Priceless Van Gogh stolen from Cairo museum: minister

A priceless Vincent Van Gogh painting has been stolen from a Cairo museum in a brazen daytime theft, Culture Minister Faruq Hosni told AFP.

A priceless Vincent Van Gogh painting has been stolen from a Cairo museum in a brazen daytime theft, Culture Minister Faruq Hosni told AFP on Saturday.

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The painting, identified as "Poppy Flowers" by Hosni, "was cut out of its frame in the Mahmoud Khalil museum after it opened in the morning," he said.

Hosni said employees of the museum, which also has works by Monet, Renoir and Degas, were being questioned and that measures were being taken at airports and ports to prevent the stolen painting being smuggled abroad.

Police officials, who valued the painting at about $50 million, said they were reviewing security camera footage and dusting the crime scene for fingerprints.

A government website said the painting had been stolen before and recovered.