Source: Asharq Al-Awsat
Security & Justice
Lebanon’s Border Villages Face Renewed Devastation Amid Israeli Withdrawal
The Israeli army withdrew from the southern Lebanese village of Bani Hayyan on Friday morning, two days after entering the area in the Marjayoun district. According to local reports, Israeli forces demolished multiple homes as they retreated.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Interview Set to Shed Light on Mossad’s Decade-Long Covert Operation Against Hezbollah
In a highly anticipated episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes, recently retired Mossad agents provide unprecedented insights into a decade-long covert operation targeting Hezbollah. The agents, whose identities remain concealed with masks and altered voices, share with journalist Lesley Stahl the intricate details of their mission to sabotage Hezbollah’s communications network.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Thursday 17 February 2022 12:39:20
Sotheby’s Tips Largest Blue Diamond at Auction to Fetch $48 Million
Sotheby's announced Wednesday that it would offer the largest-ever blue diamond to go up for auction at a sale in Hong Kong in April.
The auction house said it expected the 15.10-carat De Beers Cullinan Blue diamond to sell for more than $48 million.
The diamond is the "largest internally flawless step cut vivid blue diamond" ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Sotheby's said in a statement.
The sale will mark the first time a blue diamond of more than 15 carats has ever gone under the hammer, the press release added.
Sotheby's said the diamond, which previewed in New York this week, would be offered on a yet-to-be determined date during its Hong Kong Luxury Week in April.
It was cut from a rough stone discovered in discovered at the Cullinan mine in South Africa in April 2021.
The diamond is bigger than the Oppenheimer Blue, a 14.62 carat stone that set the world record price for a blue diamond at auction in May 2016 when it sold for $57.5 million.
Earlier this month, Sotheby's in London sold the Enigma -- the largest cut diamond ever to come to auction at 555.55 carats -- for £3.16 million ($4.3 million).
