New Magazin Saleb Opinion

THE BLACK PANTHER is so good I didn’t miss Inspector Clouseau. It’s the next STAR WARS franchise. Ryan Coogler is the next George Lucas except he can also write. What’s amazing to me is that after fifty superhero movies, maybe seventy (last year alone)  – Coogler could mount one that is wholly original. Sure there is tons of CGI and exciting chase scenes (who needs a custom Batmobile when you can just go to your local Lexus dealer?), but there is also an engaging story, social commentary that is truly thought-provoking, and big laughs. Zack Snyder should be tied to a chair and forced to watch this movie on a continual loop for a year. Coogler (and co-writer Joe Robert Cole) have their sites set on way more than just a popcorn movie. They create an entire world, introduce us to inviting but complex characters, and tell a story that makes sense. I was so bored by the latest STAR WARS movie. And baffled by the Byzantine story-telling in THOR. Coogler knows how to set things up ...

In the middle of the desert, six kilometres south of Tuna Al-Gabal archaeological site, Egyptian and international media gathered to witness the announcement of a new discovery. Credit: Reuters Five showcases displaying the artefacts uncovered from burial sites in the cemetery were guarded by inspectors. Minister of Antiquities Kaled El-Enany, who was on site, announced the discovery of a 26th Dynasty cemetery that consists of a large number of burial shafts. Credit: Reuters The discovery was made out by an Egyptian mission led by Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), who started excavations at end of 2017. Credit: Reuters “Excavation work is scheduled to last for five years in an attempt to uncover all the burials of the cemetery,” El-Enany told Ahram Online. He explained that the discovery is still fresh, and many more are to come as excavation continues. Credit: Reuters Waziri said that in the ...

Over 41 000 cultural goods such as coins, paintings and drawings, furniture and musical instruments, porcelain, archaeological and paleontological objects, books and manuscripts and sculptures were seized all over the world as a result of coordinated law enforcement actions. These seizures were made during the first Global Global Customs-Police Operation, codenamed ATHENA and organised by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in cooperation with INTERPOL, and during the regional Europe-focused Operation PANDORA II, coordinated by the Spanish Guardia Civil and Europol. Credit: Europol Both operations took place from October to early December 2017, with a common action phase from 20 to 30 November 2017, and saw the involvement of customs and police forces from 81 countries. Both, ATHENA and PANDORA II, focused on the illicit trafficking of cultural objects, theft, looting as well as internet sales. Most of the actions were developed and coordinated jointly between Customs and...

In an ancient DNA study published this week in the journal Nature , scientists and archaeologists from over 80 different institutions lift the veil on the genomic history of Southeastern Europe, a region from which very little ancient genetic data has been available until now. This is the second-largest ancient DNA study ever reported. (The largest, reported simultaneously in Nature by many of the same authors, focuses on the prehistory of Northwestern Europe.) The burial fields of Varna, Bulgaria, is famous for its rich burial gifts. In one of the 6,500 year old graves more gold was found than in all other graves at this time. Genetic examinations show that the DNA of the man buried there had similiarities with the DNA of earlier European famers [Credit: © I, Yelkrokoyade, commons.wikimedia.org, CC BY-SA 3.0] Starting around 8,500 years ago, agriculture spread into Europe from the southeast, accompanied by a movement of people from Anatolia. This study reports data fro...

Researchers found evidence of an oblong structure from the Asuka Period (592-710) that was likely part of a banquet hall complex for the nobility described in an eighth century official history of Japan. The pits in the ground suggest the ancient structure in Asuka, Nara Prefecture, measured at least 19.2 meters west to east [Credit: Yoshinori Mizuno] The building dates from when Asuka served as the nation's capital, and its existence was announced by the education board of the Asuka village government on Feb. 21. Researchers uncovered pits in the ground for 16 wooden pillars in the Asukadera Seiho site, which lies west of the old Asukadera temple. The pits were uncovered in the northwest part of the archaeological site and are believed to date from the seventh century. The pits measure between 90 centimeters and 135 cm across. The placement of the pillars suggests the banquet hall measured at least 19.2 meters west to east and 4.8 meters south to north. The old...

The ancient Greek site known as "Gate to Hell," located in modern-day Turkey's western Denizli province, really did kill those who got too close – but instead of an angry god's breath, noxious gas claimed victims, scientists have found. In ancient times, the Greeks and Romans believed this grotto was the gateway to hell [Credit: Daily Sabah] Legends of "Hades Gate," named after the Greek god of death, say anyone who approached the deadly breath-filled grotto dropped dead and was immediately taken away to the underworld – a tale considered hyperbole, until now. A team of researchers from Germany's University of Duisburg-Essen who has been studying the site in the ancient city of Hierapolis uncovered a geomorphic explanation for the dramatic deaths. The plutonium at Hierapolis [Credit: Carole Raddato/Flickr] The grotto sits directly above the Babadağ fault line, from which carbon dioxide escapes Earth's crust and fills the c...

Even our earliest human ancestors made and used technology - something we can look back on thanks to the lasting nature of stone tools. Researchers work on the archaeological site in Spain, known as Porto Maior, where the tool deposits were found [Credit: Eduardo Méndez Quintas, Author provided] An exceptionally high density of giant handaxes dated to 200,000-300,000 years ago has been uncovered at an archaeological site in Galicia, northwest Spain. The findings are documented in a new article published by our international research team of archaeologists and dating specialists. The discovery of these handaxes suggests that alternative types of stone tool technologies were simultaneously being used by different populations in this area – supporting the idea that a prehistoric “Game of Thrones” scenario existed as Neanderthals emerged in Europe. Additional evidence for this idea comes from fossil records showing that multiple human lineages lived in southwest Europe a...