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Belgian mood turning against Russian diamonds

Nobody in Belgium wants Russian “blood diamonds” any more, but the next round of EU sanctions still won’t ban them.

“Consumers don’t want to buy diamonds with blood on them,” said Vicky Reynaert, a Belgian left-wing MP.

“Everybody knows what’s being done with the money by Alrosa [Russia’s biggest diamond firm] — it’s going directly to finance the war against Ukraine”, she said.

Reynaert spoke to EU observer after a Belgian parliament committee, on Tuesday (25 April), backed her resolution calling for the Belgian government to support an EU-wide embargo on Russian stones.

The consumers in Reynaert’s focus groups aside,

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US Alleges $160 Million in Art, Diamonds Used to Finance Terror

(Bloomberg) — A Lebanese man and eight associates were charged in New York with violating US sanctions by using about $160 million in artworks and diamonds to help finance the terrorist organization Hezbollah.

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Nazem Ahmad, who the US claims is a diamond smuggler and art collector, was charged in a nine-count indictment filed by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn on Tuesday. He isn’t in custody, the government said.

Ahmad was sanctioned by the US in December 2019, prohibiting him from engaging in transactions with anyone in the US, the government said. Still, he and his co-conspirators used

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Diamond & Diamond Lawyers Launch $400 Million Lawsuit on Behalf of Human Trafficking Victims Against Magna International and others

TORONTO, March 31, 2023 /CNW/ – Diamond & Diamond Lawyers, a leading personal injury law firm, announced the launch of a groundbreaking $400 million lawsuit against four major corporations—Magna International, Inc., Gwillimdale Farms Ltd., Touchstone Resort, and Smith Gardens—for their alleged complications in human trafficking.

The lawsuit is an essential step in the fight against human trafficking and underscores Diamond & Diamond Lawyers’ unwavering commitment to securing justice for its clients. The firm aims to send a strong message to other corporations that will not tolerate human trafficking by turning a blind eye.

“Human trafficking is a reprehensible crime,

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Queen Camilla sparkles in diamond tiara and shimmering gown for state banquet in Germany

Queen Consort Camilla was stunned in a sparkling tiara on Wednesday evening as she joined her husband King Charles at a state banquet in honor of their visit to Germany.

The formal dinner, which was held at the German president’s Bellevue Palace, peace be upon him Camilla dress elegantly in a show-stopping black and silver Bruce Oldfield gown, accessorising with the Boucheron diamond Tiara and the late Queen’s fringed diamond necklace.

Her Majesty also wore the Grand Cross (Special Class) of the Federal Order of Merit, awarded to her earlier in the day by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and completed

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Botswana intent on selling more diamonds without De Beers

GABORONE, March 9 (Reuters) – Botswana will not drop its demand to sell a bigger share of the diamonds produced by its joint venture with De Beers, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said on Thursday, raising the stakes in talks to renew a sales deal that expires in June.

Botswana and De Beers mine diamonds under an equally-owned joint venture, Debswana.

Three-quarters of Debswana’s production, which was 24 million carats in 2022, is sold to De Beers. The balance was sold to the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), which was set up under the current 2011 sales deal as Botswana sought to

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Fire accident – 20 residents trapped in Diamond City North fire in Nagerbazar

A fire broke out in a flat on the 16th floor of a 17-storey building at the Diamond City North housing complex in northeast Kolkata’s Nagerbazar and spread to two more apartments on Wednesday afternoon.

At least 20 residents living in the tower that caught fire were trapped in the smoke in various parts of the building. Thick fumes had enveloped the staircase and made it difficult for the occupants to come down by themselves.

Officials of the fire department said all the trapped residents had been rescued unhurt. Among those stuck were several elderly persons and at least one

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Penn State students show support for Thon in many ways

University Park

Hannah Gowdy was involved with mini-Thon at her high school and when she arrived at Penn State, her goal was to join the largest student-run philanthropy in the world — Penn State’s IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

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Better known as Thon, the 46-hour dance marathon that raises money for Four Diamonds families impacted by childhood cancer kicked off at 6 p.m. Friday. Gowdy, a senior, was previously on the Donor and Alumni Relations Committee and Communications Committee, then a special event chair and eventual primary chair for her sorority Tri Sigma.

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Now a dancer, Gowdy has seen Thon

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Diamonds are a girls and boys best friend and they aren’t always natural

VENTURA, Calif. -Things have changed since Marilyn Monroe sang about diamonds being a girl’s best friend.

Santa Barbara and destination wedding planner Percy Sales said they are also a boy’s best friend.

These days some Valentines and engagement ring shoppers have natural and lab grown diamonds to choose from.

Jewelry Couture sells both.

“I had a customer who picked up his ring this morning a five-carat lab grown diamond in a ring,” said Jewelry Couture owner Shahar Sehati.

While some jewelers are reluctant to sell them, others are meeting the growing demand.

“The demand became more and more and people

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