Diamond found in Lesotho among largest ever: company

LONDON (AFP) - Gem Diamonds, a London-listed mining firm, said on Sunday it had recovered a 478 carat diamond from its mine in Lesotho: the 20th-largest rough diamond ever found.
The discovery of the gem, which the company said had the potential to become one of the largest round-cut diamonds in the world, was made on September 8 at the Letseng mine in Lesotho.
"Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record-breaking polished stone of the very best colour and clarity," the company's Chief Executive Clifford Elphick said in a statement.
The diamond, which has not yet been named, has the potential to yield a 150 carat polished stone, a company spokesman said.
That would be far bigger than the 105 carat round-cut Koh-i-Noor diamond seized by Britain from India in the 19th century and now part of the Crown Jewels.
It would still only be a fraction of the size, however, of the Cullinan diamond discovered in 1905, which was 3,106 carats when recovered and yielded a teardrop shaped diamond of 530 carats: the Great Star of Africa.
The Letseng mine is owned by a mining company that is 70 percent owned by Gem Diamonds, with the remaining 30 percent held by the Lesotho government.
Gem Diamonds's share price on the London Stock Exchange was 741.50 pence at the close of trading on Friday.

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India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...

Tennis: Clijsters wins US Open, second time

NEW YORK: Kim Clijsters of Belgium won the US Open on Sunday by defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 in the final.She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, the victory coming just five weeks after she returned to the sport following a 27-month retirement. She was the first wildcard, man or woman, to win a US Open title in the history of the tournament.

42 killed in wave of Iraq bombings

BAGHDAD: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a spate of bomb attacks near the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul and in the capital Baghdad on Monday, police said. In the deadliest single attack, two booby-trapped lorries exploded before dawn in the village of Khaznah, east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded. Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village, which is home to members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin. In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46. The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others.

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