Vienna, Austria—"Please forgive me for what I've done, I could not resist love" -- these are the final dramatic words of Baroness Mary Vetsera, whose farewell letters were discovered in a bank vault in Vienna 126 years after she famously committed suicide with Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, experts announced Friday.
Hailing the find as "sensational", the Austrian National Library (ONB) said bank employees had stumbled across the precious documents during a clear-out of the archives.
They had been there since 1926, according to the library.
"An unknown person deposited a leather-bound folder containing numerous personal documents, letters and photographs of the Vetsera family, including the farewell letters of Mary Vetsera from 1889," the ONB said in a statement.
"Dear Mother/ Please forgive me for what I've done/ I could not resist love/ In accordance with Him, I want to be buried next to Him in the Cemetery of Alland/ I am happier in death than life," the letter to Helen Vetsera read.
The ONB said it hoped the discovery would help shed light on one of the world's great romances, which has inspired numerous movies, novels, ballets and plays.
The bodies of Mary Vetsera, two months shy of turning 18, and the 30-year-old crown prince were discovered in January 1889 at a hunting lodge in the Viennese woods near the town of Mayerling.
The exact circumstances of their suicide-pact, commonly referred to as the "Mayerling incident", still remain unclear.
The prince is thought to have shot his lover before turning the gun on himself.
Their deaths sparked international headlines and became a source of speculation.
With the exception of a farewell letter from Rudolf to his wife, Stephanie, no other original documents related to the incident were believed to have survived.
"Until now it had been assumed that the letters had been destroyed after the mother's death," the ONB said.
Scientific research on the letters would begin in August, it added.
The letters, addressed to the baroness's mother, sister and brother, had been kept inside a closed envelope sealed with the crown prince's insignia.
The historical documents will go on public display at the library in 2016, as part of celebrations to mark the centenary of Emperor Franz Joseph's death.
Paris, France —Boosted by record-breaking New York sales of a Picasso painting and a Giacometti sculpture, the United States has become the world's leader in public art auctions, unseating China, a 2015 report by Artprice showed.
The US art auction market grew by 20 percent in the first six months of the year, with sales totalling $2.8 billion (2.5 billion euros), nearly a billion more than China with sales worth $1.9 billion, said the report obtained by AFP.
"An unexpected rebound, considering that, year after year, China seemed to confirm its place as number one," said Thierry Ehrmann, president and founder of Artprice, which compiles data on the art market, auction sales and artist's prices.
Fuelled by a strong dollar, the US boom is based in New York where nearly all its art auctions are held, and the Big Apple ranks more than ever as the top place to find art masterpieces.
That could be seen at Christie's art auction in May where Pablo Picasso's "The Women of Algiers (Version 0)" went for $179 million, the highest price ever for an art work sold at auction.
Another object of intense bidding was Alberto Giacometti's bronze statue "Man Pointing", which became the most expensive sculpture sold at auction for $141 million.
On the global level, the number of works up for auction in January through June fell by 17 percent. Sales dropped by 5.0 percent from a year earlier, slipping from $8.0 billion to $7.6 billion, mainly due to the Chinese retreat, according to the report.
After having surged between 2009 and 2014 (by 214 percent), Chinese sales -- including Hong Kong and Taiwan -- slowed dramatically by 30 percent in the first half of 2015, according to figures collected by Chinese public group Artron, an institutional partner of Artprice.
The sluggish global economy has affected global art sales, but so have anti-corruption measures which have made art investors more cautious.
Artprice says these measures have paralysed more and more sales of art that did not meet strict legal definitions.
The report also noted that China is feeling competitive heat for second place from Great Britain, with London the world's number two city for art auctions.
Sales in Britain increased by 6.0 percent in the first half of the year after spectacular growth of 35 percent in 2014. Sales totalled around $1.9 billion, less than $100 million short of China's.
Sydney, Australia —An Australian museum said it would exhibit what it believes is the best opal stone ever found -- a 6.0-centimetre (2.4 inch) multi-coloured gem unearthed in the Outback named the Virgin Rainbow.
The South Australian Museum said the stone, valued at more than Aus$1.0 million (US$730,000), would go on public display for the first time in September to mark the centenary of opal mining in the country.
"It's of unequalled quality, it's a fully crystal opal," museum director Brian Oldman told AFP.
"It's almost as if there's a fire in there; you see all different colours. As the light changes, the opal itself changes. It's quite an amazing trick of nature."
Dug up in the South Australia desert town of Coober Pedy in 2003 by local miners, the Virgin Rainbow came into the museum's possession about 18 months ago and will be part of an exhibition opening in Adelaide next month.
Some 90 percent of the world's opals come from South Australia, once covered by an inland sea which over millions of years provided an ideal environment for the formation of the stone.
"I think this exhibition will have the finest collection of precious opals that we believe have been brought to one place in the world," Oldman added.
Opals were first discovered at Coober Pedy -- widely-known as the opal capital of the world -- in 1914 by a boy named Willie Hutchison who was on a gold mining expedition with his father.
"The story goes that Willie set out in search for water one day, rather than staying at camp as he'd been instructed to do by his father," Oldman said. "He came back to camp with water, but also with precious opal gemstones."
London, United Kingdom —A small British town has appointed its first resident jester in more than 700 years, naming him in an elaborate medieval ceremony.
Russel Erwood was officially dubbed Erwyd le Fol (French for 'fool') during an event in the main square in Conwy, north Wales, on Sunday which included falconry, knights and a parade.
The 34-year-old had to complete three challenges to get the job: juggling daggers blindfolded, balancing a sword on his chin and making a gold coin disappear during a conjuring trick.
Erwood followed his tasks by balancing a blazing barbecue on a wooden pole down by the town's quayside, a stunt known as "The Burning Brushes of Beelzebub".
Jesters were entertainers and travelling performers employed by noblemen to amuse them and their guests as well as local townsfolk with magic tricks, juggling, music and storytelling.
The market town's previous jester -- Tom le Fol -- was appointed by King Edward I of England, who was besieged by the Welsh within the town walls over the winter of 1294-1295.
"It's a huge honour to take up the role of town jester -- there aren't that many around," Erwood, a professional magician and circus performer, told AFP.
Erwood undertook his trials under the watchful eye of an executioner equipped with a large medieval axe to administer justice in case the postulant failed any of his tasks.
"It was quite intimidating -- he wasn't a small chap," Erwood said.
Erwood will sport a hood with donkey ears as part of his traditional 13th-century jester's outfit when he attends official functions.
He will perform tricks around the town while putting on two shows a day, three days a week until August 29.
Toby Tunstall, chairman of the Conwy chamber of trade employing Erwood, was delighted with the appointment, which they hope will boost local businesses.
"Jesters were always more than just entertainers, they were a recognised figure within the community and as such the appointment of a town jester was never taken lightly," said Tunstall.
"Erwyd embraces the town's past and is extremely passionate about its future. He's everything a town jester should be."
San Francisco, United States —Microsoft announced that it has bought a startup with a winning way of using game play to boost the performance of sales teams.
Microsoft did not disclose financial terms of the deal in which it acquired Texas-based Incent Games, developer of the online platform FantasySalesTeam.
The platform allows managers to try to ramp up sales numbers through fantasy sports-style competitions among their representatives.
"They've disrupted the old sales incentive model with an original twist that combines gamification with fantasy sports and expertly applies it to a sales setting," Microsoft corporate vice president Bob Stutz said in a blog post announcing the acquisition.
"Their platform is highly effective at increasing team collaboration, productivity and consequently driving greater results and business growth," he said.
Employees "draft" peers onto teams whose combined results they believe will shine the brightest, in a spin on fantasy sports games in which people pick a pretend roster of players whose combined statistics they believe will be tops at the end of a season.
The strategy gets employees invested in each others' success, leading to better sales team results, according to Stutz.
FantasySalesTeam will be woven into Microsoft's Dynamics CRM (customer relationship management) offering aimed at businesses.
Djibouti, Djibouti —The Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti has relaunched its national airline -- a company managed by Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson, officials said.
Air Djibouti, which went bankrupt in 2002, recommenced flights on Monday with a cargo plane carrying six tonnes from Djibouti to Somalia, to Hargeisa, the capital of self-declared Somaliland.
"This is the link in the chain that was missing from Djibouti," said Abubaker Omar Hadi, chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, who said he hoped the airline will help ferry cargo onwards from Djibouti's key sea port. "We need a national company to ensure our ambitions."
The airline is backed by British company Cardiff Aviation, whose chairman is Dickinson, a Boeing 757 and 737 pilot and instructor, and who is also the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden.
He used to pilot the British band's plane during their world tours.
Dickinson's company -- based in Cardiff in Wales -- signed a deal in May to provide airline support to the carrier, including management, maintenance and staff training.
In May, Dickinson said that "Djibouti is uniquely placed to provide a hub for investment from Europe, the Middle East and Asia into Africa," and that his company would "bring a wealth of industry expertise and capability to one of the most exciting aviation markets in the world."
- Strategic port -
Djibouti -- which hosts several foreign military bases, including those of the United States, France and Japan -- aims to become a regional hub for air cargo transport, to forward sea cargo arriving in its port.
Cardiff Aviation said Air Djibouti had asked for its support in developing its key markets, which it said were "based on the needs of landlocked neighbouring countries, governmental aid programmes around Africa, the support of military installations currently based in Djibouti, and the need to deliver passengers to major international business hubs."
The strategic port is in a key position on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the gateway to the Suez canal, and offers an African base across from the Arabian Peninsula at the crossroads for cargo traffic between Asia and Europe.
"Between Shanghai and Abuja (Nigeria), the transport of a container can take up to 75 days," Hadi added. "With the sea-air transport Djibouti, this is reduced to 20 days. This is much cheaper than any air and much faster than any sea route."
The tiny country of around 850,000 people has bold ambitions to become the commercial hub of eastern Africa, building on its role as the main port for landlocked Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country.
Other flights are scheduled next week to the Somali capital Mogadishu, to South Sudan's capital Juba and the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Currently with only one aircraft, the company is due to take delivery of five aircraft later this year, including a Boeing 767, 737 and 757.
It is planned to begin passenger flights in November with connections to Paris, London, Dubai and Mumbai.
London, United Kingdom—Britons famously love their tea but sales have fallen by more than a fifth since 2010, driven by a shift away from the traditional cuppa, a report said
Tea sales by volume fell by 22 percent between 2010 and 2015 to about 76 million kilos (about 170 million pounds) from 97 million kilos, according to market research firm Mintel.
Sales of bags of black tea -- the cheapest version known as "builder's tea", commonly drunk with milk -- fell by 13 percent between 2012 and 2014 to £425 million (610 million euros, $662 million).
"Standard black tea is struggling to maintain consumers' interest amid growing competition from other drinks, held back by a rather uninspiring image," said Mintel analyst Emma Clifford.
However, fruit and herbal tea are becoming more popular with sales rising 31 percent to £76 million in the same period, reflecting a growing "foodie" trend in Britain.
Another reason for the trend could also be that tea is often drunk alongside a biscuit or cake -- sweet snacks that many people are now eschewing over health concerns.
"Given the sugar scare, and that usage of such treats is in decline, these strong associations could have had a negative impact on the tea market," Clifford said.
Tea still remains the drink of choice for many Britons, however, with 54 percent of people surveyed saying they drank it at least once a day.
Rome, Italy—French-Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaia's dresses have been worn by first ladies and top models, but they have never fit better than in Rome, where they are on show in an exhibit that blends sculpture with couture.
The "Couture/Sculpture" exhibition at the Italian capital's Villa Borghese "is not a fashion exhibition, but rather an exhibition about sculpture, and more precisely about statues," gallery director Anna Coliva told reporters.
The body-skimming, feminine garments on display seem perfectly at home off the runway, resting among Berninis and other classical masterpieces.
The designer's aim was to "make soft sculptures from a material that's different from bronze or marble: from cloth", Coliva added.
Mysterious, long monochrome robes float in the Villa Borghese's opulent halls, standing out among the marble sculptures and classical paintings.
Alaia selected each golden, grey, black or yellow gown to match the main colour in the paintings around it, making the exhibition about all the works together, not just his own.
Fitted onto barely-there, see-through or dark-coloured mannequins that give the garments shape but attract no attention to themselves, the dresses and their rich fabrics come alive with the artworks that surround them.
Despite the challenge that the exhibit poses, Alaia slipped right in, said exhibition curator Mark Wilson from the Netherlands, describing him as more of a "classical artist" than a fashion guru.
This is not the first time the gallery blurs the lines between history and modernity.
"As a changing entity, the gallery tries to adopt a new form with every exhibition, its own story trying to catch up with the modern world," organisers said.
Alaia, whose army of devotees has spared him the need for runway shows, draws very little, preferring to drape and cut his clothes himself, late into the night.
A coy man, Alaia shot to fame in the 1980s with his clingy, glamourous creations adored by fashionistas and celebrities from all walks -- including the likes of Michelle Obama, Naomi Campbell and Lady Gaga.
New York, United States —A month after the Grateful Dead signed off with farewell shows, members of the legendary US rock band announced a new concert in New York.
With the Grateful Dead retired as a name for now, the newly christened "Dead and Company" will play on October 31 at Madison Square Garden.
The Halloween show, announced in an advertisement printed Wednesday in The Village Voice weekly, will feature three of the core Dead members -- guitarist Bob Weir and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann.
Bassist Phil Lesh will not join his former bandmates, who will play with 37-year-old guitarist John Mayer.
The Grateful Dead were one of the defining bands of the counterculture born in the 1960s and developed a uniquely devoted fan base of "Deadheads" who followed them from show to show.
The five "Fare Thee Well" shows from June 27 to July 5, meant to cap the band's legacy on its 50th anniversary, generated more than $50 million, according to an estimate by music industry journal Billboard.
The shows -- some of the most coveted tickets ever on resale sites -- took place near the Grateful Dead's native San Francisco and in Chicago, the venue of the band's final concerts with guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995 and was generally seen as the face of the band.
The surviving members performed the Fare Thee Well shows with guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish, a younger band that has taken on the Grateful Dead's mantle as a jam band known for long, improvisational sets.
Weir told Billboard that band members felt an urge to keep playing after the final concert in Chicago.
"Those songs weren't done with us," Weir was quoted as saying.
Mayer -- known for his acoustic guitar hits and more recently blues influences -- told Billboard that he discovered the Grateful Dead in earnest only in 2011 after hearing a track on Internet radio provider Pandora.
He said he attended all five "Fare Thee Well" shows and became eager to join the band on stage.
"They're too good still, they're too great to roll this back in the shop and call it a day," he said.
Brussels, Belgium—The Belgian capital's emblematic Manneken Pis statue of a little boy taking a very public leak, beloved by millions of tourists, is getting a thorough examination to prove whether he is the real deal.
The small statue standing about 60 centimetres (23 inches) tall in a fountain in the heart of Brussels has suffered many indignities since he was first put up in the early 1600s, prompting the authorities to replace it with a replica in the 1960s.
The original is supposedly in the nearby Brussels Museum where it was lovingly restored in 2003 but researchers now think the little cherubic bronze they have there may not be the genuine article after all.
"Looking at the Manneken Pis closely, I realised that its history is very murky and that actually we do not know whether it is the original or not," Geraldine Patigny, a research student at the Free University of Brussels (ULB), told AFP.
In 1619, the Brussels authorities asked sculptor Jerome Du Quesnoy the Elder to make the statue of the small boy urinating -- according to one of many legends, to put out a fire caused by besieging troops and so save the city from destruction.
The statue was stolen several times over the years, most notably in a well-documented case in 1817 when supposedly it was put back in its place of honour. It was stolen again in 1965.
Patigny believes the statue that was returned to the fountain in the 19th century may have been in fact a replica.
"After that (theft), we have no more trace of the original which apparently is only found again in 1966, in two pieces, in a Brussels canal," Patigny said.
The statue, believed to be the original, was then handed to the museum for safe keeping.
"The historical record is very confused and there are holes in it. There are accounts in local publications or in folklore but there is nothing really concrete in the archives," Patigny said.
Researchers are hoping that X-ray images and other tests will provide the answer, specifically on the chemical composition of the bronze.
"We are looking especially to see if it includes nickel," said Amandine Crabbe, a researcher at the Flemish Free University of Brussels (VUB).
"If it is present, that would mean it most likely dates from the 19th century," Crabbe said.
"If it is absent, then that makes it more likely that it is the original, although it is never possible to be 100 percent certain."
