A gold toilet that fetched $12.1m (£9.3m) at auction was bought by Ripley's Believe It or Not!, after its first casting was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019.

America, created by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, is a fully functional toilet, made from more than 15st 13lb (101.2kg) of solid 18-carat gold.

The first version of the work was initially installed in a public bathroom at the Guggenheim museum in New York in 2016 but hit the news again three years later when a gang of thieves stole it from the Oxfordshire palace.

The existence of a second golden toilet was later revealed, and went under the hammer at Sotheby's in New York City on Tuesday. The 101 kg toilet received just one bid.

The auction house said that in a world first, the starting bid would be determined by the exact price of its weight in gold, at about $10m (£7.6m).

While it only said it was bought by a famous American brand, Ripley's Believe It or Not! later revealed themselves as the mystery buyer in an Instagram post, writing "we're flush with excitement".

The entertainment company runs attractions including museums of oddities and aquariums around the world.

It made headlines in 2022 for allowing celebrity and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian to wear a dress owned by Marilyn Monroe to the Met Gala.

Now, their team say they are "exploring possibilities" as to whether guests will ever be permitted to "take the ultimate golden seat".

"Such an opportunity requires serious planning and someone brave enough to ensure everything keeps flowing in the right direction," Ripley's added.

The artwork achieved the second highest price for a Cattelan piece at auction. His sculpture of a kneeling Hitler sold for $17.2m (£11.9m) in 2016.

It is estimated more than 100,000 people used the first toilet while it was at the Guggenheim before it was moved and exhibited at Blenheim Palace.

It was there that in the early hours of 14 September 2019, five men smashed their way in, ripped out the £4.8m solid gold installation and fled in a stolen Volkswagen Golf.

The heist and the trial that followed made news across the world.

James Sheen, 40, from Oxford, pleaded guilty to burglary and transferring criminal property in 2024. Michael Jones, 39, from Oxford, was found guilty of burglary in March. Both were both jailed earlier this year.

Fred Doe, 36, from Windsor, was also convicted of conspiracy to transfer criminal property and given a suspended sentence.

Sotheby's revealed that Cattelan created three toilets in 2016, with the second version on display in a bathroom at New York's Breuer Building until it went under the hammer.

The auction house described it as a "cultural phenomenon" and an "incisive commentary on the collision of artistic production and commodity value".

David Galperin, head of contemporary art at Sotheby's New York, called it Cattelan's "tour de force".

"Holding both a proverbial and literal mirror to the art world, the work confronts the most uncomfortable questions about art, and the belief systems held sacred to the institutions of the market and the museum," he said.

On the same evening a portrait by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was sold for $236.4m (£179m), making it the second most expensive piece ever sold at auction.

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US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has signed a bill ordering the release of all files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The bill requires the justice department to release all the information from its Epstein investigation "in a searchable and downloadable format" within 30 days.

Trump previously opposed releasing the files, but he changed course last week after facing pushback from Epstein's victims and members of his own Republican party.

With his support, the legislation overwhelmingly cleared both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and Senate, on Tuesday.

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, the president accused Democrats of championing the issue to distract attention from the achievements of his administration.

"Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!" he wrote.

Lawmakers in the House passed the legislation with a 427-1 vote. The Senate gave unanimous consent to pass it upon its arrival.

Some 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate, including some that directly mention Trump, were released last week.

They include 2018 messages from Epstein in which he said of Trump: "I am the one able to take him down" and "I know how dirty donald is".

Trump was a friend of Epstein's for years, but the president has said they fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

Speaking to reporters on Monday night, Trump said Republicans had "nothing to do with Epstein".

"It's really a Democrat problem," he said. "The Democrats were Epstein's friends, all of them."

Despite the president's signature, the release of the full Epstein files is not guaranteed. Based on the bill's text, portions could still be withheld if they are deemed to invade personal privacy or relate to an active investigation.

One of the bill's architects, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, said he had concerns about some files being withheld.

"I'm concerned that [Trump is] opening a flurry of investigations, and I believe they may be trying to use those investigations as a predicate for not releasing the files. That's my concern," he said.

Taxes on electric vehicles may put drivers off buying them at a time when demand has "lost momentum", Ford's UK boss has warned.

It comes after the BBC reported Chancellor Rachel Reeves could be considering new levies on EVs in the upcoming Budget.

Ford UK's managing director Lisa Brankin told the BBC: "It's certainly not the right time to do it."

A Treasury spokesperson said: "Fuel duty covers petrol and diesel, but there's no equivalent for electric vehicles. We want a fairer system for all drivers."

The Chancellor has been reported to be considering a new pay-per-mile charge for electric vehicles from 2028.

Ms Brankin told the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast: "That [policy], in the face of really fragile demand for electric vehicles, is just another brake."

The admin task of calculating their mileage would put potential EV owners off making the switch, she says.

"It's really easy to sell people things they want," she says. "It's hard to sell people things they don't want.

"Electric vehicles in some instances have gone from being a great thing to being something that we're trying to push people into."

Ford sells the UK's most popular vehicle, the Ford Puma, while its commercial van the Transit holds the second-most-sold ranking.

For years its Focus model was the UK's most-popular, but the US company axed the hatchback and the last Ford Focus rolled off factory lines in Germany last week.

It employs around 6,000 people in the UK, with an engine plant in Dagenham and a transmission factory in Halewood. It hasn't manufactured a vehicle here since 2013.

Ford like other car makers is under pressure to meet the UK's net zero plan, 80% of new car sales must be EVs by 2030 or face fines.

The government has reinstated a grant worth up to £3,750 to encourage drivers to buy electric vehicles.

Ford would not be able to reach that 80% target without government help, such as the grant, Ms Brankin said.

Sales figures from car industry body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show how far car makers have to go to reach the target.

Fully-electric vehicles made up around 22.4% of total new car sales, data for 2025 up to 31 October shows. This time last year it was 18.1%.

In September, the UK new car market experienced its best performance since 2020, driven by a surge in EV sales which hit a record high, according to SMMT figures.

However, Ms Brankin pointed to heavy discounting across car sales forecourts as well as a lower resale value in the second-hand EV market as indicators that the market was "distorted".

"When that [target] was set a number of years ago, the outlook for demand around electric vehicles was buoyant and there seemed to be momentum behind electric vehicles. What we're seeing now is that customer demand is not in line with that ambition," Ms Brankin said.

A large share of new EVs are sold to businesses for their employees and they benefit from lower rates of "company car tax" compared with diesel or petrol-fuelled options.

Ms Brankin has urged the Chancellor to retain this tax benefit of companies "greening" their vehicle fleets.

The shift to EVs could have consequences for the close-to 1,800 staff at the Ford diesel engine plant in Dagenham, which was the largest car factory in Europe when it was first built.

Ms Brankin said Ford was yet to make any decisions about the future of the plant, which will build diesel engines up until 2030.

"We're working really hard on and what the next life of Dagenham looks like, " she said but there was "nothing that we've settled on at the moment."

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US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has signed a bill ordering the release of all files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The bill requires the justice department to release all the information from its Epstein investigation "in a searchable and downloadable format" within 30 days.

Trump previously opposed releasing the files, but he changed course last week after facing pushback from Epstein's victims and members of his own Republican party.

With his support, the legislation overwhelmingly cleared both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and Senate, on Tuesday.

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, the president accused Democrats of championing the issue to distract attention from the achievements of his administration.

"Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!" he wrote.

Lawmakers in the House passed the legislation with a 427-1 vote. The Senate gave unanimous consent to pass it upon its arrival.

Some 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate, including some that directly mention Trump, were released last week.

They include 2018 messages from Epstein in which he said of Trump: "I am the one able to take him down" and "I know how dirty donald is".

Trump was a friend of Epstein's for years, but the president has said they fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

Speaking to reporters on Monday night, Trump said Republicans had "nothing to do with Epstein".

"It's really a Democrat problem," he said. "The Democrats were Epstein's friends, all of them."

Despite the president's signature, the release of the full Epstein files is not guaranteed. Based on the bill's text, portions could still be withheld if they are deemed to invade personal privacy or relate to an active investigation.

One of the bill's architects, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, said he had concerns about some files being withheld.

"I'm concerned that [Trump is] opening a flurry of investigations, and I believe they may be trying to use those investigations as a predicate for not releasing the files. That's my concern," he said.

The COP31 climate meeting is now expected to be held in Turkey after Australia dropped its bid to host the annual event.

Under the UN rules, the right to host the COP in 2026 falls to a group of countries made up of Western Europe, Australia and others.

A consensus must be reached but neither country had been willing to concede. Australia has now agreed to support the Turkish bid in return for their minister chairing the talks following negotiations at COP30, currently being held in Brazil.

This unusual arrangement has taken observers by surprise. It is normal for a COP president to be from the host country and how this new partnership will work in practice remains to be seen.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the compromise with Turkey an "outstanding result" in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), noting Pacific issues would be "front and centre".

He added that he had spoken to Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and Prime Minister Rabuka of Fiji.

However, Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko told the AFP news agency "we are all not happy. And disappointed it's ended up like this".

Solomon Islands leader Jeremiah Manele earlier told the ABC he would be "disappointed" if Australia didn't secure the event.

Despite this, there will be relief among countries currently meeting at COP30 in the Brazilian city of Belém that a compromise has been reached as the lack of agreement on the venue was becoming an embarrassment for the UN.

Australia has pushed hard to have the climate summit in the city of Adelaide, arguing that they would co-host the meeting with Pacific island states who are seen as among the most vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels.

Turkey, which has proposed hosting COP31 in the city of Antalya, felt that they had a good claim to be the host country as they had stood aside in 2021 and allowed the UK to hold the meeting in Glasgow.

If neither country was willing to compromise then the meeting would have been held in the German city of Bonn, the headquarters of the UN's climate body.

As a result of discussions at COP30, a compromise appears to have been reached.

This includes pre-COP meeting will be held on a Pacific island, while the main event is held in Turkey. Australia's climate minister Chris Bowen will be its president.

"Obviously, it would be great if Australia could have it all, but we can't have it all," Mr Bowen told reporters outside the Australian delegation offices here in Belém.

"This process works on consensus, and consensus means if someone objected to our bid, it would go to Bonn."

"That would mean 12 months with a lack of leadership, no COP president in place, no plan, that would be irresponsible for multilateralism in this challenging environment."

Mr Bowen believes having a COP president not from the host country will work and that he will have the considerable authority reserved for the president of these gatherings.

"As COP president of negotiations, I would have all the powers of the COP presidency to manage, to handle the negotiations, to appoint co-facilitators, to prepare draft text, to issue the cover decision," he said.

He also confirmed to the BBC that Turkey will also appoint a president who will run the venue, organise the meetings and schedules.

Australia's climbdown will be embarrassing for the government of Mr Albanese, after lobbying long and hard to win support among the other nations in the Western Europe group.

The compromise will have to be ratified by more than 190 countries gathered here for COP30.

Given the difficulties in getting to this compromise, there are unlikely to be any objections.

One of the world's first calculating machines will not go to auction as scheduled, France, after a Paris court provisionally blocked the historic item from being export.

Auction house Christie's has confirmed it will not proceed with a bid for the machine La Pascaline, developed by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1642.

Valuations suggested the machine could fetch €2 to 3m (£1.77m to £2.65m). Christie's called it the "most important scientific instrument ever offered at auction".

Scientists and researchers made a legal appeal to grant heritage protections to the historic instrument, arguing it should be classified as a "national treasure".

Pascal was just 19 years old when he developed the earliest version of a calculator, Christie's said. There are only nine of these machines still in existence.

"It is the first attempt in history to substitute the human mind with a machine," the official collection description reads.

"Its invention marks a breakthrough, a 'quantum leap' whose importance and significance take on a very special meaning today".

La Pascaline was exhibited at Christie's venues in New York and Hong Kong throughout the year.

The machine was included in Christie's auction of the library of the late Catalonia collector Léon Parcé, which also featured Pascal's philosophical piece Pensées and the first printed version of "Pascal's wager".

On Wednesday, a Paris administrative court temporarily blocked an earlier export authorisation provided by France's culture minister in May. Two experts had signed off on the minister's certificate, including one from the Louvre Museum.

The judge concluded there were "serious doubts" over the legality of the certificate, a statement from the Paris court said, adding the decision was provisional until a final judgment is delivered.

In a statement to the AFP news agency, a Christie's spokesperson said: "Given the provisional nature of this decision and in accordance with the instructions of its client, Christie's is suspending the sale of La Pascaline".

The court noted La Pascaline's historic and scientific value could qualify as a "national treasure" guaranteeing protections under the France's heritage code.

French heritage group, Association Sites & Monuments, which was listed as an applicant, welcomed the decision.

with additional reporting by Sebastian Usher, Global Affairs reporter