Frankie is passionate about finance and world politics. Melbourne-based, Frankie holds a Bachelor of Communications with RMIT University and is an award-winning journalist who has worked with NEMBC Media and other major publications.

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An American silver

coin dating back to the 17th century has sold for a record-breaking US$2.52 million at auction.

Stack’s Bowers Galleries handled the sale, eight years after it was discovered in a cabinet in Amsterdam.

At auction this week the coin saw a 12-minute bidding war and fetched more than three times its presale estimates.

The threepence coin is dated to Boston in 1652 and is only around the size of a nickel.

The Boston Mint at this time was defying British authority by producing their own coins, representing a

“growing sense of identity…and its determination to regulate its own economy” according to the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Its silver value is just $1.03 USD on today’s market, but the history behind it was what led to the record breaking sale as the most expensive non-gold US coin struck before the founding of the United States Mint.

The owner found the coin in 2016

in the Netherlands in a pasteboard box that said “Silver token unknown/ From Quincy Family/B. Ma. Dec, 1798” and was unsure of any historical significance.

After extensive research and testing it was found to be one of the incredibly rare threepence coins from that period and location, with only one other known in

17th century American silver coin breaks auction records

Developers want to transform the Intercontinental Double Bay site into a

“$1 billion dollar lifestyle destination" while acknowleding its star-studded past.

The hotel in Sydney's exclusive eastern suburbs was originally known as the Ritz Carlton, but renamed the Sir Stamford Double Bay back in 2001 and then, after sitting empty for six years, changed again to the Intercontinental in 2014.

A syndicate led by developer Allen Linz bought it for $215 million back in March of this year, with construction set to take place between 2026 and 2028.

Along with three cinemas, high-end retail and dining, offices, a health and wellness centre it will also offer a boutique 39-suite hotel and 29 luxury apartments across the seven-storey building.

The project will be undertaken by COX Architecture, with director Ramin Jahromi saying the design includes a “spectacular atrium with sculptural staircase and striking public art installation, a generous north-facing courtyard, and a six-metre-wide pedestrian walkway".

Capitel Group Managing Director, Eduard Litver also wants to celebrate the unique past of this iconic Sydney hotel.Credit: John Matthew Smith, Andwhatsnext / Wikimedia“There’s been Michael Hutchence, Princess Diana, Bill

$1bn to revive iconic hotel, Intercontinental Double Bay

Britain’s High Speed 2 rail project is now ranked as the

most expensive in the world.

The first and only phase of HS2 is priced at between A$93.44 billion and $112 billion by the U.K. government.

This breaks down to a staggering $665.6 million per mile.

The US$128-billion California High Speed Rail in the U.S. is the only other rail project to come close to matching HS2’s costs.

When it launched in 2012, it was with a projected overall cost of approximately $68.48 billion for almost 400 miles (643.738 kilometres) of new railway.

HS2 has now been overseen by five different CEOs, seven chairmen, six prime ministers, eight finance ministers and nine transport ministers.

Railway journalist Christian Wolmar says that the project was likely to fail from the start, with simple design flaws contributing to the rising prices.

“A number of mistakes were made at the outset, including the decision to build the line for 400 kilometers per hour operation, 100 kph faster than the international norm,” he says.

“There was also a lack of discussion over the chosen route, which could have followed existing highway corridors.”

Rapidly rising construction costs, unexpected British political upheaval and permit issues have

Britain at odds with world's most expensive railway plan

Sony has announced a new ultra-fast and high resolution mirrorless camera, a flagship product of the Alpha series.



The Sony Alpha A1 II costs A$10,989 for the body, for a limited time only.



The A1 II announcement comes nearly four years since the first Alpha 1 came onto the scene in early 2021.



The original is well-regarded for its sensor, latitude, features, 8K recording, fast autofocus, and subject recognition.

The mark two model builds upon the foundation of the previous Alpha model, introducing further refined features like the new AI Processing Unit.

This brings real-time, fast recognition autofocus, which can accurately recognise people, animals, bugs, planes, trains, and cars.



There is a 30% improvement in human eye recognition and 50% in bird eye recognition.



Additionally, data can be automatically transferred to Adobe Lightroom or Google Drive via Sony's cloud storage service.

Sony also added some new features and enhancements for videography, including two image stabilisation modes which ensures smooth handheld shooting.

Sony's new top-of-the-line camera retails for $10,989

A gold-domed penthouse apartment is up for sale in New York City, located next to the famous Flatiron Building.

The 5,777-square-foot apartment that occupies the golden dome is being listed by Sothesby’s International Real Estate for US$25 million.

Proceeds of the current sale will be used to build schools and preschools in Mozambique.

The five-bedroom, five-bathroom property sits at 170 Fifth Avenue, also known as the Sohmer Piano Building, and was built in 1898.

The property offers 360-degree views of the city from the dome, an open kitchen with skylights, marble bathrooms, a private roof deck and an iron-wrought spiral staircase.

The Beaux-Arts building was designed by Robert Maynicke, a prominent architect in NYC in the early 20th century.

“It’s really buying a true old New York piece of property…the cupola is iconic.” said the Sotheby’s listing agent, Lawrence Treglia.

Having once contained various businesses,170 Fifth Avenue was converted into a condominium around 2000.



The domed penthouse, which was formerly a loft, has only had one other residential owner; the philanthropist and entrepreneur Gregory C. Carr, who bought it in 2001 and renovated it.

Gold-domed penthouse apartment for sale in NYC

A Florida man has been arrested for planning to attack the New York Stock exchange as part of his plot to

“reboot” the U.S. government.



Arrested and charged, 30-year-old Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, was found to be storing bomb-making sketches and materials.

Undertaking the planning for this attack, Yenner allegedly recorded himself saying “ I feel like Bin Laden”, referring to the former al-Qaeda leader responsible for the 9/11 attacks in 2001, also in New York City.

Federal officials began investigating him back in February after receiving a tip that he was keeping these supplies inside a storage unit, found to be unlocked.

FBI agents searched the storage facility, in Florida’s Coral Springs, and said they discovered “bombmaking sketches, numerous watches with timers, electronic circuit boards and other electronics”.

Yener allegedly told an undercover agent last week that he planned to carry out the attack the week before Thanksgiving, which takes place on the 28th of November.

Court documents also state that he had internet searches for how to build bombs, and told agents he planned to wear a disguise during the attack and release a recorded message to the media.

Yener had reportedly tried and failed to

FBI arrests man planning to attack NY's stock exchange

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a

warrant for the arrest of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.



The country’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif have also been issued warrants.

All three have received the charges for alleged war crimes relating to ongoing war in Gaza.

This marks the first time that any leaders of a democratic and Western-aligned state have been charged by the ICC.

In their official statement regarding Gallant and Netanyahu the ICC wrote that the

judges “found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each has committed the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare and crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.



They also wrote that

they had found reasonable grounds to believe Deif was also responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes.



However, Israel has previously claimed to have killed Deif in an airstrike back in July, and the pre-trial chamber said it would

“continue to gather information” to confirm this.

The court was established 22 years ago when 124 countries signed the Rome statute and Netanyahu and Gallant now risk arrest if they

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, Deif

Grupo Prato has won the 2024

Best Luxury Apartment Living Award for their new Montecarlo apartments. The Montecarlo Ocean View apartments are located on the Ocean Reef Islands in Panama Bay, close to Panama City and the

Tucumen International Airport.

Designed by architect Saul Bassan, it features six floors and eight exclusive apartments, ranging from

181-577 square metres.

Each apartment

has acoustic insulation, marble floors and floor-to-ceiling windows which have been soundproofed for privacy.

The amenities for the apartments include direct access to a private yacht club, parking with electric vehicle charging, a rooftop pool and barbeque area with views of the ocean and a Jacuzzi.

Grupo Prato has been established in both construction and project management since 1979.

In response to the award they issued a statement saying: “We are thrilled to be recognised by

Luxury Lifestyle Awards for Montecarlo Ocean View. This project represents our dedication to delivering not only beautiful homes, but also a lifestyle that exceeds the expectations of our clients. We are proud to offer a new level of luxury living in Panama.”

Best Luxury Apartment Living Award won by Grupo Prato

Australia's NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has delivered the final speech of his political career.



His wife and 14 year old daughter, Clementine Shorten, joined him for morning media appearances to defend Labor’s social media ban for under 16s.

Later in the day Shorten gave his final speech to the House of Representatives, opening by acknowledging

the difficulties of Parliament as well as its privileges saying that “political life is indeed tough.”

The former Labor leader then thanked his wife and three children, calling them his “greatest blessing”.



He also gave his thanks to the constituents of the seat of Maribyrnong for their trust and electing him six times over the course of his career, calling it an honour to represent them.

He continued by thanking Parliament staff, including security guards and clerks, for “making this building tick”.

Reflecting on achievements throughout his time in Parliament, Shorten recalled the passing of marriage equality in 2017, the after effects of Black Saturday in 2009 and more recently the review into NDIS, calling the scheme the “closest” to his heart.

Wrapping up, he praised Australia as “the home of the second chance, the land of a fair go” before thanking the Ho

Labor's Bill Shorten delivers final speech in Parliament

A multi-million dollar tourism campaign will use cricket to try and bring more visitors to

Australia from India.

Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins will appear alongside Tourism Australia's mascot Ruby the Roo in the campaign, titled “Howzat for a Holiday?”.

It features a series of social media videos and television commercials, and is expected to reach 50 million Indian viewers.



The campaign will also include billboards and print advertisements across India.

Tourism Australia is aiming to target potential visitors from India’s middle class by utilising a mutual love of cricket.Credit: Tourism AustraliaThe managing director of Tourism Australia, Phillipa Harrison, said Indian tourism levels had already exceeded pre-pandemic numbers.

Building on this, last week a Tourism Australia delegation travelled to New Delhi and Mumbai to sign a new partnership with national carrier Air India to schedule more flights.

This campaign effort comes in the wake of a reduction in Chinese tourists, as their market struggles with geopolitical tensions and the pandemic.

Australia using cricket to draw in tourists from India

Frankie is passionate about finance and world politics. Melbourne-based, Frankie holds a Bachelor of Communications with RMIT University and is an award-winning journalist who has worked with NEMBC Media and other major publications. | Azzet™