CZECH REPUBLIC
‘World’s oldest’ claim made
Archeologists on Tuesday claimed that a Neolithic well was the world’s oldest uncovered wooden structure, citing extensive tests. “We have carried out a dendrochronological analysis and confirmed it with radiocarbon dating,” said Jaroslav Peska of the Archeological Center in Olomouc. “The well dates back to 5,256-5,255 BC. There is currently no older man-made wooden structure dated by dendrochronology in the world, although this may change in the future.” Originally about 4m deep, the well was found in 2018 at the site of a planned motorway about 120km east of Prague. The national news agency reported that the well had wooden posts in corners with grooves for planks, a technology that scientists thought had been used much later.
UNITED STATES
Tulsa to dig for victims
Tulsa, Oklahoma, is to conduct a test excavation at a cemetery as part of an ongoing effort to find the remains of victims of a 1921 massacre, officials said. The test excavation at Oaklawn Cemetery, planned for April, was announced during the city’s Mass Graves Investigation Public Oversight Committee meeting on Monday, the Tulsa World reported. The meeting came a little more than a month after investigators announced that geophysical surveys conducted in October last year had found anomalies consistent with possible graves. The massacre occurred over the course of 16 hours from May 31 to June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents attacked black residents and businesses. As many as 300 people were killed, hundreds more injured and thousands left homeless.
UNITED STATES
Woman covered in feces
A Louisiana man left a woman in her 70s confined to a bed covered in the feces of more than a dozen pets, authorities said. Galen Marcantel, 54, was on Thursday last week arrested and charged with suspicion of cruelty to persons with infirmities and five counts of aggravated animal cruelty, local media reported. Plaquemine police and the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office were performing a wellness check on the woman after neighbors said that they had not seen her in several months. Authorities found the woman in bed covered in urine and feces from cats and dogs. “We decided we couldn’t leave her there,” Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi said. “It was horrific.” The victim was hospitalized. Authorities believe that Marcantel was taking advantage of the victim’s finances.
UNITED STATES
Men found with bag of drugs
Two men charged with drug trafficking could have done a better job hiding their wares than using a package labeled “Bag Full of Drugs,” Florida authorities said. Ian Simmons and Joshua Reinhardt, both 34, were pulled over on Saturday last week in Santa Rosa County after a trooper clocked them driving 153kph on Interstate 10, a Florida Highway Patrol arrest report showed. The trooper determined that Reinhardt was the subject of an active felony warrant and requested backup. A Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s deputy arrived to assist and a canine unit alerted to the presence of contraband in the vehicle, the report said. Authorities found approximately 75g of methamphetamine, 1.36kg of the date-rape drug gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, 1g of cocaine, 3.6g of fentanyl, 15 methylenedioxymethamphetamine tablets and drug paraphernalia. “Note to self: Do not traffic your illegal narcotics in bags labeled ‘Bag Full Of Drugs,’” deputies wrote on Facebook.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of