507-carat diamond found in SA mine worth 12m pounds !

September 29th, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's Cullinan mine, the source of the world's biggest diamond, has produced yet another unusually large, high-quality diamond, the mining company that made the find announced Tuesday. Petra Diamonds said the 507-carat gem was found alongside three more rough diamonds found at the mine Sep 24.

August 24th, 2009 LONDON - A study conducted by Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels has found a blow-up sheep and a false leg to be among thousands of items left in hotel rooms.he survey further revealed that a printer, crutches, and dentures were also mislaid by absent-minded guests. The surveyors say that 2,000 pounds in cash, a Gucci watch, and a monk fancy dress outfit were also among the recovered items.

August 18th, 2009 LONDON - A cheating husband showered his wife with expensive jewellery every time he repeated infidelity, leading her to gather a collection worth almost 300,000 pounds. Businessman Robert Charlton, from Leicester, UK, made up for breaking his wedding vows by gifting diamond jewels to wife Elizabeth, who was apparently aware of his extra-marital activities.

August 11th, 2009 $65 million in jewelry stolen from London storeLONDON — Two well-dressed thieves walked into a London Bond Street jewelry store last week and, after brandishing handguns at shop workers, made off with $65 million worth of gems in one of Britain's biggest jewelry heists, police said Tuesday. Security camera footage released by police shows two men in crisp suits entering Graff Diamonds' flagship store Thursday afternoon.

August 3rd, 2009 United Kingdom worth 2 percent less in 2008LONDON — The United Kingdom was worth 2 percent less in 2008, the first reduction since 1992, government statisticians said Monday. The total value of the nation was 6.954 trillion pounds ($11.7 trillion) at the end of the year, down 177 billion pounds, the Office for National Statistics said.

July 4th, 2009 LONDON - A punter was left ecstatic after he was handed out a rare undated 20p coin worth more than 7,000 pounds in change for his pint. Lloyd Hefferman had been with his friends at The Botolph Arms pub in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, when bar staff gave him the coin, which was amongst others mistakenly released by the Royal Mint in Cardiff last year.

June 30th, 2009 LONDON - An annual account of the Royal Household's expenditure has revealed that Queen will run out of funds by 2012, her Diamond Jubilee year, unless the government increases the Civil List. The Civil List, which pays for the running of the Royal Household, has not increased in the last 20 years, and at the moment any request for an increase in funds would be difficult to tackle, as UK is suffering from the global economic crisis- the worst since the Second World War.

May 14th, 2009 LONDON - Former Spice girl Victoria Beckham's Hermess Birkin bag collection is said to be worth 1.5 million pounds. Victoria reportedly owns 100 bags of the classic design, which retail at an astonishing $6,000 (about 4,000 pounds) to $7,000 (about 4,700 pounds) each, reported femalefirst.co.uk.

May 13th, 2009 LONDON - A flawless blue diamond weighing 7.03 carats has fetched a record 10.5 million Swiss francs (6.2 million pounds) at auction, Sotheby's said. According to Sotheby's, the selling price of the rectangular-shaped blue stone is the highest price paid per carat for any gemstone at auction.

April 22nd, 2009 LONDON - The world's most expensive suit is set to go on sale in London for 70,000 pounds.esigner Alexander Amosu will show off the suit at a party in a secret location. Special security has been organised with transportation of the suit to the venue provided by an armoured Range Rover.

April 8th, 2009 LONDON - Renowned pop legend Neil Diamond may end up matching tunes with Limp Bizkit rocker Fred Durst. The two got in touch using social networking site Twitter.com with Durst approaching the 68-year-old for a collaboration.

April 6th, 2009 LONDON - British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is once again in the news after she claimed 200 pounds in expenses to buy a barbecue and garden patio set. Smith, 46, who earns 142,000 pounds a year, also billed taxpayers for 335 pounds worth of plant pots.

March 24th, 2009 LONDON - English glamour model Nicola McLean has revealed that wearing an Indian bindi makes her feel complete and extra special. McLean, 25, who is wearing a bindi, which is an Indian piece of jewellery or cosmetic mark, on her forehead, is from Hamilton, Lanarkshire, and she has been the face of top jewellers Rox, who are designing a diamond bindi in honour of this year's tenth Miss Scotland contest.

March 16th, 2009 LONDON - British mums do more than 32,000 pounds of household work every year, according to a new survey. Commissioned by insurers Legal and General, the survey showed that household chores like childcare, cleaning, and cooking would cost an average of 32,812 pounds, if families had to pay outsiders to do them.

March 13th, 2009 LONDON - Former 'Friends' star Jennifer Aniston's musiscian beau John Mayer has approached top US jeweller Lorraine Schwartz to custom-make a two milion pounds engagement ring for his girlfriend. Schwartz has earlier created rings for celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Heidi Klum and Beyonce Knowles.