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Rare blue diamond to be auctioned in Hong Kong
Rare blue diamond to be auctioned in Hong Kong (AFP) / 19 August 2013 A rare round blue diamond will go under the hammer in Hong Kong in October, with auctioneers hoping the sale will fetch a record-breaking $19 million despite fears over the slowing Chinese economy. Auction house Sotheby’s expect the 7.59-carat fancy vivid blue diamond, which is about the size of a shirt button, to set a new record for price-per-carat. Quek Chin Yeow, Sotheby Asia’s deputy chairman, said Hong Kong was the natural venue to sell the gem, known as “The Premier Blue”, with collectors expected to fly in from all over the world. “While there is a slowdown (in Chinese economy), the number of top-level collectors are still there,” he told AFP. “We have been selling very well in Hong Kong.” Hong Kong has become a centre for jewellery auctions thanks to growing wealth in China and other parts of the region, as well as the region’s increasing taste for art. But there are fears for the future of the Chinese economy, the world’s second largest, where growth fell to 7.8 percent in 2012 — its slowest pace in 13 years. Blue diamonds seldom hit the market and have been coveted by royals and celebrities for centuries, while a round cut is rarely used in coloured stones because of the high wastage. The most famous example of a blue diamond is the “Hope Diamond”, which was bought by King Louis XIV of France in the 17 th Century. The term “fancy” is used to describe a diamond of intense colour, while a gem’s saturation grading ranges from light to vivid for coloured diamonds. The Premier Blue will go up for auction on October 7. Quek said the owner wanted to remain anonymous. In April, a rare 5.3-carat fancy deep-blue diamond was sold for £6.2 million ($9.5 million) at a London auction, then setting a record for price-per-carat at $1.8 million. Continue reading
Indian train kills at least 37 crossing track, triggers protest
Indian train kills at least 37 crossing track, triggers protest (Agencies) / 19 August 2013 At least 37 pilgrims were killed and over a dozen injured on Monday when they were run over by a speeding train in Bihar’s Khagaria district. Angry locals and pilgrims set ablaze six bogies of the train, brutally assaulted its driver and took several railway officials hostage. Additional Director General of Police S.K. Bhardwaj confirmed the death of 35 pilgrims (Kanwariyas) when the Rajya Rani Express train mowed them down while they were trying to cross the rail track at the Dhamara railway station on the Saharsa-Mansi route of the East Central Railway (ECR). The death toll may increase because detailed information is yet to come from the accident site, he said. The train was travelling from Saharsa to Patna when the accident took place between 8 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. The express train does not have a scheduled stop at Dhamara station. ”The accident took place when pilgrims were trying to cross the railway track after alighting from a local train,” he said. Soon after the incident, angry pilgrims and locals set ablaze six bogies, including one AC coach, of the train and attacked railway officials. ”Some angry people attacked the train driver and seriously injured him. They beat him up mercilessly. Besides, some railway officials have been held hostage by them,” a police official said. Bhardwaj said top officials of the district administration have been asked to rush to the accident site. Chief Public Relations Officer of ECR, Amitabh Prabhakar said over telephone from Hajipur, the railway headquarters near Patna, that the situation went nearly out of control at the railway station following the incident as hundreds of angry people began agitating. ”The railway officials are not in a position to visit the accident site,” he said, adding that there was a lot of “confusion”. ”It is difficult to say any thing exact for now. It will take another one or two hours to say anything concrete after security forces are mobilised to clear the agitating people,” he added. In the month of July-August, thousands of pilgrims visit a temple in Deoghar, Jharkhand, where they offer holy water from the Ganga river to Lord Shiva at an ancient temple. After offering the holy water, they return to their native places in vehicles or trains. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief at the incident and asked railway officials to launch rescue operations and arrange proper treatment for the injured. Continue reading
Egypt army chief says new clashes won’t be tolerated
Egypt army chief says new clashes won’t be tolerated 19 August 2013 Egypt’s military leader vowed on Sunday that the army will not tolerate further political violence after nationwide clashes that left hundreds dead, as security forces detained Muslim Brotherhood members in raids aimed at disrupting planned rallies. Defence Minister Gen Abdel Fatah El Sissi, who led the July 3 coup that toppled President Mohammed Mursi, again said the army has no intention of seizing power in the Arab world’s most populous country. El Sissi removed Mursi after four days of mass rallies by millions of Egyptians who demanded the president step down. “We will not stand by silently watching the destruction of the country and the people or the torching the nation and terrorising the citizens,” he said in a speech aired on state television. The general said that the military didn’t seek power but instead “have the honour to protect the people’s will — which is much dearer (than) ruling Egypt.” El Sissi also said Islamists must be included in the country’s politics moving forward. A military timetable calls for the nation’s constitution to be amended and for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in 2014. “We have given many chances … to end the crisis peacefully and call for the followers of the former regime to participate in rebuilding the democratic track and integrate in the political process and the future map instead of confrontations and destroying the Egyptian state,” he told a gathering of top military commanders and police chiefs. El Sissi’s remarks come ahead of an anticipated harsher stance by the military-backed government toward the Brotherhood. The Cabinet held an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss potentially banning the group, a long-outlawed organisation that swept to power in the country’s first democratic elections a year ago. A possible ban — which authorities say would be implemented over the group’s use of violence — would be a repeat of the decades-long struggle between the state and the Brotherhood. It also would drain the group’s financial resources and allow for mass arrests of its members. That likely would diminish the chances of a negotiated solution to the crisis and push it again underground. The Brotherhood, however, has shown no signs of backing down. Under the banner of an anti-coup alliance, the group said it will hold a demonstration in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court in southern Cairo later Sunday. Authorities already stationed armoured vehicles and troops at the building, which could turn into another focal point of street violence. The Brotherhood faces increasing public criticism and blame over the ongoing violence in Egypt. Sheik Ahmed Al Tayyeb, the powerful head of Al Azhar mosque, issued an audio statement asking Brotherhood members to stop the violence. “The scenes of violence will not grant you any rights and the bloodshed nor chaos spreading across the country will give you no legitimacy,” Al Tayyeb said. The violence in Egypt also has sparked deep concerns worldwide. Egypt also lost one of the few doves in the country’s military-backed administration as Mohammed El Baradei, who resigned as vice-president in protest of the use of force against Mursi’s supporters, left Cairo for Vienna on Sunday. Continue reading
