Vienna State Police spokesperson Philipp Haslinger said a national and international manhunt was under way. Surveillance footage showed one of the suspects carrying what appeared to be a real firearm, although it was not used during the robbery.

Investigators have recovered evidence from the museum and are examining DNA and other leads. Police have also appealed to the public for information, with Haslinger saying numerous tips had already been received.

The platinum necklace was created by French jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels in 1939 and features more than 200 carats of diamonds in a sunburst design. Queen Nazli, mother of Egypt's King Farouk, wore it at the 1939 wedding of her daughter Princess Fawzia to Iran ian Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who later became Shah of Iran.

The necklace sold at Sotheby's in New York for about $4.3 million in 2015 before later joining the Van Cleef & Arpels collection. It was on display in Vienna as part of the MAK's "GLANZSTUCKE" exhibition dedicated to the French jewellery house.

Colonial rule, trade networks, religion and regional cooperation all helped shape the main official languages used across Africa today. As a result, languages such as French, English, Arabic and Portuguese became official in many states, while influential African languages like Swahili, Amharic and Somali also play key national roles.

French is the official language in a large number of West and Central African countries, including Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This widespread use stems from the period when France controlled vast territories across Africa during the 19th and early 20th centuries. After independence in the 1950s and 1960s, many newly formed governments kept French as their official language to maintain administrative continuity and facilitate communication among diverse ethnic groups.

According to the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Africa now has more French speakers than any other region in the world , with over 160 million people using the language.

English serves as the official language in several African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Its presence reflects the legacy of the British Empire, which governed large parts of eastern and southern Africa until the mid-20th century. English often functions as a neutral administrative language in multilingual societies.

In countries like Kenya and Uganda, English is widely used in government, media and higher education, while local languages such as Swahili remain central to everyday communication.

Across North Africa, Arabic is the primary official language in countries such as Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Sudan.

Arabic spread throughout the region beginning in the 7th century with the expansion of Islamic civilisation. Over centuries, it became the dominant language of administration, religion and literature.

Today, Modern Standard Arabic is used in government and media, while regional dialects are spoken in daily life.

Portuguese remains the official language in several African countries that were once Portuguese colonies, including Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe.

In Angola and Mozambique in particular, Portuguese has evolved into a widely used national language that connects dozens of ethnic groups.

The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) estimates that tens of millions of Africans now speak Portuguese, making it an important administrative and cultural language in southern Africa.

Despite the dominance of a handful of official languages, most Africans are multilingual, often speaking two or three languages daily, a local language, a regional lingua franca and an official administrative language.

Ethiopia, located in the Horn of Africa, fiercely maintained its independence through military resistance, most famously by defeating the Italian army at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.

Despite a brief occupation by Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941, Ethiopia was never formally colonised and retained its imperial structure under Emperor Haile Selassie.

Liberia, on the other hand, was founded in 1822 by freed African-American slaves under the auspices of the American Colonization Society . It declared independence in 1847 and remained free from European colonisation, although it was heavily influenced by American political and cultural norms.

Modern-day significance

The independence of Ethiopia and Liberia is more than a historical footnote—it continues to shape their national identities and regional roles today:

Cultural and psychological impact

The historical independence of Ethiopia and Liberia has had a profound cultural impact, serving as beacons of African resistance and resilience . Ethiopia, in particular, became a symbol of hope for Pan-African movements and Black liberation struggles across the globe, from Harlem to Johannesburg.

In Liberia, the preservation of indigenous identities alongside Americo-Liberian traditions has created a complex but uniquely self-governed African society that avoided the deep scars of European-imposed boundaries and rule.