Peruvian congressmen file no-confidence motion against prime minister after three days in office

The progressive party Juntos por el Perú (JPP) has announced this Tuesday in Congress a motion of censure against the Peruvian Prime Minister, Pedro Angulo, due to the clashes between the Police and demonstrators in the protests that are taking place in the south of the country and that have left at least six people dead.


Peru's Prime Minister Pedro Angulo -

 PRESIDENCIA CONSEJO DE MINISTROS PERÚ© Provided by News 360

Specifically, Congresswomen Sigrid Bazán and Ruth Luque have begun to gather the necessary signatures to present a motion of censure against the president of the country's Council of Ministers, who was sworn in on Saturday, for "poor management of the political crisis facing the country", as detailed by RPP radio station.

"The actions carried out by the Government, whose head is Prime Minister Pedro Angulo, have not contributed at all to the resolution of the conflict and, on the contrary, his statements and the measures that his cabinet has been adopting are dangerous for the reestablishment of calm and social peace", states the document presented by the JPP congresswomen.

According to Bazán and Luque, Angulo has not carried out any measure to solve the problem of "disproportionate police repression", alleging that the deaths registered so far, as well as the "abufant material circulating in various media", prove it.

"The facts described should alert us to take the present measure to reject and depose from political office those who have allowed to put the life and health of the Peruvian population at risk", the congresswomen reiterate.

Peru's Prime Minister, who has been in office since Saturday, called on Monday for dialogue after announcing that the government of Dina Boluarte will form a crisis cabinet to deal with the protests of demonstrators that have broken out in different parts of the country.

"We call on those people who are causing violence to desist from violence. We want dialogue: we open our arms to solve the problems that, we know, have not been solved before by the governments in office", he indicated, as reported by the Andina news agency.

To date, the protests originated in the south of the country after the dismissal of former president Pedro Castillo to pressure the new government to dissolve the Congress and call presidential elections have claimed the lives of at least six people.

A Meteorite That Landed In England Might Answer One Of Earth's Greatest Questions

Story by Jennifer Shea • Yesterday 

When Earth was a young planet, it was scorching hot — so hot, in fact, that much of the planet was molten, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As it rocketed around our solar system, crashing into other masses, Earth's top-of-atmosphere temperature soared to over 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit.


Planet Earth in space© Getty Images/Getty Images

Scientists believe that early Earth was too hot to provide a habitat for much in the way of raw materials for life such as water, per the BBC. So how did Earth go from such hellish heat to a blue-green orb blanketed by ocean tides?

One previous theory was that icy comets rained down upon Earth at some point in the planet's history, according to the BBC. However, others cast doubt on that theory; the comets' chemistry would have been pretty different from the water that today makes up roughly 70% of Earth's surface. So what first brought water to Earth?

A Clue From Above


Two meteorites in space© Nazarii_Neshcherenskyi/Shutterstock

Scientists believe they've found a clue that literally fell out of the sky one day. A carbonaceous chondrite, a type of meteorite, happened to whizz down and embed itself in pieces around the town of Winchcombe, which is in Gloucestershire, England, last year, per the BBC.

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Meteor lights up the sky over Norway: Spectacular sight of meteors burning up in the atmosphere

Upon closer examination of the meteorite pieces, scientists were able to determine that the meteorite held water that closely corresponded to the chemical structure of the water on our own planet. The meteorite pieces collectively weighed over a pound, according to the BBC. And they were as uncompromised and as much in their original condition as it's possible for meteorite chunks landing on Earth to be, per Science News.

That's because scientists were able to gather the meteorite pieces in under 12 hours after they collided with the surface of our planet, according to Science News. Researchers then tested the meteorite pieces in a lab, heating them up, peppering them with electrons, X-raying them, and blasting them with lasers to test their composition.

Familiar Waters


Jupiter's orbit in space© Naeblys/Getty Images

Through those tests and by analyzing video from meteor-tracking cameras around the world as well as doorbell cams from locals in the U.K., scientists ascertained that the meteorite was that rare specimen known as a carbonaceous chondrite, per Science News. They were able to trace its origins to an asteroid orbiting Jupiter, from which it broke off roughly 300,000 years ago.

The meteorite was approximately 11% water. The water itself contained deuterium, a heavier type of hydrogen, with the ratio of hydrogen to deuterium coming very close to the ratio in our planet's atmosphere, according to Science News.

"It's a good indication that water [on Earth] was coming from water-rich asteroids," London Natural History Museum scientist Ashley King told Science News. Meteorites like the one found in England have to move fast in order not to disintegrate, but if they did make it here in Earth's past millennia, that would explain how our planet eventually got water. What's more, those meteorite fragments remain intact, so scientists will keep on studying them until they unlock more secrets of our solar system.

Explainer-Oil storage situation in Canada and U.S. after Keystone spill

Story by By Nia Williams and Arathy Somasekhar • Yesterday 

FILE PHOTO: Investigators, cleanup crews begin scouring oil pipeline spill in Kansas© Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) -Six days after TC Energy Corp's Keystone pipeline shut following a 14,000-barrel spill into a creek in Kansas, traders are questioning whether there is enough oil in storage in key areas if the pipeline remains closed for a number of weeks.

There is still no official timeline for a restart of the line, which will need approval from regulators.

Here is the latest data on storage inventories, and other factors affecting crude cash prices in Canada and the United States:

WESTERN CANADIAN INVENTORIES

As of the week ending Dec. 2, or the week before the spill, Canadian inventories were just below 29 million barrels, according to energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, with about 16 million barrels of spare capacity available.

On Tuesday, the latest data for the week ending Dec. 9 showed inventories rose 1.4 million barrels to around 30.4 million, according to a trader. Wood Mackenzie, which sends its inventory data to clients a day or two ahead of making it widely available, declined to confirm those numbers.

Following a previous Keystone leak in 2019, which triggered a 13-day shutdown, inventories climbed by 13.6 million barrels over five weeks. The spare capacity on hand this time suggests Canadian storage hubs have ample space for any barrels stranded in Alberta.

Canadian crude prices remain broadly steady. The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude for delivery in December fell to $33.50 a barrel below the U.S. crude benchmark the day the leak was reported, before recovering. WCS for January delivery last traded at a discount of $28.20 a barrel, only slightly wider than before the spill.

"It looks like nothing has really changed in Canada, but Canada still has enough storage space," the trader said.

U.S. GULF INVENTORIES

Before the Dec. 7 spill, crude oil stocks at the Gulf Coast were at their lowest in more than eight months, at about 226.5 million barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's data for the week to Dec. 2.

Weekly Gulf Coast gross input into refineries stood at 9.4 million barrels per day.

However, analysts were not worried about inventory.

"The Gulf Coast is reasonably well supplied. I don't think that there is any sort of significant panic in terms of lack of heavy (crude) in the Gulf Coast, particularly given that we could pull more Colombian as well Latin American barrels into the Gulf," said Michael Tran, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

Prices of U.S. sour crude oil grades strengthened slightly on Monday, as refiners sought alternatives to Canadian barrels.

CUSHING STORAGE HUB

Inventories at the key U.S. crude storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, totaled 28.3 million, according to Wood Mackenzie data for the week ending Dec. 9.

That puts inventories at about a third of capacity and less than 4.5 million barrels above the operational floor, based on operational capacity and historical low utilization.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures have jumped over 6% this week as traders are starting to grow concerned that an ongoing shutdown will cause a drop in inventories at Cushing, also the delivery point for the benchmark. [O/R]

Weekly industry inventory figures from the American Petroleum Institute are scheduled to be released at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on Tuesday, followed by U.S. Energy Department data on Wednesday.

Numerous refineries in the U.S. Midwest usually pull barrels from the storage hub, but cash crude prices at Cushing has not moved much because traders expect part of Keystone to reopen soon.

The leak occurred just south of a key junction in Steele City, Nebraska, where Keystone splits into two legs. The leg that flows to Patoka, Illinois, could be reopened as it was not affected, said Dylan White, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

So far, TC has not commented on a partial restart of the Patoka leg.

(Reporting by Nia Williams and Arathy Somasekhar; Editing by David Gregorio and Marguerita Choy)

Bolsonaro supporters who rioted in Brasilia will face punishment, says future minister

Story by By Ricardo Brito, Eduardo Simões and Maria Carolina Marcello • Yesterday .


Demonstrations erupt in Brasilia© Thomson Reuters

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's next justice minister on Tuesday vowed accountability for supporters of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro who burned buses and attacked police on the day authorities certified the victory of leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Flavio Dino also told GloboNews that any authorities found responsible for failing to contain rioters in Brasilia on Monday night would also face punishment, with no "magic amnesty," as questions mounted about the official response to the violent protests.

Senior members of Brazil's Supreme Court (STF) and Federal Electoral Court (TSE) believe Brasilia's security forces were too lenient and should have acted more forcefully, two court sources told Reuters, in the latest example of tensions between the judiciary and the federal district's law enforcement.


Demonstrations erupt in Brasilia© Thomson Reuters

In an interview late on Monday, Brasilia security chief Júlio Danilo denied security failures, saying that those involved will be identified and held accountable.

Monday's protests in the capital, in which Bolsonaro supporters set fire to cars and buses after trying to invade the federal police headquarters after the arrest of a protest leader, capped weeks of post-election tensions.

Although he has not blocked the handover of power, Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat, and some supporters have camped outside army bases urging the military to overturn the result of October's presidential vote, citing conspiracy theories that the election was "stolen."



Demonstrations erupt in Brasilia© Thomson Reuters

Dino said he hoped the protesters would now see the futility of their actions, and urged them to return to their homes.

"It's over, the page has been turned, let's look ahead. In 2026, there will be fresh elections," he said.

Yet that may be optimistic, public security experts told Reuters, with even the short-term outlook appearing complicated.

"The problem is, we don't know if this was a warning of what is still to come, or if they emptied the chamber already," said João Roberto Martins Filho, an expert on military relations at the Federal University of São Carlos, in reference to Lula's Jan. 1 inauguration.

In his interview with GloboNews, Dino said he maintained regular contact with Brasilia's Governor Ibaneis Rocha, as well as its public security department, over policing arrangements for Lula's inauguration. But he noted a "strange silence" from federal authorities, in a thinly veiled dig at Bolsonaro's team.

The president has barely spoken in public since losing to Lula on Oct. 30, and the only comment from his government on Monday came from Justice Minister Anderson Torres.

"Nothing justifies the lamentable scenes we saw in the center of Brasilia," he wrote in a tweet.

Opposition lawmakers questioned why there were no arrests of the rioters by Brasilia's security forces.

"I think it's time to think about more rigorously interpreting the leniency of current government officials, who are irresponsibly and permissively indulging these criminal practices," said Fábio Trad, a federal lawmaker on Lula's transition team.

Brasilia's public security department said in a statement on Tuesday that the riots had been controlled, but no arrests related to "civil disturbances" had occurred.

Within the STF and the TSE, Monday's riots add to growing discontent with Brasilia's security forces for failing to get tough with Bolsonaro supporters who view the justices as their principal foes, said the two sources on condition of anonymity.

Last year, one of the sources said, the Supreme Court asked Governor Rocha to provide more security for court employees to protect them from Bolsonaro supporters approaching the tribunal. It was not clear if it was provided. Both sources said they believed it was time to disband the protest camp established outside the military headquarters in Brasilia.

The justice ministry did not respond to a request for comment on whether such a plan was underway.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Maria Carolina Marcello in Brasilia, Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo; Editing by Gabriel Stargardter and Rosalba O'Brien)

Italian researchers discover ancient Roman villa with mosaic

Story by By JERUSALEM POST STAFF • Yesterday 

Researchers from the University of Naples discovered an ancient mosaic while working at the Pausilypon archaeological park in Italy, according to Heritage Daily.

Villa of Vedius Pollio in Naples, Italy

The park is located in the coastal area of Campania, where wealthy Romans once built extravagant villas, such as the Villa of Vedius Pollio.
When was the villa constructed?

The villa was built by Publius Vedius Pollio in the first century, BCE.

According to Roman poet Ovid, the villa was "like a city."

Vedius was known for his cruelty to his slaves; he even allegedly fed them to lampreys when they angered him. In one account, the Roman Emperor Augustus was eating at Vedius' home when a cupbearer broke a glass. Vedius was about to have the slave fed to the lampreys, but Augustus intervened, ordering all of Vedius’ glasses destroyed and the pool in which the lampreys lived filled in.


Publius Vedius Pollio depicted on a coin 

“A stratigraphic dating is still missing, but based on the style, the hall could date back to the late Republican age or Augustan at the latest.”Marco Giglio, University of Naples

When Vedius died, he bequeathed his estate to Augustus under the condition that he erect a monument there, and then it was passed down to every emperor until Hadrian died in 138 CE.

Augustus had at least part of the house demolished and erected a monument to his wife Livia Drusilla in its place, which Ovid viewed as a statement against immoral luxury.

The archaeologists from the University of Naples, including Marco Giglio, found a mosaic floor located in a large hall, intentionally buried beneath renovations made by Augustus.

“A stratigraphic dating is still missing, but based on the style, the hall could date back to the late Republican age or Augustan at the latest,” said Giglio.

AKA THE JUSTICE THOMAS BILL
It's Official: Same-Sex and Interracial Marriage Are Now Protected Under 

U$ Federal Law

Story by Melanie Whyte • 

On Tuesday, Dec. 13, President Joe Biden signed the Respect For Marriage Act into law as part of an effort to protect same-sex marriage, one of the rights potentially at risk in light of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. The law mandates federal recognition for same-sex marriages by prohibiting states from "denying the validity of out-of-state marriages based on sex, race, or ethnicity," according to the New York Times.


It's Official: Same-Sex and Interracial Marriage Are Now Protected Under Federal Law© Getty / LumiNola

"My fellow Americans, the road to this moment has been long," President Biden said during the signing ceremony, "but those who believe in equality and justice, you never gave up."

The new law is particularly significant in light of the Supreme Court's ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, which ended the constitutional right to abortion in June. Fear of a ripple effect has loomed over the country ever since. With Roe overturned, many people have worried that other cases decided based on Roe's precedent would be at risk of reversal, too. In fact, in his concurring opinion, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas named Griswold v. Connecticut, Lawrence v. Texas, and Obergefell v. Hodges (which ruled in favor of birth-control access, same-sex sexual activity, and same-sex marriage, respectively) as cases that could potentially be revisited.

In an effort to maintain the legalization of same-sex marriage, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Respect For Marriage Act into Congress. On July 19, the bill passed in the House of Representatives, then on Nov. 29, it was passed in the Senate. From there, it was sent back to the House for final approval, which it received on Dec. 8, with lawmakers from both parties voting in its favor. The final step was for President Biden to officially sign it into law, which he did on Dec. 13.

When the landmark legislation was introduced months ago, it was widely considered unlikely to become law. But the act received bipartisan support, helping secure its passage. "Today, we will vote for equality and against discrimination by finally overturning the homophobic Defense of Marriage Act and guaranteeing crucial protections for same-sex and interracial marriages," Rep. David Cicilline, Democrat of Rhode Island, said moments before it passed the House on Dec. 8, per The New York Times.

What exactly does the Respect For Marriage Act protect? The bill was crafted to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ and interracial couples. For example, if the Supreme Court overturns Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision that originally legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, a state would be able to ban same-sex marriage. But under the Respect For Marriage Act, individual states are required to acknowledge another state's legal marriage. POPSUGAR spoke with Ashley M. Silberfeld, a partner in the matrimonial and family law practice at Blank Rome LLP, about what this means for LGBTQ+ couples.

What Is the Respect For Marriage Act?

The Respect For Marriage Act provides protection for same-sex and interracial marriages, according to the official Congress website. Specifically, the law "repeals and replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage that is valid under state law." Basically, the law expands the definition of marriage so it's no longer tied to sex or gender and also protects the right to marry regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin.

The Respect For Marriage Act was put forth as a reaction to the Court's ruling on Dobbs (which overturned Roe) because the justification SCOTUS used to rule against the right to abortion in this case could also be used to reverse the precedents set by Griswold, Lawrence, Obergefell, and Loving v. Virginia (a 1967 case that ruled state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional). So even though the Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that state laws barring same-sex marriages were unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges, the court's decision in the Dobbs case means SCOTUS could use that rule to overturn Obergefell in the future. The goal of this act is to protect the right to marriage for same-sex and interracial couples in the event that Obergefell or Loving is overturned next.

What Would the Protection Mean For LGBTQ+ Couples?

The passage of the Respect For Marriage Act means that marriages of LGBTQ+ couples are legal and constitutionally protected regardless of which state they live in. Previously, same-sex marriage was legal nationwide because of the Obergefell v. Hodges case. In that ruling, the Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, making it legal in all 50 states and requiring states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses.

However, many states have anti-LGTBQ+ marriage laws that have been lurking under the surface of the current federal court ruling. If Obergefell is overturned, state governments with those laws can refuse to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples and exclude future couples from marriage - that is, until the Respect For Marriage Act was passed.

"The Respect For Marriage Act is groundbreaking in that it's affirmatively breaking away from the more 'traditional' construct of marriage," Silberfeld says. "It also creates rights for the Department of Justice to bring charges against violations of the law, as well as private rights to sue for such violations. Having such rights included, in my opinion, shows the legislators' intentions - that they are really serious about protecting the rights of marriage for all individuals, period."

How Does Codifying a Bill Protect Same-Sex Marriage?

The passage of the Respect For Marriage Act codifies same-sex marriage. Codifying a bill means it becomes a federal law that must be implemented and followed and for which people can be prosecuted if they violate it.

While the law is definitely a step in the right direction to protect all marriages, Silberfeld says, there's still a possibility that it could be overturned by the Supreme Court in the future. "Our system is one of checks and balances," she explains, "so while the legislators can make a law, the Supreme Court has the ultimate power to review whether that law withstands constitutional muster." Theoretically, SCOTUS could overturn any codified law that legislators pass if they deem it "unconstitutional."

How Can LGBTQ+ Couples Protect Their Marital Status?

"I would encourage these couples and all of us to get involved in supporting this kind of legislation in the days, months, and years ahead," Silberfeld says. That means, for example, voting and letting your representatives know which issues are important to you as a constituent. If Dobbs has taught us anything, it's that even long-established rights are subject to upheaval. With the Respect For Marriage Act officially a law, it's more important than ever to continue showing active support for same-sex and interracial marriage protections.

- Additional reporting by Maggie Ryan

Series of large avalanches in Banff area a growing concern for Parks Canada
Story by Craig Momney • 

The potential for a series of large avalanches in the Banff area is a growing concern for Parks Canada.

According to Aaron Beardmore, a visitor safety specialist with Parks Canada, right now the mountains have a snow base made up of 20 centimetres of weak, sugary facets with about 60 centimetres of newer snow on top in the form of a slab.

He says due to “benign” weather conditions with very little wind, little snow and seasonal temperatures, there haven’t been many natural avalanches.

“There have been a few slightly smaller-in-size, human-triggered avalanches and when a human interacts with that, they're triggering that slab sitting over top of that weak snow.”

Video: Avalanche control remains top priority at southern Alberta ski resort

Beardmore's major concern right now is if there was a significant snowfall in the Banff area which he believes could potentially trigger a widespread avalanche cycle.

“We're still somewhat early in the season — it's not even Christmas yet. (We) got another three months of winter so it is gonna snow eventually, and when it does, we'll be on high alert,” he said.

Parks Canada has partnered with Avalanche Canada to introduce a new public bulletin system on avalanche.ca that can inform people of the changing conditions and potentials for an avalanche.

Related video: Sierra storms bring avalanche dangers (CBS Sacramento)
Duration 2:26
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Avalanche Canada issues immediate warning for backcountry users in B.C., Alberta

According to Parks Canada, this will allow them to communicate avalanche conditions more effectively.

“The new software makes the forecasting piece for parks Canada forecasters much more efficient, up to date, contemporary — it's great. Our forecasters are seeing improved efficiencies there,” said Beardmore.

Tyson Rettie, an avalanche forecaster with Avalanche Canada said this latest system will allow forecasters to tailor the forecast and data to the public on specific areas of a region rather than list the entire region itself with the same classification.

Video: Winter hiking safety in the Canadian Rockies

“It allows us to just redraw the map on a daily basis to best present the messaging of any avalanche hazard to the public,” said Rettie.

As of Tuesday evening, Banff and other southern parts of the Rocky Mountains were classified as considerable conditions due to the weak snow base on the mountain.

Rettie said this classification can be a challenging description of the current conditions because an avalanche may not be triggered in one area but could in another.

“It's not as black and white as high or extreme or low. Actually, most avalanche fatalities in western Canada occur during the time of the considerable rating,” he added

Both Parks Canada and Avalanche Canada urge people to plan ahead and be prepared for anything before heading out to the mountains.

Haiti receives first shipments of cholera vaccines: WHO

Story by By REUTERS • 

Haiti has received more than 1 million doses of oral cholera vaccines as it battles a worsening cholera outbreak that has been particularly deadly for children, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

DR. YUVAL LEVY, part of an Israeli military medical team that treated earthquake victims in Haiti, holds hands with a 6-year-old Haitian boy expected to undergo heart surgery in Israel, upon their arrival from Haiti at Ben-Gurion Airport on January 28, 2010.© (photo credit: GIL COHEN MAGEN/REUTERS)

Cholera reemerged in the Caribbean island nation in early October after around three years without reported cases, and so far 280 people have died. A significant number of them have been children.

The health crisis has come amid shortages of food and clean drinking water triggered by a gang blockade of its main fuel port.




Fort Pierce nonprofit delivers aide to Haiti amid cholera outbreak

The WHO said the vaccination campaign was set to start in the next few days and would initially target children from one-year old in the worst-hit areas of the Ouest and Centre Departments.


A logo is pictured outside a building of the World Health Organization (WHO) during an executive board meeting on update on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Geneva, Switzerland, April 6, 2021. (credit: REUTERS/DENIS BALIBOUSE/FILE PHOTO)

"We hope this first shipment will be followed by others so that the vaccine is available to all populations at risk in Haiti," said Lauré Adrien, Director General of Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population in the same statement.

The 1.17 million doses of the vaccine Evichol were provided by the International Coordinating Group on vaccine provision which manages an emergency stockpile. Another 500,000 doses are expected in the next few weeks.

More than 160 mysterious Nazca geoglyphs are discovered in Peru

Story by Jonathan Chadwick For Mailonline • 10h ago


Researchers have discovered another 168 geoglyphs made in the soil of Peru's Nazca Desert, known as the Nazca lines.

The newly-discovered drawings – identified by a team at Yamagata University in Japan – depict humans, camelids, birds, killer whales, felines and snakes.

One of the human drawings looks like Homer Simpson, with big cartoon eyes and a patch of what looks like stubble around the mouth.

These 168 newly-found geoglyphs are thought to date between 100 BC and AD 300, according to experts, but other Nazca lines may go back even further to 400 BC.


More than 160 mysterious Nazca geoglyphs are discovered in Peru - including a Homer Simpson-style person (pictured)© Provided by Daily Mail


These newly-found 168 geoglyphs are thought to date between 100 BC and AD 300, according to the Yamagata University experts© Provided by Daily Mail

The Nazca lines

The Nazca lines are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru.

They extend over an area of nearly 190 square miles (500 square km).

Most of the Nazca Lines were constructed more than 2,000 years ago by the people of the Nazca culture (c. 200 BCE-600 CE), though some clearly predate the Nazca and are considered to be the work of the earlier Paracas culture.

Subjects of the Nazca-made lines are generally plants and animals such as a monkey, a killer whale, a bird resembling a condor, a hummingbird, a pelican, a spider and various flowers, trees, and other plants - as well as geometric shapes, including triangles, trapezoids and spirals.
Source: Encyclopædia Britannica

Photos released by Yamagata University show some of the new discoveries, with lines manually added on the images to emphasize the original lines, which ahve faded due to erosion.

Yamagata University is working in collaboration with the IBM Thomas J Watson Research Center in New York to scan aerial images of the Peruvian site with artificial intelligence (AI).

It's thought AI can identify markings in the landscape that the human eye would otherwise miss.

'By using the newly discovered geoglyphs for AI analysis, Yamagata University aims to clarify the distribution patterns of the geoglyphs,' the university said in a statement.

'The results of this research will also be used for geoglyph conservation activities.'

The Nazca lines of Peru have fascinated archaeologists for centuries.

They are a group of geoglyphs – large motifs made in the ground – located in the Nazca Desert of southern Peru.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site stretches over an area of nearly 190 square miles between the towns of Nazca and Palpa, about 249 miles (400 km) south of Lima.


Archaeological surveys have previously found wooden stakes in the ground at the end of some lines, supporting a theory that ancient people used simple tools and surveying equipment to construct the lines.

Some geoglyphs depict animals, objects or compact shapes, while others are only simplistic geometric lines.

Other motifs already identified at the location include a dog, hummingbird, condor, monkey, spider and a mythical beast sticking out its tongue.



The newly-discovered drawings are thought to depict humans, camelids, birds, killer whales, felines and snakes (pictured) © Provided by Daily Mail


The newly-found 168 geoglyphs are thought to date between 100 BC and AD 300. Pictured, one of the new discoveries, a bird geoglyph© Provided by Daily Mail

What are geoglyphs?


Geoglyphs are works of art created by moving objects in the landscape, such as stones, trees and gravel.

A positive geoglyph is formed by materials being laid on the ground while a negative geoglyph is formed by removing material.

Though some geoglyphs clearly represent animals and other natural imagery, many have strange square, circular or hexagonal shapes.

The most famous geoglyphs are the Nazca lines in Peru, rediscovered in 1939. The cultural significance of these features remains unclear.

The Nazca lines were originally created by removing black or reddish-brown pebbles from the surface of the earth to expose a white sandy surface below.

The Yamagata team discovered them through field surveys conducted between June 2019 and February 2020 that used aerial photos and drones.

Adding the 168 new geoglyphs to those that are already known gives a new total of 358 Nazca Lines, they say, although they are thought to be hundreds more yet to be discovered.

Luis Jaime Castillo, a Peruvian archaeologist, previously told the Guardian that only five per cent of all the Nazca lines out there had been found.

Often, a geoglyph is too big to be appreciated at ground level, so only when one is high enough in the air can they discern the shapes of some of the designs.

For this reason, the intricacies of many of the designs were not fully realised until airplanes were invented and the artwork was seen from the sky.

The Nazca lines were apparently first spotted in 1939 when a pilot flew over the Nazca planes of the Peruvian coastal highlands – although its likely they were seen by locals on hill tops much earlier.

Contrary to the popular belief that the figures can only be seen from the air, many are actually visible from the surrounding foothills too.



The Nazca lines are a group of geoglyphs - large motifs made in the ground - located in the Nazca Desert of southern Peru© Provided by Daily Mail


A spider geoglyph at Nazca. The figure is said to be 150 feet long and made out of one continuous line © Provided by Daily Mail

However, the actual purpose of the mysterious Nazca Lines in Peru has long puzzled archaeologists.

Some believe they were intended to act as a kind of observatory, to point to the places where the sun and other celestial bodies rose or set in the solstices.

Other theories suggest that they were created to be seen by the gods in the sky, while it's also possible that they were artistic expressions much like the ones we see today.

By uncovering more of these mysterious formations, archaeologists hope to piece together clues about their existence, IBM says.

Mongolia to take mining firm public after protests over graft


ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - Mongolia will push ahead with plans to list a state mining firm embroiled in a corruption scandal that has sparked protests in the capital Ulaanbaatar, with new ownership likely to help drive out graft, the country's justice minister told Reuters.


People take part in a demonstration against government corruption at Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar© Thomson Reuters


People take part in a demonstration against government corruption at Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar© Thomson Reuters

The state-owned Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC (ETT) owns a large chunk of a sprawling 6-billion tonne coking coal deposit near the Chinese border that has been at the heart of Mongolia's plans to grow its small and mining-dependent economy for more than a decade.


Interview of Mongolia's Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs, Nyambaatar Khishgee in Ulaanbaatar© Thomson Reuters

But development at Tavan Tolgoi has been held back by poor transport links and disputes about how Mongolia's strategic assets should be funded and owned. Fluctuations in global coal prices and cooling investor sentiment have also stymied previous efforts to list ETT's shares overseas.

"The prime minister is putting forward an initiative to change (ETT's) governance and make it public quickly," said Nyambaatar Khishgee, Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs, after thousands gathered in recent days to protest government corruption.

"It is expected that this will end the problems of transparency in the mining sector and public officials' corruption," he added.

A spokesperson for ETT was not immediately available for comment.

Protesters clashed with police in the capital Ulaanbaatar last week, as recent allegations of so-called "coal theft" at Tavan Tolgoi brought many to the streets demanding action against those responsible.

Hundreds of protesters were still at the city's central square on Tuesday, with some erecting traditional tents known as gers to stay overnight as temperatures plunged to minus 30 Celsius.

Related video: Thousands protest in Mongolia over alleged coal industry corruption (AFP)
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Mongolia earns about 50% of its export revenues from coal, mostly mined by ETT. However, around 400,000 tonnes of coal produced by the company in recent years is unaccounted for, the government said in October. Earlier allegations suggest almost 1 million tonnes of coal were exported but not registered between 2011 and 2017.



Interview of Mongolia's Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs, Nyambaatar Khishgee in Ulaanbaatar© Thomson Reuters

Nyambaatar said all contracts signed by ETT have now been made public. Details of the owners of 25,000 trucks involved in transporting ETT coal have also been disclosed.

The authorities are also investigating 7,373 trucks that repeatedly carried coal to the Chinese border between 2013 and 2017 but appeared to have arrived empty.

Mongolia also plans to appoint a top international auditor to look into ETT's finances, Nyambaatar said.

The government is working hard to ensure exports from the project are not disrupted by the probe, Nyambaatar said, and it will also steer clear of an inspection of Chinese coal buyers, who account for about 85% of sales.

"We are trying to reduce risk as much as possible," said the minister, adding he had met China's ambassador to Mongolia this week to reassure him that trade would not be impacted.

Mongolia has long been plagued by poor governance of its state-owned mining companies, which are saddled with billions of dollars of debt. But its economy has been further hit by strict COVID lockdowns from 2020 to 2021 that drove up unemployment, as well as high energy costs due to the war in Ukraine.

"How can we leave our children in this ugly debt-ridden society?" said Gantulga Tumentogtokh, 42, who stayed overnight at the central square for a fifth day, wrapped in a goat fur coat to stay warm.

"We should indeed issue shares (in state owned companies) and develop Mongolia. If we had already done that, our lives would be different. I want to see accountability," he added.

However some questioned whether the government's efforts will go far enough.

"Galloping price increases and widening poverty is the reason for public anger," said Otgochuluu Chuluuntseren, an economist and former government official.

"In the short term, we need reform in the governance of the SOE (state-owned enterprises). In the long term, the business must thrive on creating more sustainable and decent jobs," he added.

(Reporting by Munkhchimeg Davaasharav in Ulaanbaatar. Additional reporting by David Stanway in Shanghai. Editing by Dominique Patton and Raju Gopalakrishnan)