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Archeologists in Peru working on a site in the outskirts of the capital Lima have unearthed a mummy believed to be between 800 and 1,200 years old -- and, surprisingly, bound with rope.
The remains are thought to be of a man aged 18-22 at the time of his death, with his hands covering his face.
The mummy was found in a burial chamber that is about three meters (10 feet) long and at a depth of about 1.4 meters at the dig site in Cajamarquilla, about 24 kilometers (15 miles) east of Lima.
Archeologist Pieter Van Dalen, who is in charge of the Cajamarquilla project, called the find "peculiar and unique."
"The mummy would have been buried sometime between 800 and 1200 AD," he said -- meaning it would be at least 800 years old.
On one side of the mummy, experts found the skeleton of an Andean guinea pig and what appears to be a dog, according to the researchers at the University of San Marcos.
Traces of corn and other vegetables were found in the burial chamber.
Cajamarquilla was an urban center that could have been home to 10,000-20,000 people, Van Dalen explained.
The city was built in around 200 BC and was occupied until about 1500.
© 2021 AFP
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Theranos founder tells US trial of bid to stop damning reporting
December 01, 2021
Fallen biotech star Elizabeth Holmes told her US fraud trial Tuesday she appealed to Wall Street Journal owner Rupert Murdoch to try to stop the paper's reporting that initiated the unravelling of her startup.
US prosecutors, in their first crack at the Theranos founder, sought to undermine days of testimony in which she has presented herself as an entrepreneur of good faith but who made mistakes.
Holmes faces the possibility of prison if convicted by a Silicon Valley jury on charges she duped backers with pledges of revolutionary blood-testing machinery that simply did not work as promised.
Holmes, 37, acknowledged her effort included sending an email in 2015 to media mogul and Theranos investor Murdoch, writing that she thought he would want to "be in the loop" regarding work on a story critical of her startup.
Murdoch had invested more than $100 million in Theranos just months earlier, according to evidence at trial.
"I couldn't say it more strongly, the way we handled the Wall Street Journal process was a disaster," Holmes told the court in San Jose, California. "We totally messed it up."
Assistant US attorney Robert Leach asked Holmes to explain why an employee that provided information to a Journal reporter was branded "disgruntled" and fired, then threatened with a lawsuit.
"I don't think she was right, but I sure as hell wish we had treated her differently," Holmes answered.
The paper's series of stories raising questions about whether the much-hyped technology, which drew backers like Murdoch and Henry Kissinger, heralded the beginning of the end for Theranos.
Leach also challenged Holmes's emotional previous testimony of being bullied and abused by Theranos chief operating officer and former boyfriend Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, having her read message exchanges between the two in which they declared their love.
"You are God's tigress and warrior. You are extraordinary. I love you," Balwani wrote in one note to Holmes.
Holmes, who said she was romantically involved with Balwani for over 10 years up to 2016, sniffled and appeared to tear up as she read the message aloud.
A day earlier, Holmes told jurors that Balwani, whom she'd brought in to help run Theranos, denigrated her and forced himself on her sexually when angry about how she was running the company.
Balwani, who is facing trial separately, has denied the abuse allegations, with his lawyer describing them as "salacious and inflammatory" in court filings.
Holmes tended to keep her answers short, sometimes claiming not to recall the intent of a message or note she was asked to explain.
"Anything that happens at your company is your responsibility at the end of the day, right?" Leach asked.
"That is how I felt," Holmes replied.
Her defense said in opening arguments that she is guilty of nothing more than trying and failing to realize a visionary idea.
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'Weaponizing Bieber' - pop star caught up in Saudi rights row
December 01, 2021
He probably never expected it, but Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has found himself at the heart of an ideological row between Saudi Arabia and rights activists that could rumble on for years.
The "Love Yourself" singer's decision to perform at this week's inaugural Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix, while undoubtedly lucrative, has not come without a cost as campaigners urge him to cancel in protest at Riyadh's human rights record.
Bieber, 27, is scheduled to appear in front of an audience of thousands at Sunday's post-race show in Jeddah which also features superstar French DJ David Guetta and American singer Jason Derulo.
Criticism of the concert follows similar reactions to other high-profile events in Saudi Arabia, which is trying to soften its conservative image and diversify its oil-reliant economy.
Leading the calls for Bieber to cancel is Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whose 2018 murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul prompted international outrage.
"This is a unique opportunity to send a powerful message to the world that your name and talent will not be used to restore the reputation of a regime that kills its critics," Cengiz told Bieber in a Washington Post op-ed.
The campaign has gained attention, with the hashtag #WTFJustin circulating on Twitter and a plane with a banner reading "Why is Bieber singing for Saudi killers?" flying above last month's American Music Awards in Los Angeles.
Bieber is yet to comment but world champion Lewis Hamilton and other F1 drivers, who are increasingly vocal on social issues, are unlikely to be reticent this week on rights abuses.
'Can't erase history'
The conservative kingdom has made reforms, including allowing women to drive, but its crackdowns on dissent, rejection of the LGBTQ+ community and high number of executions frequently raise the ire of campaigners.
"It might just seem like Justin Bieber and an audience of people gathering to hear him sing," said Professor Simon Chadwick, a sports industry expert from the Emlyon Business School in Lyon.
"But the reality is that there are some complex issues underpinning much of what is happening in Saudi Arabia this weekend, including who sings there and who drives there."
Other Formula One hosts including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China and Hungary have been accused of 'sportswashing' -- using sport to divert attention from abuses -- but the debate is particularly heated around Saudi Arabia, partly because of Khashoggi.
The Saudis "can't erase history" as regards the murder, said James Dorsey, a senior fellow at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute.
Rather than accept criticism and act on it, he said he expected Saudi Arabia to continue to use its tremendous oil wealth to attract sports and celebrities.
"The indication is that they're basically going to offer enough money to make these things offers you can't refuse," Dorsey said.
Chadwick said the Saudis would reject the charge of sportswashing, and would argue they are using sport to diversify the economy and create "positive social change".
Prince Khalid bin Sultan al-Faisal, president of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, said the country's leaders and people were its best advertisement, rather than Bieber.
"The one that (polishes) the image of the kingdom is not a singer, but its leadership and people," he told AFP in Jeddah this week.
'He's just a singer'
But with the debate already intractable, Chadwick said Bieber's performance had become a focal point for both sides.
"What many are immediately doing is weaponizing, geopoliticizing Justin Bieber. And essentially making him something that he's not. He's just a singer singing in front of an audience," Chadwick said.
"Justin Bieber on the one hand is going to be judged very harshly by liberals for going to Saudi Arabia," he added.
"But at the same time, if he wasn't to go to Saudi Arabia, then those from countries in the Gulf region and elsewhere in the world may well perceive (him) as being some kind of liberal ideologist opposed to what happens in these countries."
For Dorsey, Saudi Arabia's battle with its critics is not one that will go away, and will continue long after the F1 teams, Bieber and Guetta depart.
"Ultimately, I think this is a question of who has the longer breath?" he said. "In other words, can the Saudis just hold out until the people that are protesting get tired of it?"
© 2021 AFP
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