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Archaeologists in Morocco have announced the discovery of North Africa's oldest Stone Age hand-axe manufacturing site, dating back 1.3 million years, an international team reported Wednesday. The find pushes back by hundreds of thousands of years the start date in North Africa of the Acheulian stone tool industry associated with a key human ancestor, Homo erectus, researchers on the team told journalists in Rabat.

Source: france24.com

A prominent Chinese billionaire has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, the latest in a string of punishments against outspoken corporate bosses. Sun Dawu runs one of the country's largest private agricultural businesses in the northern province of Hebei. Sun, 67, was found guilty of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" - a charge often used against activists. Other charges against him include illegally occupying farmland, assembling a crowd to attack state agencies and obstructing government workers from performing their duties. He was also fined 3.11 million yuan ($478,697).

Source: bbc.com

A Palestinian boy wounded by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank has died from his injuries, the Palestinian health ministry has said. Mohammed al-Alami, 12, died in the town of Beit Omar, to the northwest of Hebron, after he was shot in the chest while travelling in a car with his father, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Source: aljazeera.com

Fossilised structures discovered in northwestern Canada may be from sponges that lived in oceans as long as 890 million years ago, making them the earliest known animal life on Earth, research showed on Wednesday. The findings also challenge the long-held idea that animals did not arise on Earth until after a major infusion of oxygen into the atmosphere and oceans. Sponges are simple animals with an ancient history. Genetic evidence gathered from modern sponges has shown they likely emerged between 1 billion and 500 million years ago.

Source: france24.com

British girl band Little Mix joined the starry line-up at Madame Tussauds in London on Wednesday, with the wax museum unveiling the chart-topping group's replicas to mark their 10-year anniversary. Ex-member Jesy Nelson, who quit the band in December, joins singers Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall in having their wax likenesses created based on the band's 2019 "Bounce Back" music video.

Source: reuters.com

The United States on Wednesday said it imposed sanctions on eight prisons run by Syria's intelligence apparatus, some of which featured in graphic images by a former Syrian military photographer codenamed "Caesar" that show brutal torture. The Treasury Department also slapped sanctions on five Syrian officials who directed the prisons, Syrian armed rebel group Ahrar al-Sharqiya and two of its leaders to try to hold to account those responsible for human rights violations in the country's decade-long civil war.

Source: reuters.com

U.S. President Joe Biden met with Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Wednesday and expressed support for democracy and human rights in the former Soviet republic. "I was honored to meet with @Tsihanouskaya at the White House this morning. The United States stands with the people of Belarus in their quest for democracy and universal human rights," Biden wrote in a Twitter post.

Source: reuters.com

An ancient Roman vessel dating back to the second century BC has been discovered in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Palermo. The ship lies 92 metres deep in the ocean, near Isola delle Femmine, and from the first images taken by a submarine robot it was carrying a copious cargo of wine amphorae.

Source: theguardian.com

"Robot, stand up" - Oscar Constanza, 16, gives the order and slowly but surely a large frame strapped to his body lifts him up and he starts walking. Fastened to his shoulders, chest, waist, knees and feet, the exoskeleton allows Oscar - who has a genetic neurological condition that means his nerves do not send enough signals to his legs - to walk across the room and turn around.

Source: reuters.com

Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk collapsed on the show’s New Mexico set on Tuesday and had to be hospitalised. Crew members called an ambulance that took the 58-year-old actor to a hospital, where he remained Tuesday night.

Source: theguardian.com

Turkish authorities have intercepted a boat carrying more than 200 Afghan migrants in the Aegean sea heading for Europe, Turkey's coastguard and the International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday. The interception near Turkey's western shores came as hundreds of Afghans cross into eastern Turkey from Iran, after a rise in violence in their own country as the United States and its NATO allies withdraw and Taliban fighters seize territory.

Source: reuters.com

Historic graves have been uncovered at a cemetery in Co Cork after sheep were "hired" to make over the cemetery by eating the overgrowth around headstones. Last summer Fianna Fáil Councillor Audrey Buckley brought goats into St Matthew's graveyard in Crosshaven after seeing the potential for "goatscaping" when she was on a trip to Wales. Using goats and sheep in this way is perfect for old graveyards which have delicate headstones. Sheep, which are being used this summer, recently uncovered the grave marker of a two-year-old girl who died on 7 October 1872.

Source: rte.ie

The oldest solar observatory in the Americas has been awarded Unesco world heritage status and dubbed “a masterpiece of human creative genius”. Chankillo in Peru features 13 stone towers built in 250 to 200 BC that functioned as a calendar by marking the rising and setting arcs of the sun.

Source: theguardian.com

Martial artist and actor Chuck Norris awarded an elated 83-year-old Utah grandmother a fifth-degree black belt in karate. Carole Taylor began practicing martial arts 15 years ago when she was 68, after she started taking her 11-year-old granddaughter to lessons.

Source: foxnews.com

A nine-member Taliban delegation is on a two-day visit to China where they met the foreign minister for talks on the peace process and security issues, the group said on Wednesday. Taliban spokesperson Mohammed Naeem added that the group, led by Taliban negotiator and deputy leader Mullah Baradar Akhund, was also meeting China's special envoy for Afghanistan and that the trip took place after an invitation from Chinese authorities.

Source: reuters.com

At least 18 migrant workers died after a truck crashed into their bus in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Their 1,300km-long journey from Haryana to their home state of Bihar was cut short when the bus broke down in Barabanki district. Some of the workers were still in the bus while others were sleeping next to it when the accident happened in the early hours of Wednesday. The bus probably broke down because it had about 140 passengers when its capacity was just 65. At least 30 people, some of whom are critically injured, have been admitted to hospitals in Barabanki.

Source: bbc.com

France's financial crimes unit said Tuesday it had charged prominent rightwinger Rachida Dati, a former cabinet minister and close ally of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, over her dealings with disgraced former Renault chief Carlos Ghosn. She is accused both of "passive corruption by a person holding an elective mandate" and of "benefiting from abuse of power" in relation to consulting work she did for Ghosn from 2010 to 2012, when she was also an MP in the European Parliament. According to a source close to the investigation, Dati received 900,000 euros ($1.06 million) in lawyer's fees during that period.

Source: france24.com

Manchester United has announced an agreement to sign center-back Raphael Varane from Real Madrid. The 28-year-old French international’s pending arrival follows United’s signing of winger Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund last week. The Spanish team also confirmed the transfer agreement. Financial details were not disclosed.

Source: apnews.com