Plus: The fossilised tooth at the centre of a political purge ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| | | Hello. The countdown is on and it's T-minus one day (all being well) until Artemis II is scheduled to blast off on a mission that will take four astronauts around the Moon for the first time in half a century. In Georgia, we report on the archaeologists banned from their own dig amid a purge of opposition supporters. And take a look at some of Scotland's top nature photos. | | | | | | |
| TOP OF THE AGENDA | | Trump sees 'America First' opportunity in Nasa mission to Moon | | | | | The Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule are in place ahead of the planned Artemis II mission launch. Credit: Reuters | | Nasa has confirmed there's an 80% chance the Artemis II mission - which will take four astronauts further from Earth than ever before - will go ahead on Wednesday, provided weather conditions are favourable. The mission is part of the new Space race between the US and China, writes White House reporter Bernd Debusmann Jr, with both nations setting their sights on the Moon. Not only does the White House view "space as another arena for the US to exert its dominance", but the Moon also contains resources, such as rare earths, whose value "could be massive". Domestically too, Bernd notes, the journey into space comes at a "crucial time in Donald Trump's presidency" offering a "moment of national unity" during a time of polarisation. | | | | | | | | |
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| | | Trump tells allies 'go get your own oil' | | The US president's comments were echoed by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth who called on allies to "step up" over the Strait of Hormuz. | | Latest updates > | | | | Judge pauses construction of White House ballroom | | The judge ruled that proper procedures were not followed before the building project began. | | What next? > | | | | Wolf bites woman in attack in Hamburg shopping street | | The woman was bitten on the face when she tried to lead the disoriented animal away from the busy area, reports suggest. | | More on this > | | | | | | |
| NEWS FROM THE UK | - Royal visit: King Charles and Queen Camilla's state visit to the US will take place from April 27-30, it has been announced.
| - Terramation: A druid who has recently returned from the US hopes to bring human composting to the UK. Here's what it involves.
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| | | How discovery of a 1.8 million-year-old tooth led to archaeologist's sacking | | | Soon after the dig resumed in the summer, a human jawbone was found. Credit: Orozmani Archaeological Field School | | From Our Own Correspondent: In 2022, archaeologists in Georgia found what was thought to be the oldest human fossil found outside of Africa - a fully intact tooth. It was quickly seized by authorities and the archaeologists were banned from their own dig as part of a purge of opposition supporters from the country’s museum sector. Now they’re back at work and making new discoveries. | | | | | | | | On the day the tooth was due to be presented at an archaeology conference in the capital, Tbilisi, it was seized by the authorities. Lead archaeologist Giorgi Bidzinashvili, known as Bidzo, was fired... in what many saw as a purge of opposition supporters in the cultural sector.
For more than two years, Bidzo's team was banned from the site, not even allowed to change the plastic covering protecting the fragile fossils below. “We lost hundreds of bones just because we couldn’t change the cover,” he says. Bidzo and the team finally won a court case, and digging resumed last July. Within just two weeks of being back at work, they had discovered a human jawbone. | | | | | - Alexander Butyagin: A Russian archaeologist accused of illegal excavations in Crimea can be extradited to Ukraine, a judge ruled.
| - 'Evolution rewritten': A million-year-old skull found in China suggests we emerged 500,000 years earlier than thought, a study claims.
| - Cave painting: A stencilled outline of a hand found in Indonesia is the world's oldest known cave painting, researchers say. Take a look.
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