A pink diamond was sold for $49.9 million in Hong Kong on Friday, setting a world record for the highest price per carat for a diamond sold at auction. The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star diamond, auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, sold for $392 million Hong Kong dollars ($49.9 million). It was originally estimated at $21 million. The Williamson Pink Star draws its name from two legendary pink diamonds. The first is the 23.60-carat Williamson diamond which was presented to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1947, while the second is the 59.60-carat Pink Star diamond that sold for a record $71.2 million at auction in 2017. The Williamson Pink Star is the second-largest pink diamond to appear at auction. Pink diamonds are among the rarest and most valuable of the colored diamonds. Read: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever “This is an astounding result, proving the resilience of top diamonds in a shaky economy,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds.   “Hard assets such as world-class diamonds have a history of performing well even in times of instability,” he said. “Some of the world’s highest quality diamonds have seen prices double over the last 10 years.”

Can you imagine swimming 285 kilometres in just 70 hours? Khittindra Chandra Boissya, a national swimming records-holder, has taken up the challenge to swim from Sylhet to Bhairab in Kishoreganj. Never mind he is 70 years old. Boissya fought for Bangladesh’s independence back in 1971 when he just 19. Half a century later the Ekushey Padak-winner is up to conquer another dream of his life:create a world record in swimming. Also read: Bangladesh swimmers off to Nepal ahead of SA Games At 7 am on Monday, Boissya splashed in the River Surma from Chandnighat at Kean Bridge amid cheers from hundreds of fans and tight safety measures mounted by the district administration. He hopes to reach Bhairab in 70 hours.

A 16-year old named Ayman Mohammad from Chattogram has made it to Guinness World Book of records by stacking most coins into a tower within a minute. “Ayman Mohammad from Bangladesh achieved the record of stacking most, 75, coins in one minute on March 17, 2022,” according to the website of www.guinnessworldrecords.com. Ayman is a Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinee of Parbati Model High School in Hathazari Upazila this year and son of Md Musa .”I started practicing coin stacking to attempt the record motivated by my friends and family after knowing about the record from social media,” he told UNB. Read: Thakurgaon youth jumps rope to enter Guinness Book Ayman broke the previous record of stacking 71 coins into a tower in a minute held by another Bangladeshi, Nusrat Jahan Nipa, from Barishal. “After a long preparation when I perfected the skill, I applied to break the previous record on February 25, this year through the official website of Guinness World Book of Records. On March 17 they approved my application and asked to send the video which I did following their instruction. On June 12 they announced the result through mail,” said Ayman. The authority has also told Ayman that he will get the certificate for breaking the world record within a few months.  

South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker was the star of the day, setting the first individual swimming world record at the Tokyo Olympics. Others shined, too. Evgeny Rylov completed a backstroke double for Russia, Emma McKeon gave the Aussie women another gold, and China earned a return trip to the top of the medal podium. The mighty Americans? For the first time in the meet, they spent the entire session Friday watching others win gold. Schoenmaker, a 24-year-old South African, won the women’s 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes, 18.95 seconds, breaking the mark of 2:19.11 set by Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen at the 2013 world championships in Barcelona. It was the third world record at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, with the first two coming in women’s relays. “I wasn’t expecting that at all,” said Schoenmaker, who added to her silver in the 100 breast. ”It couldn’t have been a better race. It still just doesn’t sink in, maybe one day.” Rylov thoroughly snuffed out America’s dominance in the backstroke, adding the 200 title to his victory in the 100 back. Rylov won with an Olympic-record time of 1:53.29, while American Ryan Murphy wound up with the silver (1:54.15). Also read: ‘OK not to be OK’: Mental health takes top role at Olympics Murphy was a double-gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he extended an American winning streak that began at the 1996 Atlanta Games. The U.S. won 12 straight men’s backstroke events over six Olympics, but that streak ended with Rylov’s victory in the 100. He made it 2-for-2 in the longer race, while Murphy settled for bronze and silver in the two events. Britain’s Luke Greenbank grabbed the 200 bronze in 1:54.72. McKeon touched first in the 100 freestyle with an Olympic-record time of 51.96, becoming only the second woman to break 52 seconds in the sprint. Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey earned the silver in 52.27, while another Aussie, Cate Campbell, took the bronze in 52.52. American Abbey Weitzeil was last in the eight-woman field. The Australians have won four individual women’s events at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, in addition to setting a world record in a 4x100 free relay that included both McKeon and Campbell. The team from Down Under has six golds overall, tied with the Americans, though the U.S. has the lead in the overall medal count. The Americans won three medals Friday, also claiming the other two spots on the podium behind Schoenmaker. But it was the first time the U.S. team went through an entire sessions of finals in Tokyo without winning at least one gold. Lilly King set a blistering pace early in the 200 breast and held on for a silver in 2:19.92, adding to her bronze in the 100 event. Annie Lazor nabbed the bronze in 2:20.84. “I don’t come from behind, that’s for sure, so I just wanted to put it out there and see where it goes,” King said. “I thought I did great.” A day after winning its first two golds at the pool, China picked up another victory when Wang Shun touched first in the men’s 200 individual medley. Wang edged Britain’s Duncan Scott with a time of 1:55.00. Scott took the silver in 1:55.28, while the bronze went to Switzerland’s Jeremy Desplanches in 1:56.17. Also read: Tokyo Olympics 2020: Turkmenistan Wins its First Olympic Medal It was another disappointment for hometown star Daiya Seto, who didn’t even qualify for the final of his first two events. He got through in the 200 IM, but just missed out on a medal with a fourth-place finish -- a mere five-hundredths of a second behind the Swiss bronze medalist. American Michael Andrew led after the third leg, powering to the top spot on the breaststroke. But he faded badly on the freestyle to wind up in fifth, more than 2 seconds behind the winner. “I think it hurt worse than it looked, and it looked pretty bad,” Andrew said. “I knew I had to be fast at the 150 and I was praying for some Holy Spirit power to get me home in that (final) 50, but it wasn’t all there.” But the U.S. has several good chances to claim gold over the last two days of the swimming competition. Caeleb Dressel has two individual finals remaining, and Katie Ledecky is a big favorite in the 800 free. Dressel set another Olympic record in the semifinals of the 100 butterfly. Minutes after Hungary’s Kristof Milak took down the mark in the first semifinal heat, Dressel went even faster with a time of 49.71 in the second heat. “I feel fine,” Dressel said. “I’m not worried about the schedule. I’ve had it written down for a couple weeks now. I know what’s coming. I know how to pace it correctly. I know how to take care of my body.” It was the third-fastest time in history and left Milak as the second-fastest qualifier at 50.31. In the preliminaries, Dressel tied the former Olympic record of 50.39 set by Singapore’s Joseph Schooling to win gold at the 2016 Rio Games. Dressel will be a big favorite in Saturday morning’s final, though he could get pushed by Milak. The Hungarian already won the 200 fly with a dominating victory.   Dressel picked up the first individual gold medal of his career with a win in the 100 freestyle.

The restaurant of French chef Paul Bocuse, who died two years ago, has lost one of its Michelin stars after holding three since 1965, a world record.