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Tunisia Presidency/TwitterCopyright: Tunisia Presidency/Twitter

Four Tunisian soldiers on military duty have died after their helicopter crashed into the sea in the country’s north-west.

President Kais Saied on Thursday offered condolences to the bereaved families, saying the "accident cost the lives of four army men".

He said there was a need to "renew military equipment" as he met the country's defence minister following the incident.

President Saied also said such incidents could occur in any country – while admitting that the deterioration of some equipment in Tunisia "had led and continues to lead to such tragedies".

In 2021, three soldiers were killed in an army helicopter crash in the southern Gabes province – the findings of the investigations into that incident have not been released.

Sotheby'sCopyright: Sotheby's

The biggest ruby ever to come to auction has been sold in New York for a record sum of just under $35m (£28m).

The stone, a whopping 55.22 carats, was discovered last year in a mine in Mozambique.

Uncut it was 101 carats. It has been called the "Estrela de Fura” meaning “Star of Fura” in Portuguese. The name refers to the company that mined the stone.

Polished rubies of more than five carats are extremely rare.

Sotheby's, who auctioned the gem, described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime" jewel.

The same auction also saw a record sum achieved for a pink diamond.

The 10.5 carat gem from Botswana - described as a fancy purplish-pink stone - sold for just under $35m.