South Africa’s second-richest man won a court order to temporarily halt mineral exploration on his private family ranch in Zimbabwe.

Country said attempts to question its compliance with the international diamond certification scheme were "totally unfounded" and "far-fetched".

Ukraine has accused the Russian military of executing residents of Bucha, a town outside the capital Kyiv that Russian troops had occupied for several weeks.

China agrees that the Ukraine issue falls outside the scope of the Kimberley Process.

De Beers sold $650m of diamonds, slightly up from $604m at the previous sale this year, but higher than the $477m this time in 2021.

The Finance Ministry proposed this week to put a portion of the country’s gold and gems into a special reserve that can be accessed in times of war.

The United States and Britain have imposed sanctions on Russia's Alrosa, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, which accounted for around 30% of global output last year, and is partly state-owned.