A Royal Heist, Street Protests, and Apple’s Next iPhone Boom

20th October 2025

In Paris, thieves pulled off a cinematic robbery at the Louvre, making off with priceless French crown jewels in a six-minute, crane-assisted heist that left authorities red-faced and art lovers fuming. Across the Atlantic, “No Kings” protests erupted across U.S. cities as Americans rallied against what they see as Trump’s tightening grip on power. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone 17 is off to a roaring start outpacing last year’s model with surging demand in China and the U.S.  and in London, Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure is circling crisis-hit Thames Water, signaling a possible foreign takeover of Britain’s biggest utility. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat!

Major Headlines 

• Jewellry Heist at the Louvre

Thieves in balaclavas broke into Paris' Louvre museum on Sunday, using a crane to smash an upstairs window, then stealing priceless objects from an area that houses the French crown jewels before escaping on motorbikes, officials said. The robbery raises awkward questions about security at the museum, where officials had already sounded the alarm about lack of investment at a world-famous site, home to artworks such as the Mona Lisa, that welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2024.

"The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our History," President Emmanuel Macron said on X. "We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice." The thieves struck at about 9.30 a.m. (0730 GMT) when the museum had already opened its doors to the public, and entered the Galerie d'Apollon building, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on BFM TV. The robbery took between six to seven minutes and was carried out by four people who were unarmed, but who threatened the guards with angle grinders, she said.

A total of nine objects were targeted by the criminals, and eight were actually stolen. The thieves lost the ninth one, the crown of Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie, during their escape, Beccuau said. "It's worth several tens of millions of euros - just this crown. And it's not, in my opinion, the most important item," Drouot auction house President Alexandre Giquello told Reuters. Beccuau said it was a mystery why the thieves did not steal the Regent diamond, which is housed in the Galerie d'Apollon and is estimated to be worth more than $60 million by Sotheby's.

"I don't have an explanation," she said. "It'll only be when they're in custody and face investigators that we'll know what type of order they had and why they didn't target that window." Beccuau said one of the thieves was wearing a yellow reflective vest, which investigators have since recovered. She added that the robbers tried and failed to set fire to the crane, mounted on the back of a small truck, as they fled. Reuters

• 'No Kings' protests draw large crowds in US cities to decry Trump

Protesters spanning all age groups took to the streets en masse for "No Kings" rallies across the United States on Saturday, denouncing what they view as authoritarian tendencies and unbridled corruption of U.S. President Donald Trump. Organizers expected millions of people to turn out by day's end at more than 2,600 planned rallies in major cities, small towns and suburbs, challenging a Trump-led agenda that has reshaped the government and upended democratic norms with unprecedented speed since he took office in January. 

By all accounts, the demonstrations were largely festive, often featuring inflatable characters and marchers dressed in costumes. The demographically mixed crowds included parents pushing youngsters in strollers alongside retirees and people with pets in tow. “There is nothing more American than saying, 'We don’t have kings’ and exercising our right to peacefully protest,” said Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, a progressive organization that led planning of Saturday's events. Demonstrators filled Times Square in New York City, where police said they made "zero protest-related arrests" even as more than 100,000 people rallied peacefully across all five boroughs. Events in Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Chicago and Seattle also drew crowds that each appeared to encompass thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people.

On the West Coast, more than a dozen rallies occurred around the Los Angeles area, including the primary site downtown. In Seattle, demonstrators filled a parade route that stretched for more than a mile from downtown through the Seattle Center plaza around the city's landmark Space Needle. More than 25,000 protested peacefully in San Diego, police said. 

The protests reflected growing unease among many Americans, mainly on the ideological left, with developments such as the criminal prosecution of Trump's perceived political enemies, his militarized immigration crackdown and the sending of National Guard troops into U.S. cities — a move Trump has said was aimed at fighting crime and protecting immigration agents. As his administration has tried to rapidly implement its policies, Trump has installed inexperienced loyalists throughout the ranks of his administration and sought to apply pressure on the news media, law firms and universities. Reuters

• A surprising Rise in iPhone 17 sales

Apple’s iPhone 17 series has outperformed its predecessor by 14% during the first 10 days of availability in the United States and China, according to data released Monday by Counterpoint Research. The base model iPhone 17 has been the primary driver of this growth, with sales up nearly one-third compared to the iPhone 16 base model. Chinese consumers have shown particular enthusiasm for the entry-level device, with unit sales in China nearly doubling compared to last year’s equivalent model.

Counterpoint Senior Analyst Mengmeng Zhang attributed the strong performance in China to the base model’s value proposition. "The base model iPhone 17 is very compelling to consumers, offering great value for money," Zhang said, noting that it offers "a better chip, improved display, higher base storage, selfie camera upgrade – all for the same price as last year’s iPhone 16." In the United States, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has emerged as the standout performer through the first two weekends of availability. This trend has been fueled by major carriers increasing maximum subsidies by 10% ($100), reflecting what Counterpoint describes as a strategic shift toward ultra-premium customer segments.

"Carriers here are looking to maximize lifetime value by converting strong device subsidies into years of higher monthly service revenue through 24 or 36-month financing contracts," explained Senior Analyst Maurice Klaehne. The new iPhone Air model has also performed slightly better than the iPhone 16 Plus. After questions about its availability in China, Apple has officially announced that pre-orders in the country will begin on October 17.

"This is a big milestone for Apple and more broadly for eSIM," said Senior Analyst Ivan Lam, though he noted that the "shorter pre-order period and high price compared to the spec-high and feature-rich base model iPhone 17 means the Air will likely remain niche initially." The data comes from Counterpoint Research’s China and US Q3 2025 Weekly Smartphone Sell-Out Tracker, covering the two markets that make up the bulk of iPhone sales globally. Yahoo.Finance

• Hong Kong owned subsidiary to buy British Thames Water

  
  

A Hong Kong infrastructure company is reportedly a leading contender to buy Thames Water if the heavily indebted company collapses in coming weeks.

CKI, which invests in power and other utility companies in the UK, is among those lining up to acquire the water and sewerage supplier if it enters a special administration regime (SAR), according to the Times.

It has reportedly said it would be prepared to operate under tougher penalties for environmental breaches than Thames’s class A creditors, who have put together their own purchase bid. The creditor group has said the company cannot afford to operate with an expected £1bn of fines coming down the track, which are levied by the regulator for breaches such as illegally dumping sewage. In May, Thames was hit with a record £104m fine over environmental breaches involving sewage spills. The environment secretary, Steve Reed, has in recent months stepped up preparations for the possibility of putting Thames into SAR – effectively a form of temporary nationalisation.

On Tuesday the government confirmed it had appointed FTI Consulting to make contingency plans for a potential collapse. The appointment indicates that FTI is the first choice to act as administrator if the government enacted an SAR, although a court would ultimately approve such a step. Campaigners have said Reed should not sell off Thames Water immediately after an SAR, instead suggesting he should consider nationalising the utility.

River Action wrote to him on Wednesday warning that writing off the company’s debts only to sell it to another private foreign investor would be a “profound betrayal of the public”. The group’s head of campaigns, Amy Fairman, said: “This crisis is a chance to rebuild [Thames] for public benefit, not private profit. Labour campaigned hard during last year’s election on promises to get a grip on the water crisis and act tough on failing water companies. This is a chance to chart a new course, not repeat the mistakes of the past by selling to overseas buyers eyeing a bargain.” Thames, which supplies 16 million customers in London and south-east England, has been racing to pull together a deal to avoid financial collapse. The Guardian

Minor Headlines

• Paramount Skydance to cut 2,000 US jobs starting week of October 27 Reuters

  
  

• Porsche named ex-McLaren CEO Michael Leiters as new CEO Reuters

  
  

• Apple beat ESPN to secure exclusive F1 streaming rights TechCrunch

  
  

• Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Putin’s terms or be ‘destroyed’ by Russia Financial Times 

  
  

• A cargo plane skidded off the runway in Hong Kong, killing two ground workers BBC

  
  

• Trump says will cut US funding to Colombia, calls its president an 'illegal drug leader' Yahoo.Finance

  
  

• Amazon’s Ring to partner with Flock, a network of AI cameras used by ICE, feds, and police TechCrunch 

  
  

• Thousands turn out for funeral of Kenyan opposition leader after deadly week Reuters