TODAY
Couple finds rare coins worth over $800,000 while renovating their kitchen floors
Ronnie Koenig and Joyann Jeffrey
Sun, October 16, 2022 at 2:43 PM
A couple in England had the surprise of a lifetime when they discovered a stash of rare coins underneath the kitchen floorboards during a renovation project.
Gregory Edmund, an auctioneer and British coin specialist at Spink and Son, confirmed to TODAY that the coins were discovered by the North Yorkshire couple, who initially thought they had stumbled on a piece of electrical cable while working on their 18th century home in 2019.
"Why they decided to touch it who knows, but when they did, they realised it was a gold disc and there were hundreds more beneath!" Edmunds told TODAY via email.
The haul of rare coins were recently sold at auction for $852,380 against a provisional sale estimate of $231,390. According to The Yorkshire Post, the coins have been linked to a Hull merchant family, the Maisters. The coins date from 1610 until 1727, from the reigns of King James I to King George I. The period covers the time of the marriage of Sarah Maister to Joseph Fernley. According to The Sun, Fernley died in 1725 and Maister remained in the area until her death in 1745.
Over 200 years later, the Yorkshire couple discovered the hidden treasure.
Edmund said it was a unique opportunity to be involved in the auction, which included 372 global registrants and dozens of successful bidders.
"It is a rare privilege for an auctioneer to be graced with a white glove sale (100% sold), but when the story of Joseph and Sarah Fernley and their misers millions came to my attention back in 2019, I just knew the story had to be told," he said. "The anonymous finders were absolutely staggered by the result. It dwarfed any pre-conceived expectations and set dozens of world records along the way."
Edmund said buyers flocked from around the world, bidding up the coins for the privilege of owning a part of their 292-year old treasure.
“The sale was unique in so many ways," he said. "The story of the coins, the method of discovery and the rare opportunity to buy them at auction."
"I have never seen a response to an auction like that before," he said, adding that sales went three times over his provisional estimate.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/co ... 340693.htm
AMAZING STORIES
Re: AMAZING STORIES
World's tallest woman takes her first plane flight after airline removes 6 economy seats to make it possible
Alia Shoaib
Sun, November 6, 2022 at 10:34 AM
24-year-old Turkish woman Rumeysa Gelgi (L), who stands 215.16 centimeters (7 feet, 0.7 inches) tall and has been confirmed as the world's tallest living woman by Guinness World Records, is seen in front of her house in Safranbolu district of Karabuk, Turkey on October 14, 2021.
24-year-old Turkish woman Rumeysa Gelgi (L), who stands 7 feet, 0.7 inches tall and has been confirmed as the world's tallest living woman by Guinness World Records, is seen in front of her house in Karabuk, Turkey on October 14, 2021.Orhan Kuzu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The world's tallest woman was able to take her first flight after an airline removed six seats for her.
Rumeysa Gelgi, who is seven-feet tall, flew from Istanbul, Turkey, to San Francisco.
Turkish Airlines modified a plane to allow Gelgi to lie on a stretcher for the 13-hour flight.
The world's tallest woman could fly on a plane for the first time after the airline removed six economy seats to accommodate her.
Rumeysa Gelgi, who stands at 7 feet, 0.7 inches tall, was named the world's tallest woman by Guinness World Records last year.
Turkish Airlines adapted one of their planes to allow her to travel to San Francisco in September, removing six seats and replacing them with a special stretcher for her to travel on the 13-hour flight, MailOnline reported.
Gelgi, 24, had never previously been able to travel on a plane due to her stature, caused by a condition called Weaver syndrome that causes bone overgrowth, among other things. Even as a child, she was too large to fit in plane seats, according to the outlet.
She typically uses a wheelchair or walker to move around due to her condition.
Gelgi shared a series of images of herself on the journey on Instagram and said that it was "a flawless journey from start to finish."
"This was my first flight, but it certainly won't be the last. From now on, I will be very honored and happy to fly to different parts of the world with @turkishairlines. A heartfelt thank you to every single person involved in my journey," she wrote.
Gelgi went to California to spend time advancing her career in software development and working with Guinness World Records, per the MailOnline.
Gelgi won her first Guinness World Record in 2014, when she was recognized as the world's tallest living teenager before officially becoming the world's tallest woman in 2021.
She also holds the record for being the woman with the largest hands, longest finger, and longest back in the world.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/wo ... 33934.html
Alia Shoaib
Sun, November 6, 2022 at 10:34 AM
24-year-old Turkish woman Rumeysa Gelgi (L), who stands 215.16 centimeters (7 feet, 0.7 inches) tall and has been confirmed as the world's tallest living woman by Guinness World Records, is seen in front of her house in Safranbolu district of Karabuk, Turkey on October 14, 2021.
24-year-old Turkish woman Rumeysa Gelgi (L), who stands 7 feet, 0.7 inches tall and has been confirmed as the world's tallest living woman by Guinness World Records, is seen in front of her house in Karabuk, Turkey on October 14, 2021.Orhan Kuzu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The world's tallest woman was able to take her first flight after an airline removed six seats for her.
Rumeysa Gelgi, who is seven-feet tall, flew from Istanbul, Turkey, to San Francisco.
Turkish Airlines modified a plane to allow Gelgi to lie on a stretcher for the 13-hour flight.
The world's tallest woman could fly on a plane for the first time after the airline removed six economy seats to accommodate her.
Rumeysa Gelgi, who stands at 7 feet, 0.7 inches tall, was named the world's tallest woman by Guinness World Records last year.
Turkish Airlines adapted one of their planes to allow her to travel to San Francisco in September, removing six seats and replacing them with a special stretcher for her to travel on the 13-hour flight, MailOnline reported.
Gelgi, 24, had never previously been able to travel on a plane due to her stature, caused by a condition called Weaver syndrome that causes bone overgrowth, among other things. Even as a child, she was too large to fit in plane seats, according to the outlet.
She typically uses a wheelchair or walker to move around due to her condition.
Gelgi shared a series of images of herself on the journey on Instagram and said that it was "a flawless journey from start to finish."
"This was my first flight, but it certainly won't be the last. From now on, I will be very honored and happy to fly to different parts of the world with @turkishairlines. A heartfelt thank you to every single person involved in my journey," she wrote.
Gelgi went to California to spend time advancing her career in software development and working with Guinness World Records, per the MailOnline.
Gelgi won her first Guinness World Record in 2014, when she was recognized as the world's tallest living teenager before officially becoming the world's tallest woman in 2021.
She also holds the record for being the woman with the largest hands, longest finger, and longest back in the world.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/wo ... 33934.html
Re: AMAZING STORIES
Miami Herald
Mysterious shipwreck found full of household items near Sweden is dated to 14th century
Screengrab from Arkeologerna
Brendan Rascius
Thu, December 1, 2022 at 4:30 PM
New details have emerged surrounding the mysterious wreckage of two medieval ships found off the coast of Sweden last spring. Researchers have finally determined their ages and far-flung origins.
The merchant vessels were discovered near the construction of a railway tunnel in Varberg, about 120 miles north of Copenhagen, according to a Nov. 16 news release from Arkeologerna, an archaeological consulting company.
The vessels were known as cogs, a common type of medieval ship, according to archaeologists.
Cogs were “large, with a spacious cargo space, and were mostly equipped with one mast and one large square sail,” according to the Estonian Mere Museum’s website.
The remains of the vessels were found about 30 feet from each other, a highly unusual occurrence, according to archaeologists. One of the wrecks consists of a nearly intact port side, making it the best-preserved cog wreck ever found in Sweden. Only seven had previously been found in the country and fewer than 40 have been discovered in all of Europe.
Months after archaeologists’ initial discovery, wood samples retrieved from the wreck have finally been analyzed and the results address unanswered questions.
The larger vessel, known as Varbergskoggen 1, was constructed with wood dating to 1346, archaeologists said. The timber was sourced hundreds of miles away in the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
The smaller ship, known as Varbergskoggen 2, was built using trees from northern Poland between 1355 and 1357, meaning that though the ships share a final resting place, they were sourced from separate countries.
As to why or how the pair of ships sank, researchers are not yet sure.
The larger of the two ships “rolled on to its port side while it was still rigged so the ship must have been in use at the time,” Anders Gutehall, one of the archaeologists on the project, told McClatchy News, adding that the wreck site was a shallow bay at the time the ships sunk.
“We are not sure if they sunk during a storm or if someone deliberately sunk them,” Gutehall said.
Bad weather, collisions, flooding and shifting of improperly stored cargo are some of the main reasons ships go down, according to the Maritime Injury Center.
Soil samples may eventually reveal the types of food and other cargo that were stowed on board, archaeologists said, which may provide more answers about the ships’ final voyages.
The wreck was close to the medieval town Getakärr, indicating the crew was likely transporting goods to or from the town, Gutehall said.
A variety of household items found inside the wreck, including leather shoes, wooden spoons and engraved kegs, may also help researchers in further unraveling the mystery of the sunken vessels.
“In the coming year we will continue with examining the ships’ timber and document each of them with a hand held laser scanner...which will also be used for a 3D reconstruction,” Gutehall said.
At least several other ancient shipwrecks have been discovered off the coast of Sweden in recent years.
A 500-year-old ship full of soldiers and Danish nobility was found off the coast of southern Sweden in 2021, according to the Smithsonian Magazine.
And in October, archaeologists announced another Swedish shipwreck was rediscovered by scuba divers, according to previous reporting from McClatchy News. Samples of the timber led researchers to the conclusion that the wreck was the Äpplet, a 17th century warship commissioned by a Swedish king.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/my ... 59577.html
Mysterious shipwreck found full of household items near Sweden is dated to 14th century
Screengrab from Arkeologerna
Brendan Rascius
Thu, December 1, 2022 at 4:30 PM
New details have emerged surrounding the mysterious wreckage of two medieval ships found off the coast of Sweden last spring. Researchers have finally determined their ages and far-flung origins.
The merchant vessels were discovered near the construction of a railway tunnel in Varberg, about 120 miles north of Copenhagen, according to a Nov. 16 news release from Arkeologerna, an archaeological consulting company.
The vessels were known as cogs, a common type of medieval ship, according to archaeologists.
Cogs were “large, with a spacious cargo space, and were mostly equipped with one mast and one large square sail,” according to the Estonian Mere Museum’s website.
The remains of the vessels were found about 30 feet from each other, a highly unusual occurrence, according to archaeologists. One of the wrecks consists of a nearly intact port side, making it the best-preserved cog wreck ever found in Sweden. Only seven had previously been found in the country and fewer than 40 have been discovered in all of Europe.
Months after archaeologists’ initial discovery, wood samples retrieved from the wreck have finally been analyzed and the results address unanswered questions.
The larger vessel, known as Varbergskoggen 1, was constructed with wood dating to 1346, archaeologists said. The timber was sourced hundreds of miles away in the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
The smaller ship, known as Varbergskoggen 2, was built using trees from northern Poland between 1355 and 1357, meaning that though the ships share a final resting place, they were sourced from separate countries.
As to why or how the pair of ships sank, researchers are not yet sure.
The larger of the two ships “rolled on to its port side while it was still rigged so the ship must have been in use at the time,” Anders Gutehall, one of the archaeologists on the project, told McClatchy News, adding that the wreck site was a shallow bay at the time the ships sunk.
“We are not sure if they sunk during a storm or if someone deliberately sunk them,” Gutehall said.
Bad weather, collisions, flooding and shifting of improperly stored cargo are some of the main reasons ships go down, according to the Maritime Injury Center.
Soil samples may eventually reveal the types of food and other cargo that were stowed on board, archaeologists said, which may provide more answers about the ships’ final voyages.
The wreck was close to the medieval town Getakärr, indicating the crew was likely transporting goods to or from the town, Gutehall said.
A variety of household items found inside the wreck, including leather shoes, wooden spoons and engraved kegs, may also help researchers in further unraveling the mystery of the sunken vessels.
“In the coming year we will continue with examining the ships’ timber and document each of them with a hand held laser scanner...which will also be used for a 3D reconstruction,” Gutehall said.
At least several other ancient shipwrecks have been discovered off the coast of Sweden in recent years.
A 500-year-old ship full of soldiers and Danish nobility was found off the coast of southern Sweden in 2021, according to the Smithsonian Magazine.
And in October, archaeologists announced another Swedish shipwreck was rediscovered by scuba divers, according to previous reporting from McClatchy News. Samples of the timber led researchers to the conclusion that the wreck was the Äpplet, a 17th century warship commissioned by a Swedish king.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/my ... 59577.html
Re: AMAZING STORIES
INSIDER
An 8-year-old girl meant to inherit a $61 million diamond business in India has renounced her fortune to become a nun
Matthew Loh
An 8-year-old girl meant to inherit a $61 million business abandoned her fortune to become a nun.
Devanshi Sanghvi was initiated to monkhood under the Jain faith in an extravagant ceremony.
An Instagram page, run at least in part by her family, documents her initiation in more than 100 photos.
An 8-year-old diamond heiress in India gave up her fortune this week to become a nun under the Jain faith.
Devanshi Sanghvi stood to inherit Sanghvi and Sons, her family's jewelry business in the city of Surat, until she officially renounced worldly comforts and took her new role under her religious order on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse first reported.
Her family business is worth around $61 million, according to ICRA, a credit agency in India.
Sanghvi was initiated into monkhood over an extravagant five-day ceremony, documented by a robust campaign on an Instagram account with 9,400 followers.
More than 100 photos on the account show the young girl, dressed in elegant clothing and jewelry, posing or participating in various rituals with her parents and sister this week.
Prior to the ceremony, the Instagram page started promoting the prospect of Sanghvi's initiation as far back as September, while also making posts extolling religious virtues and respected figures in Jainism.
"Today Devanshi has chosen to live a life on the path of spiritual development," read a post that appears to have been written by her parents. "We know it is tough, but we are aware that the Diksha life will bring far more happiness than we can ever provide."
The page's latest posts on Wednesday show Sanghvi after her transformation, smiling in white cotton garb that covers her head as she is surrounded by other nuns and Jain followers.
The Instagram page did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Her family are also members of the Jain faith, AFP reported.
Jainism is one of the world's oldest religions and originated in India at least 2,500 years ago, per the Pew Research Center. The religious minority emphasizes the importance of non-violence, meditation, and rejecting worldly pleasures and vegetarianism, with around 5 to 6 million followers in India.
Sanghvi is one of the youngest people to be inducted into Jain monkhood and relinquish worldly possessions, per AFP. Some Jain families are said to encourage their children to become nuns or monks to raise their family's social standing, the outlet reported.
Upon being initiated, nuns stop addressing their relatives as family members, will pluck out their own hair, never shower, always walk barefoot, and only eat what they receive in alms, the BBC's Priyanka Pathak previously reported.
Bipin Doshi, who teaches Jain philosophy at Mumbai University, told the BBC that once a person becomes a Jain nun "your level of spirituality, social standing, religious standing becomes so high, even the richest man will come down and bow to you."
Sanghvi and Sons did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Read the original article on Insider
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/8- ... 36210.html
An 8-year-old girl meant to inherit a $61 million diamond business in India has renounced her fortune to become a nun
Matthew Loh
An 8-year-old girl meant to inherit a $61 million business abandoned her fortune to become a nun.
Devanshi Sanghvi was initiated to monkhood under the Jain faith in an extravagant ceremony.
An Instagram page, run at least in part by her family, documents her initiation in more than 100 photos.
An 8-year-old diamond heiress in India gave up her fortune this week to become a nun under the Jain faith.
Devanshi Sanghvi stood to inherit Sanghvi and Sons, her family's jewelry business in the city of Surat, until she officially renounced worldly comforts and took her new role under her religious order on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse first reported.
Her family business is worth around $61 million, according to ICRA, a credit agency in India.
Sanghvi was initiated into monkhood over an extravagant five-day ceremony, documented by a robust campaign on an Instagram account with 9,400 followers.
More than 100 photos on the account show the young girl, dressed in elegant clothing and jewelry, posing or participating in various rituals with her parents and sister this week.
Prior to the ceremony, the Instagram page started promoting the prospect of Sanghvi's initiation as far back as September, while also making posts extolling religious virtues and respected figures in Jainism.
"Today Devanshi has chosen to live a life on the path of spiritual development," read a post that appears to have been written by her parents. "We know it is tough, but we are aware that the Diksha life will bring far more happiness than we can ever provide."
The page's latest posts on Wednesday show Sanghvi after her transformation, smiling in white cotton garb that covers her head as she is surrounded by other nuns and Jain followers.
The Instagram page did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Her family are also members of the Jain faith, AFP reported.
Jainism is one of the world's oldest religions and originated in India at least 2,500 years ago, per the Pew Research Center. The religious minority emphasizes the importance of non-violence, meditation, and rejecting worldly pleasures and vegetarianism, with around 5 to 6 million followers in India.
Sanghvi is one of the youngest people to be inducted into Jain monkhood and relinquish worldly possessions, per AFP. Some Jain families are said to encourage their children to become nuns or monks to raise their family's social standing, the outlet reported.
Upon being initiated, nuns stop addressing their relatives as family members, will pluck out their own hair, never shower, always walk barefoot, and only eat what they receive in alms, the BBC's Priyanka Pathak previously reported.
Bipin Doshi, who teaches Jain philosophy at Mumbai University, told the BBC that once a person becomes a Jain nun "your level of spirituality, social standing, religious standing becomes so high, even the richest man will come down and bow to you."
Sanghvi and Sons did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Read the original article on Insider
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/8- ... 36210.html
Re: AMAZING STORIES
USA TODAY
30 northern US states will be able to see the northern lights tonight. Here's where.
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY
Sun, April 23, 2023 at 6:47 PM CDT
It could be a colorful night sky for more than half of millions of people in the northern U.S. as the aurora borealis, or northern lights, could make an appearance in more than half of the country.
The possibility of seeing the dazzling display comes after the sun had a solar flare erupt on Friday that was directed toward Earth, according to the NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. As a result, 30 states will have the chance to see the the aurora borealis, stretching from Washington to Maine, and as far south as Kansas, the Space Weather Watch says, as long as weather conditions permit.
"All in all, you can anticipate good conditions for auroral displays," EarthSky said.
An aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is seen in the night sky on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, near Washtucna, Wash.
.
ALASKA: Glowing spiral resembling a portal to a new galaxy dazzles in the Alaskan night sky
FEBRUARY: Aurora borealis made a rare appearance in Colorado, setting skies ablaze
Geomagnetic storm watch
The Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm watch into Sunday night, with a chance of a G3 (strong) developing later in the night.
The center has a five-level geomagnetic storm scale, with G1 storms registering as minor and G5s considered extreme. A G2 storm typically happens 360 days every 11 years, the center says.
Where will the northern lights appear?
The northern lights will be possible to see in 30 states, depending on weather conditions like cloud coverage.
"Aurora viewing is likely in the United States tonight as Earth is impacted by a strong solar storm. The most favorable cloud conditions look to be over the Midwest, Plains and parts of the Great Lakes and less favorable conditions in the Northeast and Northwest," the Space Watch said.
Here's the states where it'll be possible to see the northern lights Sunday night:
Washington
Oregon
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
Utah
Colorado
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
Minnesota
Iowa
Missouri
Wisconsin
Illinois
Michigan
Indiana
Ohio
Kentucky
West Virginia
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
New York
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Vermont
New Hampshire
Maine
There's a chance the auroras could also been seen in Northern California and Texas.
"Chances for aurora as far south as California, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Alabama, etc if the storms hold in intensity headed into this evening, otherwise, a good portion of the U.S. should still have a chance to see something," the Space Weather Watch said.
What time will the northern lights appear?
The NOAA says the best time to see the northern lights is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time. At that time, officials advise people to get away from city lights to see the the aurora borealis.
Recent northern light displays
The possibility of seeing the northern lights in several states comes a month after they shined in the night sky in the northern U.S., with people in several states capturing pictures of the display.
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Northern lights could be seen in 30 US states Sunday. Here's where.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/18 ... 04133.html
30 northern US states will be able to see the northern lights tonight. Here's where.
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY
Sun, April 23, 2023 at 6:47 PM CDT
It could be a colorful night sky for more than half of millions of people in the northern U.S. as the aurora borealis, or northern lights, could make an appearance in more than half of the country.
The possibility of seeing the dazzling display comes after the sun had a solar flare erupt on Friday that was directed toward Earth, according to the NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. As a result, 30 states will have the chance to see the the aurora borealis, stretching from Washington to Maine, and as far south as Kansas, the Space Weather Watch says, as long as weather conditions permit.
"All in all, you can anticipate good conditions for auroral displays," EarthSky said.
An aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is seen in the night sky on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, near Washtucna, Wash.
.
ALASKA: Glowing spiral resembling a portal to a new galaxy dazzles in the Alaskan night sky
FEBRUARY: Aurora borealis made a rare appearance in Colorado, setting skies ablaze
Geomagnetic storm watch
The Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm watch into Sunday night, with a chance of a G3 (strong) developing later in the night.
The center has a five-level geomagnetic storm scale, with G1 storms registering as minor and G5s considered extreme. A G2 storm typically happens 360 days every 11 years, the center says.
Where will the northern lights appear?
The northern lights will be possible to see in 30 states, depending on weather conditions like cloud coverage.
"Aurora viewing is likely in the United States tonight as Earth is impacted by a strong solar storm. The most favorable cloud conditions look to be over the Midwest, Plains and parts of the Great Lakes and less favorable conditions in the Northeast and Northwest," the Space Watch said.
Here's the states where it'll be possible to see the northern lights Sunday night:
Washington
Oregon
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
Utah
Colorado
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
Minnesota
Iowa
Missouri
Wisconsin
Illinois
Michigan
Indiana
Ohio
Kentucky
West Virginia
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
New York
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Vermont
New Hampshire
Maine
There's a chance the auroras could also been seen in Northern California and Texas.
"Chances for aurora as far south as California, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Alabama, etc if the storms hold in intensity headed into this evening, otherwise, a good portion of the U.S. should still have a chance to see something," the Space Weather Watch said.
What time will the northern lights appear?
The NOAA says the best time to see the northern lights is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time. At that time, officials advise people to get away from city lights to see the the aurora borealis.
Recent northern light displays
The possibility of seeing the northern lights in several states comes a month after they shined in the night sky in the northern U.S., with people in several states capturing pictures of the display.
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Northern lights could be seen in 30 US states Sunday. Here's where.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/18 ... 04133.html
Re: AMAZING STORIES
CNN
Sword of Indian ruler slain by British sells for more than $17 million at auction
Amarachi Orie
Wed, May 24, 2023 at 6:35 AM CDT
The bedchamber sword of Tipu Sultan, an 18th-century king famous for the commanding role he played in wars in southern India, has sold for £14 million ($17.4 million) at auction in London.
The sale price Tuesday was seven times the estimate, breaking the record for an Indian and Islamic object sold at auction, according to a statement from auction house Bonhams.
Tipu Sultan was killed by British forces on May 4, 1799. - Bonhams
“The sword has an extraordinary history, an astonishing provenance and unrivalled craftsmanship,” Nima Sagharchi, group head of Islamic and Indian Art at Bonhams, said in the statement.
“It was no surprise it was so hotly contested between two phone bidders and a bidder in the room. We are delighted with the result,” he added.
Tipu ruled the kingdom of Mysore in southern India between 1782 and 1799, earning the title “Tiger of Mysore” for the ferocity with which he defended his realm, according to the auction house.
The sword was found in the sultan's private palace quarters, near where he slept, after his death. - Bonhams
He pioneered the use of rocket artillery in wars and transformed Mysore into the most dynamic economy in India, Bonhams said.
Tipu was killed by British forces on May 4, 1799, when they stormed his kingdom’s capital, Seringapatam (now Srirangapatna).
After Tipu was killed, his sword, which was found in the private quarters of his palace, was presented to British Major General David Baird as a token of his courage, according to Bonhams.
Tipu slept in a hammock suspended from the ceiling of his bedchamber, with his sword at his side.
The hilt of the sword is decorated with fine gold calligraphy. - Bonhams
The weapon’s handle is decorated with gold calligraphy, “with five of the qualities of God and two invocations calling on God by name,” the auction house said. “The sword of the ruler” is finely inscribed in Persian on the blade, which was manufactured by Mughal swordsmiths following the model of German blades introduced to India in the 16th century.
“This spectacular sword is the greatest of all the weapons linked to Tipu Sultan still in private hands,” said Bruno Vinciguerra, CEO of Bonhams, ahead of the auction.
“Its close personal association with the Sultan, its impeccable provenance traceable to the very day it was captured, and the outstanding craftsmanship that went into its manufacture make it unique and highly desirable,” he added.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/sw ... 50634.html
Sword of Indian ruler slain by British sells for more than $17 million at auction
Amarachi Orie
Wed, May 24, 2023 at 6:35 AM CDT
The bedchamber sword of Tipu Sultan, an 18th-century king famous for the commanding role he played in wars in southern India, has sold for £14 million ($17.4 million) at auction in London.
The sale price Tuesday was seven times the estimate, breaking the record for an Indian and Islamic object sold at auction, according to a statement from auction house Bonhams.
Tipu Sultan was killed by British forces on May 4, 1799. - Bonhams
“The sword has an extraordinary history, an astonishing provenance and unrivalled craftsmanship,” Nima Sagharchi, group head of Islamic and Indian Art at Bonhams, said in the statement.
“It was no surprise it was so hotly contested between two phone bidders and a bidder in the room. We are delighted with the result,” he added.
Tipu ruled the kingdom of Mysore in southern India between 1782 and 1799, earning the title “Tiger of Mysore” for the ferocity with which he defended his realm, according to the auction house.
The sword was found in the sultan's private palace quarters, near where he slept, after his death. - Bonhams
He pioneered the use of rocket artillery in wars and transformed Mysore into the most dynamic economy in India, Bonhams said.
Tipu was killed by British forces on May 4, 1799, when they stormed his kingdom’s capital, Seringapatam (now Srirangapatna).
After Tipu was killed, his sword, which was found in the private quarters of his palace, was presented to British Major General David Baird as a token of his courage, according to Bonhams.
Tipu slept in a hammock suspended from the ceiling of his bedchamber, with his sword at his side.
The hilt of the sword is decorated with fine gold calligraphy. - Bonhams
The weapon’s handle is decorated with gold calligraphy, “with five of the qualities of God and two invocations calling on God by name,” the auction house said. “The sword of the ruler” is finely inscribed in Persian on the blade, which was manufactured by Mughal swordsmiths following the model of German blades introduced to India in the 16th century.
“This spectacular sword is the greatest of all the weapons linked to Tipu Sultan still in private hands,” said Bruno Vinciguerra, CEO of Bonhams, ahead of the auction.
“Its close personal association with the Sultan, its impeccable provenance traceable to the very day it was captured, and the outstanding craftsmanship that went into its manufacture make it unique and highly desirable,” he added.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/sw ... 50634.html
Re: AMAZING STORIES
Yahoo News
Inside the missing Titanic submersible, as rescuers continue search for 5-member crew
The 22-foot vehicle guided via text message lost contact with its support ship Sunday morning.
Christopher Wilson·Senior Writer
Tue, June 20, 2023 at 12:25 PM CDT
Five people remain missing after a submersible bound for the site of the wreckage of the Titanic failed to return as scheduled Sunday evening. Details have continued to emerge about the craft, which was attempting to reach the sunken ship, nearly 13,000 feet beneath the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean.
About the Titan:
According to specs on the OceanGate website, the Titan is 22 feet long (equivalent to the length of a conversion van), 9 feet wide and 8 feet high. It has space for four passengers plus the pilot, and the expeditions cost up to $250,000 per person. The company states that the craft has 96 hours of air and boasts a real-time system monitoring the health of the hull. It features a large domed porthole for observation, as well as external lights and 4K cameras. The interior walls are heated to counter the frigid water temperatures, and the craft has a toilet area that can be curtained off.
An undated handout photo shows Titan, the missing submersible, with one end rounded and the other end in the shape of a shark's snout. It is marked OceanGate, Titan and has a central strap, with several lengths of blue tubing attached loosely on the the top..
Titan, the submersible that vanished on an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic. (Credit Image: Abaca via ZUMA Press)
While the vehicle has been called a submarine, it’s technically a submersible, because it does not have the ability to launch itself and requires support ships. OceanGate's CEO, Stockton Rush, who is among those missing, said last year that his Everett, Wash.-based tourism and research company had reached the site of the Titanic a dozen times between 2021 and 2022.
Because GPS cannot be accessed underwater, the Titan is guided via text messages from the surface ship. According to the Coast Guard, the submersible lost contact with its support vessel, the Canadian research ship Polar Prince, an hour and 45 minutes after it launched. OceanGate said the sub was sealed at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, giving those onboard up to approximately Thursday before running out of oxygen. At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick would not commit to searchers being able to perform a rescue, even if they were able to find the sub, which he said had "about 40 hours of breathable air" left.
Details on the expeditions:
Five people aboard the Titan, a tube-shaped vessel lit by fluorescent lights.
People aboard the Titan. (OceanGate.com)
A 10-minute segment from CBS News Sunday Morning in November provided an in-depth look at the process and at some of the potential issues. The journalist David Pogue relays some of the paperwork in an almost humorous tone, reading, "This experimental vessel has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body, and could result in physical injury, emotional trauma, or death,” before adding, “Where do I sign?”
Another former passenger on the Titan told the BBC on Tuesday of having to sign a “death waiver” that “lists one way after another that you could die on the trip,” including “ [mentioning] death three times on page one, and so it's never far from your mind.”
In the 2022 piece, Pogue noted that while he was on the expedition, traveling on the command ship, the submarine never made it to the wreck site because of communications errors. He quoted one passenger as saying, "We were lost for two-and-a-half hours."
In a tweet Monday, Pogue said the craft was in fact lost for five hours and that adding an emergency locator beacon was discussed. Pogue added, “They could still send short texts to the sub, but did not know where it was. It was quiet and very tense, and they shut off the ship’s internet to prevent us from tweeting.” The company cited the need to keep “all channels open” as a reason for cutting off internet access, he said.
That wasn’t the only issue reported in the story. Pogue said that while poor weather stopped him from making a dive to the sunken luxury liner, the team offered him a trip to a Continental Shelf that served as shark breeding grounds. Pogue only made it 37 feet down before floats came off the launching platform, however, and the mission had to be canceled. He also reported that the Titan was sealed from the outside by 17 bolts.
The CBS News piece also showed that the submarine is piloted by a computer gaming controller, which is not uncommon. OceanGate CEO Rush noted that he got one piece of equipment used on the craft from “Camper [sic] World,” but disagreed with the assessment that his creation “has some elements of MacGyver jerry-riggedness,” referring to the 1980s television action star who would craft complicated tools out of ordinary household objects. Rush did note that the vessel had just one button, saying "It should be like an elevator, you know? It shouldn't take a lot of skill."
Along with Rush, those missing include a British billionaire and explorer, Hamish Harding, a Pakistani businessman, Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman and a 77-year-old French explorer, Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Authorities from the United States and Canada are continuing to conduct a rescue operation, and France has pledged to send a deep-sea robot to help with the effort.
Schema using information from the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston of the search and rescue mission. (Photo by Yasin Demirci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/mi ... 26242.html
Inside the missing Titanic submersible, as rescuers continue search for 5-member crew
The 22-foot vehicle guided via text message lost contact with its support ship Sunday morning.
Christopher Wilson·Senior Writer
Tue, June 20, 2023 at 12:25 PM CDT
Five people remain missing after a submersible bound for the site of the wreckage of the Titanic failed to return as scheduled Sunday evening. Details have continued to emerge about the craft, which was attempting to reach the sunken ship, nearly 13,000 feet beneath the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean.
About the Titan:
According to specs on the OceanGate website, the Titan is 22 feet long (equivalent to the length of a conversion van), 9 feet wide and 8 feet high. It has space for four passengers plus the pilot, and the expeditions cost up to $250,000 per person. The company states that the craft has 96 hours of air and boasts a real-time system monitoring the health of the hull. It features a large domed porthole for observation, as well as external lights and 4K cameras. The interior walls are heated to counter the frigid water temperatures, and the craft has a toilet area that can be curtained off.
An undated handout photo shows Titan, the missing submersible, with one end rounded and the other end in the shape of a shark's snout. It is marked OceanGate, Titan and has a central strap, with several lengths of blue tubing attached loosely on the the top..
Titan, the submersible that vanished on an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic. (Credit Image: Abaca via ZUMA Press)
While the vehicle has been called a submarine, it’s technically a submersible, because it does not have the ability to launch itself and requires support ships. OceanGate's CEO, Stockton Rush, who is among those missing, said last year that his Everett, Wash.-based tourism and research company had reached the site of the Titanic a dozen times between 2021 and 2022.
Because GPS cannot be accessed underwater, the Titan is guided via text messages from the surface ship. According to the Coast Guard, the submersible lost contact with its support vessel, the Canadian research ship Polar Prince, an hour and 45 minutes after it launched. OceanGate said the sub was sealed at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, giving those onboard up to approximately Thursday before running out of oxygen. At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick would not commit to searchers being able to perform a rescue, even if they were able to find the sub, which he said had "about 40 hours of breathable air" left.
Details on the expeditions:
Five people aboard the Titan, a tube-shaped vessel lit by fluorescent lights.
People aboard the Titan. (OceanGate.com)
A 10-minute segment from CBS News Sunday Morning in November provided an in-depth look at the process and at some of the potential issues. The journalist David Pogue relays some of the paperwork in an almost humorous tone, reading, "This experimental vessel has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body, and could result in physical injury, emotional trauma, or death,” before adding, “Where do I sign?”
Another former passenger on the Titan told the BBC on Tuesday of having to sign a “death waiver” that “lists one way after another that you could die on the trip,” including “ [mentioning] death three times on page one, and so it's never far from your mind.”
In the 2022 piece, Pogue noted that while he was on the expedition, traveling on the command ship, the submarine never made it to the wreck site because of communications errors. He quoted one passenger as saying, "We were lost for two-and-a-half hours."
In a tweet Monday, Pogue said the craft was in fact lost for five hours and that adding an emergency locator beacon was discussed. Pogue added, “They could still send short texts to the sub, but did not know where it was. It was quiet and very tense, and they shut off the ship’s internet to prevent us from tweeting.” The company cited the need to keep “all channels open” as a reason for cutting off internet access, he said.
That wasn’t the only issue reported in the story. Pogue said that while poor weather stopped him from making a dive to the sunken luxury liner, the team offered him a trip to a Continental Shelf that served as shark breeding grounds. Pogue only made it 37 feet down before floats came off the launching platform, however, and the mission had to be canceled. He also reported that the Titan was sealed from the outside by 17 bolts.
The CBS News piece also showed that the submarine is piloted by a computer gaming controller, which is not uncommon. OceanGate CEO Rush noted that he got one piece of equipment used on the craft from “Camper [sic] World,” but disagreed with the assessment that his creation “has some elements of MacGyver jerry-riggedness,” referring to the 1980s television action star who would craft complicated tools out of ordinary household objects. Rush did note that the vessel had just one button, saying "It should be like an elevator, you know? It shouldn't take a lot of skill."
Along with Rush, those missing include a British billionaire and explorer, Hamish Harding, a Pakistani businessman, Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman and a 77-year-old French explorer, Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Authorities from the United States and Canada are continuing to conduct a rescue operation, and France has pledged to send a deep-sea robot to help with the effort.
Schema using information from the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston of the search and rescue mission. (Photo by Yasin Demirci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/mi ... 26242.html
California Man Hid Mother’s Death for 3 Decades to Collect Her Benefits
Donald Felix Zampach, 65, received more than $830,000 in payments from the government intended for his late mother. He also took possession of her home while it was still in her name.
A California man has admitted that he hid his mother’s death from the federal government for over three decades so that he could collect more than $800,000 in benefits intended for her, prosecutors said.
The man, Donald Felix Zampach, 65, pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court in San Diego to one count of money laundering and one count of social security fraud.
None of the $830,238 that Mr. Zampach received under the scheme would have been paid out had the different government agencies been made aware of her death, prosecutors said. Mr. Zampach also took possession of his mother’s home in Poway, Calif., while it was still in her name.
The charges to which Mr. Zampach pleaded guilty carry a total maximum prison sentence of 25 years, but federal sentencing guidelines would most likely put his sentence somewhere in the 30- to 37-month range since he has no known prior criminal history, according to Jeffrey D. Hill, a special assistant U.S. attorney.
Mr. Zampach is out on bail and awaiting sentencing on Sept. 20.
“He is overwhelmed with regret,” Knut Johnson, Mr. Zampach’s lawyer, said in an email.
As part of his plea deal, Mr. Zampach has agreed to forfeit more than $830,000, including his home, to pay restitution to a dozen victims, including several lenders with whom he opened lines of credit while purporting to be his mother, prosecutors said. Those lenders lost more than $28,000 because of Mr. Zampach’s actions, prosecutors said.
Mr. Zampach’s mother, who was identified in court documents only with the initials S.T.Z., died on Oct. 22, 1990, in Japan after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and moved to her native country from the United States, court documents show. She was 61 when she died, according to Mr. Hill, and would have been 93 were she alive today.
The bulk of the money Mr. Zampach obtained came from monthly payments by the Social Security Administration, and from an annuity paid by the Defense Finance Accounting Service, which pays benefits to survivors of military veterans. His mother’s spouse had been a U.S. Navy veteran, according to Mr. Hill. Mr. Zampach received $253,714 from the Social Security Administation and $563,626 from the Defense Finance Accounting Service.
Mr. Zampach’s scheme to collect his mother’s benefits began shortly after her death, according to court documents.
In November 1990, Mr. Zampach submitted a form notifying the American Embassy in Tokyo of her death, but left blank a box on the form asking for her Social Security number, prosecutors said. When he returned to the United States with his mother’s remains, he also omitted her Social Security number from an application for a burial permit.
Mr. Zampach admitted that both omissions were intended to conceal his mother’s death from government agencies so that he could receive her benefits. He kept up the ruse until September 2022, forging her signature on government documents to keep the payments flowing. Some years, he filed income tax returns in her name.
But Mr. Zampach’s scheme began to unravel when his mother became the focus of a Social Security Administration audit of people 90 or older who had not used their Medicare benefits. The audit verifies whether those people are still alive.
In June 2022, Mr. Zampach lied to an investigator with the Social Security Administration, saying that “his mother was alive and in Japan,” according to the plea deal.
As part of the conditions of his pre-sentence release, Mr. Zampach, who says that he has dementia and auditory and visual hallucinations, must seek psychiatric or psychological treatment, court documents show.
A California man has admitted that he hid his mother’s death from the federal government for over three decades so that he could collect more than $800,000 in benefits intended for her, prosecutors said.
The man, Donald Felix Zampach, 65, pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court in San Diego to one count of money laundering and one count of social security fraud.
None of the $830,238 that Mr. Zampach received under the scheme would have been paid out had the different government agencies been made aware of her death, prosecutors said. Mr. Zampach also took possession of his mother’s home in Poway, Calif., while it was still in her name.
The charges to which Mr. Zampach pleaded guilty carry a total maximum prison sentence of 25 years, but federal sentencing guidelines would most likely put his sentence somewhere in the 30- to 37-month range since he has no known prior criminal history, according to Jeffrey D. Hill, a special assistant U.S. attorney.
Mr. Zampach is out on bail and awaiting sentencing on Sept. 20.
“He is overwhelmed with regret,” Knut Johnson, Mr. Zampach’s lawyer, said in an email.
As part of his plea deal, Mr. Zampach has agreed to forfeit more than $830,000, including his home, to pay restitution to a dozen victims, including several lenders with whom he opened lines of credit while purporting to be his mother, prosecutors said. Those lenders lost more than $28,000 because of Mr. Zampach’s actions, prosecutors said.
Mr. Zampach’s mother, who was identified in court documents only with the initials S.T.Z., died on Oct. 22, 1990, in Japan after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and moved to her native country from the United States, court documents show. She was 61 when she died, according to Mr. Hill, and would have been 93 were she alive today.
The bulk of the money Mr. Zampach obtained came from monthly payments by the Social Security Administration, and from an annuity paid by the Defense Finance Accounting Service, which pays benefits to survivors of military veterans. His mother’s spouse had been a U.S. Navy veteran, according to Mr. Hill. Mr. Zampach received $253,714 from the Social Security Administation and $563,626 from the Defense Finance Accounting Service.
Mr. Zampach’s scheme to collect his mother’s benefits began shortly after her death, according to court documents.
In November 1990, Mr. Zampach submitted a form notifying the American Embassy in Tokyo of her death, but left blank a box on the form asking for her Social Security number, prosecutors said. When he returned to the United States with his mother’s remains, he also omitted her Social Security number from an application for a burial permit.
Mr. Zampach admitted that both omissions were intended to conceal his mother’s death from government agencies so that he could receive her benefits. He kept up the ruse until September 2022, forging her signature on government documents to keep the payments flowing. Some years, he filed income tax returns in her name.
But Mr. Zampach’s scheme began to unravel when his mother became the focus of a Social Security Administration audit of people 90 or older who had not used their Medicare benefits. The audit verifies whether those people are still alive.
In June 2022, Mr. Zampach lied to an investigator with the Social Security Administration, saying that “his mother was alive and in Japan,” according to the plea deal.
As part of the conditions of his pre-sentence release, Mr. Zampach, who says that he has dementia and auditory and visual hallucinations, must seek psychiatric or psychological treatment, court documents show.
Dress Worn by Princess Diana Sells for a Record $1.15 Million
The black and blue evening dress sold for more than 11 times the expected price, a sign of Diana’s continuing allure more than a quarter century after her death.
Diana, Princess of Wales, and Prince Charles during a royal tour in Florence, Italy, in 1985. It featured one of her signature looks: shoulder pads.Credit...Tim Graham Photo Library / Getty Images
She wore the ballerina-length evening dress to a 1985 dinner hosted by the mayor of Florence, Italy, and again to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra the following year. On Sunday, that dress, which belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales, sold at auction for nearly $1.15 million — a record amount for one of her dresses.
The piece, created by Jacques Azagury, the Moroccan-British fashion designer, was “synonymous with the Princess of Wales’s royal elegance and eternal grace,” the Hollywood auction house, Julien’s Auctions, said in a statement, noting that it had sold for more than 11 times what the auction house had predicted that it would bring.
The dress was sold along with a matching illustration that detailed its black velvet bodice embroidered with metallic stars, a two-tier royal blue organza skirt with a sash and bow (a nod to Diana’s love of dance) and one of her signature looks: shoulder pads.
Image
A ballerina-length dress with a black velvet bodice with embroidered stars and a blue organza skirt.
The dress that sold for nearly $1.15 million. It included a two-tier royal blue organza skirt with a sash and bow, a nod to Diana’s love of dance.Credit...Courtesy of Julien's Auctions
“The fact that this dress, all these years later, goes for this amount — I think people continue to be in awe of her and her fashion,” Elizabeth Holmes, a fashion critic and expert in the royal family’s style, said in an interview on Monday. “Diana has remained a fashion icon.”
The sale of the dress came as “The Crown” — the opulent Netflix series about the British royal family that has renewed interest in the life of Princess Diana and her children — airs its final season. Several of the show’s 60 episodes are devoted to the princess and the controversies in the years leading up to her death in a car crash in 1997.
//The British Royal Family
//An Iconic Dress: A black and blue evening dress worn by Princess Diana in the 1980s has sold at an auction for $1.15 million, a sign of the royal’s continuing allure more than a quarter century after her death.
//Phone Hacking Case: A London court ruled in favor of Prince Harry in a lawsuit that he had brought against a British tabloid publisher — a striking victory in his long-running battle with the news media over its intrusion into his private life.
//Racism Furor: The rollout of a new book about the British royal family revived a scandal over claims that some family members had asked about the skin color of Harry and Meghan’s future son.
//The King’s Swans: A centuries-old law gives Britain’s reigning monarch the right to claim any unmarked mute swans found in open waters during an annual counting mission. This year, the numbers were not good.
The series also showcases her famous clothes. Diana, among the most photographed women in the world at the time, knew her fashion would be observed by millions, and evolved from a modest young woman into a glamorous international celebrity.
“She knew the power of a picture,” Ms. Holmes, the fashion critic, said, describing how Diana used fashion to communicate with onlookers and draw attention to the charities she supported — even as her public speech was limited. When Diana wore the ballerina dress in the 1980s, the princess had truly begun to lean into her personal style, taking risks with shorter hemlines, lower necklines and bold silhouettes, Ms. Holmes said. “You can see that in this dress,” she added. “You can place it in time.”
Image
Princess Diana on a sidewalk outside an event. A crowd of onlookers, some with cameras, stands behind a barrier.
Princess Diana wore the same dress at an event in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1986.Credit...Tim Graham Photo Library / Getty Images
The sale followed an auction in September at which Diana’s iconic black sheep sweater was sold by Sotheby’s for $1.14 million.
At Sunday’s sale, a blouse the princess wore in her 1981 engagement portrait sold for $381,000, four times its original estimate, Julien’s Auctions said.
Diana was the first to auction off her clothing — cleaning out her closet just months before she died to sell 79 dresses in New York and donate $3.25 million to charity.
“It’s interesting to see how her style, thank God, changed,” Joan Rivers, the comedian, said at the time, as she observed the cocktail and evening dresses. A Los Angeles real estate broker, Donna Burgess, noted at the same event that she had come “to Never-Never Land to get a piece of the fairy tale” that, at the time, appeared to some to be Princess Diana’s life.
As is common, Julien’s did not reveal the buyer of the Azagury ballerina dress. Ms. Holmes, the critic, said she hoped whoever it was would treat it with appropriate care.
“I’m dying to know what the people who buy these clothes do with them,” she said. “Are you hanging it in your closet? What’s going on?”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/styl ... ction.html
Diana, Princess of Wales, and Prince Charles during a royal tour in Florence, Italy, in 1985. It featured one of her signature looks: shoulder pads.Credit...Tim Graham Photo Library / Getty Images
She wore the ballerina-length evening dress to a 1985 dinner hosted by the mayor of Florence, Italy, and again to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra the following year. On Sunday, that dress, which belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales, sold at auction for nearly $1.15 million — a record amount for one of her dresses.
The piece, created by Jacques Azagury, the Moroccan-British fashion designer, was “synonymous with the Princess of Wales’s royal elegance and eternal grace,” the Hollywood auction house, Julien’s Auctions, said in a statement, noting that it had sold for more than 11 times what the auction house had predicted that it would bring.
The dress was sold along with a matching illustration that detailed its black velvet bodice embroidered with metallic stars, a two-tier royal blue organza skirt with a sash and bow (a nod to Diana’s love of dance) and one of her signature looks: shoulder pads.
Image
A ballerina-length dress with a black velvet bodice with embroidered stars and a blue organza skirt.
The dress that sold for nearly $1.15 million. It included a two-tier royal blue organza skirt with a sash and bow, a nod to Diana’s love of dance.Credit...Courtesy of Julien's Auctions
“The fact that this dress, all these years later, goes for this amount — I think people continue to be in awe of her and her fashion,” Elizabeth Holmes, a fashion critic and expert in the royal family’s style, said in an interview on Monday. “Diana has remained a fashion icon.”
The sale of the dress came as “The Crown” — the opulent Netflix series about the British royal family that has renewed interest in the life of Princess Diana and her children — airs its final season. Several of the show’s 60 episodes are devoted to the princess and the controversies in the years leading up to her death in a car crash in 1997.
//The British Royal Family
//An Iconic Dress: A black and blue evening dress worn by Princess Diana in the 1980s has sold at an auction for $1.15 million, a sign of the royal’s continuing allure more than a quarter century after her death.
//Phone Hacking Case: A London court ruled in favor of Prince Harry in a lawsuit that he had brought against a British tabloid publisher — a striking victory in his long-running battle with the news media over its intrusion into his private life.
//Racism Furor: The rollout of a new book about the British royal family revived a scandal over claims that some family members had asked about the skin color of Harry and Meghan’s future son.
//The King’s Swans: A centuries-old law gives Britain’s reigning monarch the right to claim any unmarked mute swans found in open waters during an annual counting mission. This year, the numbers were not good.
The series also showcases her famous clothes. Diana, among the most photographed women in the world at the time, knew her fashion would be observed by millions, and evolved from a modest young woman into a glamorous international celebrity.
“She knew the power of a picture,” Ms. Holmes, the fashion critic, said, describing how Diana used fashion to communicate with onlookers and draw attention to the charities she supported — even as her public speech was limited. When Diana wore the ballerina dress in the 1980s, the princess had truly begun to lean into her personal style, taking risks with shorter hemlines, lower necklines and bold silhouettes, Ms. Holmes said. “You can see that in this dress,” she added. “You can place it in time.”
Image
Princess Diana on a sidewalk outside an event. A crowd of onlookers, some with cameras, stands behind a barrier.
Princess Diana wore the same dress at an event in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1986.Credit...Tim Graham Photo Library / Getty Images
The sale followed an auction in September at which Diana’s iconic black sheep sweater was sold by Sotheby’s for $1.14 million.
At Sunday’s sale, a blouse the princess wore in her 1981 engagement portrait sold for $381,000, four times its original estimate, Julien’s Auctions said.
Diana was the first to auction off her clothing — cleaning out her closet just months before she died to sell 79 dresses in New York and donate $3.25 million to charity.
“It’s interesting to see how her style, thank God, changed,” Joan Rivers, the comedian, said at the time, as she observed the cocktail and evening dresses. A Los Angeles real estate broker, Donna Burgess, noted at the same event that she had come “to Never-Never Land to get a piece of the fairy tale” that, at the time, appeared to some to be Princess Diana’s life.
As is common, Julien’s did not reveal the buyer of the Azagury ballerina dress. Ms. Holmes, the critic, said she hoped whoever it was would treat it with appropriate care.
“I’m dying to know what the people who buy these clothes do with them,” she said. “Are you hanging it in your closet? What’s going on?”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/styl ... ction.html
Re: AMAZING STORIES
Archaeologists Think They Might Have Found the Real Noah’s Ark
Tim Newcomb
Mon, December 25, 2023 at 7:00 AM CST·
Archaeologists believe they may have discovered the final location of Noah’s Ark on Turkey’s Mount Ararat.
Soil samples from atop the highest peaks in Turkey reveal human activity and marine materials.
Dating of the rock and soil from the location match with Biblical timing of Noah’s Ark.
Researchers from a trio of universities in Turkey and the United States have spent roughly a year analyzing the rock and soil in the famous Durupinar formation on Mount Ararat, the highest mountain in Turkey. They believe that the boat-shaped site may hold the ruins of the legendary Noah’s Ark.
The Biblical account of Noah tells of God instructing Noah to build a giant ark to spare his family and pairs of animals from an impending flood meant to destroy the evil and wickedness running rampant on Earth. Noah’s Ark is said to have come to rest on the mountains of Ararat following a 150-day flood about 5,000 years ago.
Researchers now believe they’ve found evidence of human activity near the boat-shaped formation in the mountains from between 5500 and 3000 BC.
Faruk Kaya, AICU vice rector professor, says that analyzing rocks and soil from the uniquely shaped area on the mountain shows human activity in the region, timed to the years following the flood in the legend of Noah’s Ark. “In terms of dating, it is stated that there was life in this region as well,” Kaya says, according to The Daily Mail. “This was revealed in the laboratory results.”
Human activity, however, does not a Biblical account prove. The Durupinar formation has been put forth as a potential ark resting place for many years, and has received extensive attention from those hoping to find Noah’s Ark. Despite the hype, archaeologists have consistently reaffirmed over the years that the formation is natural, not the result of a petrified shipwreck, and that there is no geologic record of a global flood like the one described in religious texts. Some believe that a more local flood may have been possible, but that is also debated.
The team says it isn’t currently possible to say that Noah’s Ark itself was at the Durupinar site.
“With the dating, it is not possible to say that the ship is here,” Faruk Kaya, one of the researchers on the project, said according to Turkish news publication Hurriyet. “We need to work for a long time to reveal this. In the next period, we agreed to carry out a joint study under the leadership of ITU, Andrew University and AICU. Three universities will continue their work in this field in the future.”
For now, the scientists point to the evidence in the soil of “clayey materials, marine materials, and seafood,” according to Hurriyet, within the geological formation as evidence.
The team of researchers placed a renewed focus on the region in 2021 by exploring varying geological areas—including the Durupinar formation, which is made of limonite that bears resemblance to a ship like Noah’s Ark. Further exploration led the team to take the rock and soil samples from the country’s highest peaks for laboratory analysis.
The story of God, Noah, his family, the animals in his care, and Noah’s Ark has caused much debate for centuries. The search for proof of this event will likely continue for some time, and only that time will tell if it is there to be found.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/lifesty ... 00885.html
Comments;
Kevin
The Biblical story of Noah was borrowed from the Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh. The oldest copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh is dated to 2,000 BC. The oldest copy of Genesis in Aramaic (if I'm not mistaken) comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls...so roughly 200 BC. However, there were Greek versions of Genesis that date back to 500 BC (Codex Alexandrinus). The real question is whether the Hebrews borrowed this Flood story from earlier myths and told it from the perspective of their God, or if this was a real event, and like a game of telephone, the details got changed over time. Many ancient societies had a flood story.
L
Over many years claims have been made that the remains of Noah's ark have been found. The reality is that no actual proof that any such remains have been found, and there has been no proof or evidence of there was a great flood as described in the Bible. The entire story is fantastical in nature and lacks any proof of occurring. There may have been a large flood causing great damage that was the basis of the story but greatly embellished and embraced by believers in religion, or might be simply a fabricated story. The majority of biblical scholars highly doubt that Moses, the person said to have written about the flood, ever existed. The entire story that pairs of all animals on earth (and extras to serve as food) somehow magically came to the ark, were fed and cared for over a year by one family, inside a boat, stretches the imagination beyond any reasonable belief. All we know for certain is that someone wrote down a story. The fact that some places, persons pr events described in the Bible may have existed or taken place hardly means that everything in the Bible is true. The Wizard of Oz describes some actual places and things (Kansas, farm, storm shelter, tornado, etc.), but that doesn't mean that other things described in the story ((a women flying on a broom, or a scarecrow and tin man who could sing and dance, etc. are true.
Kurtis
They found it again? Noah must have had a fleet of ships. Admiral Noah, Gods Commander of the Seven Seas.
Tim Newcomb
Mon, December 25, 2023 at 7:00 AM CST·
Archaeologists believe they may have discovered the final location of Noah’s Ark on Turkey’s Mount Ararat.
Soil samples from atop the highest peaks in Turkey reveal human activity and marine materials.
Dating of the rock and soil from the location match with Biblical timing of Noah’s Ark.
Researchers from a trio of universities in Turkey and the United States have spent roughly a year analyzing the rock and soil in the famous Durupinar formation on Mount Ararat, the highest mountain in Turkey. They believe that the boat-shaped site may hold the ruins of the legendary Noah’s Ark.
The Biblical account of Noah tells of God instructing Noah to build a giant ark to spare his family and pairs of animals from an impending flood meant to destroy the evil and wickedness running rampant on Earth. Noah’s Ark is said to have come to rest on the mountains of Ararat following a 150-day flood about 5,000 years ago.
Researchers now believe they’ve found evidence of human activity near the boat-shaped formation in the mountains from between 5500 and 3000 BC.
Faruk Kaya, AICU vice rector professor, says that analyzing rocks and soil from the uniquely shaped area on the mountain shows human activity in the region, timed to the years following the flood in the legend of Noah’s Ark. “In terms of dating, it is stated that there was life in this region as well,” Kaya says, according to The Daily Mail. “This was revealed in the laboratory results.”
Human activity, however, does not a Biblical account prove. The Durupinar formation has been put forth as a potential ark resting place for many years, and has received extensive attention from those hoping to find Noah’s Ark. Despite the hype, archaeologists have consistently reaffirmed over the years that the formation is natural, not the result of a petrified shipwreck, and that there is no geologic record of a global flood like the one described in religious texts. Some believe that a more local flood may have been possible, but that is also debated.
The team says it isn’t currently possible to say that Noah’s Ark itself was at the Durupinar site.
“With the dating, it is not possible to say that the ship is here,” Faruk Kaya, one of the researchers on the project, said according to Turkish news publication Hurriyet. “We need to work for a long time to reveal this. In the next period, we agreed to carry out a joint study under the leadership of ITU, Andrew University and AICU. Three universities will continue their work in this field in the future.”
For now, the scientists point to the evidence in the soil of “clayey materials, marine materials, and seafood,” according to Hurriyet, within the geological formation as evidence.
The team of researchers placed a renewed focus on the region in 2021 by exploring varying geological areas—including the Durupinar formation, which is made of limonite that bears resemblance to a ship like Noah’s Ark. Further exploration led the team to take the rock and soil samples from the country’s highest peaks for laboratory analysis.
The story of God, Noah, his family, the animals in his care, and Noah’s Ark has caused much debate for centuries. The search for proof of this event will likely continue for some time, and only that time will tell if it is there to be found.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/lifesty ... 00885.html
Comments;
Kevin
The Biblical story of Noah was borrowed from the Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh. The oldest copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh is dated to 2,000 BC. The oldest copy of Genesis in Aramaic (if I'm not mistaken) comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls...so roughly 200 BC. However, there were Greek versions of Genesis that date back to 500 BC (Codex Alexandrinus). The real question is whether the Hebrews borrowed this Flood story from earlier myths and told it from the perspective of their God, or if this was a real event, and like a game of telephone, the details got changed over time. Many ancient societies had a flood story.
L
Over many years claims have been made that the remains of Noah's ark have been found. The reality is that no actual proof that any such remains have been found, and there has been no proof or evidence of there was a great flood as described in the Bible. The entire story is fantastical in nature and lacks any proof of occurring. There may have been a large flood causing great damage that was the basis of the story but greatly embellished and embraced by believers in religion, or might be simply a fabricated story. The majority of biblical scholars highly doubt that Moses, the person said to have written about the flood, ever existed. The entire story that pairs of all animals on earth (and extras to serve as food) somehow magically came to the ark, were fed and cared for over a year by one family, inside a boat, stretches the imagination beyond any reasonable belief. All we know for certain is that someone wrote down a story. The fact that some places, persons pr events described in the Bible may have existed or taken place hardly means that everything in the Bible is true. The Wizard of Oz describes some actual places and things (Kansas, farm, storm shelter, tornado, etc.), but that doesn't mean that other things described in the story ((a women flying on a broom, or a scarecrow and tin man who could sing and dance, etc. are true.
Kurtis
They found it again? Noah must have had a fleet of ships. Admiral Noah, Gods Commander of the Seven Seas.
Re: AMAZING STORIES
More on Noah's Ark at: viewtopic.php?t=93
Brothers Funeral On The Same Day!
Kisumu business tycoon Amin Gilani will be buried in Kisumu on Sunday.
Amin, who owns Mayfair Holdings, died on March 2 aged 70 in the United Kingdom, where he was receiving treatment.
He will be buried according to the Ismailia rites at the City’s cemetery.
The family said a fundraising (Dilsoji) will be held on Saturday at Kisumu Jamatkhana, after prayer (Jamati) ceremonies.
The viewing of the body (Samar and Ziyarat) will take place at the same place after prayers (Jamati) ceremonies.
The funeral service will then be held on Sunday at 1.30 pm, before departure to the cemetery at 2.30 pm.
*********
*Shamas Sadrudin Gilani*
Aged 72 years, of Kisumu, Kenya, passed away on 9 March 2024
The Jamat is requested to forgive the departed soul for any ill will or hurt that may have been caused knowingly or unknowingly and pray for the eternal peace and rest of the soul. _Ameen_
Dilsoji will be held on Saturday, 9 March 2024, at Kisumu Jamatkhana, after Jamati Ceremonies.
*Funeral will be held on Sunday, 10 March 2024, at 1.30 pm at Kisumu Jamatkhana, departure at 2.30 pm for the cemetry.*
_Samar and Ziyarat_ will take place on Sunday, 10 March 2024, at Kisumu Jamatkhana, after evening Jamati ceremonies.
Amin, who owns Mayfair Holdings, died on March 2 aged 70 in the United Kingdom, where he was receiving treatment.
He will be buried according to the Ismailia rites at the City’s cemetery.
The family said a fundraising (Dilsoji) will be held on Saturday at Kisumu Jamatkhana, after prayer (Jamati) ceremonies.
The viewing of the body (Samar and Ziyarat) will take place at the same place after prayers (Jamati) ceremonies.
The funeral service will then be held on Sunday at 1.30 pm, before departure to the cemetery at 2.30 pm.
*********
*Shamas Sadrudin Gilani*
Aged 72 years, of Kisumu, Kenya, passed away on 9 March 2024
The Jamat is requested to forgive the departed soul for any ill will or hurt that may have been caused knowingly or unknowingly and pray for the eternal peace and rest of the soul. _Ameen_
Dilsoji will be held on Saturday, 9 March 2024, at Kisumu Jamatkhana, after Jamati Ceremonies.
*Funeral will be held on Sunday, 10 March 2024, at 1.30 pm at Kisumu Jamatkhana, departure at 2.30 pm for the cemetry.*
_Samar and Ziyarat_ will take place on Sunday, 10 March 2024, at Kisumu Jamatkhana, after evening Jamati ceremonies.
A ‘Perfect Monolith’ Appears in Wales
A resident said he discovered the shiny, silver object on a prominent hill during his daily walk.
The newly discovered monolith in Powys, Wales, on Tuesday.Credit...Craig Muir
Not one to let “horrific” weather stop him, Craig Muir left his house in Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales, early Tuesday to take his usual walk up Hay Bluff when he spotted something large, shiny and new.
Standing there in the distance, like a beacon, was a silver monolith with no apparent trace as to how it got there or what it was doing in that spot.
It looked like it had “just been dropped down from space,” Mr. Muir said during a telephone interview on Tuesday. The sighting immediately captured media attention, calling to mind similar mysterious objects placed around the world in late 2020.
“It must be some sort of art installation,” he said. “If you didn’t know anything, to look at it, you could have easily thought it had been dropped off by a U.F.O. or something.”
Describing the location of the monolith as “the middle of nowhere,” Mr. Muir said there were no visible tracks, but he did see some footprints.
“I don’t know if someone else had seen it,” he said.
Video
Footage provided by Craig Muir shows a silver monolith near Hay Bluff in Wales. It’s unclear how the monolith got there.CreditCredit...Courtesy of Craig Muir
Mr. Muir, 37, who works as a stone mason, said the monolith stands roughly 10 feet tall, and that it’s about a foot-and-a-half wide at each point. He said that he didn’t know how deep into the ground it goes.
Calling it a “perfect monolith,” Mr. Muir said it was “exactly like the ones they have in Egypt” but “made of steel, and there’s no markings on there at all.”
The monolith appears to have been made from surgical steel, he said, adding that he did not think it was aluminum because “it had too much shine to it.”
“I’d say it was like a surgical steel because obviously whoever’s done it doesn’t want it to rust,” Mr. Muir said, noting that the monolith must have some heft to it because it wasn’t moving at all despite the strong winds. He also described it as “very, very smooth, very shiny, very crisp edges.”
As someone with welders and metal fabricators in his family, Mr. Muir said he’s around metal a lot, and it was his professional opinion that whoever crafted it did a “real good job.”
“There’s no obvious weld marks,” he said. “It was very, very neat.”
Mr. Muir was apparently not the only person to see it. Richard Haynes, who spoke to WalesOnline, said he had spotted the object while running on Hay Bluff.
“I thought it looked a bit bizarre and might be a scientific media research thing collecting rainwater,” he said.
The Welsh monolith is only the latest of these objects to suddenly, almost magically, appear.
For a time — a few weird months in the depths of the pandemic — things like the one in Wales seemed to be popping up everywhere. A bighorn sheep survey in Utah spotted the first, in November 2020 in a remote canyon in Red Rock Country. Even though that one was dismantled under the cover of night a few days later, others were soon built in California, Romania and Turkey.
People widely called them monoliths, because they were large and sheer and appeared in surprising places, like the thing in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” albeit without as much of an aura of mystery and dread. In a few cases, people took credit for their creation. Some other people sought them out, seeking a strange metaphysical experience to rival those in the film. Mostly, though, people took cellphone photos and made internet jokes.
Hay Bluff, which overlooks the town of Hay-on-Wye, is a hill located inside of Brecon Beacons National Park, Mr. Muir said. Unfortunately, it’s this setting that could do away with the monolith sooner rather than later.
“I can’t say how long it will be there, to be honest,” he said. “Knowing our national parks, they don’t take lightly to things being installed without their permission.”
Alan Yuhas contributed reporting and Susan Beachy provided research.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/worl ... 778d3e6de3
The newly discovered monolith in Powys, Wales, on Tuesday.Credit...Craig Muir
Not one to let “horrific” weather stop him, Craig Muir left his house in Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales, early Tuesday to take his usual walk up Hay Bluff when he spotted something large, shiny and new.
Standing there in the distance, like a beacon, was a silver monolith with no apparent trace as to how it got there or what it was doing in that spot.
It looked like it had “just been dropped down from space,” Mr. Muir said during a telephone interview on Tuesday. The sighting immediately captured media attention, calling to mind similar mysterious objects placed around the world in late 2020.
“It must be some sort of art installation,” he said. “If you didn’t know anything, to look at it, you could have easily thought it had been dropped off by a U.F.O. or something.”
Describing the location of the monolith as “the middle of nowhere,” Mr. Muir said there were no visible tracks, but he did see some footprints.
“I don’t know if someone else had seen it,” he said.
Video
Footage provided by Craig Muir shows a silver monolith near Hay Bluff in Wales. It’s unclear how the monolith got there.CreditCredit...Courtesy of Craig Muir
Mr. Muir, 37, who works as a stone mason, said the monolith stands roughly 10 feet tall, and that it’s about a foot-and-a-half wide at each point. He said that he didn’t know how deep into the ground it goes.
Calling it a “perfect monolith,” Mr. Muir said it was “exactly like the ones they have in Egypt” but “made of steel, and there’s no markings on there at all.”
The monolith appears to have been made from surgical steel, he said, adding that he did not think it was aluminum because “it had too much shine to it.”
“I’d say it was like a surgical steel because obviously whoever’s done it doesn’t want it to rust,” Mr. Muir said, noting that the monolith must have some heft to it because it wasn’t moving at all despite the strong winds. He also described it as “very, very smooth, very shiny, very crisp edges.”
As someone with welders and metal fabricators in his family, Mr. Muir said he’s around metal a lot, and it was his professional opinion that whoever crafted it did a “real good job.”
“There’s no obvious weld marks,” he said. “It was very, very neat.”
Mr. Muir was apparently not the only person to see it. Richard Haynes, who spoke to WalesOnline, said he had spotted the object while running on Hay Bluff.
“I thought it looked a bit bizarre and might be a scientific media research thing collecting rainwater,” he said.
The Welsh monolith is only the latest of these objects to suddenly, almost magically, appear.
For a time — a few weird months in the depths of the pandemic — things like the one in Wales seemed to be popping up everywhere. A bighorn sheep survey in Utah spotted the first, in November 2020 in a remote canyon in Red Rock Country. Even though that one was dismantled under the cover of night a few days later, others were soon built in California, Romania and Turkey.
People widely called them monoliths, because they were large and sheer and appeared in surprising places, like the thing in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” albeit without as much of an aura of mystery and dread. In a few cases, people took credit for their creation. Some other people sought them out, seeking a strange metaphysical experience to rival those in the film. Mostly, though, people took cellphone photos and made internet jokes.
Hay Bluff, which overlooks the town of Hay-on-Wye, is a hill located inside of Brecon Beacons National Park, Mr. Muir said. Unfortunately, it’s this setting that could do away with the monolith sooner rather than later.
“I can’t say how long it will be there, to be honest,” he said. “Knowing our national parks, they don’t take lightly to things being installed without their permission.”
Alan Yuhas contributed reporting and Susan Beachy provided research.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/worl ... 778d3e6de3
Re: AMAZING STORIES
INSIDER
10 Israeli soldiers hospitalized for wasp stings after their tank ran over a swarm's nest in Gaza
Rebecca Rommen
Sat, May 11, 2024 at 11:26 AM CDT·
A swarm of wasps in the southern Gaza Strip injured twelve IDF soldiers.
The incident occurred during an ongoing operation by the Gaza Division's Southern Brigade.
Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv treated the wounded soldiers, with one requiring intensive care.
Twelve IDF soldiers were injured after being attacked by a swarm of wasps in the southern Gaza Strip, the Times of Israel reports.
The military said the incident unfolded on Friday when a tank inadvertently disturbed a nest, prompting the insects to retaliate, per The Times of Israel.
Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer admitted 10 of the wounded soldiers for treatment, with one requiring intensive care, said the report. The hospital said that none of the soldiers' conditions had worsened and that none of their lives were in jeopardy.
While this incident did not prove fatal, attacks by warm swarms can be deadly. A grandfather in Kentucky died after being attacked by a swarm of insects, likely yellow jackets, last year.
The bizarre wasp attack is the latest in a series of accidents and errors that have dogged the IDF's Gaza campaign.
The incident in Gaza transpired amid an ongoing operation led by the Gaza Division's Southern Brigade in the border region opposite the Israeli community of Nirim.
According to the Sheba Medical Center, some of the troops suffered from allergic reactions from being stung by hundreds of wasps — a situation medical professionals had not previously encountered on such a scale, The Times of Israel said.
The Israeli hospital responded by mobilizing intensive care, anesthesia, toxicology, and ophthalmology to ensure the proper treatment of the affected soldiers.
On October 7, a Hamas-led attack on Israel resulted in 1,143 killed, including 767 civilians and hundreds of soldiers.
Since then, Israel's retaliatory war operations have killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
But the Israeli military has also fallen victim to themselves.
In the wasp incident, the swarm was provoked by a tank rolling over its nest. Other IDF blunders have also led to Israeli casualties and equipment losses.
Instances of friendly fire have killed Israeli hostages and soldiers, including Efrat Katz, who was being captured from her kibbutz on October 7 when an IDF helicopter machine-gunned her kidnappers' car.
A report in Haaretz earlier this week said that 22 IDF soldiers have been killed and 54 have been injured by friendly fire in the conflict so far.
Last week, a US Marine officer said 40% of drones the IDF has shot down were their own.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/10 ... 05863.html
Some comments:
Several US senators have already introduced legislation proclaiming all wasps to be antisemitic and calling for their deportation. They expect to be financially rewarded by AIPAC.
Caged BORNFREE
7 hours ago
Those wasps had the right to defend themselves!
Ray
8 hours ago
Should have left the bees alone....
Ot
7 hours ago
The wasp president, Buzz Al-Buzzawi, said his cabinet is reviewing the incident, will launch a thorough investigation and punish any conduct deemed antisemitic.
Ryan
6 hours ago
Almost like they’re not familiar with the land. Lol
Usagi
7 hours ago
Antesemetic T. error bees?
That is one of those hidden dangers in war they never train you for.
Ruben
7 hours ago
According to the IDF, they were ambushed by Hamas wasps but were bravery able to fend them off. All involved will receive military decorations.
Ms. Smith
6 hours ago
The wasps have been branded as "anti-semitic" ...!
Wrlocke
8 hours ago
Hamas trained stingers.
ZEESHAN
6 hours ago
Lol. That's hilarious. Great news
TooSexy4MyPolitics
8 hours ago
Wow. Big news. I'd like reports on hangnails as well.
outsider
8 hours ago
Hope some had severe allergy reactions. Wonderful
Ike
8 hours ago
Can you imagine how wasps have better judgement than the west?
Gerry
5 hours ago
That was karma.
Brad
5 hours ago
I don't think God is happy with his 'chosen' people. Time to teach them a lesson
Life warrior 1
6 hours ago
Good, you can't run from the pollination!
William s
7 hours ago
Antisemitic bugs
5 hours ago
According to American media they were deployed by Hamas.
Justice and Truth
3 hours ago
US congress will pass a new law against bees and Joe will sign it ASAP.
Leonard
6 hours ago
The Times of Israel seems to care more about 12 soldiers getting stung than they do about 14,000 children dying.
Reply
17
2
Share
2 replies
Hoss Dahdouli
9 hours ago
I can see it now congress holding an emergency session calling those bugs antisemitic
Reply
29
6
Share
2 replies
Sam
7 hours ago
This is funny.
Thomas
7 hours ago
That’s only a small percentage of the Karma that should be headed towards Netanyahu and the IDF
natetran
6 hours ago
So bees now are anti semmm etic
Mmmm
6 hours ago
Poor wasps...
Matthew
6 hours ago
Wow, this would bite.
Of all the things to be "hit" by in combat....
john
4 hours ago
Wasps have the right to defend themselves
10 Israeli soldiers hospitalized for wasp stings after their tank ran over a swarm's nest in Gaza
Rebecca Rommen
Sat, May 11, 2024 at 11:26 AM CDT·
A swarm of wasps in the southern Gaza Strip injured twelve IDF soldiers.
The incident occurred during an ongoing operation by the Gaza Division's Southern Brigade.
Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv treated the wounded soldiers, with one requiring intensive care.
Twelve IDF soldiers were injured after being attacked by a swarm of wasps in the southern Gaza Strip, the Times of Israel reports.
The military said the incident unfolded on Friday when a tank inadvertently disturbed a nest, prompting the insects to retaliate, per The Times of Israel.
Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer admitted 10 of the wounded soldiers for treatment, with one requiring intensive care, said the report. The hospital said that none of the soldiers' conditions had worsened and that none of their lives were in jeopardy.
While this incident did not prove fatal, attacks by warm swarms can be deadly. A grandfather in Kentucky died after being attacked by a swarm of insects, likely yellow jackets, last year.
The bizarre wasp attack is the latest in a series of accidents and errors that have dogged the IDF's Gaza campaign.
The incident in Gaza transpired amid an ongoing operation led by the Gaza Division's Southern Brigade in the border region opposite the Israeli community of Nirim.
According to the Sheba Medical Center, some of the troops suffered from allergic reactions from being stung by hundreds of wasps — a situation medical professionals had not previously encountered on such a scale, The Times of Israel said.
The Israeli hospital responded by mobilizing intensive care, anesthesia, toxicology, and ophthalmology to ensure the proper treatment of the affected soldiers.
On October 7, a Hamas-led attack on Israel resulted in 1,143 killed, including 767 civilians and hundreds of soldiers.
Since then, Israel's retaliatory war operations have killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
But the Israeli military has also fallen victim to themselves.
In the wasp incident, the swarm was provoked by a tank rolling over its nest. Other IDF blunders have also led to Israeli casualties and equipment losses.
Instances of friendly fire have killed Israeli hostages and soldiers, including Efrat Katz, who was being captured from her kibbutz on October 7 when an IDF helicopter machine-gunned her kidnappers' car.
A report in Haaretz earlier this week said that 22 IDF soldiers have been killed and 54 have been injured by friendly fire in the conflict so far.
Last week, a US Marine officer said 40% of drones the IDF has shot down were their own.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/10 ... 05863.html
Some comments:
Several US senators have already introduced legislation proclaiming all wasps to be antisemitic and calling for their deportation. They expect to be financially rewarded by AIPAC.
Caged BORNFREE
7 hours ago
Those wasps had the right to defend themselves!
Ray
8 hours ago
Should have left the bees alone....
Ot
7 hours ago
The wasp president, Buzz Al-Buzzawi, said his cabinet is reviewing the incident, will launch a thorough investigation and punish any conduct deemed antisemitic.
Ryan
6 hours ago
Almost like they’re not familiar with the land. Lol
Usagi
7 hours ago
Antesemetic T. error bees?
That is one of those hidden dangers in war they never train you for.
Ruben
7 hours ago
According to the IDF, they were ambushed by Hamas wasps but were bravery able to fend them off. All involved will receive military decorations.
Ms. Smith
6 hours ago
The wasps have been branded as "anti-semitic" ...!
Wrlocke
8 hours ago
Hamas trained stingers.
ZEESHAN
6 hours ago
Lol. That's hilarious. Great news
TooSexy4MyPolitics
8 hours ago
Wow. Big news. I'd like reports on hangnails as well.
outsider
8 hours ago
Hope some had severe allergy reactions. Wonderful
Ike
8 hours ago
Can you imagine how wasps have better judgement than the west?
Gerry
5 hours ago
That was karma.
Brad
5 hours ago
I don't think God is happy with his 'chosen' people. Time to teach them a lesson
Life warrior 1
6 hours ago
Good, you can't run from the pollination!
William s
7 hours ago
Antisemitic bugs
5 hours ago
According to American media they were deployed by Hamas.
Justice and Truth
3 hours ago
US congress will pass a new law against bees and Joe will sign it ASAP.
Leonard
6 hours ago
The Times of Israel seems to care more about 12 soldiers getting stung than they do about 14,000 children dying.
Reply
17
2
Share
2 replies
Hoss Dahdouli
9 hours ago
I can see it now congress holding an emergency session calling those bugs antisemitic
Reply
29
6
Share
2 replies
Sam
7 hours ago
This is funny.
Thomas
7 hours ago
That’s only a small percentage of the Karma that should be headed towards Netanyahu and the IDF
natetran
6 hours ago
So bees now are anti semmm etic
Mmmm
6 hours ago
Poor wasps...
Matthew
6 hours ago
Wow, this would bite.
Of all the things to be "hit" by in combat....
john
4 hours ago
Wasps have the right to defend themselves
Re: AMAZING STORIES
The mystery monolith returns! Mirrored structure appears again in Las Vegas desert
The mysterious monolith has returned.
The mirrored structure was spotted near Gass Peak, Nevada, on June 16, around 45 miles from Las Vegas.
It’s the first time that the monolith has been seen near Las Vegas since one appeared four years ago in Sin City. Since 2020, similar monoliths have popped up in locations across the globe including Utah, California, New Mexico, and Romania.
Members of the Las Vegas Metro Search and Rescue team spotted the latest sighting in the desert, according to KCVW.
Though "monolith" is technically a misnomer for the object — a monolith is a single, large stone, typically carved into an obelisk or other object — the reflective pillars have taken on the name likely as a reference to the towering, black, evolution machines depicted in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Las Vegas search and rescue team used the odd discovery to promote hiking safety tips on its social media pages.
Each of the monoliths over the last four years have been between 10 and 12 feet tall, and appear without warning. They then disappear without fanfare.
While the monolith's first appearance in Las Vegas was on a populated city street, other appearances have been in remote wilderness areas.
A monolith was found in the Utah desert on 18 November, 2020, and disappeared on 27 November of the same year. The same day the first monolith disappeared, a second one appeared outside the Romanian city of Piatra Neamt. That monolith disappeared on 2 December.
The same day the Romanian monolith disappeared, a third monolith appeared on top of Pine Mountain in Atascadero, California on 2 December, disappeared the next day when a group of right-wingers tore it down, proclaiming "Christ is King" and "America First," only for the monolith to return on 4 December, according to VICE.
A fourth monolith appeared in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 7 December, and was removed the same day.
The provenance of the pillars is still unclear. A group called "The Most Famous Artist" has taken credit for both the Utah and California monoliths, and offers "authentic alien monoliths" for sale on its website, according to Mashable.
Customers can have their own towering monolith for the price of $45,000.
However, another artist, Travis Kenney, objected to the claim, and said it was his group that erected the California monolith, and provided photos of him and his crew erecting the pillar, Vox reported.
A metal monolith in the ground in a remote area of red rock in Utah. The mysterious silver monolith that was placed in the Utah desert has disappeared less than 10 days after it was spotted by wildlife biologists performing a helicopter survey of bighorn sheep, federal officials and witnesses said (AP)
John McCracken, an artist who died in 2011, was a name frequently floated as the potential creator of the original Utah monument. McCracken believed in aliens, and is known for creating freestanding metal slabs he called "planks" that he believed inspired the look of the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
A report in The Art Newspaper noted the striking resemblance between the Utah monolith and McCracken's planks, and the artist's son, Patrick McCraken, told the New York Times that his father had often shared with him his desire to set up art installations in remote areas for hikers to stumble upon while trekking.
“He was inspired by the idea of alien visitors leaving objects that resembled his work, or that his work resembled,” Patrick McCraken told the paper. “This discovery of a monolith piece — that’s very much in line with his artistic vision.”
David Zwirner, a gallery owner who represents McCraken's estate, told the paper that he believed the Utah monolith was a genuine piece created by McCraken, but then retracted his statement after he saw screws and rivets, which he said McCracken never would have left visible in one of his own pieces, according to Vox.
Due to the number of monoliths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_w ... h_monolith that have been spotted since 2020, it is almost assured that there is no single group or individual erecting the strange pillars.
The Independent has always had a global perspective. Built on a firm foundation of superb international reporting and analysis, The Independent now enjoys a reach that was inconceivable when it was launched as an upstart player in the British news industry. For the first time since the end of the Second World War, and across the world, pluralism, reason, a progressive and humanitarian agenda, and internationalism – Independent values – are under threat. Yet we, The Independent, continue to grow.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/th ... 838c&ei=52
The mysterious monolith has returned.
The mirrored structure was spotted near Gass Peak, Nevada, on June 16, around 45 miles from Las Vegas.
It’s the first time that the monolith has been seen near Las Vegas since one appeared four years ago in Sin City. Since 2020, similar monoliths have popped up in locations across the globe including Utah, California, New Mexico, and Romania.
Members of the Las Vegas Metro Search and Rescue team spotted the latest sighting in the desert, according to KCVW.
Though "monolith" is technically a misnomer for the object — a monolith is a single, large stone, typically carved into an obelisk or other object — the reflective pillars have taken on the name likely as a reference to the towering, black, evolution machines depicted in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Las Vegas search and rescue team used the odd discovery to promote hiking safety tips on its social media pages.
Each of the monoliths over the last four years have been between 10 and 12 feet tall, and appear without warning. They then disappear without fanfare.
While the monolith's first appearance in Las Vegas was on a populated city street, other appearances have been in remote wilderness areas.
A monolith was found in the Utah desert on 18 November, 2020, and disappeared on 27 November of the same year. The same day the first monolith disappeared, a second one appeared outside the Romanian city of Piatra Neamt. That monolith disappeared on 2 December.
The same day the Romanian monolith disappeared, a third monolith appeared on top of Pine Mountain in Atascadero, California on 2 December, disappeared the next day when a group of right-wingers tore it down, proclaiming "Christ is King" and "America First," only for the monolith to return on 4 December, according to VICE.
A fourth monolith appeared in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 7 December, and was removed the same day.
The provenance of the pillars is still unclear. A group called "The Most Famous Artist" has taken credit for both the Utah and California monoliths, and offers "authentic alien monoliths" for sale on its website, according to Mashable.
Customers can have their own towering monolith for the price of $45,000.
However, another artist, Travis Kenney, objected to the claim, and said it was his group that erected the California monolith, and provided photos of him and his crew erecting the pillar, Vox reported.
A metal monolith in the ground in a remote area of red rock in Utah. The mysterious silver monolith that was placed in the Utah desert has disappeared less than 10 days after it was spotted by wildlife biologists performing a helicopter survey of bighorn sheep, federal officials and witnesses said (AP)
John McCracken, an artist who died in 2011, was a name frequently floated as the potential creator of the original Utah monument. McCracken believed in aliens, and is known for creating freestanding metal slabs he called "planks" that he believed inspired the look of the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
A report in The Art Newspaper noted the striking resemblance between the Utah monolith and McCracken's planks, and the artist's son, Patrick McCraken, told the New York Times that his father had often shared with him his desire to set up art installations in remote areas for hikers to stumble upon while trekking.
“He was inspired by the idea of alien visitors leaving objects that resembled his work, or that his work resembled,” Patrick McCraken told the paper. “This discovery of a monolith piece — that’s very much in line with his artistic vision.”
David Zwirner, a gallery owner who represents McCraken's estate, told the paper that he believed the Utah monolith was a genuine piece created by McCraken, but then retracted his statement after he saw screws and rivets, which he said McCracken never would have left visible in one of his own pieces, according to Vox.
Due to the number of monoliths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_w ... h_monolith that have been spotted since 2020, it is almost assured that there is no single group or individual erecting the strange pillars.
The Independent has always had a global perspective. Built on a firm foundation of superb international reporting and analysis, The Independent now enjoys a reach that was inconceivable when it was launched as an upstart player in the British news industry. For the first time since the end of the Second World War, and across the world, pluralism, reason, a progressive and humanitarian agenda, and internationalism – Independent values – are under threat. Yet we, The Independent, continue to grow.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/th ... 838c&ei=52
Re: AMAZING STORIES
A Mysterious Monolith Appears Near Las Vegas. Why? It’s Anyone’s Guess.
A volunteer search-and-rescue organization reported finding the monolith over the weekend near the Gass Peak trail, which is north of Las Vegas.
A mysterious monolith was found near Gass Peak, a trail in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge north of Las Vegas.Credit...LVMPD via X
It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. A tall, vertical column mirroring everything around it, with no explanation of its purpose and origin.
Cue the crescendoing cascade of instruments from the theme music of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” a film that featured a large monolith. Only, this is not the view from a distant space outpost, or a part of Earth in an alternative reality. This vertical object stands by a hiking trail on the northern side of Las Vegas — a finding that police are calling “MYSTERY MONOLITH!”
“We see a lot of weird things when people go hiking like not being prepared for the weather, not bringing enough water… but check this out!” read a message posted on social media on Monday by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The department said that the LVMPD Search and Rescue, a volunteer organization, had spotted the object over the weekend near the Gass Peak trail, which is about 16 miles north of Las Vegas and part of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.
The photographs shared by the police show the lone vertical slab reflecting the dry, rugged terrain and rocky desert landscape against a bright blue sky.
It was not immediately clear where the object had come from, how it had arrived — or what would happen to it next. After sharing the image on social media, a spokesman for the police department said it would not be commenting on the monolith on Tuesday.
Followers of the Police Department’s Facebook page had fun questioning the geometric figure’s origins.
“It’s always the aliens,” one person wrote.
Another suggested that perhaps the monolith was “a portal going to a different location.”
In the meantime, Las Vegas officials have decided to use the mystery as a public service announcement, sharing some safety tips for hiking Las Vegas’s trails in the same comment thread.
The department reminded people to tell someone where they plan to hike or climb and when they expect to return; to research the weather forecast ahead of a hike; to bring first aid kits “and additional food and water!” as well as “inclement weather gear” for a minimal overnight stay; and to pack a light source, a completely charged phone and a personal locator beacon.
The Las Vegas column is not the only monolith that has attracted attention in recent years after having appeared seemingly out of nowhere, stumping officials and residents and stirring curiosity.
In March, a man who was a resident of Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales, woke up to take a routine walk around Hay Bluff, only to find a silver monolith that he said appeared to have been made from surgical steel.
In 2020, a three-sided metal monolith, about 10 to 12 feet tall, was found at the base of a barren slot canyon in Red Rock Country in Utah. The Utah Department of Public Safety shared the finding, calling it an “unusual object” spotted in southeastern Utah during a survey with the state wildlife agency.
That same year, a 10-foot monolith was found under the Fremont Street Experience canopy in downtown Las Vegas, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. In both cases, the authorities did not know the origins of the monoliths, though a group of artists claimed to have fabricated one found atop Pine Mountain in Atascadero, Calif.
Monolith Sightings
A ‘Perfect Monolith’ Appears in Wales https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/worl ... latedLinks
March 12, 2024
California Men Declare Themselves Makers of Pine Mountain Monolith https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/06/arts ... latedLinks
Dec. 6, 2020
A Weird Monolith Is Found in the Utah Desert https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/24/us/U ... latedLinks
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/us/m ... vegas.html
Nov. 24, 2020
A volunteer search-and-rescue organization reported finding the monolith over the weekend near the Gass Peak trail, which is north of Las Vegas.
A mysterious monolith was found near Gass Peak, a trail in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge north of Las Vegas.Credit...LVMPD via X
It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. A tall, vertical column mirroring everything around it, with no explanation of its purpose and origin.
Cue the crescendoing cascade of instruments from the theme music of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” a film that featured a large monolith. Only, this is not the view from a distant space outpost, or a part of Earth in an alternative reality. This vertical object stands by a hiking trail on the northern side of Las Vegas — a finding that police are calling “MYSTERY MONOLITH!”
“We see a lot of weird things when people go hiking like not being prepared for the weather, not bringing enough water… but check this out!” read a message posted on social media on Monday by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The department said that the LVMPD Search and Rescue, a volunteer organization, had spotted the object over the weekend near the Gass Peak trail, which is about 16 miles north of Las Vegas and part of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge.
The photographs shared by the police show the lone vertical slab reflecting the dry, rugged terrain and rocky desert landscape against a bright blue sky.
It was not immediately clear where the object had come from, how it had arrived — or what would happen to it next. After sharing the image on social media, a spokesman for the police department said it would not be commenting on the monolith on Tuesday.
Followers of the Police Department’s Facebook page had fun questioning the geometric figure’s origins.
“It’s always the aliens,” one person wrote.
Another suggested that perhaps the monolith was “a portal going to a different location.”
In the meantime, Las Vegas officials have decided to use the mystery as a public service announcement, sharing some safety tips for hiking Las Vegas’s trails in the same comment thread.
The department reminded people to tell someone where they plan to hike or climb and when they expect to return; to research the weather forecast ahead of a hike; to bring first aid kits “and additional food and water!” as well as “inclement weather gear” for a minimal overnight stay; and to pack a light source, a completely charged phone and a personal locator beacon.
The Las Vegas column is not the only monolith that has attracted attention in recent years after having appeared seemingly out of nowhere, stumping officials and residents and stirring curiosity.
In March, a man who was a resident of Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales, woke up to take a routine walk around Hay Bluff, only to find a silver monolith that he said appeared to have been made from surgical steel.
In 2020, a three-sided metal monolith, about 10 to 12 feet tall, was found at the base of a barren slot canyon in Red Rock Country in Utah. The Utah Department of Public Safety shared the finding, calling it an “unusual object” spotted in southeastern Utah during a survey with the state wildlife agency.
That same year, a 10-foot monolith was found under the Fremont Street Experience canopy in downtown Las Vegas, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. In both cases, the authorities did not know the origins of the monoliths, though a group of artists claimed to have fabricated one found atop Pine Mountain in Atascadero, Calif.
Monolith Sightings
A ‘Perfect Monolith’ Appears in Wales https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/worl ... latedLinks
March 12, 2024
California Men Declare Themselves Makers of Pine Mountain Monolith https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/06/arts ... latedLinks
Dec. 6, 2020
A Weird Monolith Is Found in the Utah Desert https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/24/us/U ... latedLinks
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/us/m ... vegas.html
Nov. 24, 2020
Re: AMAZING STORIES
LA Times
After years of limbo in L.A., 836-pound Bahia Emerald may return to Brazil
Clara Harter
Sat, November 23, 2024 at 5:00 AM CST·
For more than 15 years, one of the world's most famous gemstones — the 180,000-carat Bahia Emerald — has been held in Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department custody, its ultimate fate uncertain amid more than a decade of discord, disagreement and courtroom wrangling.
Now, a federal judge has ruled that the smuggled stone should return to its home country of Brazil.
According to Brazilian authorities, the Bahia Emerald is one of the largest emeralds, if not the largest, ever discovered. Court documents say it weighs approximately 836 pounds.
Estimates of its worth vary but are as high as $925 million.
The emerald, Brazilian authorities say, was discovered in a beryl mine in the country in 2001 and later smuggled to the U.S. There, it reportedly survived flooding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 while submerged in an underwater vault.
The gem eventually ended up in the hands of an investor, who reported it missing from a South El Monte vault a few years later, according to previous Times coverage. Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators subsequently tracked the emerald to a Las Vegas vault, but since they could not sort out who owned the gem, they confiscated it.
For more than a decade, about 10 individuals and a handful of corporations have duked it out in California Superior Court trying to prove they are the rightful owners of the stone. Meanwhile, the Brazilian government has engaged in its own lengthy legal battle in federal court to try to repatriate the gemstone.
Thursday's ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, supersedes claims of American ownership and paves the way for the emerald to return to Brazil.
"After this long, long battle, we're thrilled with the federal court's ruling in this matter, which we believe is the right result and is a major step toward repatriating the Bahia Emerald to its rightful owner: the country of Brazil," Los Angeles-based attorney John Nadolenco, who represented Brazil in the federal case, told The Times on Friday.
Nadolenco recalls the day he received a letter from the Brazilian government asking for his help repatriating an 836-pound emerald. He threw it in the trash, assuming it was a scam.
However, the letter proved to be real — as did Brazil's claim to ownership. Nadolenco spent the following 10 years on one of the wildest legal adventures of his career.
Brazil enlisted Nadolenco's firm, Mayer Brown, to assist in retrieving the stone in 2014. In 2015, the firm convinced the U.S. Department of Justice to initiate a federal court action to seize the emerald following the resolution of criminal prosecutions in Brazil.
In 2017, the Brazilian government convicted two Brazilian residents of illegally smuggling the emerald into the United States. After the two men lost an appeal in 2021, Brazil issued a forfeiture order for the Bahia Emerald.
In 2022, the Justice Department filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the mutual legal assistance treaty between the United States and Brazil, asking the court to order the emerald’s forfeiture. Walton approved this motion Thursday.
If no appeal is filed, the next step would be to schedule a formal repatriation ceremony for the U.S. government to turn the stone over to Brazil.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ye ... 10315.html
After years of limbo in L.A., 836-pound Bahia Emerald may return to Brazil
Clara Harter
Sat, November 23, 2024 at 5:00 AM CST·
For more than 15 years, one of the world's most famous gemstones — the 180,000-carat Bahia Emerald — has been held in Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department custody, its ultimate fate uncertain amid more than a decade of discord, disagreement and courtroom wrangling.
Now, a federal judge has ruled that the smuggled stone should return to its home country of Brazil.
According to Brazilian authorities, the Bahia Emerald is one of the largest emeralds, if not the largest, ever discovered. Court documents say it weighs approximately 836 pounds.
Estimates of its worth vary but are as high as $925 million.
The emerald, Brazilian authorities say, was discovered in a beryl mine in the country in 2001 and later smuggled to the U.S. There, it reportedly survived flooding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 while submerged in an underwater vault.
The gem eventually ended up in the hands of an investor, who reported it missing from a South El Monte vault a few years later, according to previous Times coverage. Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators subsequently tracked the emerald to a Las Vegas vault, but since they could not sort out who owned the gem, they confiscated it.
For more than a decade, about 10 individuals and a handful of corporations have duked it out in California Superior Court trying to prove they are the rightful owners of the stone. Meanwhile, the Brazilian government has engaged in its own lengthy legal battle in federal court to try to repatriate the gemstone.
Thursday's ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, supersedes claims of American ownership and paves the way for the emerald to return to Brazil.
"After this long, long battle, we're thrilled with the federal court's ruling in this matter, which we believe is the right result and is a major step toward repatriating the Bahia Emerald to its rightful owner: the country of Brazil," Los Angeles-based attorney John Nadolenco, who represented Brazil in the federal case, told The Times on Friday.
Nadolenco recalls the day he received a letter from the Brazilian government asking for his help repatriating an 836-pound emerald. He threw it in the trash, assuming it was a scam.
However, the letter proved to be real — as did Brazil's claim to ownership. Nadolenco spent the following 10 years on one of the wildest legal adventures of his career.
Brazil enlisted Nadolenco's firm, Mayer Brown, to assist in retrieving the stone in 2014. In 2015, the firm convinced the U.S. Department of Justice to initiate a federal court action to seize the emerald following the resolution of criminal prosecutions in Brazil.
In 2017, the Brazilian government convicted two Brazilian residents of illegally smuggling the emerald into the United States. After the two men lost an appeal in 2021, Brazil issued a forfeiture order for the Bahia Emerald.
In 2022, the Justice Department filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the mutual legal assistance treaty between the United States and Brazil, asking the court to order the emerald’s forfeiture. Walton approved this motion Thursday.
If no appeal is filed, the next step would be to schedule a formal repatriation ceremony for the U.S. government to turn the stone over to Brazil.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/ye ... 10315.html