Jul 15, 2010
Ordination of women a "crime against the faith"
The ordination of women as Roman Catholic priests is a "crime against the faith," the Vatican said Thursday as it issued a raft of new disciplinary rules.
2010 Youth Summer Program, Saipan
SUMMER CAMP: Children taking part in the Karidat House of Manhoben's 2010 Youth Summer Program show their art work-a paper plate wall pocket-right after taking an arts and crafts class under Dora Ada, center, at the Manhoben Center in Chalan Kanoa yesterday morning. The July 15 to Aug. 26 summer program aims to involve children who are 6 to 17 years old in skills development classes including canoeing, bead making, ukulele playing, swimming, bowling, volleyball and basketball. (Haidee V. Eugenio)
Afghans to Form Local Forces to Fight Taliban - NYTimes.com
Allauddin Khan/Associated Press
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
Two-day tsunami awareness workshop course, Saipan
Participants in the two-day tsunami awareness workshop course at Hyatt Regency SaipanÃs Sandcastle pose for a group photo with officials from the Emergency Management Office, National Weather Service, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and International Tsunami Information Center at the lobby of the Hyatt yesterday. (Haidee V. Eugenio)
Link between Russian spy and British royal family investigated
A gorgeous Russian spy infiltrating the British royal family sounds like a plot of a James Bond film, but this may have happened in real life.
The Sunday Mirror reported Sunday that British intelligence agency MI5 is urgently investigating if Russian spy Anna Chapman has had any contact with the royal family.
The stunning 28-year-old reportedly tried to break into Princes William and Harry's social circles by frequenting famous nightclub Boujis and other London hotspots where the princes were regularly spotted.
Fluent in Russian and English, the Russian lived in London for five years before leaving London for the U.S. in 2007.
In London, she befriended prominent socialites while working at such firms as Barclays Bank and Navigator Asset Management Advisors.
In June this year, Chapmap and nine other suspects were arrested in the U.S for communicating with the Russian intelligence service, the SVR, through a public wireless network.
She faces a charge of acting as a secret spy of a foreign government, with a potential penalty of five years in prison
The Sunday Mirror reported Sunday that British intelligence agency MI5 is urgently investigating if Russian spy Anna Chapman has had any contact with the royal family.
The stunning 28-year-old reportedly tried to break into Princes William and Harry's social circles by frequenting famous nightclub Boujis and other London hotspots where the princes were regularly spotted.
Fluent in Russian and English, the Russian lived in London for five years before leaving London for the U.S. in 2007.
In London, she befriended prominent socialites while working at such firms as Barclays Bank and Navigator Asset Management Advisors.
In June this year, Chapmap and nine other suspects were arrested in the U.S for communicating with the Russian intelligence service, the SVR, through a public wireless network.
She faces a charge of acting as a secret spy of a foreign government, with a potential penalty of five years in prison
Chinese author sues over 'Avatar' storyline
A Beijing court has accepted a Chinese writer's plagiarism lawsuit against U.S. director James Cameron whom he claimed had stolen ideas for the hit sci-fi film "Avatar" from his 1997 fiction.
Zhou Shaomou , the general manager of a Beijing-based hi-tech business, said he spent more than seven years writing Tale of the Blue Crows, a novel which recounts the epic journey of six astronauts to a distant planet, home to a race of blue-skinned beings.
He said 80 percent of the plot and key elements of the movie Avatar are similar to his story, China Daily reported.
The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court accepted Zhou Shaomou's lawsuit yesterday. Zhou tried to file a suit in March but the court said he had insufficient evidence. He wanted 1 billion yuan ($147.7 million) in compensation, the report said.
He is also scheduled to file a similar lawsuit with a U.S. court.
A staff member with 20th Century Fox's Greater China Region, Avatar's distributor, told Beijing News earlier that the outline for Avatar was in place as early as 1995. Zhou's work was said to have been written in 1997, which the staff said means copyright infringement was impossible.
"Avatar" has taken more than $2 billion at the box office worldwide since it was released late last year, becoming the best selling movie in cinema history. In China, it earned 1.3 billion yuan.
Coincidently, the Beijing court also accepted another case recently against Avatar.
He Dexiang, a Beijing resident, claimed Cameron's movie was based on his 2003 script and asked for an apology and compensation, according to Mirror Evening News.
Paul the octopus offered 46 million
Apparently, it's not just the soccer players who get high-priced transfer offers from wealthy businessmen.
Paul the "psychic" octopus, who made headlines after predicting Spain's victory in the World Cup, has been offered 30,000 euros, or 46 million won, by Spanish businessmen from Carballino, a small village in northwestern Spain.
They say they want Paul to be the mascot at the village's annual gastronomic event on Aug. 8. which focuses on squid dishes.
"We are not going to eat the octopus," assured Manuel Pazo, who owns a fishing business in the village.
The aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, where Paul resides, has rejected the offer, but the businessmen are reportedly still considering borrowing him for the event.
Paul the "psychic" octopus, who made headlines after predicting Spain's victory in the World Cup, has been offered 30,000 euros, or 46 million won, by Spanish businessmen from Carballino, a small village in northwestern Spain.
They say they want Paul to be the mascot at the village's annual gastronomic event on Aug. 8. which focuses on squid dishes.
"We are not going to eat the octopus," assured Manuel Pazo, who owns a fishing business in the village.
The aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, where Paul resides, has rejected the offer, but the businessmen are reportedly still considering borrowing him for the event.
Unexpected 'stars' of World Cup, Jul 15, 2010
What does a lingerie model have in common with a psychic octopus? Answer: they are among the unexpected stars of this year's World Cup.
Model Larissa Riquelme rose to international prominence when the pictures of her cheering for her home team Paraguay in skimpy clothes circulated on the internet.
Berlusconi asks envoys to ‘bring pretty girls’
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi lived up to his playboy reputation Monday, saying men from Latin countries can "appreciate pretty girls" and asking foreign ambassadors to bring some over.
"Bring some good-looking girls over some time. We would appreciate them because we are Latins," the 73-year-old told a gathering of ambassadors and business leaders from nearly 30 Mediterranean countries in Milan.
"But not playboys, as in my case, I've become a 'play-old,'" he added with a grin.
Last year, Berlusconi's wife filed for divorce over revelations that the media tycoon attended the 18th birthday party of an aspiring model who called him "Daddy."
Berlusconi was also forced to deny paying for sex after a call-girl disclosed publicly she had spent the night with him, recorded conversations with him and filmed his bedroom with her mobile phone. (AFP)
Sexual Revolution Slowly Progressing in Russia - NYTimes.com
James Hill for The New York Times
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
Published: July 14, 2010
Asian mass-murderer case in Nepal court
A Frenchman, linked to a series of grisly killings across Asia in the 1970s, is contesting a murder conviction over the death of an American backpacker in 1975.
Charles Sobhraj, 65, could walk free if the court overturns his 20-year sentence over the murder of Connie Joe Bronzich, a tourist who was stabbed repeatedly before her body was burnt and dumped on the outskirts of Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital.
A Kathmandu district court originally sentenced Sobraj, who has been described over the years as a charming conman, to life imprisonment in 2004.
The judgment was later upheld by another district court a year later.
Sobhraj has always maintained his innocence in the case, saying he had never visited Nepal before he was arrested at a Kathmandu casino in 2003.
Film censors run scared from Bin Laden joke
A Bollywood film has been banned in Pakistan due to its depiction of Osama bin Laden.
Pakistan’s film censorship board has banned the Indian comedy which was set for release on Friday
The film, which features an Osama lookalike, is a Hindi film about a Pakistani journalist who pretends to score an interview with the elusive al-Qaeda leader.
In the plot, the journalist tries to improve his chances of emigrating to the US by scoring an interview with the Osama bin Laden "lookalike."
By selling his “breakthrough scoop” to news channels he hopes the US will grant him residency.
The ban had been anticipated on grounds that extremists might trigger new attacks in Pakistan, which has already been targeted by al-Qaeda extremists.The 57-member cdensors board in Pakistan is made up of members from the media, public representatives and religious leaders.
Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding in Pakistan’s tribal areas.BRUNEI NEWS
Pakistan’s film censorship board has banned the Indian comedy which was set for release on Friday
The film, which features an Osama lookalike, is a Hindi film about a Pakistani journalist who pretends to score an interview with the elusive al-Qaeda leader.
In the plot, the journalist tries to improve his chances of emigrating to the US by scoring an interview with the Osama bin Laden "lookalike."
By selling his “breakthrough scoop” to news channels he hopes the US will grant him residency.
The ban had been anticipated on grounds that extremists might trigger new attacks in Pakistan, which has already been targeted by al-Qaeda extremists.The 57-member cdensors board in Pakistan is made up of members from the media, public representatives and religious leaders.
Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding in Pakistan’s tribal areas.BRUNEI NEWS
HM of Brunei Sends Congratulatory Message To France
Bandar Seri Begawan - His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has sent congratulatory messages to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French Prime Miniter Francois Fillon on the occasion of France's National Day today.
In the message to Sarkozy, His Majesty expressed his pleasure at the warm and friendly relations between the two countries and looked forward to continue working closely with the president in the coming year to strengthen the friendship and bilateral cooperation, particularly through the partnership in the Asean-EU Dialogue and Asia-Europe Meeting.
In a similar congratulatory message to Fillon, the monarch expressed his appreciation for the long standing friendly relations shared by the countries and hoped that this goodwill will continue to be strengthened.
His Majesty also conveyed his best wishes to Sarkozy and Fitton.
Meanwhile, His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade sent a similar congratulatory message to France's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Bernard Kouchner.
"I have great pleasure in sending my warmest congratulations and best wishes to you and the government and people of France on your National Day," His Royal Highness stated.
"I am delighted with the excellent cooperation our countries continue to enjoy as very close friends over many years and I wish you and our much-valued French community in Brunei a very happy celebration," His Royal Highness added.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times
In the message to Sarkozy, His Majesty expressed his pleasure at the warm and friendly relations between the two countries and looked forward to continue working closely with the president in the coming year to strengthen the friendship and bilateral cooperation, particularly through the partnership in the Asean-EU Dialogue and Asia-Europe Meeting.
In a similar congratulatory message to Fillon, the monarch expressed his appreciation for the long standing friendly relations shared by the countries and hoped that this goodwill will continue to be strengthened.
His Majesty also conveyed his best wishes to Sarkozy and Fitton.
Meanwhile, His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade sent a similar congratulatory message to France's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Bernard Kouchner.
"I have great pleasure in sending my warmest congratulations and best wishes to you and the government and people of France on your National Day," His Royal Highness stated.
"I am delighted with the excellent cooperation our countries continue to enjoy as very close friends over many years and I wish you and our much-valued French community in Brunei a very happy celebration," His Royal Highness added.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times
Human Brains "Evolve," Become Less Monkey-Like With Age
Photograph by Lynn Johnson, National Geographic
John Roach
Published July 12, 2010
Brain regions that grow the most outside the womb are the same areas that expanded the most during evolution from monkeys to humans, a new study says.
As the human brain matures, it expands in a "strikingly nonuniform" fashion, according to researchers who compared MRI scans of 12 infant brains with scans of 12 young adult brains. (See brain pictures.)The research revealed that brain regions involved in higher cognitive and executive processes—such as language and reasoning—grow about twice as much as regions associated with basic senses such vision and hearing, said study leader Jason Hill, a neurobiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Jul 14, 2010
Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem have married in a secret ceremony in the Bahamas, it emerged on Wednesday.
By Fiona Govan in Madrid
Published: 4:48PM BST 14 Jul 2010
Published: 4:48PM BST 14 Jul 2010
Photo: REUTERS
The Oscar-winning Spanish actors, who fell in love on the set of Woody Allen's 2008 romantic comedy "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", tied the knot earlier this month, ending months of speculation over their nuptial plans.
Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri flies home from US - Telegraph
Shahram Amiri
Shahram Amiri had "left American soil" on and was on his way back to Iran via a third country, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
Before he left the Iranian interests section of the Pakistan embassy in Washington, where he had sought refuge, he gave an interview to Iranian television denying he had gone to America voluntarily, as Washington claims.
TV and movie lovers rejoice:
TV and movie lovers rejoice: Comic-Con takes place this weekend, inviting fans around the world to meet stars from their favorite shows and hear about what it's like behind the scenes. Swarms of fang-bearing True Blood followers, honorary Glee club members -- frequently off-key or tone deaf -- and aspiring wizards from the abundant pool of Harry Potter admirers will descend on San Diego for four days. Heightened anticipation continues to build for the annual convention, which frequently stirs concerns of overcrowding, drawing over 125,000 people last year. Tickets for the gathering have been sold out for months, but Comic-Con is sponsoring a last-chance sweepstakes for tickets. Click here for the entry form; winners will be drawn Friday. [Jaunted]
A new deal for urban explorers promises authentic, cultural day trips in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco, all offered with a two-for-one special. Now travelers can bring a friend for free when they buy an Urban Adventure, including a stroll around Hollywood's most infamous bars and movie locations, a glimpse of New York's immigrant heritage through food tastings in Chinatown and Little Italy, and a walking tour through San Francisco's Mission District and Chinatown, ending with a catamaran cruise around the city's scenic bay . Offers are good through September 1.
Photo: Fans embrace their inner geek-dom at the 2009 Comic-Con, scragz via Flickr.
Eclipse "Frown"
Solar Eclipse Over Chile
Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, ReutersThe moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
—with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
Published July 12, 2010Easter Island Eclipse Watcher
Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, ReutersOne of Easter Island's famous stone statues, or moai, seems to turn its back on the total solar eclipse Sunday, while a woman uses a special filter for safe eclipse viewing. (Watch video: "Solar Eclipse to Darken Easter Island.")
Looking directly at the sun—even during an eclipse—can permanently damage human eyes. Eclipse experts recommend wearing sun-safe glasses and watching the spectacle only for short periods.
Published July 12, 2010Eclipse Halo
Photograph by Martin Bernetti, AFP/Getty ImagesDuring Sunday's total solar eclipse, the moon covered the sun over Easter Island, so that only the faint, white ring of the sun's upper atmosphere, or corona, was visible.
Eclipse expert and National Geographic grantee Jay Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, was on Easter Island to witness his 51st solar eclipse. According to Pasachoff, eclipses offer scientists unique opportunities to study the corona, parts of which are invisible even to sun-watching satellites.
"On the days of eclipses—and only on those days—can we supply high-quality images of the inner and middle corona that fill in the gaps in spacecraft coverage," Pasachoff told National Geographic News last week. "We can learn about the sun's magnetic field and the relation of the sun and the Earth by studying eclipses."
(The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
Published July 12, 2010- Photograph by Martin Bernetti, AFP/Getty ImagesThe sun seems to create a frown in the sky over Easter Island as just a small crescent of light remains visible during Sunday's total solar eclipse.
Thousands of people gathered on Easter Island—a UN World Heritage site—to watch the eclipse, billed as one of the most remote that will happen this century.
"The most noteworthy aspect of this eclipse is how little land it crosses and the sparse population areas in the path," eclipse chaser and astronomer Alan Dyer, of the Telus World of Science-Calgary in Alberta, told National Geographic News last week.
Published July 12, 2010
Easter Island Eclipse Watcher
Solar Eclipse Over Chile
Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, ReutersThe moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
—with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
Published July 12, 2010- Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, ReutersOne of Easter Island's famous stone statues, or moai, seems to turn its back on the total solar eclipse Sunday, while a woman uses a special filter for safe eclipse viewing. (Watch video: "Solar Eclipse to Darken Easter Island.")
Looking directly at the sun—even during an eclipse—can permanently damage human eyes. Eclipse experts recommend wearing sun-safe glasses and watching the spectacle only for short periods.
Published July 12, 2010
Eclipse Halo
Solar Eclipse Over Chile
Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, ReutersThe moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
—with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
Published July 12, 2010Easter Island Eclipse Watcher
Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, ReutersOne of Easter Island's famous stone statues, or moai, seems to turn its back on the total solar eclipse Sunday, while a woman uses a special filter for safe eclipse viewing. (Watch video: "Solar Eclipse to Darken Easter Island.")
Looking directly at the sun—even during an eclipse—can permanently damage human eyes. Eclipse experts recommend wearing sun-safe glasses and watching the spectacle only for short periods.
Published July 12, 2010- Photograph by Martin Bernetti, AFP/Getty ImagesDuring Sunday's total solar eclipse, the moon covered the sun over Easter Island, so that only the faint, white ring of the sun's upper atmosphere, or corona, was visible.
Eclipse expert and National Geographic grantee Jay Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, was on Easter Island to witness his 51st solar eclipse. According to Pasachoff, eclipses offer scientists unique opportunities to study the corona, parts of which are invisible even to sun-watching satellites.
"On the days of eclipses—and only on those days—can we supply high-quality images of the inner and middle corona that fill in the gaps in spacecraft coverage," Pasachoff told National Geographic News last week. "We can learn about the sun's magnetic field and the relation of the sun and the Earth by studying eclipses."
(The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
Published July 12, 2010
Solar Eclipse Over Chile
The moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
—with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
Published July 12, 2010
Afghanistan’s Lithium Wealth Could Remain Elusive
Photograph by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky, Bloomberg/ Getty Images
By Henry J. Reske
for National Geographic News
Published June 16, 2010
This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.
Somewhere in the trackless lands that make up much of Afghanistan (map), just to the right or left of the Old Silk Road, there are apparently huge caches of untapped wealth in the form of metal and stone prized in both the ancient world and the modern: gold, copper, and lapis lazuli, to name a few.
Secret Tunnel Uncovered in Pharaoh's Tomb
Photograph by Amr Abdallah Dalsh, ReutersStanding on wooden steps that protect a 3,300-year-old stone staircase, Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass poses in 2009 in a mysterious tunnel that links the ancient tomb of Pharaoh Seti I to ... nothing.
After three years of hauling out rubble and artifacts via a railway-car system (rails visible at left), the excavators have hit a wall, the team announced last week. It seems the ancient workers who created the steep tunnel under Egypt's Valley of the Kings near Luxor (map) abruptly stopped after cutting 572 feet (174 meters) into rock.
Hawass, also a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence, believes work on the tunnel began during the pharaoh's 15-year reign (1294-1279 B.C.), but after the tomb above it was already complete. Work may have stopped when Seti I died.
Archaeologist Mustafa Waziri, regional director for the Egyptian antiquities council, said: "I think they were planning to make another burial chamber down there. Suddenly they stopped. But the condition of the stairs is amazing."
(The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
—Andrew Bossone and Ted Chamberlain
Published July 7, 2010
Tombs Emerge From Egypt Sands
- Photograph courtesy Egypt Supreme Council of AntiquitiesWorkers and archaeologists stand at the 4,200-year-old site of two rock-hewn Egyptian tombs recently excavated near Cairo and unveiled Thursday.
Featuring boldly painted false doors, the tombs are the last resting places of Shendwa, head of the royal scribes under Pharaoh Pepi II, and his son Khonsu, also a scribe. Both were members of the literate ruling class during ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom (2686 to 2160 B.C.), during which most of Egypt's pyramids were built (ancient Egypt time line).
Occupying a thousand-square-foot (300-square-meter) site, the tombs were found in the royal burial ground at Saqqara (map)—strangely far from the tomb of Pepi II."We never expected to find a tomb that belongs to [the period of] that king" at the dig site, said Abdul Hakeem Karar, director of the Saqqara necropolis for Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
(Related King Tut pictures: "DNA Study Reveals Health Secrets.")
—Andrew Bossone in Cairo
Published July 9, 2010
Cocaine Submarine Seized
- Photograph from ReutersEcuadorian police pose atop what U.S. officials called a "game changing"submarine built by drug smugglers on July 2 near the town of San Lorenzo (map), just south of the Colombian border.
Unlike previous known "cocaine subs," which could dip only just below the surface, the illegal craft appears capable of diving as deep as 65 feet (20 meters).
Seized before its maiden voyage, the 98-foot-long (30-meter-long) fiberglass sub was big enough to hold six to ten tons of cocaine and six crew members. The remote swamp camp where it was built was outfitted for up to 50 workers, though only 1 was present at the time of the raid.
With a ballast system never before seen in a cocaine sub, the handmade sub suggests smugglers are rapidly improving on the more common, semisubmersible designs, which are already difficult to detect.
"It's obviously an eye-opener," said Michael Braun, a former chief of operations with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which assisted in the seizure operation.
"There's been a lot of speculation," said Braun, now with Spectre Group International, a private security company. "But now there's direct evidence that the bad guys have the ability to build these things and put them into service."
(Related: Get cocaine-submarine pictures and facts from the National Geographic Channel.)
Published July 13, 2010
Close Encounter With Lutetia
Image courtesy ESA
Asteroid 21 Lutetia is exposed, craters and all, in a picture captured Saturday by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft. Rosetta's close encounter with Lutetia revealed a battered world—a possible remnant from the birth of our solar system, astronomers say.To snap the above image, Rosetta swooped about 1,965 miles (3,162 kilometers) above Lutetia's surface. The image is the highest-resolution photo taken of the space rock, located more than 270 million miles (440 million kilometers) away from Earth, between Mars and Jupiter. (Watch a video of Rosetta's flyby.)
The sharp edge visible above, at bottom, may be evidence that 81-mile-wide (130-kilometer-wide) Lutetia broke off from a "mother asteroid," said NASA space scientist Claudia Alexander, who led the United States' involvement in the Rosetta mission.
Jungle Cat Mimics Monkey to Lure Prey—A First
Photograph by J.H. Pete Carmichael, Riser/Getty Images
Carlos Santana proposes onstage
Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana has proposed onstage to his drummer girlfriend, Cindy Blackman.
AAP
LEGENDARY guitarist Carlos Santana is engaged after proposing onstage to his girlfriend, drummer Cindy Blackman.The proposal came during a tour stop Friday in Tinley Park, Illinois, outside Chicago. His representatives say he popped the question four songs into the concert after a Blackman drum solo.
She said yes, and they sealed it with a kiss, which was met with cheers from the crowd.
The multiplatinum-selling Grammy winner ended a 34-year marriage to Deborah Santana in 2007.
Michael Jackson's grave vandalised
Michael Jackson.
AAP
MICHAEL Jackson's final resting place has been vandalised.A group of fans of the late singer - who died of acute Propofol intoxication last June - managed to obtain access to the Great Mausoleum at Los Angeles' Forest Lawn Memorial Park, with the cemetery now pledging to review security following the incident.
Gibson aims at Hispanics in new rant
Mel Gibson is being investigated in a possible domestic violence case involving his ex-girlfriend.OSCAR-WINNING Braveheart director Mel Gibson uses racial language to disparage an Hispanic cleaning lady, in a fresh recording posted online on Tuesday.
The recording, allegedly made in a screaming phone argument with his Russian-born ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, follows the release of earlier rants in which Gibson refers to black people as "n*****s," calls Grigorieva a "whore" and a "bitch in heat," and apparently acknowledges beating her.
In one tape, Lethal Weapon star Gibson even reportedly threatens to kill Grigorieva.
UN to review Aussie gender equality
Australia has taken significant steps towards a more gender equal society.AUSTRALIA has thrown some large stones at the glass ceiling since the United Nations last reviewed our gender equality agenda.
So there will be plenty to talk about next week when Australia's four-year progress is reviewed by the UN's division for the advancement of women in New York.
Vitamin D level 'link to Parkinson's'
© iStockphoto.com/Dmitriy Shironosov
GREATER levels of vitamin D have been linked to a lower risk of Parkinson's disease in a study in Finland where low sunlight leads to a chronic lack of the nutrient, researchers said Monday.Scientists from the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, first hypothesised that Parkinson's "may be caused by a continuously inadequate vitamin D status leading to a chronic loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain."
Shopaholics 'may have mental disorder'
Shopaholics may be driven by the same disorder which prompts others to fill their homes with junk.
Local woman rallies her neighbours
Local woman rallies her neighbours
WHEN Marianne Mattingly heard a young girl screaming profanity in the street on a Saturday night, she put it down to the usual drunken shenanigans.
Collapsed flame tree damaging two vehicles. No injuries. Marianas Islands
NO ONE WAS HURT. Department of Public Works personnel extricate a collapsed flame tree from the window of a passing car on Beach Road, Tuesday morning, damaging two vehicles. Fortunately there were no injuries.
Republican Party signs unity pledge
Senator Eddie Baza Calvo signs the Republican Party’s unity pledge at Meskla Restaurant in Hagatna on Tuesday. Looking on are Sen. Ray Tenorio, Lt. Gov. Mike Cruz and Sen. Jim Espaldon. Photo by Zita Y. Taitano
Papua New Guinea men survive ocean ordeal by eating wood - Telegraph
Published: 4:20PM GMT 18 Nov 2009
Emergency personnel from Majuro Hospital greet the five surviving Papua New Guinea drifters Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Eight members of an extended family, most of them in their late teens, were left at the mercy of the seas and the elements after their 22-foot boat ran out of fuel on a trip to a neighbouring island. After finally being rescued near Nauru by a US fishing vessel two of them died from severe malnutrition before the captain could reach medical aid. Survivors said a 15-year-old boy had drowned after jumping overboard to rescue clothing that had blown away.
People flock to the U.S. Post Office in Chalan Kanoa, Saipan, Jul 14, 2010
People flock to the U.S. Post Office in Chalan Kanoa yesterday to see whether their refund or federal stimulus checks are already in their mailboxes, following the Fitial administration's mailing out of some 10,000 refund checks worth $6.4 million on Monday night. (Haidee V. Eugenio)
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