World News Roundup

INTERNATIONALARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2019

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In this undated photo provided by the Greek Culture Ministry on Dec 17, an aerial view is seen of two 3,500-year-old tombs (center) and (right), discovered near the southwestern Greek town of Pylos, together with one found dec-ades ago (left). Inset left: In this undated photo provided by the Greek Culture Ministry on Tuesday, a golden pendant of the Egyptian goddess Hathor is seen that was found in a 3,500-year-old tomb discovered near the southwest-ern Greek town of Pylos. Inset right: In this undated photo provided by the Greek Culture Ministry on Tuesday, a golden seal ring is shown from a 3,500-year-old tomb discovered near the southwestern Greek town of Pylos. (AP)

Archaeologists in Greece fi nd 3,500-year-old royal tombsUS archaeologists have discov-ered two monumental royal tombs dating from about 3,500 years ago near a major Mycenaean-era palace in Greece’s southern Pelo-ponnese region, the Greek culture ministry said Tuesday.

A ministry statement said the dome-shaped roofs of both tombs

near the Bronze Age palace of Py-los had collapsed during antiquity, fi lling them with so much earth and rubble that grave robbers couldn’t get in to plunder them.

Nevertheless, they had been disturbed during the period of their use over several genera-tions – unlike another Mycenae-

an grave found nearby in 2015 that yielded a stunning hoard of gold and silver treasure, jewelry and bronze arms buried with a man presumed to have been an early ruler of Pylos.

Recovered grave goods from the two tombs included a golden seal ring and a golden amulet of

an ancient Egyptian goddess, highlighting Bronze Age trade and cultural links.

The ministry said the discovery was particularly important as it shed light on the early phases of Greece’s Mycenaean civilization.

The Mycenaean era, between roughly 1650-1100 BC provided

the material for many of the myths and legends of ancient Greece in-cluding that of the Trojan War.

The larger of the two tombs had a diameter of 12 meters (36 feet) at fl oor level and its stone walls survived to a height of 4.5 meters (15 feet) – less than half its origi-nal height.

The other was about two-thirds of that size and its walls now stand two meters high. Both be-long to the tholos type of tomb, massive domed underground constructions reserved for My-cenaean royalty that could reach roughly 15 meters (45 feet) in height. (AP)

Sinkevicius Macron

Dispute over fi sh quotas: European Union nations say the fi sh catch quotas they agreed upon for next year means they have made more headway in securing sustainable fi shing in their waters – but environmentalists are strongly disputing that claim.

EU fi sheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said Wednesday after two days of negotiations that almost 100% of EU fi sh landings from the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea will come from sustainable sources.

After having over fi shed both regions for years, the EU claims that 2020 will bring in a new era for fi sheries.

“Next year, the EU member states fl eet will fi sh at the level that will not hinder the

Discovery

UAESA and ESA delegation group photo.

In this Dec 11, 2019 photo released by Egyptian Minis-try of Antiquities, archaeology workers clean a small pink granite statue of Ramses II, near the ancient pyramids of

Giza, Egypt. (AP)

regeneration of the stocks,” Sinkevicius said. Environmental groups strongly disagree

with that claim. They say EU nations have again put the interests of their fi shing industry ahead of the health of their waters. Some cod quotas for next year were cut but fi shing for several other species can increase.

“The limits agreed by ministers suggest that progress to end overfi shing has stalled or even reversed, a disappointing outcome for the year. Overfi shing was supposed to become a thing of the past,” said Andrew Clayton of The Pew Charitable Trusts. (AP)

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Protest over pollution policy: From border crossings in the east to a steel factory in the west, Dutch farmers and construction workers protested Wednesday against the government pollution policies they say are driving them out of business.

Farmers took to the roads in their tractors, blocking a major highway at the border with Germany. They also parked in the center of The Hague and in front of the entrance to a steel mill near the North Sea coast, Dutch police and media reported.

The Dutch protests are part of a wave of demonstrations in Europe that also includes

unions in France who are upset over French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plans. Also Wednesday, opponents of legislation in Poland that would give the government the power to fi re or fi ne judges are expected to take to the streets.

The unrest in the Netherlands began earlier this year when many construction projects were halted following a Dutch rul-ing that the government’s policy on grant-ing building permits breached European pollution laws.

The government has been scrambling ever since to do more to rein in the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Wednesday’s protests came a day after Dutch senators approved urgent legislation to cut emissions of the pollutant nitrogen oxide. Measures include making farmers change the feed they give to livestock and extending a voluntary scheme to buy up pig farms. (AP)

CHEOPS to study planets in other solar systems

European mission launches from South AmericaSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Dec 18, (AP): A European spacecraft launched from South America Wednesday on a three-year mission to study planets in other solar systems.

The Characterising ExOPlanets Satel-lite (CHEOPS) mission blasted off from Kourou, French Guiana at 0854 GMT (3:54 am EST) atop a Russian Soyuz rocket. The launch came 24 hours after a fi rst attempt was delayed shortly before liftoff because of a software problem in the upper stage of the rocket.

The European Space Agency says the satellite is the fi rst mission dedicated to studying bright nearby stars that are al-ready known to have planets, and will focus on “planets in the super-Earth to Neptune size range.” The agency hopes that the data sent by the mission will enable the bulk density of those planets to be calculated, a fi rst step toward un-derstanding them better.

Its telescope will focus on bright stars to determine the size of planets as they pass in front of their host star.

Swiss astronomer and Nobel Phys-ics Prize winner Didier Queloz, who heads the CHEOPS science team, told The Associated Press earlier this week that the mission will focus on 100 of the more than 4,000 exoplanets – ones beyond our own solar system – dis-covered so far, partly to determine if there’s a possibility of an Earth-like planet capable of sustaining life.

“We are one planetary system among many,” he said. “It’s all about our place

in the universe and trying to under-stand it.”

A telescope will analyze the exo-planets’ densities and radii and deter-mine whether they have atmospheres, Queloz said.

“We know nothing, except that they are there,” he said. Queloz added that

the telescope might spend one orbit, or 100 minutes, on one exoplanet and maybe 50 orbits, or fi ve days, on an-other one, depending on their sizes.

More than four hours are expected to pass between liftoff and the separa-tion of satellites.

The rocket also carried an Earth ob-

servation satellite for the Italian Space Agency that will serve scientists and commercial and government clients, according to launch company Ariane-space. Three other satellites included one that aims to study zodiacal light and image the Milky Way, offi cials said.

UAE Space Agency and ESA to discuss future ‘collaboration’ABU DHABI, Dec 18: The UAE Space Agency has welcomed an of-fi cial delegation from the European Space Agency education team at its headquarters in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi to discuss prospects for fu-ture collaboration in various space education and public awareness activities.

The visit centered on the exami-nation and discussion of several proposals to promote collaboration and the exchange of expertise with-in the space education fi eld. These include organizing joint events to encourage young generations and students to study scientifi c subjects and pursue careers in the space sector, as well as hosting joint pro-grams to raise awareness and en-

hance knowledge about the space sector.

The education team at the UAE Space Agency also shared the re-sults of its activities and the signifi -cant achievements of the Agency’s educational programs.

Speaking about the visit, H.E. Dr Eng. Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, said: “The visit of the ESA delegation falls in line with our ef-forts to promote collaboration with various international space entities, with the aim of exchanging knowl-edge and expertise and encourag-ing youth to enter the space sector and contribute to its growth. It also supports our efforts to achieve our strategic objectives which include

building a future generation of quali-fi ed Emirati astronauts and space scientists.”

“The UAE Space Agency is con-tinuously working to establish a sol-id educational and scientifi c founda-tion for the national space sector. We strive, through our educational programs, to prepare, develop and qualify talented Emiratis to work within the national space sector. Our programs have also succeeded in inspiring Emirati students to ob-tain academic degrees focused on space science, as well as supporting young talents and providing them with the tools to develop their skills and contribute to the UAE’s rapidly growing space industry,”added H.E. Eng. Dr. Al Ahbabi.

Space

Archaeology

‘One of rarest discoveries’

Egyptian offi cials ‘unveil’ new archaeological fi ndsCAIRO, Dec 18, (AP): Archaeologists in Egypt have unveiled two new artifacts from antiquity, a rare statue of one of the country’s most famous pharaohs and a diminutive ancient sphinx.

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities announced that a pink granite statue of celebrated ancient ruler Ramses II was found last week, describing the artifact as “one of the rarest archaeological discoveries.”

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the three-and-a-half-foot statue was crafted in a style that ancient Egyptians used to portray and capture an individual’s essential nature, adding that it was the fi rst such statue to be found fashioned from granite.

A hieroglyphic inscription found on the back of the stone bore the name “strong bull,” a reference to the king’s “strength and vitality,” he added.