Friday, March 28, 2008
THE OLYMPICS
DINOSAUR BONES?
But Michael J. Ryan, head of vertebrate paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, told National Geographic News that the bone is definitely not from a dinosaur. "It's a lower jawbone, and it has two big molars in the back and that's it. That's definitely a mammalian trait." he said after seeing the above photo of the find taken at a Tuesday press conference in Arequipa. "Also, the jaws are fused, left and right, and the massive shape and articulation mean it's definitely a mammal," he continued. Ryan thinks the remains most likely belonged to a proboscidean, or elephant relative.
"I can't even tell if it's fossil or modern," based on the photograph, Ryan added. But, he said, "there's no way it's a Triceratops."
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- Peruvian president backs Beijing Olympic Games (Xinhua) "Peruvian President Alan Garcia said Thursday that he supports the Beijing Olympic Games and believes China will overcome its difficulties to hold a successful event."
DINOSAUR BONES?
- Mystery Bone Found on Peruvian Bus (National Geographic, via Reuters, Victoria Jaggard) "A suspicious package found on a bus in Peru turned out to contain a mysterious and massive animal jawbone, officials announced on Tuesday. Police who investigated the bus's cargo hold said they noticed the package because it had no identifying marks and was oddly heavy. Pablo de la Vera Cruz, an archaeologist at the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, initially identified the 19-pound (8.6-kilogram) jawbone via police photos as perhaps belonging to a Triceratops, according to Reuters.
But Michael J. Ryan, head of vertebrate paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, told National Geographic News that the bone is definitely not from a dinosaur. "It's a lower jawbone, and it has two big molars in the back and that's it. That's definitely a mammalian trait." he said after seeing the above photo of the find taken at a Tuesday press conference in Arequipa. "Also, the jaws are fused, left and right, and the massive shape and articulation mean it's definitely a mammal," he continued. Ryan thinks the remains most likely belonged to a proboscidean, or elephant relative.
"I can't even tell if it's fossil or modern," based on the photograph, Ryan added. But, he said, "there's no way it's a Triceratops."
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
ENVIRONMENT
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- British reality TV crew accused as flu kills four in isolated Peruvian tribe (The Guardian, UK, John Vidal) "A British reality TV company has been accused of starting a flu epidemic that left four people from a tribe of isolated Peruvian Indians dead and others seriously ill. The regional Indian rights organisation Fenama, government officials and a US anthropologist working in the region said in statements seen by the Guardian that a two-person crew working for London-based Cicada Films had visited groups of isolated Indian communities despite being warned not to. Fenama said the film team travelled far upriver and provoked an epidemic. It accused them of threatening the lives of Indians and called for Cicada Films to be barred from entering the area again."
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
FUJI FILES
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- Doctors: Health of ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori suffering from murder trial (Associated Press) "Doctors say ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has swelling in his legs and feet from sitting for long hours during his murder and kidnapping trial."
- Peruvian Tribe Takes on Oil Giant (Red Orbit) "The Achuar tribe, inhabitants of the Amazon Rainforest of north-eastern Peru for thousands of years, alleges that Occidental Petroleum has contaminated their territory by damaging their land and making their people sick, some even to the point of death."
- Cimpor's Peruvian unit to build new plant in 2008 (Reuters, Henrique Almeida) "Peruvian subsidiary Cementos Otorongo will start building a new cement factory in 2008 with a production capacity of 650,000 tonnes of cement per year, the company said."
- Korean People's Struggle Supported by Peruvian Party Leader (North Korean Central News Agency) "Victor Oliva Miguel, general secretary of the Revolutionary Socialist Party of Peru, met the delegation of the Workers' Party of Korea led by Vice Department Director of its Central Committee Kim Thae Jong in Lima on March 22 and had a talk with him."
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Monday, March 24, 2008
413 kg of cocaine seized in Peruvian Amazon
ENVIRONMENT
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- Peruvian Indians take on oil giant in dispute over pollution (BBC, Dan Collyns) "The Achuar filed a class action lawsuit against oil giant Occidental Petroleum."
- Peru Tribe Battles Oil Gian (BBC Video, Dan Collyns)
- 413 kg of cocaine seized in Peruvian Amazon (Xinhua) "eru's National Drugs Control Directorate seized 413 kg of cocaine Sunday on a small boat with an outboard motor in the Peruvian Amazon, officials said. The seizure took place on the Amazon River near the city of Iquitos; the boat was bound for the Colombian city of Leticia."
- Inca trek death riddle: Banker's body found in Peruvian river after party at campsite (Daily Mail, UK, Charlotte Gill and Peter Upton) " A British banker is believed to have been murdered while on a trekking holiday in Peru. Colin Murphy was first thought to have drowned in a river on the Inca Trail in the early hours of New Year's Day. But a post-mortem examination has revealed that the 44-year-old divorcee was killed by a fierce blow to the base of his skull and that his body was dumped in the water two hours after he died."
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Sunday, March 23, 2008
NEW COKE
LAT Photo
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LAT Photo- Peru sees cocaine making a comeback (Los Angeles Times, Patrick J. McDonnell with Felipe Paucar in Tingo Maria and Adriana León in Lima) "The Garcia administration initially agreed to suspend eradication efforts, a mainstay of the U.S.-backed anti-drug policy. But Garcia later reversed course and even suggested that clandestine laboratories be raided and bombed. With U.S. aid that totals about $50 million a year, Peru has trained and deployed hundreds of anti-drug police officers. "Peru will not resign itself to be a country of narco-trafficking," vowed the pro-U.S. Garcia, who took office in 2006." see also five-photo slide show
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