A huge flawless pink diamond known as the “Pink Star” has sold for a record price at Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction: an astonishing 76.3 million Swiss francs, £52 million. Mounted on a ring, the oval-shaped diamond measures 1.06 inches by 0.81 inches (2.69cm by 2.06cm). The rough diamond was originally mined by De Beers, the world’s leading diamond company, in 1999, somewhere in Africa, but no ...

The Russian Olympic Committee and Moscow city officials have come up with a great new way to encourage metro riders to exercise: paying for their train tickets by doing 30 squats. Throughout November, subway passengers can choose to perform 30 “Olympic standard” squats in two minutes. If they manage to complete the challenge, a machine prints out a ticket worth 30 rubles (57p), which is the price of one-way ...

Only a year ago, Spain was stuck in the middle of both an economic and constitutional crisis. Madrid had to seek help for its declining banks from eurozone partners. The fragile relationship between Catalonia and the central Spanish government was threatened. Now, the Spanish economy is slowly starting to mend itself, starting to grow instead of shrink for the first time in nine quarters. State statistics a ...

Greenland has awarded a groundbreaking and exclusive 30-year licence to UK-based London Mining, allowing it to build and run a huge iron ore mine in what is being called the largest commercial project in Greenland’s history. London Mining states on its website that it is expecting the £1.5 billion Isua project to produce 15 million tonnes of high quality iron ore concentrate that it can deliver to the globa ...

 Thousands of people around the world including some MPs and celebrities such as Russell Brand took part in the Million Mask March on November 5th to protest against everything they feel is wrong in the world. Organised by Hacktivist group Anonymous, protesters gathered to express their discontent on a wide range of issues, including the badger cull, government surveillance and genetically modified food. Th ...

A multibillion-dollar free trade agreement has been made between the European Union and Canada in a bid to boost growth and employment by merging two of the world’s biggest economies. Britain can expect a £1.3 billion boost from the deal and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) have estimated that UK exports could increase by almost a third. European Commission President Josè Manuel Barroso and Canadian Prime Min ...

It’s November 2010, and the Republic of Ireland is seeking help as its economy plummets in a crash that leaves even the banks without enough money. Ireland appeals to the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is issued with a ‘bailout’. Fast-forward three years and the Taoiseach Enda Kenny is promising his people that after December 15, they will no longer be indebted to the EU. Kenny, who is Ireland ...

What would you do if you found out the reason you hadn’t been able to find work was because your name had been secretly blacklisted - and you had no idea why? This is what happened to more than 3,200 people when it emerged in 2009 that their names had been put on a building industry blacklist compiled by The Consultation Association (TCA). Four-and-a-half years later, eight of the construction companies inv ...

In the widely publicised privatization of the Royal Mail, it seems that small investors will be getting the best deal when it comes to allocating shares. Although it was thought that everyone who applied for the shares would be getting them, Business Secretary Vince Cable said an astounding number of applications from more than seven times the amount they were expecting means that some investors may miss ou ...

Lagos, Nigeria, one of the world’s largest cities and second only to Cairo in Africa, is about to turn a problem into an opportunity.  The city has earned the title “the garbage capital of the world”.  Up to now, that has been an unwanted moniker, making people think of dumps and horrific odors.  Now, though, they have a plan to turn the bane of the city into one of its greatest assets. The city of over 20 ...