Nigeria Massacre: Gunmen Kill Over 160

Gunmen killed over 160 people in two villages in western Nigeria this week, marking the country's deadliest armed assaults this year, according to reports from The Guardian. The attacks, which occurred in Woro and Nuku in Kwara state, were perpetrated by jihadists and other armed groups. Umar Bio Salihu, the local head of Woro, recounted the night of terror, stating that the attackers killed two of his sons and kidnapped his wife and three daughters.

The attacks in Kwara state occurred on Tuesday. A local politician reported that armed men rounded up residents, bound their hands behind their backs, and shot them. The Nigerian military had launched an offensive against terrorist elements in Kwara state last month, according to The Guardian.

In other news, the Bank of England held UK interest rates at 3.75% on Thursday, but hinted at potential future cuts, according to BBC Business. Governor Andrew Bailey told the BBC that there was likely to be "some further reduction" in rates later this year. The Bank also lowered its prediction for economic growth for this year and raised its forecast for unemployment, making further rate cuts more likely. Economists had not forecast a cut after borrowing rates were reduced in December.

Meanwhile, in Paris, the Louvre Museum announced that the crown of French Empress Eugenie, which was dropped by fleeing thieves during a raid last October, was left "badly deformed" but "nearly intact" and can be fully restored, according to BBC World. The museum issued the first photographs of the crown since the theft. Raiders stole an estimated 88 million euros (76m, $104m) in jewels, but left the diamond-studded headpiece belonging to the wife of Napoleon III on their escape route. The thieves had tried to remove the crown through a narrow hole they sawed in its glass display case.