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| Picasso stolen from Brazil museum | Picasso stolen from Brazil museum |
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| Thieves in Brazil have stolen two paintings said to be worth $100m (£252m) in a dawn raid on Latin America's most renowned museum. | Thieves in Brazil have stolen two paintings said to be worth $100m (£252m) in a dawn raid on Latin America's most renowned museum. |
| Police said Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch, and The Coffee Worker by Brazil's Candido Portinari, were taken from the Museum of Art of Sao Paulo. | Police said Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch, and The Coffee Worker by Brazil's Candido Portinari, were taken from the Museum of Art of Sao Paulo. |
| The operation, which lasted about three minutes, was caught on security cameras, officials said. | The operation, which lasted about three minutes, was caught on security cameras, officials said. |
| Police investigating the theft are due to give a news conference. | Police investigating the theft are due to give a news conference. |
| Valuable pieces | Valuable pieces |
| The theft, believed to have been carried out by three men, began at 0509 (0709 GMT) and finished at 0512, police said. | |
| The museum's security guards are thought to have been on another floor at the time. | |
| The thieves left behind some of their tools, and police have shut down the museum to search for clues, officials said. | The thieves left behind some of their tools, and police have shut down the museum to search for clues, officials said. |
| The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch, painted in 1904, is among the most valuable pieces in the museum's collection. | The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch, painted in 1904, is among the most valuable pieces in the museum's collection. |
| The Coffee Worker (O Lavrador de Cafe) was painted in 1939 and is one of Portinari's most famous works. | The Coffee Worker (O Lavrador de Cafe) was painted in 1939 and is one of Portinari's most famous works. |
| O Globo newspaper said that the museum's press service had estimated their joint worth at more than $100m. | O Globo newspaper said that the museum's press service had estimated their joint worth at more than $100m. |
| However, museum spokesman Eduardo Cosomano told the Associated Press news agency that it was difficult to judge their exact monetary value. | However, museum spokesman Eduardo Cosomano told the Associated Press news agency that it was difficult to judge their exact monetary value. |
| Thieves have targeted Brazil's museums before. In February 2006, a five-man gang stole works by Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse, Picasso and Claude Monet from a Rio de Janiero museum. |