Is Egypt close to finding Cleopatra’s tomb?

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Many Egyptologists believe that Cleopatra’s tomb is located in Alexandria, where she was born and ruled from her royal palace. (Supplied)
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Updated 14 July 2020
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Is Egypt close to finding Cleopatra’s tomb?

  • Rival theories hold key to solving mystery of queen’s burial crypt

CAIRO: More than 2,000 years after her death, Cleopatra — the enigmatic queen of the pharaohs — is creating a riddle for archaeologists desperate to find her tomb.

Conflicting reports and news stories on the undiscovered burial crypt are making the search for the elusive tomb increasingly confusing.

Foreign media claim the recent uncovering of two mummies in Egypt will help in the hunt for the tomb, a puzzle that continues to elude archaeologists.

The UK newspaper The Guardian reported that two mummies of high-ranking individuals who lived during the same period as Cleopatra were found 30 km from Alexandria, the Egyptian city overlooking the Mediterranean.

The newspaper said that although the burial chamber was hidden for 2,000 years, the mummies were in poor condition due to water leaks.

However, a source in the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said that the discovery reported by The Guardian is not new and happened several years ago.

Evidence revealed that the mummies were originally completely covered in gold leaf, a luxury granted only to those from the highest class of society.

Archaeologists say the two may have known Cleopatra herself.

Many Egyptologists believe that Cleopatra’s tomb is located in Alexandria, where she was born and ruled from her royal palace.

The city was destroyed in A.D. 365. Experts believe the last remnants of the tomb could be about 50 km away in the ancient temple of Taposiris Magna, built by the Ptolemies, the Greek rulers of ancient Egypt, in the Nile delta.

The temple is said to contain hidden paths and tombs. Cleopatra’s tomb is thought to be located there, decorated with gold leaf. Researchers say the tomb will answer 2,000-year-old questions surrounding her death.

FASTFACT

A source in the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said that the discovery reported by The Guardian is not new and happened several years ago.

However, Salwa Hussein, a professor of Greek and Roman antiquities at Tanta University, said that there is no scientific evidence of her burial in the region.

Cleopatra was no ordinary person, and her tomb must be in a more important and visible place, he added.

“She was the last queen of Egypt and one of the most famous rulers in history. She married the Roman emperor Julius Caesar and fell in love with his minister, Antonio. The queen committed suicide with Antonio in 53 B.C. after the Roman leader Octavian captured her in Alexandria,” Hussein said.

According to the legend, Cleopatra directed servants to smuggle snakes into her cell, which poisoned and killed her.

Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist and former minister of state for antiquities affairs, hopes there are further attempts to locate the tomb.

“We have only discovered 30 percent of Egyptian antiquities. The rest have not yet been discovered. We are very close to finding the right location for the tomb. We hope we are on the right track,” he said.

Hawass said he believed Cleopatra and Antonio were buried in the same grave.

However, a number of Egyptian archaeologists disagree.

According to the book “Alexandria ... the Library and the Academy in the Ancient World” by Mohamed Abdel-Moneim Amer, Cleopatra’s tomb was not far from the tomb of Alexander the Great.

Alexander’s tomb in Alexandria, said to be made of gold, was taken by Ptolemy XI in 101 B.C. and replaced with a glass sarcophagus.

Amer said that Cleopatra lived in an era of droughts, as evidenced by valuables found in the tombs of her family.

Archaeologist Alaa El-Shahat said that Cleopatra’s tomb, as well as the rest of the tombs of the Ptolemaic kings, are located in the royal district in the middle of modern-day Alexandria.

The district was home of royal palaces and theaters, such as Kom Al-Dikka, the Roman theater.

El-Shahat said it was possible that the tomb is located in a central neighborhood.


Algerians campaign to save treasured songbird from hunters

Updated 06 January 2025
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Algerians campaign to save treasured songbird from hunters

  • Goldfinches are native to Western Europe and North Africa, and raising them is a cherished hobby in Algeria, where they are known locally as “maknin”
  • Caging the wild birds cause them to suffer from serious health problems due to abrupt changes in their diet and environment, say advocates

SETIF, Algeria: With its vivid plumage and sweet trill, the goldfinch has long been revered in Algeria, but the national obsession has also driven illegal hunting, prompting calls to protect the songbird.
Amid a persistent demand for the bird that many choose to keep in their homes, conservation groups in the North African country are now calling for the species to be safeguarded from illegal hunting and trading.
“The moment these wild birds are caged, they often suffer from serious health problems, such as intestinal swelling, due to abrupt changes in their diet and environment,” said Zinelabidine Chibout, a volunteer with the Wild Songbird Protection Association in Setif, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) east of the capital, Algiers.
Goldfinches are native to Western Europe and North Africa, and raising them is a cherished hobby in Algeria, where they are known locally as “maknin.”
The bird is considered a symbol of freedom, and was favored by poets and artists around the time of Algeria’s war for independence in the 1950s and 60s. The country even dedicates an annual day in March to the goldfinch.
Laws enacted in 2012 classified the bird as a protected species and made its capture and sale illegal.
But the practices remain common, as protections are lacking and the bird is frequently sold in pet shops and markets.
A 2021 study by Guelma University estimated that at least six million goldfinches are kept in captivity by enthusiasts and traders.
Researchers visiting markets documented the sale of hundreds of goldfinches in a single day.
At one market in Annaba, in eastern Algeria, they counted around 300 birds offered for sale.

Back to the wild
Chibout’s association has been working to reverse the trend by purchasing injured and neglected goldfinches and treating them.
“We treat them in large cages, and once they recover and can fly again, we release them back into the wild,” he said.
Others have also called on enthusiasts to breed the species in order to offset demand.
Madjid Ben Daoud, a goldfinch aficionado and member of an environmental association in Algiers, said the approach could safeguard the bird’s wild population and reduce demand for it on the market.
“Our goal is to encourage the breeding of goldfinches already in captivity, so people no longer feel the need to capture them from the wild,” he said.
Souhila Larkam, who raises goldfinches at home, said people should only keep a goldfinch “if they ensure its reproduction.”
The Wild Songbird Protection Association also targets the next generation with education campaigns.
Abderrahmane Abed, vice president of the association, recently led a group of children on a trip to the forest to teach them about the bird’s role in the ecosystem.
“We want to instill in them the idea that these are wild birds that deserve our respect,” he said. “They shouldn’t be hunted or harmed.”


World’s oldest person dies at 116 in Japan

Updated 04 January 2025
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World’s oldest person dies at 116 in Japan

  • Tomiko Itooka was born on May 23, 1908 in the commercial hub of Osaka, near Ashiya
  • As of September, Japan counted more than 95,000 people who were 100 or older

TOKYO: The world’s oldest person, Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka, has died aged 116, the city where she lived, Ashiya, announced on Saturday.
Itooka, who had four children and five grandchildren, died on December 29 at a nursing home where she resided since 2019, the southern city’s mayor said in a statement.
She was born on May 23, 1908 in the commercial hub of Osaka, near Ashiya – four months before the Ford Model T was launched in the United States.
Itooka was recognized as the oldest person in the world after the August 2024 death of Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera at age 117.
“Ms Itooka gave us courage and hope through her long life,” Ashiya’s 27-year-old mayor Ryosuke Takashima said in the statement.
“We thank her for it.”
Itooka, who was one of three siblings, lived through world wars and pandemics as well as technological breakthroughs.
As a student, she played volleyball.
In her older age, Itooka enjoyed bananas and Calpis, a milky soft drink popular in Japan, according to the mayor’s statement.
Women typically enjoy longevity in Japan, but the country is facing a worsening demographic crisis as its expanding elderly population leads to soaring medical and welfare costs, with a shrinking labor force to pay for it.
As of September, Japan counted more than 95,000 people who were 100 or older – 88 percent of whom were women.
Of the country’s 124 million people, nearly a third are 65 or older.


Former UK home secretary mocked for claiming she visited ‘land border’ between Italy and Turkiye

Updated 03 January 2025
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Former UK home secretary mocked for claiming she visited ‘land border’ between Italy and Turkiye

  • Suella Braverman was criticized for her ignorance by social media users, public figures
  • Italy and Turkiye are separated by hundreds of kilometers and share no border

LONDON: Former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman faced widespread ridicule after claiming in a radio interview that she visited a land border between Italy and Turkiye — two countries separated by hundreds of kilometers.

Speaking on LBC Radio on Thursday morning, Braverman, known for her hardline anti-immigration stance, described visiting what she said was a wall built by Italy to stem migration.

“Italy have reinforced their borders. They built a wall. I went to see that wall,” she said.

“They built a wall on the land border between Italy and Turkey. They’ve got drones. They’ve got armored vehicles. They’ve got soldiers. The numbers crossing that border have plummeted.”

The statement quickly went viral, with social media users and public figures mocking the former Home Secretary for referencing a non-existent border.

Italy and Turkiye, located in southern Europe and western Asia respectively, share no land border.

Former Conservative MP Sir Michael Take responded sarcastically, suggesting that people were overreacting and quipping that Braverman should have claimed that “Italy had built (a wall) on its border with Syria.”

Food critic Jay Rayner also shared the clip, jokingly asking: “And is this wall ‘on the land border between Italy and Turkey’ with you in the room right now?”

Others criticized the apparent ignorance displayed by a senior politician who once held responsibility for national security and immigration.

Portuguese journalist and political commentator Bruno Macaes commented on X: “How did we get to a point where British politics is a global laughing stock?”

Following the backlash, Braverman attempted to clarify her remarks, admitting on X that she had misspoken.

“And, obviously I meant Greece’s land border with Turkey which I was honoured to visit,” she wrote.


Bereaved orca seen carrying another dead calf in US waters

Updated 03 January 2025
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Bereaved orca seen carrying another dead calf in US waters

  • Scientists say whales are among the world’s most intelligent animals, exhibiting complex social behavior including self-awareness and suffering

Washington, USA: A bereaved female killer whale who carried her dead calf for more than two weeks in 2018 has again lost a newborn and is bearing its body, US marine researchers said.
Scientists say whales are among the world’s most intelligent animals, exhibiting complex social behavior including self-awareness and suffering.
The Washington state-based Center for Whale Research said the endangered orca named Tahlequah, also known as J35, was spotted carrying her deceased calf in Puget Sound off Seattle on New Year’s Day.
“J35 has been seen carrying the body of the deceased calf,” the center said in an Instagram post Thursday.
“This behavior was seen previously by J35 in 2018 when she carried the body of her deceased calf for 17 days,” it said.
When Tahlequah was carrying her previous deceased newborn seven years ago she was seen sometimes nudging its body with her nose and sometimes gripping it with her mouth, US media reported.
“It’s a very tragic tour of grief,” Center for Whale Research founder Ken Balcomb told public broadcaster NPR at the time.
The center said the loss of the latest female newborn was “particularly devastating” because Tahlequah has now lost two of her four documented calves.
“We hope to have more information on the situation through further observation,” the post said.
The center also said Tahlequah’s pod had been joined by another newborn. “The calf’s sex is not yet known but the team reports that the calf appeared physically and behaviorally normal,” the center said.
Tahlequah and her pod mates are Southern Resident Killer Whales, a population listed as endangered in the United States.
There are only three pods in the population, numbering around 70 whales. They spend several weeks of each spring and fall in the waters of Puget Sound.
Their numbers are dwindling owing to a combination of factors, including a reduction in their prey and the noise and disturbance caused by ships and boats, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.


Olympics-World’s oldest living gold medallist Agnes Keleti dies at 103

Updated 02 January 2025
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Olympics-World’s oldest living gold medallist Agnes Keleti dies at 103

  • Keleti joined the National Gymnastics Association in 1938 and won her first Hungarian championship in 1940

BUDAPEST: Five-time Olympic champion Hungarian gymnast Agnes Keleti, the world’s oldest living Olympic gold medallist and a survivor of the persecution of Jews in World War Two, died at the age of 103 on Thursday, the Hungarian Olympic Committee said.
Born as Agnes Klein in Budapest on Jan. 9, 1921, Keleti joined the National Gymnastics Association in 1938 and won her first Hungarian championship in 1940, only to be banned from all sports activities that year because of her Jewish origin.
“Agnes Keleti is the greatest gymnast produced by Hungary, but one whose life and career were intertwined with the politics of her country and her religion,” the International Olympic Committee said in a profile on its website.
The HOC said Keleti escaped deportation to Nazi death camps, where hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews were killed, by hiding in a village south of Budapest with false papers. Her father and several relatives died in the Auschwitz death camp.
She won her first gold at the Helsinki games in 1952 aged 31, when most gymnasts had long been retired, the HOC said.
Keleti reached the peak of her career in Melbourne in 1956, where she won four gold medals and became the oldest female gymnast to win gold, the HOC said. A year later Keleti settled in Israel, where she married and had two children.
Her 10 Olympic medals, including five golds, rank Keleti as the second most successful Hungarian athlete of all time, the HOC said. She has also received multiple Hungarian state awards.