Diamond News Archives
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(IDEX Online) - A diamond merchant has been locked in an 11-year battle to recover uncut gems seized at a Canadian border post, according to the daily National Post newspaper.
Tamba Thomas, from Australia, was found to have a plastic bag containing 28.13 carats of "forgotten" rough diamonds in his backpack as he crossed from the USA to Canada at Lacolle, Quebec, in November 2009.
He had Kimberley paperwork for other stones, but said those in his backpack were an oversight.
Mr Thomas was charged criminally with failing to report rough diamonds then valued at $19,800 and other importation violations.
He was eventually acquitted of all charges in 2016, and the judge ordered the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to return his diamonds.
But they remain in limbo. The Kimberley office says if Mr Thomas takes the stones back to the USA, they'll be confiscated, because they left there without proper authority.
If he retrieves them from CBSA, he'd be required to take them out of the country immediately, but he'd be unable to do so because he has no certificates.
Mr Thomas argued in a federal court appeal that the CBSA must comply with the judge's original order and return the diamonds, but his case was dismissed....
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U.S. President Donald Trump talks to journalists while hosting Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office at the White House March 12, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
President Donald Trump[1] plans to declare a national emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, according to adminstration officials who spoke to NBC News.
The president has scheduled a 3 p.m. ET press conference Friday at the White House.
The conference is set to occur shortly after Trump is scheduled to meet at the White House with major laboratory company executives about the response to the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
A White House spokesman declined to comment when asked about the plan.
Trump's emergency designation is expected to fall under the Stafford Act[2], a law which allows for two different types of presidential declarations.
The first is an emergency, which is what Trump is expected to declare.
The second designation is a major disaster, which gives emergency management even more access to resources. Either way, both of the designations place FEMA in charge of what happens.
French President Emmanuel Macron[3] said Friday that he, Trump and the rest of leaders of the Group of 7 economic giant nations have "agreed to organize an extraordinary Leaders Summit by videoconference on Monday on Covid-19," as coronavirus is more formally known.
"We will coordinate research efforts on a vaccine and treatments, and work on an economic and financial response," Macron announced in a tweet.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency in the Big Apple on Friday.[4] New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on...
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CME Group[1] announced Wednesday night it will close its Chicago trading floor in a precautionary move due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The closing will take effect Friday "at the close of business," CME said in a statement, noting that no coronavirus cases have been reported at the Chicago Board of Trade trading floor.
This would make CME the first major U.S. exchange to close a trading floor due to concerns over the coronavirus. The New York Stock Exchange is taking precautionary measures as well, working to separate traders and other employees, according to a Reuters report citing an internal memo.
CME said floor traders in Chicago will receive an "additional q&a" on Thursday "related to the execution of certain floor products, procedures and protocols and other floor-related practices."
CME's announcement comes after several companies advised employees to work from home in an effort to prevent contagion from the virus. At the country level, Italy expanded a nationwide shutdown[2] to all stores except grocery stores and pharmacies. The National Collegiate Athletic Association also announced[3] its upcoming men's and women's basketball tournaments will be held without fans.
Global coronavirus cases have breached above 124,000, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows. In the U.S., the number of cases totaled at least 1,110 along with more than 30 deaths.
Concerns of the virus' rapid spread and the lack of a fiscal stimulus plan from the Trump administration to stem the potential economic slowdown sent equities tumbling on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average[4] dropped more than 1,400 points and closed in a bear market, down more than 20% from a record close set just last month[5]. ...