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Scientists discover world’s oldest burial site in South Africa

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Scientists in South Africa say they have discovered the oldest-known burial site in the world “containing remains of a small-brained distant relative of humans previously thought incapable of complex behaviour,” world-renowned palaeoanthropologist, Lee Berger, who led the team of researchers, said on Monday.

The find was announced by the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation, and published in the journal, eLife.

It challenges the understanding of human evolution which is normally held that the development of bigger brains allowed for the performing of complex functions.

Berger said the research team uncovered evidence that “members of a mysterious archaic human species buried their dead and carved symbols on cave walls long before the earliest evidence of burials by modern humans.”

“The brains belonging to the extinct species, known as Homo naledi, were around one-third the size of a modern human brain,” he said in a statement while announcing the result of the discovery.

“These revelations could change the understanding of human evolution, because until now, such behaviors only have been associated with larger-brained Homo sapiens and Neanderthals,” he added.

According to the palaeoanthropologist, the team discovered several specimens of Homo naledi, a tree-climbing, Stone Age hominid, buried about 30 metres (100 feet) underground in a cave system within the Cradle of Humankind located in Johannesburg, which has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“These are the most ancient interments yet recorded in the hominin record, earlier than evidence of Homo sapiens interments by at least 100,000 years,” Berger wrote.

Before the discovery, the oldest burials previously unearthed were found in the Middle East which contained the remains of Homo sapiens and were around 100,000 years old.

But the South African find reportedly dates back to at least 200,000 BC.

“These discoveries show that mortuary practices were not limited to H. sapiens or other hominins with large brain sizes,” Berger said.

Culture

Moroccan court jails journalist 18 months over remarks about politician

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A Moroccan court on Monday sentenced a journalist, Hamid Mahdaoui, to 18 months in prison after he was found guilty of accusing a prominent politician of fraud, a verdict that has sparked international condemnation from press freedom advocates.

Mahdaoui’s case has garnered international criticism because he is being prosecuted under Morocco’s penal code rather than the press code governing journalistic conduct.

His attorney Mohamed Hedach, told journalists after the judgement that Mahdaoui who is the editor in chief of Badil.info, will serve a 1.5-year sentence and be fined an equivalent of $150,000 after being found guilty of defamation.

Mahdaoui was prosecuted after a complaint from Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi following a video posted on his website accusing Ouahbi of corruption and fraud, both of which the justice minister denied.

The accusations, according to media reports, came after the royalist Party of Authenticity and Modernity, which Ouahbi headed, became enmeshed in controversy last year when an imprisoned Malian drug dealer implicated party members in a sprawling drug trafficking case that shook the North African kingdom.

Reporters Without Borders’ North Africa representative Khaled Drareni had in October, called the prosection of the journalist a “misuse of the justice system to intimidate and silence the press.”

Mahdaoui was imprisoned in 2017 after publicly throwing his support behind activists who led protests over social and economic inequities. He was also sentenced to three years for not reporting to authorities that a Dutch Moroccan man had told him arms were being sent to the protesters. He later said he didn’t report it because he didn’t take the information seriously.

Morocco has in recent years been criticized for imprisoning journalists and activists known for criticizing the government. King Mohammed VI pardoned and released the country’s three most prominent imprisoned journalists — Omar Radi, Taoufik Bouachrine and Soulaimane Raissouni — in July.

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South Africa finally unveils improved King Shaka statue at Durban airport

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After years of complaints by the public, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has finally unveiled an improved version of

a long-awaited statue honouring legendary Zulu warrior, King Shaka.

Ramaphosa, who unveiled the new statue of the warrior alongside Zulu King, Misuzulu kaZwelithini, at the King Shaka International Airport in Durban, said the statue “marks the beginning of a renewed focus on cultural tourism, empowering local communities and attracting visitors to experience the depth of South Africa’s traditions, values, and stories.”

The 12-metre-tall figure of King Shaka depicts the man credited with uniting the Zulu nation as a warrior with a spear and shield and replaces a previous artwork that was criticised for making the monarch look like a “herd boy”.

Speaking at the ceremony, KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Thami Ntuli, said:

“This statue of King Shaka stands as a testament to our shared commitment to cultural heritage tourism, which aligns with the government’s grand vision for preserving and celebrating our shared history.”

He went on to say the statue was a symbol of respect and gratitude to King Shaka, a leader who shaped history through innovation and strategic acumen, carving out a legacy that inspires not only the Zulu nation but the province of KZN.

“It is our shared heritage, and today, we stand together to celebrate it,” Ntuli added.

Ramaphosa described the statue as a symbol of unity, integrity, and leadership for all South Africans, expressing hopes that the figure would inspire tourists to learn more about the country’s heritage and history.

Shaka, who was in 1828, is credited with creating a formidable fighting force that dominated the Zulu region.

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