Apollo Gallery, which houses many of France’s royal jewels, around 9:30 a.m. local time after the museum had already opened its doors to the public.
Inside, the thieves stole jewelry from their display cases. French media later reported that they made off with seven jewels owned by Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais.
“An investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled,” museum officials said in a statement. “Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value.”
After the theft, the museum was evacuated “without incident” and no injuries were reported among the public, museum staff or law enforcement, the representative said.
The museum shared on social media that it would be closed Sunday for “exceptional reasons.”
“At the Louvre Museum this morning to commend the exemplary commitment of the staff mobilized following the theft,” Culture Minister Rachida Datishared on social media after visiting the site.
“Respect for their responsiveness and professionalism. Together with President Emmanuel Macron, we extend our sincere thanks to them.”
Dati told French TV channel TF1 on Sunday that one of the jewels was later found and that the entire heist lasted only four minutes. She called the thieves “professionals.”
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Sunday that “everything is being done” to find the thieves.
“The mobilization of investigators will be total, under the authority of the Parquet de Paris,” Nuñez said. The Parquet de Paris is the public prosecution office in the French capital. “Attacking the Louvre is attacking our history and our heritage.”
The news comes just days after the Louvre announced that two 18th-century snuff boxes that were stolen during a violent armed robbery in 2024 while they were on loan to the Cognacq-Jay Museum have been found and returned.
The fire gutted import cargo terminals areas at Dhaka airport, destroying an estimated $1bn of ‘urgent air shipments’.
Published On 19 Oct 202519 Oct 2025
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A fire that decimated a cargo complex in Bangladesh’s largest airport has caused devastating losses to garment exporters during the peak export season.
The blaze – which ripped through the cargo import area of Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday afternoon – gutted storage areas holding huge quantities of raw materials, apparel and product samples belonging to exporters.
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“We have witnessed a devastating scene inside,” said Faisal Samad, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“The entire import section has been reduced to ashes,” he said, estimating losses could reach as high as $1bn.
Onlookers gather as firefighters try to extinguish the fire at Dhaka airport [Maruf Rahman/AFP]
Smoke continued to rise from the charred remains of the facility on Sunday as firefighters and airport officials assessed the damage.
Among the destroyed goods are “urgent air shipments”, including garments, raw materials, and product samples, added Inamul Haq Khan, senior vice-president of BGMEA.
He warned that the loss of samples could jeopardise future business in the country’s crucial garment industry, worth $47bn per year. “These samples are essential for securing new buyers and expanding orders. Losing them means our members may miss out on future opportunities,” he said.
Cause of blaze unclear
The airport cargo village that caught fire is one of Bangladesh’s busiest logistics hubs, handling more than 600 metric tons of dry cargo daily – a figure that doubles during the October to December peak season.
“Every day, around 200 to 250 factories send their products by air,” Khan said. “Given that scale, the financial impact is significant.”
The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined, and an investigation is under way.
Smoke engulfs the fire-damaged cargo terminal of Dhaka airport, October 19, 2025 [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]
The incident marks the third major fire reported in Bangladesh this week. A fire on Tuesday at a garment factory and an adjacent chemical warehouse in Dhaka killed at least 16 people and injured others. On Thursday, another burned down a seven-storey garment factory building in an export processing zone in Chittagong.
The government said the security services were investigating all incidents “thoroughly”, and warned that “any credible evidence of sabotage or arson will be met with a swift and resolute response.”
“No act of criminality or provocation will be allowed to disrupt public life or the political process,” it said, urging calm.
Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of apparel after China. The sector, which supplies major global retailers such as Walmart, H&M and the Gap, employs about four million workers and generates more than a tenth of the country’s GDP.
The fire is expected to delay shipments and pose additional challenges in meeting international delivery deadlines.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures held its fifth annual star-studded fundraising gala Saturday at its Wilshire Boulevard campus.
An unrecognizable Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez, Demi Moore and Elle and Dakota Fanning were among the celebrity guests at the event, which debuted in 2021 upon the film museum’s long-awaited opening. The gala raises funds for museum exhibitions, education initiatives and public programming.
The Academy Museum collected more than $11 million in donations at last year’s gala, which honored Quentin Tarantino, Paul Mescal and Rita Moreno.
This year’s gala honorees included actor Penélope Cruz, director Walter Salles, comedian Bowen Yang and musician Bruce Springsteen, who was presented with the inaugural Legacy Award and performed live at the ceremony. A biopic about the rock legend, starring “The Bear’s” Jeremy Allen White, hits theaters Oct. 24.
Springsteen and Cruz, the recipient of this year’s Icon Award, are both Academy Award winners, the former for his original song “Streets of Philadelphia” — which he wrote for Tom Hanks’ 1993 legal drama “Philadelphia” — and the latter for her role in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008).
Salles, presented with the Luminary Award for innovative filmmaking, last year gave Brazil its first Academy Award for international film with his moving family drama “I’m Still Here.” Fernanda Torres was also nominated for her role as the Paiva family matriarch in the 2024 movie.
Yang received the Vantage Award, “honoring an artist or scholar who has helped to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.” The “SNL” darling and “Las Culturistas” podcast host will return as Glinda’s sidekick Pfannee in “Wicked: For Good,” hitting theaters Nov. 21.
Gala attendees spared no expense with their donations or their ensembles, with Jenna Ortega wearing a futuristic Grace Ling halter top, Rachel Zegler channeling Old Hollywood in Tamara Ralph Couture, Olivia Rodrigo sporting vintage Giorgio Armani Privé and Eva Longoria rocking Elie Saab.
Here are the best looks, captured by Times photographer Eric Thayer.
When the ceasefire in Gaza was announced, I experienced a range of mixed emotions. I felt joy that the bombs had finally stopped, but also dread that they could resume at any time. I felt optimistic that we could go back to normal life, but also anxious that this could once again be short-lived.
As an English teacher, I hope to see education restored as soon as possible. Education is the only means of reviving hope and helping children start to overcome the trauma of two years of genocide. It can provide a sense of normalcy and purpose. That is why it ought to be Gaza’s top priority.
Before the start of the genocide, I taught English to elementary and middle school pupils at an educational centre and a public girls’ school in Gaza City. The school was destroyed in the first weeks of the war; the education centre was badly damaged.
My family and I were forced to flee our home. A few months later, I started teaching in a tent; it was a local initiative run by volunteers. There were no desks in the tent; my students – ranging from six to 12 years of age – were sitting on the floor. The conditions of teaching were difficult, but I was committed to helping kids continue their education.
By late December 2024, pens, books, and notebooks started to entirely vanish from shops and markets. A single notebook would cost anywhere from 20 to 30 shekels ($6 to $9), if it was available at all. This was out of reach for the majority of families.
When the shortage of paper, books and pens became palpable, some of my pupils started arriving at class without anything to write on; others would collect scraps of paper from the rubble of homes and arrive at class with that; others still would write in tiny letters on the backs of old sheets of paper preserved by their families. Because pens were so scarce, several children would often have to share a single pen.
Since writing and reading, the cornerstone of education, became so difficult to do, we educators had to come up with alternative teaching strategies. We did group recitation, oral storytelling, and songs.
Despite the lack of supplies, children had an amazing will to continue learning. Seeing them struggling with old scraps of paper filled me with admiration and anguish; I was proud of their will to learn in spite of everything, and their perseverance inspired me.
I had a special notebook my grandmother had gifted me years ago, which I used as a diary. I wrote in it my dreams and my secrets. After the war, I filled the pages with stories of bomb explosions, homeless families sleeping in the street, starvation I had never experienced before, and suffering in the absence of even the most basic necessities.
On one particular school day in August, when the majority of my pupils showed up without any paper, I knew what I had to do. I took my notebook and I started tearing its pages, one by one, giving them to my students.
With so many kids, my notebook’s pages ran out in a single day. My students then had to go back to the scraps of paper or cardboard.
The truce may have put a stop to the bombs, but my students are still without paper and pens. Humanitarian aid has started coming into Gaza once again. Food, medicine, and materials for shelter are coming in. These are all crucial. But we also urgently need educational supplies and support to put education back on track for Gaza’s 600,000 schoolchildren.
Books, pens and paper are not just school supplies. They are a lifeline that can help the children of Gaza triumph over war, destruction and immense loss. They are critical tools that can sustain their perseverance and willpower to live, learn and see a bright future.
Children can recover from the trauma of war and regain a sense of security with the aid of education. Learning gives them back the structure, self-assurance, and hope for a brighter future that are necessary for both community healing and psychological rehabilitation.
We need to give children who lost two years of education the opportunity to write, learn, and dream again.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
The Taliban has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul
Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have agreed to an “immediate ceasefire” after more than a week of deadly fighting.
The foreign ministry of Qatar, which mediated talks alongside Turkey, said both sides had agreed to establish “mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability”.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said ending “hostile actions” was “important”, while Pakistan’s foreign minister called the agreement the “first step in the right direction”.
Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties during the clashes, the worst fighting since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Islamabad has long accused the Taliban of harbouring armed groups which carry out attacks in Pakistan, which it denies.
Clashes intensified along the 1,600-mile mountainous border the two countries share after the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul.
Rumours had circulated the blasts in Kabul were a targeted attack on Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan Taliban. In response, the group released an unverified voice note from Mehsud saying he was still alive.
In the days that followed, Afghan troops fired on Pakistani border posts, prompting Pakistan to respond with mortar fire and drone strikes.
At least three dozen Afghan civilians have been killed and hundreds more wounded, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Thursday.
A temporary truce was declared on Wednesday night as delegations met in Doha, but cross-border strikes continued.
Under the new agreement, the Taliban said it would not “support groups carrying out attacks against the Government of Pakistan”, while both sides agreed to refrain from targeting each other’s security forces, civilians or critical infrastructure.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the latest ceasefire meant “terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistan’s soil will be stopped immediately”, with the two sides set to meet in Istanbul for further talks next week.
Pakistan was a major backer of the Taliban after its ouster in 2001 following a US-led invasion.
But relations deteriorated after Islamabad accused the group of providing a safe haven to the Pakistan Taliban, which has launched an armed insurgence against government forces.
Amber Davies was forced to scrap a dangerous lift from her Strictly Come Dancing routine after sleepless nights and stress, admitting the intense rehearsals have left her completely exhausted
16:00, 19 Oct 2025Updated 16:00, 19 Oct 2025
Strictly star Amber Davies reveals huge last minute change to dance(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)
Strictly Come Dancing star Amber Davies has admitted she ditched a high-risk move from her Argentine Tango after days of stress and sleepless nights.
The 29-year-old, partnered with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, had planned an ambitious lift that had never been attempted on the BBC show before but ultimately decided it was too risky to perform live.
Amber explained: “We had one big lift that wasn’t working, we were in panic mode, but we are Team Chaos – that’s what we’ve called ourselves. It’s a big, giant lift that’s never been done on Strictly before.
“I’ve had a few sleepless nights and woken up with heart palpitations. We were only getting it right one out of five times, and we just can’t go into the live show with a risk like that. It’s ten times harder than any other routine we’ve ever done.”
She added: “I didn’t realise there were so many rules and regulations when it comes to different styles of dance.”
The West End performer admitted that the intense training schedule has left her physically drained. “My left leg is black and blue, if you’ve got a bruise you’re doing well,” she told The Sun.
“I’m training 9am to 6pm Monday to Thursday, but if Nikita sees I’ve gone dead behind the eyes, he’ll send me home early. He’s strict but makes sure I’m coping mentally and physically.”
Amber confessed she’s been eating “ten times more than Nikita” to keep her energy up. “I am ravenous constantly. I could eat for Britain. I’m eating five bananas a day, if he gives me two minutes to sip water, I’ll yomp a banana down. I’m eating so many carbs too.”
The former Love Island star joined the competition unexpectedly after Dani Dyer withdrew in week two due to a fractured ankle and Amber had just six hours of rehearsal before her debut.
“The opportunity came up in the most chaotic way,” she said. “I was on the show within 24 hours. I never met with the Strictly team before, so when I got the call, my agent told me to sit down.
“It took my breath away. On that first performance, the only way I got through it was looking in Nikita’s eyes. My body was numb from head to toe. He said I was shaking like a leaf. I don’t even remember it.”
Amber also praised her boyfriend, musical theatre actor Ben Joyce, for supporting her during the gruelling weeks of training.
“My gorgeous boyfriend looks after me, he runs me a bath every night, cooks dinner and gives me a foot rub when I get home,” she said.
Strictly Come Dancing returns tonight at 7.15pm on BBC and BBC iPlayer.
Mitchell Marsh powered Australia to ODI victory against India as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed in their return to international cricket.
Published On 19 Oct 202519 Oct 2025
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Australia’s stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh continued his fine run of form on Sunday, scoring 46 not out and leading his side to a seven-wicket triumph over India in the weather-affected first one-day international (ODI) at Perth Stadium.
India limped to 136-9 from 26 overs, interrupted four times by rain, setting Australia a revised target of 131 which the hosts reached in 21.1 overs.
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The sea of blue in the 42,423-strong crowd did not have to wait long to see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after India were put into bat.
Having retired from the game’s other formats with an eye on the 2027 World Cup, the former captains made their return to national duty for the first time since winning the Champions Trophy in March.
Neither looked convincing against Australia’s pace bowlers, with Rohit edging Josh Hazlewood to second slip on eight and Kohli cutting Mitchell Starc to a diving Cooper Connolly at backward point for a duck.
“All of their batters are world-class and legends of the game,” said spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, who picked up 2-26. “In one-day cricket, especially, to get wickets up front makes a massive difference.”
India star Virat Kohli was dismissed without scoring in his long-awaited return to the ODI format [Paul Kane/Getty Images]
India captain Gill out cheaply
New one-day skipper Shubman Gill was dismissed for 10 when he tickled seamer Nathan Ellis to wicketkeeper Josh Philippe, leaving India reeling at 37-3 when light drizzle halted play for two hours.
The crowd applauded sarcastically when the covers were removed, then in earnest when Shreyas Iyer (11) slashed Hazlewood to the fence. The bowler got his revenge in his next over, however, as Philippe took another leg-side catch.
Kuhnemann and medium-pacer Mitch Owen kept up the pressure and halted any momentum Axar Patel (31) and KL Rahul (38) generated, although Nitish Kumar Reddy brought some excitement with a rapid 19 off 11 balls.
Deputising for Pat Cummins, whose Ashes hopes remain uncertain due to a back injury, man-of-the-match Marsh kick-started Australia’s reply by bludgeoning three sixes, carrying over impressive form against South Africa and New Zealand.
Philippe, playing his first ODI since 2021 due to the absence of Josh Inglis and Alex Carey, supported his skipper with an aggressive 37 before holing out to Arshdeep Singh in the deep.
Matt Renshaw helped his team home with 21 not out, while Arshdeep, Axar and Washington Sundar claimed one wicket apiece.
“We knew we didn’t have that many runs, but we just wanted to express ourselves,” Arshdeep said.
The series moves to Adelaide on Thursday before concluding in Sydney on Saturday.
Marsh struck 3 sixes and 2 boundaries in his match-winning innings [Janelle St Pierre/Cricket Australia via Getty Images]
Last week, a prominent Saudi Sheikh, Mohammed Al-Issa, visited the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its liberation, which signalled the end of the Nazi Holocaust. Although dozens of Muslim scholars have visited the site, where about one million Jews were killed during World War Two, according to the Auschwitz Memorial Centre’s press office, Al-Issa is the most senior Muslim religious leader to do so.
Visiting Auschwitz is not a problem for a Muslim; Islam orders Muslims to reject unjustified killing of any human being, no matter what their faith is. Al-Issa is a senior ally of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), who apparently cares little for the sanctity of human life, though, and the visit to Auschwitz has very definite political connotations beyond any Islamic context.
By sending Al-Issa to the camp, Bin Salman wanted to show his support for Israel, which exploits the Holocaust for geopolitical colonial purposes. “The Israeli government decided that it alone was permitted to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allied liberation of Auschwitz [in modern day Poland] in 1945,” wrote journalist Richard Silverstein recently when he commented on the gathering of world leaders in Jerusalem for Benjamin Netanyahu’s Holocaust event.
Bin Salman uses Al Issa for such purposes, as if to demonstrate his own Zionist credentials. For example, the head of the Makkah-based Muslim World League is leading rapprochement efforts with Evangelical Christians who are, in the US at least, firm Zionists in their backing for the state of Israel. Al-Issa has called for a Muslim-Christian-Jewish interfaith delegation to travel to Jerusalem in what would, in effect, be a Zionist troika.
Zionism is not a religion, and there are many non-Jewish Zionists who desire or support the establishment of a Jewish state in occupied Palestine. The definition of Zionism does not mention the religion of its supporters, and Israeli writer Sheri Oz, is just one author who insists that non-Jews can be Zionists.
Mohammad Bin Salman and Netanyahu – Cartoon [Tasnimnews.com/Wikipedia]
We should not be shocked, therefore, to see a Zionist Muslim leader in these trying times. It is reasonable to say that Bin Salman’s grandfather and father were Zionists, as close friends of Zionist leaders. Logic suggests that Bin Salman comes from a Zionist dynasty.
This has been evident from his close relationship with Zionists and positive approaches to the Israeli occupation and establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, calling it “[the Jews’] ancestral homeland”. This means that he has no issue with the ethnic cleansing of almost 800,000 Palestinians in 1948, during which thousands were killed and their homes demolished in order to establish the Zionist state of Israel.
“The ‘Jewish state’ claim is how Zionism has tried to mask its intrinsic Apartheid, under the veil of a supposed ‘self-determination of the Jewish people’,” wrote Israeli blogger Jonathan Ofir in Mondoweiss in 2018, “and for the Palestinians it has meant their dispossession.”
As the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Bin Salman has imprisoned dozens of Palestinians, including representatives of Hamas. In doing so he is serving Israel’s interests. Moreover, he has blamed the Palestinians for not making peace with the occupation state. Bin Salman “excoriated the Palestinians for missing key opportunities,” wrote Danial Benjamin in Moment magazine. He pointed out that the prince’s father, King Salman, has played the role of counterweight by saying that Saudi Arabia “permanently stands by Palestine and its people’s right to an independent state with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of Israel’s Channel 13News reported Bin Salman as saying: “In the last several decades the Palestinian leadership has missed one opportunity after the other and rejected all the peace proposals it was given. It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining.” This is reminiscent of the words of the late Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban, one of the Zionist founders of Israel, that the Palestinians “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”
Bin Salman’s Zionism is also very clear in his bold support for US President Donald Trump’s deal of the century, which achieves Zionist goals in Palestine at the expense of Palestinian rights. He participated in the Bahrain conference, the forum where the economic side of the US deal was announced, where he gave “cover to several other Arab countries to attend the event and infuriated the Palestinians.”
US President Donald Trump looks over at Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman al-Saud as they line up for the family photo during the opening day of Argentina G20 Leaders’ Summit 2018 at Costa Salguero on 30 November 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina [Daniel Jayo/Getty Images]
While discussing the issue of the current Saudi support for Israeli policies and practices in Palestine with a credible Palestinian official last week, he told me that the Palestinians had contacted the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to ask him not to relocate his country’s embassy to Jerusalem. “The Saudis have been putting pressure on us in order to relocate our embassy to Jerusalem,” replied the Brazilian leader. What more evidence of Mohammad Bin Salman’s Zionism do we need?
The founder of Friends of Zion Museum is American Evangelical Christian Mike Evans. He said, after visiting a number of the Gulf States, that, “The leaders [there] are more pro-Israel than a lot of Jews.” This was a specific reference to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, and his counterpart in the UAE, Mohammed Bin Zayed.
“All versions of Zionism lead to the same reactionary end of unbridled expansionism and continued settler colonial genocide of [the] Palestinian people,” Israeli-American writer and photographer Yoav Litvin wrote for Al Jazeera. We may well see an Israeli Embassy opened in Riyadh in the near future, and a Saudi Embassy in Tel Aviv or, more likely, Jerusalem. Is Mohammad Bin Salman a Zionist? There’s no doubt about it.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
CRUZ Beckham has paid a sweet tribute to girlfriend Jackie Apostel to celebrate her milestone birthday.
The 20-year-old was performing with his band in Birmingham last night, where he paid tribute to his older partner.
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Cruz delivered a massive chocolate cake to JackieCredit: instagram/cruzbeckhamThe pair celebrated backstage in BirminghamCredit: instagram/cruzbeckhamThe youngest Beckham boy dedicated a sweet songCredit: Instagram/libbyyadams
Jackie, who’s just turned 30, was watching from the crowd as her friend filmed the adorable moment unfold.
Cruz has been doing secret sets all around the UK, including a gig wearing his dad David’s football shirt.
“Someone… very close to me. It’s her birthday. Erm, I wrote this song about them,” he said on stage on Saturday night.
As the camera pans to Jackie, she says, “I’m going to cry, that’s so…”
The youngest Beckham boy also shared a gushing tribute on his Instagram, uploading happy snaps alongside Jackie.
“Happy birthday @jackieapostel. Another time around the globe, I love you baby,” he wrote alongside a childhood snap of his partner.
“@jackieapostel I love you to the moon and back.”
The festivities appeared to continue backstage, with Jackie sharing videos as Cruz put on a mini party for his girlfriend.
Surrounded by birthday balloons, she posed for a mirror selfie as Cruz is seen in the background organising a cake.
Another angle shows the giant chocolate tray surrounded by candles as the singer hand-delivered the sweet treat.
It comes after Cruz’s parents, Victoria and David Beckham, also shared birthday messages for Jackie’s special day.
Taking to her Instagram, Posh Spice wrote: “To the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful soul. We all love you soooo much.”
Tagging Jackie in the Story post, she uploaded a series of slides with pictures of them both at various glitzy events.
“Happy birthday, we hope you have an amazing day and can’t wait to celebrate with you,” she added alongside a snap of Jackie and Cruz.
Victoria added: “We all love you @jackie.apostel.”
David also uploaded a couple of pics of the pair on his Instagram.
“Happy birthday to a very special person inside and out,” he said.
“Thank you for making my son the best version of himself.”
The couple faced cruel trolling for their age gap. Cruz, who turns 21 next year, met Jackie at Glastonbury Festival and they began dating in June 2024.
The pair made their love Instagram official back in October that year, coming under fire for their near decade-long age gap.
“Why is a 29-year-old dating a 20. That’s just weird. I’m talking about Jackie dating Cruz,” a troll penned on social media.
At the time, Jackie wrote back, “Because he’s kind, funny, smart, caring, driven, mature, talented, loyal, and also quite handsome.”
Cruz shared a sweet birthday message on his StoryCredit: InstagramJackie appeared to love his tribute on stageCredit: Instagram/libbyyadamsHe also uploaded a cute childhood snap of JackieCredit: InstagramCruz and Jackie have a 10-year age gap right nowCredit: Getty
‘They are torn to pieces, I don’t know if I’m saying goodbye to my son or my daughter.’ Palestinians are grieving 11 members of a family killed by Israeli forces in Gaza City, the deadliest single violation of the shaky ceasefire, just days after it came into effect.
The shooting of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing activist and founder of Turning Point USA, has attracted global attention. It didn’t take long for the media to rush to write narratives related to the shooting of Charlie Kirk. This tragedy is not only a sad news, it has transformed into a political stage that reveals the reality of how the world of news works. This, of course, raises a big question: how can a violent tragedy turn into a political conversation?
The Political Dimension of the Charlie Kirk Shooting
In a society often polarized by politics, an event is often responded to not by its substance but by who was involved in it. In this tragedy, the most widely reported information was related to Charlie Kirk’s political identity, his affiliation with Donald Trump and his close ties to conservative groups.
Violence against political figures in the United States is nothing new. However, Kirk’s case has become a turning point, demonstrating how vulnerable the public can be when political identities take precedence over human values. In its official statement on S. Res. 391, Congress honored Kirk’s commitment to the constitutional principles of civil discussion and debate among all Americans, regardless of political affiliation.
Facts about the Charlie Kirk shooting tragedy
On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on the campus of Utah Valley University. At the time of the incident, Kirk was answering questions about transgender shooters and mass shooters at a public debate themed “Prove Me Wrong” and hosted by Turning Point USA. Panic ensued, and security officers immediately carried him out on a stretcher, but unfortunately, Kirk’s life could not be saved because the bullet hit his neck.
The FBI and Utah State Police are working together to gather evidence, release video of the alleged shooter, and even offer a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identity of the Kirk shooter. Campus CCTV footage shows a man jumping from the Losee Center building. Prior to the arrest of Tyler Robinson (the shooter), two other men were detained on the day of the shooting, but were soon released after their innocence was proven.
An affidavit of probable cause from the Utah prosecutor’s office outlines the charges and elements of the charges, one of which is the enhancement of victim-targeting related to the victim’s political views. Tyler Robinson was charged with Aggravated Murder under Section 76-5-202 (F1 Felony), Felony Discharge of Firearms under Section 76-11-210(2)(3C) and Obstruction of Justice-Capital/First Degree Felony Conduct under Section 76-8-306(2)+(3A).
The Shift from Tragedy to Narrative in Public Space
The threat of domestic violence and terrorism in the United States is driven by social, political, and global factors. A divided political environment and the proliferation of digital disinformation have fueled the radicalization of individuals, often targeting political activists, government officials, and ethnic and religious minorities.
In this context, Kirk’s shooting demonstrates how a real tragedy has become a platform for shaping public opinion. Framing Kirk’s position and the perpetrator’s position creates a polarization, with conservatives viewing the shooting as a form of silencing of the values of free speech in the United States. While others view this event as a form of ideological hostility that has led to political violence, they believe it reflects extreme rhetoric. What ultimately creates two conflicting versions of the truth, so that society no longer sympathizes with the event but shifts to its ideological position.
Public Polarization and the Construction of Global Media Reality
Several media narratives also highlighted the affiliation of Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old college student who was confirmed by the FBI as the perpetrator of Kirk’s shooting. However, public attention was no longer focused on the perpetrator’s motives, but rather on his ideological positions, social background, and political views. This further widened the gap in public polarization. Recurring narratives in the media reinforced certain images, one of which placed Tyler as affiliated with a political party. Most media outlets did not write narratives that showed the motives of the crime and the human aspects that could build public empathy. As a result, many people speculated that this was a political incident, not an ordinary shooting tragedy.
In an increasingly connected world, the line between local events and global issues is becoming increasingly blurred. The news of the Charlie Kirk tragedy has crossed borders and shaped broader debates about freedom of speech and democracy in the United States. This event has then become no longer seen as a domestic US issue but has evolved into a global reflection of narratives that are more often traded than conveying reality.
Kirk’s death should elicit empathy regardless of political affiliation or ideological views. Politics has taken over the media’s sense of humanity. Media plays a crucial role in distributing information, so it should be free from political elements that shape public opinion. When differing views are used as a source of conflict, the public sphere loses its function as a forum for discussion. Ultimately, the public can only be urged to think critically so that a tragedy is no longer used as a political commodity.
Matt Groening knows what a real theremin sounds like.
As a kid who grew up on the celluloid junk food of the 1950s and ’60s, “The Simpsons” creator heard the ghostly wail of that early electronic instrument in sci-fi film scores and in albums by his beloved Frank Zappa. Its cousin, the ondes martenot, was featured in one of Groening’s favorite classical pieces — the “Turangalîla-symphonie” by Olivier Messiaen — which would inspire the name for a lead character in “Futurama,” Turanga Leela.
So, when composer Alf Clausen was recruited in the sophomore season of Groening’s popular new show about a yellow nuclear family and answered a request to use theremin — a small lectern with two metal antennae sticking out, which a musician plays by moving their hand in the space between — in the inaugural “Treehouse of Horror” episode in October 1990, Groening immediately recognized it was a fake; it was bouncing around the scale in a way a real theremin can’t do.
“And [Clausen] admitted, yeah, it wasn’t a theremin; it was a keyboard,” Groening recalls. “And it took many years for us to get a real theremin. The downside of the theremin is that it can’t play all the notes — but it’s got a feel to it that is so great.”
Clausen quickly became a fixture of “The Simpsons,” scoring every episode from that first “Treehouse of Horror,” now an annual Halloween tradition, all the way through the end of the 28th season, which wrapped in 2017, as well as composing many unforgettably funny songs with the show’s writers. Groening often referred to Clausen as the show’s “secret weapon.”
A scene from “Treehouse of Horror XXXVI,” this year’s Halloween episode of “The Simpsons.”
(“The Simpsons” & 20th Television)
The show’s producers were always pushing to save money, Groening says, and to have the show scored with synthesizers and a drum machine — par for the course for TV music in the 1990s. But Groening felt differently. “I always thought that the music really helped the show in a way, because I thought the animation was kind of … primitive,” Groening punctuates the word with a laugh, “and I thought, man, though, if we have great orchestral music backing up these goofy drawings, it’ll mean: ‘Hey, we really meant it!’ And Alf got that right away.”
Groening was none too happy, then, when Clausen was fired by Fox in 2017. The official reason stated was the high cost of recording every episode with a live orchestra; but the veteran composer, who had previously scored TV series like “Moonlighting” and “ALF” (no relation), was 76 when he got the boot, later suing Disney and Fox over age discrimination. (Clausen died earlier this year at age 84.)
Enter Bleeding Fingers Music, a composer collective founded in 2014 by Hans Zimmer, Russell Emanuel and Steven Kofsky that has grown from its original six composers to a stable of 26. Zimmer had been a longtime go-to for “Simpsons” executive producer James L. Brooks, and he won over a skeptical Groening with his zany score for “The Simpsons Movie” in 2007.
With a composer void, Brooks approached Zimmer about taking over the series, and Zimmer proposed Bleeding Fingers — whose credits at that point included several entries in the “Planet Earth” series and various History Channel documentaries and reality shows.
Russell Emanuel of Bleeding Fingers.
(Kevin Shelburne)
“It took a long time for the decision to be made,” says Emanuel, a cheeky Brit who got his start making soundalike rock albums in the 1980s and co-formed Extreme Music in 1997, a music library company that produced EDM tracks for shows like “Top Gear.” Zimmer was an early contributor to Extreme Music, and in 2001 the company moved into his vast Remote Control Productions campus in Santa Monica.
“It was taken very seriously,” Emanuel adds. “The first I knew about it was Hans calling me into his room and going, ‘We’ve got “Simpsons.” Don’t f— it up.’”
It was an awkward arranged marriage for Groening — and a “baptism by fire” for Emanuel and his cohort. They had an ample three weeks to tackle their very first episode, a “Game of Thrones” parody titled “The Serfsons,” which featured some theremin solos. Groening asked if it was a live theremin. It was not, the new composers sheepishly replied.
“He could hear it immediately, and completely called us out on it,” says Emanuel. “We had to go back and redo that whole thing. There were two or three big issues for him — but, you know, that was part of us learning the language.”
On a recent Friday morning on the Fox scoring stage, just around the corner from Groening’s office of nearly four decades, the “Simpsons” creator was smiling as a live orchestra recorded the score for Sunday’s new “Treehouse of Horror” episode (streaming next day on Hulu). There was a woodwind virtuoso, Pedro Eustache, making wild and beautiful sounds in an isolated booth with his arsenal of flutes — and out on the stage there was a real, live theremin.
Running the session was Kara Talve, a young but dominant digit of Bleeding Fingers who has been the principal composer on “The Simpsons” since Season 30; this is her sixth “Treehouse of Horror” episode. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, she took an assistant job at Bleeding Fingers — mostly, she says, because she wanted to work on “The Simpsons.”
Kara Talve of Bleeding Fingers, who has been the principal composer of “The Simpsons” since Season 30.
(Sage Etters)
“But I had to convince Russell that I could do it,” Talve says, sitting in her studio next to her boss. “I don’t think he trusted me yet. But also: Why would he, because I was like 5 years old.”
It’s quickly apparent how self-deprecating and silly they both are — Emanuel recently got a tattoo of a Spotify code that, when scanned, triggers Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” — but also how seriously they take this job.
“The responsibility of working on a show like this, we don’t take it lightly,” Talve says. “And because I was so intrigued by the show, and I really, really wanted to work with Russell on ‘The Simpsons,’ I went back and I listened to those old episodes — because I want to honor the musical language that Alf left, and that Danny Elfman left.” (Elfman composed the iconic theme song, which Emanuel and Talve consider “the heart of the show.”)
“And it’s a very specific palette,” she adds. “Like, not to get too nerdy about it, but there really is this harmonic language that’s only in Springfield.”
There are other, subtle ingredients to a good “Simpsons” score: For instance, the music should (usually) duck out of the way for the verbal or visual punchline. And the show has always overflowed with pop culture references and spoofs, which requires an almost bottomless well of musical knowledge. That’s one area where having two dozen other composers working in the same building comes in handy.
“There’s this adaptability that you have to have on this show,” says Talve, “and it’s every genre under the sun, and you kind of just have to figure out how to do that. And Russ was a big part in teaching me, because he’s the king of production music.” She adds that the composers in the collective also play a variety of instruments, so “I can just ask them to come in and play this line, because we can’t sell it to the showrunners if it sounds too fake.”
The average “Simpsons” episode has between five and 10 minutes of score — which might sound like easy street.
“The amount of starts is very challenging,” Talve says. “And it is deceiving. People go, ‘Five minutes? Oh, you’re just doing a bunch of stings’ or whatever. But I want to debunk this because it’s actually way harder, for me personally, to do 30 short cues for one episode than to have one long cue that’s five minutes because the amount of emotional turns that the music has to have, and that you have to hit all this stuff within 10 seconds — it’s actually really frickin’ hard.”
(In 2014, Clausen told me he always joked that “I can make you feel five ways in 13 seconds.”)
The Simpson family in a segment from this year’s “Treehouse of Horror.”
(“The Simpsons” & 20th Television)
Most episodes are recorded with small ensembles at the Bleeding Fingers facility, but the “Treehouse of Horror” chapters are special; they tend to have wall-to-wall music, and the producers splurge on a full orchestral session at Fox — just like the old days.
This year’s anthology spoofs “Jaws,” “Late Night With the Devil” and “Furiosa.” Talve’s score bobs and weaves accordingly, from big brassy horror to eerie synths to world percussion and a custom-made plastic flute.
Groening, who was full of praise for Talve’s “Treehouse” score, has gradually warmed to the Bleeding Fingers team approach — viewing it less like a factory churning out product and more like the way animators work.
“The nature of animation, with maybe two or three exceptions in the history of the medium — it’s all a collaboration,” Groening says. “We’ve got a lot of ‘Simpsons’ writers, we have a lot of voice actors, a lot of animators, a lot of musicians. I mean, one of the great things about that particular session was that these are some of the greatest musicians in Los Angeles, playing amazing music.”
He even wishes people could witness it in person.
“There should be live concerts of this music because it is so much fun to listen to,” he says.” And it gets a little constrained, you know, when it’s supporting goofy animation — but as music, it’s really fantastic.”
