Twenty-seven-year-old Somen Debnath has had an adventurous journey from India to Britain: Cycling with the aim of creating awareness about HIV/AIDS all over the world, he has battled wild animals, been abducted by the Taliban, has been beaten up and robbed six times while travelling through 56 countries.
Mr Debnath, who set out from India in May 2004, just after finishing his last exam for his bachelor’s degree in zoology from University of Calcutta, aims to cover all 191 countries in the world by 2020.
“I have cycled for more than 80,900 km till now,” he said in London, where he wishes to raise sponsorship money for his further travels. He wants to go to Africa from 2102-15, visit North and South America between 2015 and 2018, going to Russia from Canada and then on to China, Japan, Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma and finally India.
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Rare pink diamond may fetch $38m
Geneva: A rare pink diamond that goes on sale next month could fetch up to $38 million, according to auctioneers Sotheby’s. The “fancy intense pink” 24.78 carat gem is being sold by an unidentified private collector, the auction house said. “We’re able to say it’s been in the possession of the same owner for 60 years but beyond that we’re not able to reveal more,” Sotheby’s spokesman Matthew Weigman said Tuesday.
The diamond was last sold by New York jeweller Harry Winston and has a classic emerald cut with gently rounded corners, the company said.
The stone has a flaw unnoticeable to the naked eye, probably due to wear, but may be graded internally flawless after re-polishing. —AP