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Diamond Sold for $12 Million in Crypto currency at Sotheby’s
A 101.38-carat diamond was sold at Sotheby’s for HK$95.1 million ($12.3 million) in cryptocurrency, becoming the foremost expensive piece of jewelry sold through such sort of payment, the firm said.

The pear-shaped diamond, named “The Key 101.38,” was sold to an unidentified private collector on Friday, Sotheby’s said during a statement. The gem from Diacore was the second-largest pear-shaped diamond ever to be sold publicly, it said.

Prior to the sale, the international firm said it might take Bitcoin or Ether as payment for the diamond, which fetched but the estimate of the maximum amount as $15 million within the single-lot offering in Hong Kong. The auction was live streamed and attracted no quite a dozen bids.

Earlier within the week, Sotheby’s said it had been the foremost expensive object ever publicly offered for purchase with crypto currency.

Auction houses are increasingly accepting cryptocurrencies for payment, with Phillips offering a bit from street artist Banksy last month for Ether or Bitcoin. Christie’s accepted payment in Ether in March for the record $69.3 million sale of Beeple’s .

Haiti President Jovenel Moise Assassinated at Home

The troubled Caribbean nation of Haiti was plunged into chaos after its president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated during a nighttime raid and acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph declared a state of emergency.

Joseph said the president was murdered by highly trained and heavily armed killers who stormed the presidential residence above the capital Port-Au-Prince at around 1 a.m on Wednesday. The primary lady Martine Moise was also injured within the attack and Haiti’s ambassador to Washington, Bocchit Edmond, said she was being medically evacuated to South Florida.

Miami’s Local 10 News said the primary lady had been taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable but critical condition, with gunshot wounds to her arms and thigh.

The National Police said Wednesday night that four suspects had been fatally shot and two others arrested, consistent with the Associated Press. Leon Charles, the captain, said three cops taken captive by the gunmen had been freed.

The country’s communication secretary, Frantz Exantus, said on Twitter that the “presumed assassins” had been “intercepted” by the National Police. He didn't elaborate.

The United Nations Security Council, during a statement on Wednesday night. Condemned the assassination and called “on all political stakeholders in Haiti to refrain from any acts of violence and any incitement to violence.”

A nation of 11 million and therefore the poorest within the Americas, Haiti has been terrorized for months by gang violence, driving thousands from their homes. President Moise, accused by human rights groups of links to the gangs, was ruled by decree and increasingly seen as an autocrat. Elections were scheduled for September but concerns were growing about whether or not they would be held.

“It’s highly likely that this was political violence within the prelude to the elections,” said Alan Zamayoa, an analyst at Control Risks who covers Haiti. He said Moise had been challenged by a series of crises -– the unraveling economy, corruption allegations, deteriorating security, and his attempts to hold on for an additional term.

Joseph, the interim prime minister, told the AP he wanted a world investigation. He said the elections should be held as planned and pledged to figure with Moise’s allies and opponents alike.
President Joe Biden condemned the assassination as a “heinous act,” echoed by numerous regional and world leaders. He pledged to assist work for “a safe and secure Haiti.”

Extortion and Kidnapping
That’s a large order. Haiti is on the brink of being a failed state within the grip of armed bandits who make a living through extortion and kidnapping. The pandemic has only made things worse with not one vaccination yet administered. On top of that and a desperately faltering economy, the country is undergoing a constitutional power struggle stemming from a chaotic election that saw Moise only sworn in 15 months after a first-round vote.

“There is not anyone on the road. Most are waiting to ascertain what comes next,” said Jean Chevalier-Sanon, director of Haiti’s National Para-Olympic Committee, during a phone interview from the capital within the morning. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, he said. Since Haitians speak French and Creole, the suggestion is there's foreign involvement.

Port-Au-Prince was mainly quiet during the day.
“There is not any one on the road. Most are waiting to ascertain what comes next,” said Jean Chevalier-Sanon, director of Haiti’s National Para-Olympic Committee, during a phone interview from the capital within the morning
Moise, 53, had been governed by decree since January 2020, when parliamentary terms expired without elections being held. He’d said his five-year term would run until February 2022, while the opposition said his term ended last February.

Adding to the uncertainty, in the week Moise appointed Ariel Henry as prime minister, though he wasn’t sworn in, leaving Claude Joseph working on an interim basis.

Since a well-liked uprising ended the 15-year rule of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier in 1986, Haiti has had numerous government changes, with about 20 administrations trying to exercise power. In 2010, it suffered a devastating earthquake that killed some 220,000 and left quite 1,000,000 homeless. It hasn’t completely rebuilt, with disease and homelessness rampant.

Pressure Release
Haiti’s economy contracted 3.7% last year, a smaller downturn than most other Caribbean nations which suffered a slump in tourism.
At a time of mounting challenges across Latin America – the coronavirus, street demonstrations, food insecurity – Haiti hasn’t been a high priority for Washington or other powers, and there's little to suggest which will change soon.

It shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic and in past years the border has acted as a pressure release valve as Haitians have gone there to figure and send a refund. Since the pandemic, the border has often been closed, adding to the difficulties.

French Rule
Haiti’s early history may be a source of great national pride. During a brave and memorable slave rebellion, Haitians threw off French colonial rule, defeating Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces in 1803. the subsequent year, Haiti became the primary independent nation of Latin America and therefore the Caribbean and therefore the first to abolish slavery. But it faced ostracism and occupation for many years and has never known stability or prosperity.

Laurent Lamothe, who was prime minister of Haiti from 2012 to 2014, said by phone that he was shocked at what had happened and therefore the world needed to require notice and step in.
“There must be a world investigation,” he said. “Everyone should participate to make sure that those responsible and people that financed it -- because these were mercenaries so someone had to pay them -- are delivered to justice.”