Top News Stories –
New human-like species discovered in S Africa –
Scientists have discovered a new human-like species in a burial chamber deep in a cave system in South Africa. The discovery of 15 partial skeletons is the largest single discovery of its type in Africa. The researchers claim that the discovery will change ideas about our human ancestors. The studies which have been published in the journal Elife also indicate that these individuals were capable of ritual behaviour. The species, which has been named naledi, has been classified in the grouping, or genus,Homo, to which modern humans belong. [BBC] See List of the Day
Pope Francis emojis launched for US visit –
Pope Francis draws huge crowds wherever he goes and now his fans can share their admiration with papal emojis. A new keyboard app is being released to mark the Pope’s upcoming visit to America. You can have the Pope balancing a basketball or riding a taxi (although we suspect he’d prefer his Popemobile). They’re among 52 emojis and 14 GIFs in the app from Swyft Media, the company which created the first ginger emojis.
Pope emojis by Swyft Media
Giant Lenin ‘head’ unearthed 24 years after burial in Berlin –
The giant head of a statue of Russian revolutionary Lenin has been unearthed, 24 years after it was buried in a German forest. Workers dug up the granite structure from woodland outside Berlin, following a campaign by historians. The head was once part of a 19m (62ft) monument to the communist leader, which towered over the east of the city. It was dismantled in 1991 after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the pieces were buried in a secluded forest. [BBC]
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iPhone 6s – The Only Thing That’s Changed Is…
List of the Day –
| Species | Temporal range Mya | Habitat | Adult height | Adult mass | Cranial capacity (cm³) | Fossil record | Discovery / publication of name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H. habilis | 2.1 – 1.5[136] | Africa | 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) | 33–55 kg (73–121 lb) | 510–660 | Many | 1960/1964 |
| H. erectus | 1.9 – 0.07[137] | Africa, Eurasia (Java, China, India, Caucasus) | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 60 kg (130 lb) | 850 (early) – 1,100 (late) | Many[138] | 1891/1892 |
| H. rudolfensis membership in Homo uncertain |
1.9 | Kenya | 700 | 2 sites | 1972/1986 | ||
| H. gautengensis also classified as H. habilis |
1.9 – 0.6 | South Africa | 100 cm (3 ft 3 in) | 3 individuals[139] | 2010/2010 | ||
| H. ergaster also classified as H. erectus |
1.8 – 1.3[140] | Eastern and Southern Africa | 700–850 | Many | 1975 | ||
| H. antecessor also classified as H. heidelbergensis |
1.2 – 0.8 | Spain | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) | 1,000 | 2 sites | 1997 |
| H. cepranensis a single fossil, possibly H. erectus |
0.9 – 0.35 | Italy | 1,000 | 1 skull cap | 1994/2003 | ||
| H. heidelbergensis | 0.6 – 0.35[141] | Europe, Africa, China | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) | 1,100–1,400 | Many | 1908 |
| H. neanderthalensis possibly a subspecies of H. sapiens |
0.35 – 0.04[142] | Europe, Western Asia | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) | 55–70 kg (121–154 lb) (heavily built) | 1,200–1,900 | Many | (1829)/1864 |
| H. rhodesiensis also classified as H. heidelbergensis |
0.3 – 0.12 | Zambia | 1,300 | Very few | 1921 | ||
| H. tsaichangensis possibly H. erectus |
0.25 – 0.2 | Taiwan | 1 individual | pre-2008/2015 | |||
| H. sapiens (modern humans) |
0.2[143] – present | Worldwide | 150 – 190 cm (4 ft 7 in – 6 ft 3 in) | 50–100 kg (110–220 lb) | 950–1,800 | (extant) | —/1758 |
| H. floresiensis classification uncertain |
0.10 – 0.012 | Indonesia | 100 cm (3 ft 3 in) | 25 kg (55 lb) | 400 | 7 individuals | 2003/2004 |
| Denisova hominin possible H. sapiens subspecies or hybrid |
0.04 | Russia | 1 site | 2010 | |||
| Red Deer Cave people possible H. sapiens subspecies or hybrid |
0.0145–0.0115 | China | Very few | 2012 |
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Other News Stories –
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- ISIL attacks a government held air base near the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor with dozens of government loyalists and ISIL militants killed. (Reuters)
- Operation Martyr Yalçın
- At least 30 people have been killed in the southeastern Turkish city of Cizre following clashes between Turkish security forces and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) supporters. Locals say Cizre has been “under siege” since the militaryimposed a curfew. (BBC)
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Air strikes target Houthi political leaders and military bases in Sana’a, Yemen. (Al Jazeera English Online)
- Disasters and accidents
- 2015 Pacific typhoon season
- In Japan, tens of thousands are forced to evacuate due to flooding and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Etau. So far, one person is reported as missing. (Radio NZ Online), (AP via US News and World Report), (Al Jazeera English Online),(BBC)
- International relations
- European migrant crisis
- Denmark reopens rail services to Germany after closing rail lines and a motorway in order to stem the flow of migrants on their way to Sweden. (ITV)
- President of the United States Barack Obama directs his administration to accept at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (Washington Post)
- Russia–United States relations
- The United States expresses concern about alleged Russian military activities in Syria. (Al Jazeera English Online)
- Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- The United States Senate fails to pass a resolution blocking approval of the nuclear agreement with Iran, meaning it will formally be adopted on October 19. (New York Times)
- Law and crime
- An indigenous Lumad child dies in an evacuation center while the Philippine Senate investigates the alleged September 1 murders of an indigenous Lumad family and the alleged rape of an indigenous Manobo girl by soldiers and militiamen of the Philippine Army. (Rappler), (Mindanao News), (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- Azerbaijan jails journalist Khadija Ismayilova after a trial that many believe is politically-motivated. (Al Jazeera English Online)
- Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is convicted and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for allegedly inciting violence at anti-government rallies. (AP)
- A U.S. federal jury awards nearly $17.5 million to five former migrant workers at a South Florida farm in their case of sexual harassment and abuse in their work. (Reuters)
- Politics and elections
- Peter Robinson, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, steps aside after the Democratic Unionist Party fails to get enough support to adjourn the assembly. (BBC)
- Science and technology
- Homo naledi
- Elife publishes a discovery by scientists at the University of the Witwatersrand announcing a new species of hominid (Homo naledi) in the Rising Star Cave in South Africa. Although the remains have yet to be properly dated, they could be three million years old. (BBC) (Al Jazeera English Online)
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