It turns out Winnie-the-Pooh and his fluffy friends aren't getting bear-napped from their longtime home at the New York Public Library.
The British Embassy in Washington dispelled rumors Thursday about a campaign to return the collection of stuffed animals including the “willy nilly silly old bear" to the United Kingdom. The toys were owned by English author A.A. Milne's son — the real-life Christopher Robin — in the 1920s and served as the inspiration for the characters in the writer's beloved children’s books.
“There’s an open invite if Pooh ever wants to make a temporary visit to the UK, but we have no doubt that Pooh and his pals are in excellent hands with the New York Public Library," the embassy said in a post on social media.
Rumors began swirling about a change of scenery for Pooh after The Washington Post reported last week about a push to bring the teddy bear back home as the famed character turns 100 this year.
Milne bought Pooh for his son's first birthday in 1921 from Harrods department store in London. Decades later, the collection of dolls came to the U.S. for a national tour before publisher Dutton Children’s Books donated them to the library in 1987.
When asked about the British Embassy’s statement, Melissa Grace, director of communications at the library, said they’re excited to celebrate Winnie-the-Pooh’s anniversary and invite the public to their exhibit for free.
“Christopher Robin’s childhood toys are a cornerstone of our renowned children’s literature collection,” she said in a statement, adding that the library has plenty planned for the anniversary, including giving away 3,000 copies of the books.
Last week's Post story reported that Gyles Brandreth, an author and friend of the late Christopher Robin Milne, went to New York two years ago for Queen Camilla to try to bring Pooh to Buckingham Palace. But, he said, the library wasn't interested.
Camilla visited the library herself in April, and rather than try to make off with the plump bear, she delivered a new Roo doll to add to the library’s collection that also includes Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and Kanga. Roo, in the books, was a small brown kangaroo and the son of Kanga.
This is far from the first time there has been talk of relocation.
In the late 1990s, then Labour Party lawmaker Gwyneth Dunwoody introduced a question in Parliament to ask what plans Britain’s culture secretary had to arrange for the collection's return.
“Just like the Greeks want their Elgin Marbles back — so we want our Winnie-the-Pooh back, along with all his splendid friends,” she had told a reporter.
A New York congresswoman introduced a resolution condemning the attempt to remove the bear.
“The Brits have their head in a honey jar if they think they are taking Pooh out of New York City,” then U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey said.
And unlike plundered antiquities, there's no doubt that Pooh and his friends were freely given to the library. So it would seem once again that children looking to catch a glimpse of the honey-loving bear who inspired such fantastical stories have nothing to worry about.
Besides, New Yorkers would never give up their stuffed friend without a fight. As Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said when he reposted the embassy’s statement Friday: “You come at the bear, you best not miss.”
FILE - New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, wearing gloves, holds the original stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear at the New York Public Library, Thursday, Feb. 5, 1998. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews,File)
FILE - A photograph of author A. A. Milne with his son Christopher Robin is displayed beside Milne's son Christopher Robin's beloved teddy bear, the inspiration for "Winne-the-Pooh," at the New York Public Library, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens,File)
MILAN (AP) — Italy deployed soldiers to Milan as the nation's fashion and finance capital expected fresh protests on Saturday, one week after looting and clashes with police.
Premier Giorgia Meloni announced a raft of measures, including sending an additional 500 soldiers to Milan, and tougher penalties for minors, who police said made up a large part of the violent protesters.
While protests in France have claimed most international attention, Milan is among the many other European cities where protests are also scheduled Saturday, from Portugal to Albania.
The 500 soldiers deployed to Milan come in addition to hundreds already stationed there, and will support about 5,000 police and other law enforcement personnel. Authorities are conducting drone surveillance, checks at railway stations, rapid-response units and online monitoring for potential calls to violence. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala has said he is concerned about a repeat of violence this weekend and expressed support for the deployment of more soldiers.
Rioters last weekend smashed their way into stores, targeting sneakers, athletic wear and sporting goods on streets that run off the city’s central Duomo square.
Officials said security measures on Saturday would extend beyond the city center amid concerns protesters could move into other neighborhoods to evade heavily policed areas.
Valter Mazzetti, secretary general of the Fsp police union, told The Associated Press that soldiers could provide immediate reinforcements, but not resolve police staffing shortages, noting that managing demonstrations requires specialized police training.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in a social media post that the troops lacked key tools available for public-order operations, and that soldiers were only recently allowed to use plastic restraint ties and only in areas around train stations, not throughout the city. They are not authorized to carry pepper spray or tasers, he said.
Milan police say last week's violence and looting involved about 2,000 very young protesters, a large number of whom were “naturalized, second-generation Italians,” alongside foreign nationals. Over two days, police arrested 45 people, 34 of them minors.
Milan’s welfare councilor Lamberto Bertolé told the AP that more investigation is needed to understand the backgrounds and motives of the young people who joined the looting.
“Many young people increasingly lack a sense of belonging and prospects for the future. Part of our society feels excluded, amid social and economic inequalities,” said Bertolé, a member of the center-left Democratic Party.
Security was also heightened in Rome, where authorities locked down luxury shopping streets and stepped up controls around the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo ahead of planned demonstrations, including one by right-wing students.
An anti-war march is scheduled to start in the early afternoon at the central Piazza della Repubblica, and there are concerns over possible infiltration by violent groups.
Organizers sought to distance themselves from potential unrest, urging participants to keep their faces uncovered and hands visible.
Aside from Rome and Milan, demonstrations have been called in at least seven other cities. The newly formed “October 17 Movement” has been the main driver alongside student federations, grassroots trade unions, and anti-war coalitions.
Protests are expected to continue in Albania’s capital. For over a week, protesters have hurled rocks, flares, firebombs and fireworks at police who have used batons, water cannons and tear gas in clashes in the city center.
High school and university students are demanding lower tuition fees, greater state investment in education and protesting corruption in the education system. They have joined a broader anti-government movement calling for the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Thousands of retirees and others marched in Spain's capital Saturday to demand public pensions aren’t meddled with.
Crowds marched peacefully down a treelined avenue in central Madrid, waving colorful flags and banners reading “protect pensions” and “decent pensions for today and the future."
The protests came ahead of next month’s snap election as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party criticized the conservative opposition Popular Party for making overtures about privatizing public pensions.
Spain has been roiled by protests this fall around the issue of housing, as rental and home costs have risen in recent years beyond what many Spaniards can afford.
In Spanish cities, a housing supply shortage has worsened thanks to population growth driven by tourism, immigration and a proliferation of short-term rentals. The September eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her rented apartment in Madrid triggered huge street protests in the capital and elsewhere.
The movement is centered at a tent camp protest that has remained in the capital’s Puerta del Sol square for almost a month.
Taking their cue from Spaniards, protesters in Lisbon who have been gathering to demand affordable housing are expected to march across the city on Saturday.
They have also targeted recent measures announced by the government of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro that include easing the cap on yearly rent increases and facilitating the eviction of tenants who fail to pay rent.
Montenegro defends the measures saying that it aims at reinforcing trust between tenants and landlords and boosting the rentals market. Protesters claim that the measures are not balanced and put tenants in a more vulnerable position.
Associated Press writers Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Giada Zampano in Rome, and videojournalist Helena Alves in Lisbon contributed to this report.
Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
