- Russia could be able to attack NATO by 2030: German intelligence
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- Clarke backs Scotland to bounce back from 'tough' run
- Harris, Trump target crucial Pennsylvania as US vote looms
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- Lebanese Red Cross says 18 killed in strike in north
- Mendy borrowed money from Man City team-mates for legal fees
- Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
- Football leagues, unions file EU complaint against FIFA in calendar dispute
- Nigeria boycott AFCON qualifier in Libya after 'inhumane treatment'
- India to recall top envoy to Canada: foreign ministry
- Hezbollah, Israeli troops in 'violent clashes' after drone strike
- China insists won't renounce 'use of force' to take Taiwan as drills end
- Painkiller sale plan to US gives France major headache
- Italy begins landmark migrant transfers to Albania
- Russia jails French researcher for three years
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- New Zealand 4-0 up in America's Cup but British show signs of life
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years prison for French researcher
- 'Innocent' British nerve agent victim caught in global murder plot: inquiry
- Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years, 3 months jail for French researcher
- England ready for Pakistan's spin assault in second Test
- New Zealand's Ravindra excited for India Tests with father in crowd
- India's capital bans fireworks to curb air pollution
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- FIFA to open 'global dialogue' on transfer system after Diarra ruling
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Starmer vows to cut red tape as he urges foreign investors to 'back' UK
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- 'Not viable': Barcelona turns against surging tourism
- Hezbollah says targeted Israeli naval base after deadly drone strike
- Rice praises 'unbelievable' England interim boss Carsley despite uncertainty
- Nepali teenager hailed as hero after climbing world's 8,000m peaks
- England captain Stokes back from injury for second Pakistan Test
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone flights anger North
- Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- Smith experiment as Test opener over, Green out of India series
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Dodgers crush Mets 9-0 in MLB playoff series opener
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar
- Cummins back, Marsh and Head out of Pakistan ODI series
- Shanghai stocks swing after stimulus briefing as most of Asia rises
- New Zealand's Latham promises 'no fear' as he takes charge for India Tests
- Kyrgios vows to 'shut up' doubters with December comeback
Napoleon letters from Russian campaign on sale as hat bags record
Eleven letters sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, including dispatches from the Kremlin, have gone on sale following the blockbuster auction of the diminutive French emperor's hat for $2.1 million.
Among them is one dated September 18, 1812, in which he arrives in Moscow at the height of his Russian campaign and reports that the city is ablaze amid a scorched-earth policy adopted by the Russian side.
"Today I toured the main quarters. It was a spectacular city; I say 'was' because today more than half has been consumed by fire," the French emperor wrote.
In the missive, on sale for $58,300, he also remarked on the city's inventory of alcohol.
"We have found cellars full of wine and eau de vie (liquor), which will be of great need to us," he wrote.
Napoleon ordered the largest European military force ever assembled up until then into Russia in 1812, when the French ruler was at the height of his prestige.
But around a million soldiers and civilians died in the course of the invasion.
Nathan Raab, president of the Raab Collection, a Philadelphia-based dealer of historical papers handling the sale, said that "the letter from Moscow is so rare, it's just extraordinary".
"Napoleon is an enormous figure with immense admiration from Americans. He is seen as an emperor with a strong leadership.
"But his legacy is not black or white, it's very gray."
Napoleon later went on to destroy several towers and sections of wall at the Kremlin, at the time both an imperial palace and military fortress.
He had vowed to do so in another letter dated October 20, 1812.
That note does not feature in the latest sale, having been sold for 187,500 euros at a French auction in 2012.
In another, now on sale for $79,500, Napoleon itemizes the munitions he needed for a final assault on Toulon in southern France after he had been elevated into a leadership position, setting him on course to eventually become emperor.
- 'Great coincidences'? -
"In what may go down as one of the great coincidences in history, he happened to be in the area as the French gathered for the assault on Toulon and was given the command of artillery," according to the Raab Collection.
"This seemingly insignificant event at the time would make his career, and changed the history of Western Europe."
Interest in Napoleon's life has soared as a biopic of the leader's rise to power directed by Ridley Scott is released in cinemas this week.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon, the film also chronicles his relationship with Empress Josephine played, by Vanessa Kirby.
"He wanted to be heartfelt, but in his letters... he seems like a teenager in love, almost plagiarizing poetry," Phoenix told AFP in Paris recently.
"There's something almost endearing about it -- if he wasn't also responsible for the deaths of millions of people," Phoenix added.
"I imagined that he was cold and calculated as a great military strategist. What I was surprised by was the sense of humor and how child-like he was."
A hat belonging to Napoleon sold for a record of nearly two million euros at a French auction on Sunday.
It broke the previous record for a Napoleonic hat, held by the same auction house, of 1.88 million euros in 2014, shelled out by a South Korean businessman.
P.Costa--AMWN