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Botswana Says Huge 2,492-carat Diamond Uncovered at Mine

FILE PHOTO: Diamonds are displayed during a visit to the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) in the capital Gaborone in Botswana, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Diamonds are displayed during a visit to the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) in the capital Gaborone in Botswana, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
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Botswana Says Huge 2,492-carat Diamond Uncovered at Mine

FILE PHOTO: Diamonds are displayed during a visit to the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) in the capital Gaborone in Botswana, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Diamonds are displayed during a visit to the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) in the capital Gaborone in Botswana, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

Botswana says one of the largest diamonds ever found has been unearthed at one of its mines and will be put on show on Thursday.
The Botswana government believes the huge 2,492-carat stone is the biggest discovered in the country, and the second-biggest ever brought out of a mine.
Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. said in a statement Wednesday that it recovered the “exceptional” rough diamond from its Karowe Mine in western Botswana. Lucara said it was a "high-quality" stone and was found intact. It was located using X-ray technology.
The weight would make it the largest diamond found in more than 100 years and the second-largest ever dug out of a mine after the Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905, The Associated Press reported. The Cullinan was 3,106 carats and was cut into gems, some of which form part of the British Crown Jewels.
A bigger black diamond was discovered in Brazil in the late 1800s, but it was found on the surface and was believed to have been part of a meteorite.
Botswana is the second biggest producer of diamonds and has unearthed all of the world's biggest stones in recent years.
Before this discovery, the Sewelo diamond, which was found at the Karowe Mine in 2019, was recognized as the second-biggest mined diamond in the world at 1,758 carats. It was bought by French fashion house Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed amount.
The 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond, also from Botswana's Karowe Mine, was bought by a British jeweler for $53 million in 2017.

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Peru Fisherman Lost for 95 Days in Pacific Ocean Returns Home

Peruvian fisherman Maximo Napa, who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued by an Ecuadorian fishing patrol, reunites with his brother after being rescued in Paita, Peru March 14, 2025 in this screengrab taken from handout video. (La Republica/Handout via Reuters)
Peruvian fisherman Maximo Napa, who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued by an Ecuadorian fishing patrol, reunites with his brother after being rescued in Paita, Peru March 14, 2025 in this screengrab taken from handout video. (La Republica/Handout via Reuters)
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Peru Fisherman Lost for 95 Days in Pacific Ocean Returns Home

Peruvian fisherman Maximo Napa, who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued by an Ecuadorian fishing patrol, reunites with his brother after being rescued in Paita, Peru March 14, 2025 in this screengrab taken from handout video. (La Republica/Handout via Reuters)
Peruvian fisherman Maximo Napa, who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued by an Ecuadorian fishing patrol, reunites with his brother after being rescued in Paita, Peru March 14, 2025 in this screengrab taken from handout video. (La Republica/Handout via Reuters)

A Peruvian fisherman who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean, eating roaches, birds and sea turtles to survive, is returning home to his family.

Maximo Napa had set off for a fishing trip from Marcona, a town on the southern Peruvian coast, on December 7. He packed food for a two-week trip but ten days in, stormy weather threw his boat off course and he ended up adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

His family launched a search, but Peru's maritime patrols were unable to locate him until Wednesday, when an Ecuadorian fishing patrol discovered him some 680 miles (1,094 km) off the country's coast, heavily dehydrated and in critical condition.

"I did not want to die," Napa told Reuters after reuniting with his brother, in Paita, near the border with Ecuador. "I ate roaches, birds, the last thing I ate was turtles."

He said he stayed strong thinking about his family, including his two-month-old granddaughter, even as he survived on rainwater he collected on the boat and ran out of food, ultimately spending the last 15 days without eating.

"I thought about my mother everyday," he said. "I'm thankful to God for giving me a second chance.

His mother, Elena Castro, told local media that while her relatives had stayed optimistic, she had begun to lose hope.

"I told the Lord, whether he's alive or dead, just bring him back to me, even if it's just to see him," she told TV Peru. "But my daughters never lost faith. They kept telling me: Mom, he'll come back, he'll come back."

Napa was scheduled for more medical checks in Paita before heading south to Lima.