| Judge: 'No way' she'll punish father of three Nassar victims who tried to attack disgraced doctor in Michigan court Posted: 02 Feb 2018 12:56 PM PST  A court hearing for former sports doctor Larry Nassar turned physical when a father of one of the victims lunged at him.
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| Vast network of hidden Maya cities discovered under Guatemala jungle Posted: 02 Feb 2018 12:11 PM PST  A vast network of lost Maya cities discovered deep in the jungles of northern Guatemala could rewrite the history of the ancient civilisation, experts say. Researchers found more than 60,000 previously unknown structures including pyramids, royal tombs, palaces, roadways and defensive fortifications hidden deep beneath the dense rainforest canopy. Pioneering lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) laser scanning technology was used to map 800 square miles from the air, revealing a "treasure map" of the Maya ruins. The research, led by the PACUNAM Foundation -a Guatemalan non-profit heritage organisation - suggests an advanced civilisation of 10-15 million people lived in the region at its peak 1,200 years ago. "The lidar revealed an incredible number of new sites and structures," Thomas Garrison, an archaeologist at Ithaca College told the Telegraph. "The vast majority of these 60,000+ new features are ruined mounds of Maya houses. However, there are also large new cities with pyramids and palaces in the data as well. "Perhaps more exciting are the more subtle features that we may have never found: causeways between sites that follow ridgelines and run for many kilometres, huge expanses of wetland agricultural fields that funneled water through dug out grids to provide food for this dense population, and, a preoccupation with warfare and defence, including complex fortresses, isolated refuges, and networks of watchtowers." Maya civilization Stephen Houston, Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at Brown University, said the findings were "beyond stupendous". "I think this is one of the greatest advances in over 150 years of Maya archaeology," he said. "The lidar completely changes the way we see the Maya. For the first time I have seen unsuspected fortresses, entire cities, settlements that are now doubled or tripled in size". The famous Maya site of Tikal is just a fraction of an immense hidden metropolis Credit: Wild Blue Media/Channel 4 Researchers believe the immense hidden metropolis extends far beyond the famous Maya site of Tikal, spreading across the country. Discoveries in the more remote areas of northern Guatemala reveal networks of roadways, complex systems of agriculture and water management. "This is sophisticated engineering of all available terrain that was carried out by a very advanced civilisation," says Garrison. Deep in the jungles of Guatemala, archaeologists have uncovered ground-breaking discoveries Credit: Wild Blue Media/Channel 4 Kathryn Reese-Taylor, a University of Calgary archaeologist and Maya specialist who has conducted surveys in the rainforest for 30 years, told the Telegraph such findings change "our perception of the Classic Maya at one fell swoop". "In Guatemala, lidar was used to scan large swaths of what is arguably one of the most populated regions of the world during, what Europeans term, the Middle Ages," she said. The Maya are known for their magnificent ancient cities that stand like sentinels in the dense jungles of Central America Credit: Wild Blue Media/Channel 4 "While archaeologists always suspected that the Maya had enormous interconnected cities, this lidar survey revealed a complex, interlocked network of cities, towns, villages, and hamlets, which was spread throughout a vast landscape that was completely modified by the Maya for agriculture, water management, transportation, resource exploitation, and other activities necessary to sustain large populations. No square metre was untouched." Dr.Reese-Taylor adds that the research in Guatemala, along with lidar from Belize and Mexico, shows us that the Maya "were on the level of highly complex ancient civilisations in Europe, Asia and Africa". 14 Maya ruins you must see in your lifetime "Their population density and civic achievements may have surpassed contemporaneous European societies," she explains. "This is exciting because the rainforest is so dense, that the extent of the cities and the sale of modification, even in the countryside, was difficult to see." She added the scale of the PACUNAM initiative is "extraordinary", explaining: "Not only does it cover a region where many of the largest Maya cities were built, the sheer amount of area that was covered by the survey is enormous. "This collaboration of scholars from many different countries, no doubt, will advance Maya studies exponentially in the upcoming years." A view over the Guatemalan rainforest Credit: Getty Garrison believes many more lost cities will be found in the coming years. "What you are seeing is just phase one of a three-year program to document most of northern Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve," he says. "This data will ensure that there is archaeological research in Guatemala for centuries to come." The Maya civilisation collapsed in mysterious circumstances AD 900, the reason for their decline remains unclear. A Channel 4 documentary, the Lost Cities of the Maya: Revealed, will be aired on Sunday 11 February at 8pm.
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| Afghan president demands Pakistan act against Taliban Posted: 02 Feb 2018 09:31 AM PST ![Afghan president demands Pakistan act against Taliban]( "Afghan president demands Pakistan act against Taliban") Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday accused neighboring Pakistan of failing to move against the Taliban and pledged a new security plan for Kabul after hundreds of people were killed and wounded in two deadly attacks on the capital last month. Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of aiding terrorists by giving shelter and aid to leaders of the Taliban insurgency, a charge denied by Pakistan, which points to the thousands of its own citizens killed by militant violence over the years.
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| Larry Nassar: Father of abuse victim attacks paedophile former USA gymnastics doctor Posted: 02 Feb 2018 08:31 AM PST  The father of three young women who say they were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar, lunged at the disgraced former sports doctor during the latest court hearing. Video footage of the proceedings in Michigan, showed Randall Margraves try to grab Nassar while one of his daughters, Madison Margraves, was addressing the court. The judge said she could not do that and Mr Margraves then asked for one minute alone with him.
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| John David Battaglia: Texas man smiles as he's executed by lethal injection for murder of two young daughters Posted: 02 Feb 2018 06:42 AM PST  A Texas accountant smiled as he was executed by lethal injection on Thursday, after he was convicted of killing his two young daughters while their mother was forced to listen on speakerphone. In May 2001 John David Battaglia shot nine-year-old Faith and her six-year-old sister, Liberty, while they were visiting him at his home. Ms Pearle had previously been forced to listen to the pleading of their daughters, moments before they were murdered by Battaglia.
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| Russia says U.S. 'hunting' for Russians to arrest around the world Posted: 02 Feb 2018 04:30 AM PST ![Russia says U.S. 'hunting' for Russians to arrest around the world]( "Russia says U.S. 'hunting' for Russians to arrest around the world") Russia has issued a travel warning recommending its citizens think twice before traveling abroad, saying the United States was hunting for Russians to arrest around the world. The Foreign Ministry statement warns Russian citizens that when abroad they face a serious threat of arrest by other countries at Washington's request, after which they could be extradited to the United States. "Despite our calls to improve cooperation between the relevant U.S. and Russian authorities ... U.S. special services have effectively continued "hunting" for Russians around the world," the travel warning said.
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| Google parent hit by higher costs, names new chairman Posted: 02 Feb 2018 03:51 AM PST  Google parent company Alphabet on Thursday reported a quarterly loss to set aside funds to pay taxes on repatriated profits, and named a new chairman to replace outgoing Eric Schmidt. Shares in Alphabet slid 2.3 percent in after-hours trade on the results, highlighting concerns about rising costs for the online giant and profits weaker than expected. Alphabet reported a loss of $3 billion for the fourth quarter as it set aside $11 billion for taxes.
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| After Turkish anger, France's Macron plays down Syria warning Posted: 02 Feb 2018 01:06 AM PST ![After Turkish anger, France's Macron plays down Syria warning]( "After Turkish anger, France's Macron plays down Syria warning") ANKARA/TUNIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday played down cautionary remarks he had made about Turkey's operation against Kurdish militants in northern Syria after Ankara labeled them as insults. Macron on Wednesday warned Turkey the operation in the Afrin region should not become an excuse to invade Syria and said he wanted Ankara to coordinate its action with its allies.
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| Erdogan's War in Syria Could Wreck U.S.-Turkey Relations Posted: 01 Feb 2018 10:30 PM PST  The Afrin offensive marks a major new phase of the Syrian conflict, likely bookending the conflict with ISIS and the civil war. Turkey's decision to launch an operation in Afrin in northern Syria has opened a new front and phase in the Syrian conflict. Ankara says its offensive alongside Syrian rebel allies is aimed at eliminating the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) control of the mountainous area around the city of Afrin that has been a mostly Kurdish-controlled enclave for five years.
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| Tiffany Haddish Seriously Loves Bidets: ‘I Haven’t Needed A Man Since’ Posted: 01 Feb 2018 09:11 PM PST  In an Entertainment Weekly interview published Wednesday, the "Girls Trip" star and all-around joy discussed her role in an upcoming Super Bowl commercial as a Groupon spokesperson.
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