Can You Build a Great Wine Cellar Using Only American Bottles?
A seductive taste of earth and ethereal red fruit makes Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's Romanée-Conti one of the most collectible pinot noirs in the world. As its satiny texture and complex flavors unroll across your tongue, you realize just how profound a wine can be. It comes from a tiny 1.8-hectare (4.5‑acre) grand cru vineyard on a limestone slope in Burgundy, with the name incised in the stone wall. Many wine lovers call the spot hallowed ground. Me too.
So sacrosanct is it that, 15 years ago, an extortionist threatened to poison the vines unless he received a €1 million ($1.3 million) ransom. Owner Aubert de Villaine and the Police Nationale set up a sting operation and caught the man, protecting an agricultural asset whose value has been estimated at more than €2 billion.
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Fox News
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French report identifies Muslim Brotherhood threat as Ted Cruz seeks US terror designation for group
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Fox News
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American tennis star Jessica Pegula slams 'absolutely crazy' comments after losing French Open match
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CNN
a day ago
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Suspected crypto kidnapping mastermind detained in Morocco
One of the suspected masterminds behind a string of violent kidnappings in France of people linked to the cryptocurrency trade was detained Tuesday in Morocco, France's justice minister said. Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou, a 24-year-old French-Moroccan citizen from just outside Paris, was wanted by France for several crimes, including armed extortion and kidnapping as part of a criminal gang, according to the 'red notice' for him published by Interpol and Moroccan state media. French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin thanked Morocco on X for detaining the man, citing the 'excellent judicial cooperation' between the two countries. Bajjou had 'multiple bladed weapons of different sizes' in his possession when he was taken into custody, as well as 'dozens of mobile phones and communication devices' and a sum of money allegedly related to criminal activities, Moroccan state media reported. The man was apprehended, weeks after the latest kidnapping attempt in Paris, near Tangier in northern Morocco, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. He is allegedly linked to a string of violent crimes related to crypto funds dating back to at least January 21 of this year. In January, David Balland, cofounder of a crypto wallet company, and his partner, were kidnapped in central France with their attackers cutting off one of Balland's fingers as part of a 10-million euro ($11,430,000) ransom demand. The couple were later freed by elite French policemen, according to BFMTV. Bajjou is also suspected of involvement in the May kidnapping of another man working in the crypto industry, who also had one of his fingers cut off before his release, per BFMTV. Later that month, the daughter of the CEO of French cryptocurrency platform Paymium was saved by passers-by from a daylight kidnapping attempt in Paris, with Bajjou suspected to have been involved, BFMTV reported. On May 30, 25 people aged between 16 and 23 were put under official investigation in Paris, suspected of involvement in a kidnapping in May in Paris and an attempted kidnapping in the western French city of Nantes.
