Tag Archives: diamond

Man discovers 706-carat diamond

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A Pastor has found one of the world’s largest uncut diamonds, weighing 706 carats, in Sierra Leone’s eastern Kono region.

The stone, a photograph of which was posted on the president’s official website, is being stored in the country’s central bank, government sources said.

A local chief from Kono handed the stone to President Ernest Koroma on behalf of Emmanuel Momoh who made the discovery.

The government plans to auction it.

The presidency said in a statement on that Mr. Koroma thanked the chief who acted as an intermediary for not smuggling it out of the country.

Diamonds fueled a decade-long civil war that ended in 2002 in which 50,000 people were killed.

Rebels forced civilians in the east to mine the stones and bought weapons with the proceeds, leading to the term “blood diamonds”.

“He (Koroma) underscored the importance of selling such a diamond here as it will clearly give the owners what is due them and benefit the country as a whole,” the statement said.

The stone is yet to be valued but could be worth millions of dollars. Sierra Leone’s gross national income per capita stood at 620 dollars in 2015, according to World Bank data.

The United Nations lifted a ban on diamond exports from Sierra Leone in 2003.

The International Monetary Fund expects the country to export 113 million dollars worth of diamonds this year though the sector remains plagued by smuggling.

Inspite of its size, the discovery is considerably smaller than the Cullinan diamond, which was found in South Africa in 1905.

That 3,106-carat stone was cut into several polished gems and the two largest pieces are part of Britain’s crown jewels.

A 1,111-carat diamond was unearthed in a Botswana mine in 2015.

 

Source: (Reuters/NAN)

Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz And Nigeria’s D’banj To Headline The Future Awards Africa 2015

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This Sunday! Africa’s biggest youth event, The Future Awards Africa (TFAA) has announced the performers for the 2015 edition, celebrating 10 years. The line-up will be headlined by two of the continent’s biggest superstars, Diamond Platnumz and D’banj. Both are alumni of the awards – D’banj was Young Person of the Year 2007 and Diamond won the Prize in Entertainment 2014. Diamond is one of Africa’s most influential artistes following his two time nomination at the MTV MAMAs where he won the Best Worldwide Act in 2015. His hit song Number One has gained massive air play around the globe. D’banj, a global music brand from the continent, this year won the MTV MAMA Evolution, he has collaborated with Snoop Dogg and has been ambassador for the ONE campaign. These two will be joined by Omawumi, a Nigerian award winning singer who returns to the TFAA stage. The 10th anniversary of TFAA will be hosted by singer/songwriter Dare Art-Alade and South African OAP, Bonang Matheba.

 The Future Awards Africa 2015 – celebrating 10 years! – is presented by RED and UBA. The award is held in partnership with the British High Commission, the Ford Foundation, Microsoft, the US Consulate, Canadian High Commission, Sterling Bank Plc. and The Tony Elumelu Foundation. The Future Awards Africa 2015 is set to hold on December 6, 2015 at Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria. The official hashtag is #TFAA10.

About The Future Awards Africa

 The Future Awards Africa has been called the ‘Nobel Prize for Young Africans’, and the ‘most important youth awards’ by Forbes. It is a set of prizes given annually to celebrate and accelerate innovation, creativity and enterprise amongst young Africans aged 18 – 31. It has produced over 150 winners and over 1550 nominees since its first edition in 2006. It is presented in conjunction with The Future Project, which has a mandate to build empowered citizens across Africa, through (inclusive) enterprise and (active) citizenship. This focus on Human Capital Development is informed by our value proposition: Africa’s growth needs a generation of young people who are gainfully employed and able to demand and secure better leadership.Our projects include Aiki.ng, an employability portal presented with Microsoft; the Nigeria Symposium for Young & Emerging Leaders, #StartupsAfrica, Intern4Jobs, The m-Hub, The Future Enterprise Support Scheme and The Future Africa Awards & Summit, described as ‘The Nobel Prize for Young Africans’. With a network of funders and partners including the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ford Foundation, the US Government, First Bank, MTN, The Canadian Embassy, HP, the Nigerian Government and the British Council, our work has spanned Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Malawi, Cameroon, Somalia, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast and Kenya. Founded by the Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams, TFP is supervised by a Global Board of Advisors drawn from Africa, Europe, North America and  the Middle East, including the Senior Advisor at one of the world’s  leading financial advisory and asset management firms, Lazard LTD, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Senior Economic Advisor with the Open Society Foundations, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili; co-founder of ONE, Jamie Drummond  and the Chief of Cabinet with the Africa Development Bank, Anne Kabagambe.

About Red Communication
Red Communication is a PR & Communication firm under the parent company, RED. An innovative media group focused on Africa, RED’s vision is to excite and empower an evolving generation through the media’s limitless possibilities. Built across tools and platforms, its Communication Division holds Red Communication, Red marketing and Small & Medium, and YouthConnect; and its Content Division holds the Y! brands, including Y! TV, Y! Magazine, YNaija.com, Teen Y!, Y! 2015, the Y! Tech 100 and the Y! Annual Black Ball/Y! 100 Most Influential List. It also anchors a  development firm, The Future Project Africa, which co-presents Africa’s  leading youth platform, The Future Awards Africa, and other projects including the Nigeria Symposium for Young & Emerging Leaders and The Future Enterprise Support Scheme.