SWS News Center

Hong Kong CNN  —  Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Blake Lively. These are just some of the names Lorraine Schwartz reels off as she points out items of exquisite jewelry kept in a row of glass vitrines. A third-generation diamond dealer and jewelry designer, Schwartz is known for her collaborations with A-list celebrities. Her creations have stunned on red carpets, from the Oscars to the Met Gala, and have been part of notable pop culture moments — she was behind the titanium glove worn by Beyoncé in her “Single Ladies” music video. This month, some of Schwartz’s pieces have been unveiled alongside rare loose stones in a private sale by Joopiter, the digital auction platform launched last year by American musician and designer — and now, Louis Vuitton men’s creative director — Pharrell Williams. Speaking to CNN from a suite in Hong Kong’s The Upper House hotel, where viewings have taken place…

CNN  —  Myanmar’s ruling military paraded an arsenal of weapons in the capital Naypyidaw on Monday, in a grand display of force days after the United States imposed fresh sanctions against the junta for inflicting “pain and suffering on the people of Burma.” The array of equipment – ranging from rocket launchers to tanks – was deployed alongside hundreds of marching troops to mark the country’s annual Armed Forces Day, video from state media showed. Myanmar’s military has ruled the impoverished Southeast Asian nation with an iron fist for most of the past six decades, apart from a brief 10-year flirtation with a quasi-democracy that came crashing down in 2021 when the generals seized power once more. Monday’s parade was the third time the military, known as the Tatmadaw, has marked Armed Forces Day since overthrowing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has since been sentenced…

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. CNN  —  Smells hover just below our conscious awareness, conjuring up emotions and memories that shape how we perceive and navigate the world. An unexpected whiff of a long-forgotten snack or a dusty book can transport a person to years past — enabling a kind of time travel that makes hazy memories more vivid. It’s puzzling then that smell is a sense that, according to scientists, has been largely — and unfairly — ignored in most attempts to understand the past.A growing number of researchersnowwant to reconstruct ancient aromas and use them to learn more about how we used to live. Duringthe Covid-19 pandemic, many peoplewho caughtthe disease temporarily lost their sense of smell, prompting a newfound appreciation of the importance of odor in their lives. New research projects are…

Reuters  —  At least 2,000 mummified ram heads dating from the Ptolemaic period and a palatial Old Kingdom structure have been uncovered at the temple of Ramses II in the ancient city of Abydos in southern Egypt, antiquities officials said on Saturday. Mummified ewes, dogs, wild goats, cows, gazelles and mongooses were found in the temple along with the ram heads, which are thought to be votive offerings indicating continuing reverence for Ramses II at the site about 1,000 years after his death, a statement from the tourism and antiquities ministry said. It added that the discoveries would expand knowledge of the site over a period of more than two millennia up to the Ptolemaic period. The Ptolemaic period spanned about three centuries until the Roman conquest in 30 BCE. Abydos, located in the Egyptian governorate of Sohag about 270 miles (435 kilometers) south of Cairo, is one of Egypt’s…

'It's tougher than ever to be a comedian' - BBC News Source

TV Presenter and comedian Paul O'Grady has died at the age of 67.He died "unexpectedly but peacefully" on Tuesday evening, his husband Andre Portasio said in a statement.O'Grady rose to fame with his drag queen persona Lily Savage, and went on to present shows such as Blankety Blank.Later in his career, he brought his love of dogs to the screen. Source

Women's Six Nations: Best moments of round oneVenue: Franklin's Gardens, Northampton Date: Sunday, 2 April Kick-off: 15:00 BSTCoverage: Watch live on BBC Two; follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.England forward Poppy Cleall and centre Amber Reed will be unavailable for Sunday's Women's Six Nations match against Italy after sustaining knee injuries against Scotland.The Rugby Football Union said Cleall and Reed "are targeting a return for the latter rounds" of the tournament.England's centre options were already reduced, with Emily Scarratt injured.In Scarratt's absence, Reed initially took on goal-kicking duties on Saturday and Lagi Tuima took over when the inside centre was injured.Tuima and Tatyana Heard, who usually play 13, are the existing choices for the Italy fixture in Northampton. Uncapped Exeter centre Nancy McGillivray was pulled off early while playing for England Under-20s on Saturday, suggesting the 20-year-old could be included this weekend.England seek a fifth…

CNN  —  While the fury of conflict echoes across the eastern Donbas region, a very different war is being waged in Crimea: one of night-time explosions, sabotage and disinformation. Reclaiming Crimea may seem like an unlikely quest for Ukraine but it is putting considerable effort into making Russia’s occupation as uncomfortable as possible. And the Russians are going to great lengths to fortify the peninsula, which they illegally annexed in 2014. That includes hiring legions of workers to build fortifications and trenches. The Ukrainian military has been carrying out attacks in Crimea with two goals: harass the Russian Black Sea fleet and disrupt vital Russian supply lines. Satellite imagery in February showed a substantial Russian build-up of equipment and armor at several points across northern Crimea. Few details emerge about Ukrainian strikes in Crimea. Only occasionally does unofficial social media video provide clues about what has been hit. And only…

Watch: Paralympic great Smyth reflects on 'incredible career'Jason Smyth, Paralympic sport's fastest man until 2021, has announced his retirement at the age of 35.The Ireland sprinter earned six Paralympic titles, which included 100m and 200m doubles at the Beijing and London Games in 2008 and 2012.Visually-impaired Smyth stayed unbeaten during a Paralympic career which began at the 2005 European Championships.His final Paralympic triumph saw him hold off Algeria's Skander Djamil Athmani in the T13 100m in Tokyo.That was the Northern Irishman's 21st major title of a Paralympic career, which also included nine world titles and six European gold medals, and he remains the fastest-ever sprinter in his classification.He has now taken up a new role with Paralympics Ireland which will see him work as strategy manager with the organisation.Smyth enjoyed the status of being the world's outright fastest Paralympian from 2012 until the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, when his 100m…

CNN  —  Novels by “Queen of Crime” Agatha Christie are the latest classic works to be revised to remove racist references and other language considered offensive to modern audiences. According to the UK’s The Telegraph newspaper, publisher HarperCollins has edited some passages and entirely removed others from its new digital editions of some of Christie’s detective mysteries featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. The amendments to the books, published between 1920 and 1976, the year of Christie’s death, include changes to the narrator’s inner monologue. For example, Poirot’s description of another character as “a Jew, of course” in Christie’s debut novel, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles,” has been stripped out of the new version. Throughout the revised version of the short story collection “Miss Marple’s Final Cases and Two Other Stories,” the word “native” has been replaced with “local,” The Telegraph reports. A passage describing a servant as “black” and…