GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Sotheby’s star diamond at its November sales in Geneva comes without much of a history, but that is no shortcoming: the new gem is expected to be sold for $11-15 million when it goes to auction 15 November.
The rough of the Sun-Drop Diamond was found in South Africa in 201.
Sotheby’s holds the world record for selling the most expensive diamond, the Pink Graff, sold for $46.16 million in Geneva in 2010.
The diamond, at 110.03 Carats, “has been graded Fancy Vivid Yellow, the highest colour grading for a yellow diamond, by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA),” says Sothebys
“This exceptional stone ranks as the largest known pear-shaped fancy vivid yellow diamond in the world, and has a purity of VVS1.”
The GIA, in its monograph on the gem, was rich with praise: “Its magnificent color combined with impressive size and uncommon cut make it a paragon in the world of diamonds.”
It was shown in London at city’s Natural History Museum earlier this year. The diamond was cut by Cora International, whose headquarters are in New York.
SOUTH AFRICA – South African officials may prevent the Dalai Lama from celebrating the 80th birthday of his friend and fellow Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu amid fears that Chinese pressure is trumping the country’s much-vaunted policies on freedom of speech and human rights.
The South African government’s delay in responding is said to be causing the Catholic cleric ‘deep anxiety’.
Numerous attempts to get a response from the government regarding a visa for Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has been unsuccessful, the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre said on 26 September.
Links to: The Guardian and Mail and Guardian Online
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Homosexual marriages were made legal in New York Friday 24 June, sparking citywide celebrations. The move comes just days after the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva approved a South African resolution covering homosexual rights that was strongly supported by the US.
US Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said in Geneva 17 June “You’ve just witnessed a historic moment at the Human Rights Council and within the UN system with the landmark resolution protecting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. This resolution is important because it underscores the most basic human rights principle, that all people are endowed with universal human rights. This resolution reinforced the most simple and yet elegant idea that no person should be targeted for attack or violation because of who they are or who they love.”
The Ministry of Health in Uganda at the end of March banned the practice of reflexology because of concerns over malpractice, until further notice, according to allAfrica.com. The Minister of Health, Dr Stephen Mallinga, announced all reflexology centres must close and media advertising would be banned.
Reflexology is the “massage of the feet or hands based on the belief that pressure applied to specific points on these extremities benefits other parts of the body,” according to MedlinePlus.
The World Health Organization in 2005 in a report on Uganda’s healthcare system noted that “of late, a number of non-Ugandan Traditional Medicine Systems have been introduced into the country. These include the Chinese and Ayurvedic practiced from China and India respectively. Other systems like Reiki, Chiropractice, Homeopathy and Reflexology are among later practices
introduced into the country.”
Reflexology practitioners in Uganda are reported by allAfrica to be taking the government to court for their right to practice: “Uganda has only one trained reflexologist and she is not practising,” says Dr Fredrick Mutyaba of the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council. “All the other people calling themselves reflexologists are quacks and we will watch the space to see how events unfold in court.”
Mutyaba was one of the researchers who discovered malpractice among Uganda’s reflexology practitioners.
South Africa is the rare country in Africa that supervises its reflexology practitioners, under the South African Reflexology Society, created in 1985.
Links to other sites: allAfrica.com, The South African Reflexology Society
Japan’s trade with and financial aid for Africa are likely to fall, in the wake of the massive earthquake in early March, a new report from Standard Bank in South Africa says. It notes that bilateral trade between Africa and Japan in 2010 totalled $24 billion, up 30 percent from 2009.
South Africa is most likely to be hit by a drop in trade, but Nigeria could also be affected. Sudan and Tanzania may see aid cutbacks as the Japanese economy struggles to get back on track.
Links to other sites: allAfrica, Standard Bank full report
Fifa named best for press facilities for 2010 World Cup by world sports journalists
Rafael Nadal wins US Open 2010 (photo, Ella Ling)
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The AIPS (International Sports Press Association) has named Rafael Nadal the world’s top male athlete and Blanka Vlasic the top female, in its annual sports awards. Nadal, Spanish is the number one tennis player in the world and Vlasic, from Croatia, has won 18 of 20 high-jumping competitions in 2010, and she currently holds the world indoor and European titles.
The AIPS named Fifa, the world football federation, as the organization providing the best media facilities, at the 2010 football World Cup matches in South Africa. The IOC, International Olympic Committee, was second, for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. The AIPS and the IOC are both based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Rate far higher than previous studies show, IOM says
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A new survey for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 23 commercial farms in two South African provinces turned up a far higher than expected rate of HIV positive samples. The Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Survey (IBBSS) involved 2,810 farm workers in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces who anonymously gave blood specimens for HIV testing, says the IOM.
The group has the highest HIV prevalence among any working population in Southern Africa, based on the survey, the IOM reports: about twice the average for the country and far higher than previously thought. On average, 39.5 percent of farm workers who tested were HIV positive. “This is more than twice the Unaids estimated national prevalence for South Africa of 18.1 percent,” with women having a far higher rate, 46.7 percent, than men, 30.9 percent.
The study could not find a single factor to account for the high incidence, but the locations of the farms in the Malelane, Musina and Tzaneen areas appears to be significant:
International sports, rugby
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Syd Nomis, 69, who played 25 successive Tests for the Springboks from 1966-71, becoming a legend in South African rugby, has had a leg amputated during a visit to his son Gary and family in Zurich.
The former sports star came down with pneumonia, then developed blod clots during his visit, according to South Africa’s Sports24, and he is recovering after surgery above the knee Sunday 26 September.
A South African judge has sentenced former police chief Jackie Selebi to 15 years of prison for corruption, telling him, “You were an embarrassment to the office you occupied … You must be an embarrassment to those who appointed you; you must have been an embarrassment to members of the SAPS (South African Police Service) you served.” Selebi may appeal the sentence and is free on Rand 20,000 bail.
He was convicted 3 August of accepting money and clothes from a convicted drug baron, Glenn Agliotti, in exchange for favours. Selebi, the highest-ranking African National Congress member to be convicted of corruption, is a former fighter for liberation against apartheid, a protegé of former President Thabo Mbeki, who was ousted in 2008 by the ANC. He served as president of Interpol from 2004-2008.
Links to other sites: AllAfrica, CNN, The Guardian, Mail&Guardian
A woman whose 17-month-old tiger picked the lock and leaped out while she was driving him to the vet near Johannisburg, South Africa, says he is used to humans and she suggests anyone who finds him should treat him like a dog, saying “No” in a loud voice while brandishing a stick.
Or give him meat, particularly chicken, which he likes, she says.
But local authorities, who have been using helicopters to search for him, are recommending to locals that they be on the lookout for him and alert authorities, reports Reuters.
International sports, British Open Golf
St Andrews, Scotland (GenevaLunch) – South African Louis Oosthuizen dominated the Open at St Andrews to win by seven strokes from England’s Lee Westwood. Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson tied for third. Tiger Woods ended well back after scoring two double bogeys on his final round. The 27-year-old Oosthuizen laid the foundations for his victory on Friday, when he took full advantage of favourable conditions in the early morning rounds to take a commanding lead, and then played steadily while the challengers slipped away. In his speech he started by wishing a happy 92nd birthday to Nelson Mandela.
He is the second South African to win the Open at the home of golf, after Bobby Locke in 1957, and the sixth South African to win a major.
South Africa’s businesses say xenophobia is having impact on income
Informal Cross Border Traders women share information after a training on safe migration conducted by IOM (photo: © IOM 2009 - MZW0057 / Erin Foster)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – Numbers for Zimbabwean and other African migrant workers leaving South Africa are hard to come by but it’s clear they have been leaving in the wake of xenophobic threats, particularly in the Western Cape in the past few days.
Small businesses in the region say they are hurting financially, with a 40 percent drop in the number of people taking group taxis and landlords finding tenants have fled the premises.
Geneva-based IOM (International Organization for Migration) said earlier in the week that it was scaling up its operations at border posts to help Zimbabweans returning home, because of an increase in numbers.
IOM safe migration campaign at Matshiloni, Beitbridge Central (photo: © IOM 2009 - MZW0071 / Robert Mageza)
AllAfrica/SW Radio Africa reports that scores of stranded Zimbabwe families line the Beitbridge highways to Harare and Bulaweyo because they fled South Africa with little or no money.
The IOM has also been running a safety campaign in Beitbridge to help migrant and cross-border workers from Zimbabwe, part of a larger programme to provide help with a number of border problems.
IOM in Geneva warns of tense situation
Tutu’s One Movement tamping down xenophobia
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – The International Office for Migration (IOM), a UN agency in Geneva, warned Tuesday 13 July of possible violence against Zimbabwean and other migrant workers in South Africa, in the wake of the World Cup. The organization is preparing, with other UN agencies, the South African government and local NGOs (non-governmental organizations) inside Zimbabwe, to provide aid and help process the return of a large number of people. In recent days the popular border crossing at Beitbridge has been the scene of a steady flow of vehicles laden down with furniture and other household possessions.
The army and police are moving into Western Cape townships after threats of violence; two years ago violence flared, aimed at foreign workers. At the weekend foreign nationals were reported to be leaving Nyanga, Philippi East and Khayelitsha districts.
“I cannot risk the life of my family while trying to watch the World Cup final,” Ellias, a 26-old Zimbabwean from Gwanda, told IOM officials. He is married with two children and was passing through Musina on his way from Mamelodi Township near Pretoria.
Video: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, founder of One Movement, speaks to migrant workers on International Migrant Day, december 2009
Spain to the finals for the very first time. There will be a new World Champion on 11 July – Photo 2010 FWCLOC
International Sports, World Cup football
Durban, South Africa (GenevaLunch.com) - The 2010 World Cup will have a European winner, from a country that has not yet won the ultimate prize in football.
Carlos Puyol scored the only goal for Spain in the semi-final with Germany with a booming header direct from a corner kick. Spain controlled the game for most of the match but their intricate passing set up few chances against the young German team.
Germany had been the in-form team of the 2010 World Cup, scoring four goals against Australia, England and Argentina, but they generated few chances against the technically superior Spanish players.
In the end the result was a repeat of the Euro 2008 final, 1-0 for Spain.
The World Cup final on Sunday will be against the Netherlands who have twice before reached the finals: losing on both occasions to Germany.
Spain have never before reached the final.
Links to other sites: Fifa, Guardian
Follow GenevaLunch’s daily recap of the 2010 World Cup.
International sports, World Cup football
Bloemfontein, South Africa (GenevaLunch) – South Africa beat the hapless French team 2-1 but it was still not enough to let the Bafana Bafana go through to the next round. After the French team’s bad-tempered tantrums in recent days it is ironic that they owed at least some of their loss to a dodgy refereeing decision when Yoan Gourcuff was sent off in the first half.
Siphiwe Tshabalala of South Africa - Photo 2010 FWCLOC
South Africans celebrate their win over France - Photo 2010 FWCLOC
Uruguay beat Mexico 1-0 to top the group but Mexico did well enough to take the second place in the group on goal difference. France came bottom of the group.
In the evening games Argentina beat Greece 2-0 to top their group with three wins. South Korea went through in second place after a 2-2 draw with Nigeria.
Switzerland lost to Chile in Monday’s game but still have a good chance to go through if they beat Honduras: it could depend on goal difference.
England need to beat Slovenia in Wednesday’s game, 16:00 Swiss time, in order to stay in the tournament. Algeria and the USA also have a chance to go through in the group.
The evening games feature Australia against Serbia while Germany face Ghana in agroup where all the teams have a chance of going through.
Follow GenevaLunch’s daily recap of the 2010 World Cup.
(video) Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Fifa, the world football federation, was not amused when a group of mostly blond, willowy women dressed identically in little orange dresses from a Dutch brewery, Bavaria, caught the eye of world cameras at a World Cup match between The Netherlands and Denmark. The 36 women were ejected and questioned to see if they had a link to the brewery, which says it offered the clothes in a gift package. Fifa, which is tough on advertisers and promoters who try to circumvent the strict rules that protect official sponsors, has told several media that the group was hired as part of an advertising campaign.
Budweiser is the official beer sponsor for the World Cup, and has paid millions for the privilege.
Fifa reportedly says it is considering legal action against the brewery, according to the BBC. The Star newspaper in South Africa reports that the stunt could contradict the country’s marketing laws and that in any case ambush marketing is a criminal offense, banned at World Cup games. It quotes a Dutch embassy official, who is looking into the situation, “Foreign Ministry spokesman Aad Meijer said three of the women were Dutch. ‘We are not aware of any South African legislation that allows people to be detained for wearing an orange dress.’” But if the stunt is indeed linked to a TV campaign in The Netherlands, the company may well find itself with a lawsuit brought by Fifa.
Up to 10 million Dutch people were expected to watch the televised match, according to Dutch News.
Media reports in the UK, The Netherlands and South Africa vary wildly, with no official confirmation, on how the young women were treated and whether or not their eviction was a police “detention”.
Links to other sites: BBC, Dutch News, The Star (subscription), IOL (Star reprint)
International sports, 2010 Football World Cup
The party is on for Africa - Photo 2010 Fifa World Cup LOC
[Video]Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa (GenevaLunch) – The Ghana Black Stars recorded the first victory for the host continent with a 1-0 win over Serbia, to the delight of the vuvuzela tooting crowd. In fact the Serbian team helped in their own destruction by first having a player sent off and then conceding a stupid penalty.
England goalkeeper Robert Green was equally generous in donating a goal to allow the USA to draw 1-1. (See reaction of Glen Johnson below)
South Africa looked like they might win the opening game but conceded an equalizer to Mexico to end 1-1.
Germany and Argentina look the form teams from the first few days: the Germans thumped Australia 4-0 while Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0.
South Korea beat a disappointing Greek side 2-0.
France were held to a 0-0 draw by Uruguay in one of the dullest games.
Switzerland have a tough opening match against Spain on Wednesday afternoon.
Follow GenevaLunch’s daily recap of the 2010 World Cup.
Video: Glen Johnson reacts to USA draw
Sole survivor’s aunt and uncle arrive in Tripoli
The Dutch child who is the sole survivor of the privately-owned Afriqiyah Air crash in Tripoli 12 May, an eight-year-old named Ruben, has been joined there by his aunt and uncle. His parents and older brother were killed in the crash and while he does not have life-threatening injuries, he has had surgery for multiple fractures to the lower half of his body and he’s under sedation, reports CNN. Investigators have the flight data recorder and are studying it to determine the cause of the crash.
Meanwhile, Dutch authorities now say that the flight, from Johannisburg in South Africa to Tripoli, was carrying 70 and not 58 Dutch citizens, as earlier reported. The other nationalities on the flight: six South Africans, two Libyans, two Austrians, one German, one French person, one Zimbabwean and two British citizens but the nationalities of others have not yet been provided to media. Politicians in The Netherlands have suspended their campaigns for parliamentary elections in June, to mourn the crash victims.
Links to other sites: Aljazeera, Radio Netherlands
A relatively new Libyan airliner, an Airbus crashed Wednesday morning 12 May trying to land after a flight from South Africa to Tripoli, Libya. The flight reportedly carried 94 passengers and a crew of 11 and all appear to have died except one: a 10-year-old Dutch boy, who is in hospital but does not have life-threatening injuries.
Links to other sites: DutchNews.nl, Reuters
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Basel, easily the favourites, thoroughly thumped second-tier Lausanne 6-0 Sunday 9 May to take the Swiss Cup. Basel is considered a likely candidate for the Premier League next season, according to Swissinfo. The Swiss national team for the World Cup games in South Africa this summer will be announced Tuesday and Basel stars Valentin Stocker and Xherdan Shaqiri will be hoping to have made the list of players.
Links to other sites (Fre): Le Matin, 20 Minutes on national team candidates
Video, swissinfo
International sports, cricket
Garfield Sobers Stadium, Barbados (GenevaLunch) – Kevin Pietersen, England’s South African refugee, led his new countrymen to victory over his old ones at the World Cup Twenty20 in Barbados, 8 May. He struck a rapid 53 runs in 33 balls, enabling his team to reach 168 for seven. South Africa were always struggling to keep up with the run rate and lost wickets regularly. They ended on 129 all out.
Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia (GenevaLunch) – India beat newcomers Afghanistan by seven wickets in their first match of the Twenty20 World Cup. In the next game, against South Africa, they set up a huge total of 186 for five with a century by Suresh Raina. The South Africans could never keep up with the run rate with a slow outfield, and they eventually lost by 14 runs. New Zealand beat Sri Lanka with Jesse Ryder scoring 42 from 27 balls for the Black Caps.
Australia did even better when they batted against Pakistan, scoring 191 thanks to 81 by opening batsman Shane Watson. Pakistan could only manage 157 all out in reply.
Links to other sites: Cricket Twenty20, Guardian, Yahoo Cricket
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma appealed for calm Sunday 4 April after the bludgeoning to death of Eugene Terreblanche, possibly the most notorious white supremacist in a country long divided by racism. He appears to have been murdered while taking a nap on his farm. His death comes shortly after Julius Malema, a senior African National Congress figure, was barred from singing an old anti-apartheid song, “Kill the Boer.”
Links to other sites: AllAfrica, Cape Argus, South Africa, CNN
South Africa, in a case that could set precedents, has awarded a Cape Town house that belongs to the Zimbabwe government to white Zimbabwe farmers whose land was confiscated under President Robert Mugabe’s land reform programme. Other commercial property including jets, owned by the Zimbabwe government but rented out, is reported to be under threat of confiscation by South African courts. The farmers are turning to a court in South Africa because, reports the BBC, “in 2008, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) court ruled that the group of more than 70 Zimbabwean farmers should be allowed to return to their farms unhindered.” Collum Makumbirofa, head of the Zimbabwe Foundation for Reason and Justice, says in an AllAfrica report “that the Mugabe regime regards the Sadc ruling as ‘nonsense and of no consequence’ demonstrates the extent to which the Zanu (PF) government pays scant regard to the rule of law.’”
Gwalior, India (GenevaLunch) – Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score a double century in a one-day international (ODI) when he hit 200 not out against South Africa. He took 147 balls to reach his total, hitting 25 fours and three sixes in a faultless display of finesse and power. India posted a massive 401 for 3 in their fifty overs, with captain MS Dhoni hitting 68 not out in just 35 balls and Dinesh Karthik getting 79. Tendulkar, commonly known as “the litttle master,” also holds the records for the most runs and centuries scored in both Test and one-day internationals.
South Africa replied with 248 all out, with AB de Villiers unbeaten on 114.
Links to other sites: cricket.yahoo, Times of India
Staff at the Nelson Mandela Foundation recall the day he walked out of prison 20 years ago. The former President of South Africa, Mandela makes a rare public appearance Thursday evening at the country’s parliament as part of celebrations to commemorate his walk out of Verster prison 11 February 1990. He was freed after 27 years of detention, and went on to become president of post-apartheid South Africa.
Links to other sites: Guardian, UK, Nelson Mandela official site
China and India are committed to communicating their emissions reduction targets to the UN by the deadline imposed by the Copenhagen Conference in December, following talks in New Delhi 24 January. The four countries seen as key to any climate deal, Brazil, South Africa, China and India, have indicated that they will submit mitigation goals. But India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, confirmed in a letter to the president of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that the four continued to be bound only by the Kyoto Protocoll and not the Copenhagen meeting’s accord, which was not formally adopted by participants.
Links to other sites: Business Week, The Hindu, Times of India
Johannesburg, South Africa (GenevaLunch) - The South African fast bowlers, led by Morne Morkel, ripped through the English batting to allow the South Africans to win the the fourth and final Test by an inning and 75 runs Sunday 17 January. Morkel took three wickets in six balls in a devastating spell that destroyed England’s middle order. He finished the innings with four for 59 and also took a catch to dismiss Paul Collingwood, the only batsman to offer any resistance, for 71. England were all out for 169. Earlier in the game they complained about the operation of the system of referring umpiring decisions to television replay, as they thought South African captain Graeme Smith should have been given out. The series ended even with one Test each and two draws.
Links to other sites: yahoo cricket, The Guardian.
The question of whether South African runner Caster Semenya will be allowed to race until the question of her gender is settled remains unclear, with conflicting views from officials. The Vancouver Sun reports that according to Athletics South Africa, the answer is no, but S Africa’s Times Live quotes an ASA official as saying she can race. Semenya took a gender verification test after winning the women’s 800 metre race in Berlin in August. The results have not been released yet by the IAAF (International Athletics Association Federation) and the South Africa body says she must be cleared to race by the IAAF. SEmenya appeared on a list of runners for upcoming races who are subject to testing, published by the IAAF Thursday 14 January.
Links to other sites: TimesLive, Vancouver Sun
Newlands, Capetown, South Africa (GenevaLunch) - The English bowlers made a dramatic start to the second day of the third Test against South Africa when the last four South African wickets fell in16 balls. Graham Onions took the most important wicket when he dismissed Jacques Kallis for 108 with his first ball. James Anderson took the next three to end with five for 63. South Africa ended on 291.
The South African bowlers quickly struck back, dismissing Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen in the opening session.
Pakistan ended the second day of the Melbourne Test well on top. After dismissing Australia for 127 they ended on 331 for nine.
Links to other sites: Yahoo cricket, BBC, Times
