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Find a job and a future in Britain, French told By Colin Randall in Paris (Filed: 06/04/2006) As protesters throughout France continue their revolt against job law reform, the French author of a new guide to working in Britain says his country is in dire need of "our own Maggie Thatcher". Vladimir Cordier, 30, an economics graduate, abandoned his native Normandy eight years ago for London after refusing to settle for what he saw as a hopeless future in France. After finding work in a call centre, he changed jobs several times and now earns between £40,000 and £50,000 a...

Italians find ancient Ur tabletsWritings could lead to buried library (ANSA) - Rome, March 28 - Italian archeologists working in Iraq have found a trove of ancient stone tablets from the fabled civilisation of Ur . The tablets bear around 500 engravings of a literary and historical nature, according to team leader Silvia Chiodi . "This is an an exceptional find," she said, noting that the area in question had previously only yielded prehistoric artefacts . She said the tablets, made of clay and bitumen, were discovered by chance at an archaeological site not far from the location of the...

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2006 – A Multinational Division Baghdad soldier was killed yesterday in a mortar attack southwest of Baghdad, military officials reported. The soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. In other news from Iraq, members of Iraq's 3rd Public Order Brigade found a roadside bomb in front of a trade school southeast of Baghdad on March 14, military officials reported today. The bomb consisted of a 155 mm artillery round, two batteries and a block of explosives, officials said. (Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2006 – Iraqi and multinational forces have captured more terrorism suspects and discovered more weapons caches in recent days, military officials in Iraq reported. Iraqi police today captured 16 insurgents suspected of attacking coalition forces northwest of Kirkuk, about 150 miles north of Baghdad. After detaining the terror suspects, members of the Kirkuk police emergency special unit found improvised explosive device-making materials along with a cache of two artillery rounds. U.S. soldiers of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division served as advisers during the mission. In northeastern Baghdad, soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi...

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2006 – U.S. soldiers discovered four weapons caches in a four-day period in areas outside of Baghdad, officials said. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered a weapons cache March 8 near the Euphrates River, south of Baghdad. Army Pfc. Jason Chambers, of B Company, was occupying an observation post when he noticed something out of place in the distance. After carefully inspecting the area, he and another soldier discovered the cache, consisting of roadside bomb-making materials. Chambers and the soldier moved away a safe distance, notified their...

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2006 – Iraqi and coalition forces detained eight suspects today in a joint operation in Baghdad. The men are suspected of kidnapping, manufacturing car bombs, and financing and supporting terrorists, officials said. Four men were detained at the Al Khayr Mosque Complex, identified as a possible al Qaeda safe haven, and the others were detained from sites raided during the operation. Iraqi forces led the joint operation and discovered several rooftop fighting positions, AK-47s and Molotov cocktails. In other news, over an 11-day period, U.S. and Iraqi servicemembers together have discovered 30 hidden weapons caches in Baqubah,...

Mugabe police arrest 'coup plotters after arms find' By Peta Thornycroft in Harare (Filed: 10/03/2006) At least 15 men have been arrested by Zimbabwean police amid allegations of a plot to launch an armed rebellion against President Robert Mugabe. A cache of weapons was reportedly seized and those held included some senior officials of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Roy Bennett: 'Wanted' An MDC member of parliament Giles Mutsekwa, a former officer in the Zimbabwe National Army, and Brian James, the treasurer of the MDC's Manicaland province, in eastern Zimbabwe, were arrested earlier this week. Roy Bennett, a former...

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2006 – Two car bombs have killed six Iraqi civilians and wounded 34 in the past two days in Iraq, and troops from Multinational Division Baghdad discovered a roadside bomb and detained suspects who fled from the scene. Six Iraqis were killed and 23 were wounded today when a car bomb detonated near the Baqubah mayor's office. Iraqi army and police provided security and initial medical attention to the wounded on the scene, officials said. The wounded were taken to Baqubah General Hospital for treatment. Community leaders were meeting with Baqubah Mayor Khalid Al Seniary at the...

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2006 – Soldiers with the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division nabbed terrorists and confiscated weapons during an operation in Baghdad Feb. 26. The soldiers, assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, were conducting vehicle inspections in western Abu Ghraib. 1st Lt. Scott Treadwell had ordered his soldiers to search a suspicious vehicle. Treadwell's men found two known murderers of Iraqi civilians. The two terrorists were carrying rifles and contracts for the murder of other Iraqis. The capture of the two assassins was inspiring to the soldiers, who conduct patrols every day...

NEW ORLEANS - Tour buses and rental trucks waited Wednesday morning to vacate police, firefighters and other Hurricane Katrina first-responders from cruise ships they've called home since the storm devastated the city in August. The emergency workers and their families _ about 1,000 people in all _ were told they had to leave by March 1 because the ships must return to private service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said. It's the same deadline set for civilian evacuees living on cruise ships. Agency spokesman David Passey said all the first-responders and their families will have a FEMA-sponsored place to live,...

CAMP MERCURY, Iraq (Feb. 25, 2006) -- Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Edward looked at the stacks of unearthed munitions and shook his head in disbelief. “We’re going to need more C-4,” Edward said. The 29-year-old explosive ordnance disposal technician with Mobile Unit 3, Detachment 9, 8th Engineer Support Battalion was witness to the largest weapons cache discovery made by Marines from L Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, since they arrived in Iraq nearly a month ago. The weapons are commonly used against Marines and Iraqi Security Forces in improvised explosive devices. The company made the find during...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2006 – Don Esmond, a Vietnam War hero, walked into the Toyota Motor Sales in Torrance, Calif., one day in early 2004 and told the staff he wanted the company to develop a hiring program for guardsmen and reservists returning to civilian life from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. David Sweat, left, the parts department manager at Priority Toyota in Chesapeake, Va., said Army National Guard Sgt. Ricardo "Ricky" Velez came to the company about two months after leaving active duty. Velez previously served in Iraq for 14 months. Photo courtesy of James Wallace  (Click photo...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Feb. 27, 2006) – Acting on a tip from an Iraqi citizen, a team from Multi-National Division – Baghdad’s 53rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company stopped a potential threat Friday by finding and disposing of an MK-84 bomb near a mosque south of Al Hillah. Due to the bomb’s location near the religious shrine, the team had no other choice than to burn the bomb in place as a last resort, officials said. They said the team was able to do this without any damage to the mosque, Iraqi citizens or MND – B Soldiers. Elsewhere, Soldiers...

Democrats fail to find a message By Justin Webb BBC News, Washington President Bush's popularity ratings have plummeted, but why, asks Justin Webb, is it that the opposition, the Democrats, are not surfing the opinion polls, capitalising on the Republicans' misfortunes and preparing to take over Congress when the election comes in the autumn? Car bumper politics are making a statement across America In any list of America's greatest contributions to world culture - the kazoo, the electric guitar, drive-in fast food etc - space should be found, in my view, for an invention deeply ingrained in the life of...

Teachers told to find sterilisation 'volunteers' in villages By Peter Foster in New Delhi (Filed: 25/02/2006) Thousands of primary school teachers have been ordered to find two "volunteers" for sterilisation as part of a draconian solution to India's population explosion. The order was issued to 6,400 teachers in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state (pop 170 million), where the teachers have been given until March 31 to meet the "sterilisation target" or face disciplinary action. The plan, imposed by a district magistrate in the southern city of Allahabad, is a radical approach to dealing with India's population of almost 1.1...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2006 – Iraqi and coalition troops detained 11 insurgents and found several weapons caches throughout Iraq yesterday, military officials reported. Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, and coalition troops detained 11 terrorists and confiscated a weapons cache during several actions yesterday. Troops detained six men for suspicious activities associated with a previously discovered cache west of Rawah. Soldiers then detained an insurgent during a search of a targeted house north of Husaybah. Troops later seized one terrorist who tested positive for explosive residue at a vehicle checkpoint. Three men were apprehended after...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers and police captured numerous types of munitions in two caches Feb. 20. Following a tip from a local resident, soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, found a weapons cache in an abandoned building in Baghdad's Adhamiya district, officials reported today. The cache included 97 sticks of TNT, three pre-assembled bombs, six blasting caps, and other miscellaneous items. Elsewhere, Iraqi police discovered another weapons cache during a routine patrol of Samarra, one of four Islamic holy cities in Iraq and located about 78 miles north of Baghdad. The cache...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2006 – Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers killed four terrorists and uncovered weapons caches in multiple recent incidents, military officials reported. Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, spotted insurgents launching a mortar round and requested support from attack aviation aircraft southwest of Baghdad yesterday. After firing the mortar round, the terrorist team placed the mortar system into a white pickup truck and drove away, officials reported. A coalition forces fixed-wing aircraft later observed five men digging on the side of a canal. The individuals digging were confirmed as the same men who had fired...

Iraqi Special Troops Company and Macedonian Rangers executed Operation Level Sand this morning at 1 a.m. north of Baghdad to neutralize terrorist activity and destroy weapons caches in the area. The operation netted 18 suspected terrorists and resulted in the confiscation of 10 AK-47 assault rifles and three pistols. Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, worked together to disrupt insurgent activity northwest of Baghdad in a combined cordon-and-search operation that began about 11:30 p.m. Feb. 15 and ended yesterday morning. The 6th IA and 2-22...

German public sector workers fighting plans to extend their working hours have widened their strike action to cover most of the country. An estimated 20,000 local and regional authority staff including nurses, cooks and cleaners have joined the largest public sector strike in 14 years. They are protesting against plans to extend weekly working hours by 90 minutes, from 38.5 to 40 hours a week. The industrial action...has now spread to 10 of Germany's 16 states... Leaders at Verdi - Germany's biggest union with 2.4 million members - have warned that the strikes could last for up to six weeks.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2006 – American and Iraqi soldiers found multiple roadside bombs and weapons caches during anti-terrorist operations in Iraq over the past several days. In fact, Iraqi army and coalition soldiers discovered three separate roadside bombs without incident over the past 24 hours. Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 8th Army Division, along with U.S. soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found the first roadside bomb near Iskandariyah. The bomb consisted of four 82 mm rounds, one 155 mm round and three rockets. A second roadside bomb was discovered...

Master Sgt. Jay Phelps and Sgt. Teresa Burroughs hold the 25-pound block of gold they discovered in their office at FOB Speicher. Staff Sgt. Jesse C. Riggin Printer-friendly version TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, Feb. 7, 2006) – A unique challenge for two Soldiers arose recently with the discovery of a very special doorstop in the terrain team’s work space: a 25-pound block of solid gold. “I noticed it during the relief-in-place with the unit before us, sitting under the table in the office,” said Sgt. Teresa Burroughs, a terrain analyst in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2006 – Iraqi forces discovered a roadside bomb and caught the would-be bomber of a bridge in two separate incidents in Tikrit, Iraq, yesterday, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq officials said. Iraqi police officers reported an improvised explosive device discovered along a Tikrit business route to coalition personnel. Bomb disposal personnel cleared the two surface=laid artillery shells, which had been concealed with a timing device in a plastic bag. The same day, Iraqi soldiers identified and detained a would-be bomber and defused an explosive device after some quick coordination with coalition personnel. Iraqi troops became suspicious of...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2006 – U.S. soldiers destroyed an improvised explosive device attached to railroad tracks about 20 miles south of Baghdad Jan. 30. Elsewhere, Iraqi and U.S. soldiers yesterday discovered a large weapons cache stashed in a remote desert area, officials said. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered the improvised explosive device on railroad tracks near Mahmudiyah. An explosive ordnance disposal team detonated the device without injuries or damage to structures. The IED was made of a 152 mm and a 122 mm artillery round attached to a motorcycle battery, two washing machine timers, detonation cord, and electric blasting caps,...

ANCIENT FIND By LIZ McKINNON February 1, 2006 Damein Bell stands in the remains of an ancient stone house uncovered by a bushfire at Tyrendarra. Picture: LEANNE PICKETT THE bushfire at Tyrendarra last month has unearthed some of the biggest Aboriginal stone houses ever seen in Gunditjmara land. Undocumented sites have been uncovered including a village thought to be 30,000 years old. The Winda-Mara Aboriginal Co-operative made the discovery yesterday during an analysis of its Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area. On January 22 fire burnt 240 hectares, blackening 90 per cent of the property's rocky outcrop on the Mt Eccles lava...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2006 – A bombing near a candy store in Iraq and the capture of suspected terrorists and weapons top news reported today by military officials in Baghdad. A bomb exploded yesterday near a candy story in Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, rocking several businesses and killing 10 Iraqi civilians and wounding three .American military units from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division's quick response force were dispatched to the blast to investigate. The incident is under investigation by Iraqi authorities. In southern Baghdad, soldiers on patrol with the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment,...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2006 – An Iraqi soldier participating in operations with coalition forces was wounded during a battle with insurgents near a bridge close to the Euphrates River near Hit, Iraq, in one of several military actions yesterday. The soldier's condition is unknown at the time, officials said today. Troops from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, and coalition forces also found and cleared six weapons caches during the joint operations. Officials said the caches included a mixed bag of two AK-47 assault rifles with eight loaded magazines, 14 assorted artillery rounds and fuses, 300 rounds...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2006 – A Latvian soldier and Iraqi civilians were injured in Iraq in separate incidents and Iraqi security forces found a bomb in Fallujah, U.S. military officials reported. The Latvian guard was injured by small-arms fire today in al Kut when unidentified gunmen fired at an observation post in the Multinational Division Central South area of responsibility. The guards returned fire. The wounded soldier was transported to a military medical facility, where his condition is stable. Five Iraqi citizens were injured Jan. 19 when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device near Forward Operating Base Summerall in...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2006 – U.S. soldiers detained five suspected terrorists and found several weapons caches and improvised explosive devices throughout Iraq this week, U.S. military officials reported. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained three suspected terrorists and discovered a weapons cache south of Baghdad today. The soldiers from 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found the three suspects after an IED they were building accidentally detonated, injuring all three men. Soldiers also discovered other bomb-making materials, including 125 mm rounds, rockets, 82 mm mortar rounds, a 155 mm round, blasting caps, a pressure plate...

RAMADI, Iraq, Jan. 16, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Marines with 2nd Platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, discovered 11 weapons caches Jan. 14 near Barwanah, Iraq, military officials at Camp Blue Diamond here reported today. A translator on patrol with the troops spotted the initial cache, and 10 adjacent caches were discovered thereafter. The site was so large it took two days to completely uncover, officials said. The caches contained artillery and mortar rounds of various sizes, rockets, armor-piercing incendiary rounds and 1,900 pounds of propellant. An explosive ordnance disposal team detonated 4,000 pounds of high...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2006 – Coalition forces found dead bodies, killed several insurgents and detained one other, and discovered numerous weapons caches throughout Iraq this week, U.S. military officials in Iraq reported today. Coalition forces found seven murdered bodies at the Rustimiyah sewage plant today. All the bodies showed evidence of torture, officials said. The bodies were taken to the local police station. Officials provided no other details. While conducting an air-insertion mission in Baghdad today, Task Force Ironhorse soldiers killed several insurgents, detained one and discovered a significant weapons cache. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, received small-arms...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers detained four suspected terrorists and discovered two weapons caches today and yesterday, U.S. military officials in Baghdad reported. A tip from citizens led soldiers from 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, and 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, to four individuals suspected of attacking troops near Hawija, Iraq, today. Four men were picked up along with AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition, various different identification cards, a pair of binoculars and several forms of insurgent propaganda. The men were detained for interviews. Iraqi troops from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 7th...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2006 – Iraqi police in Mosul discovered an improvised explosive device yesterday, officials announced today. When an explosive ordnance detachment approached the IED to investigate, both the Iraqi police guarding it and the EOD were attacked by small-arms fire. EOD destroyed the IED, and no injuries or damages were reported. In other action, U.S. soldiers from Task Force Baghdad captured a suspected terrorist believed to be responsible for emplacing IEDs Jan. 6. Later in the day, another U.S. patrol detained a suspected terrorist with a book that described how to attack American soldiers and justified collateral damage...

I am looking for a text copy of the email that was read on the Rush Limbaugh show. Something to the effect, this is our country, if you don't like it... get out.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2005 – Iraqi soldiers and U.S. troops found and destroyed a treasure-trove of weapons caches during a three-day period Dec. 2-4. The enemy stockpiles included everything from rocket-propelled-grenade launchers to AK-47 assault rifles to artillery shells and hundreds of pounds of explosives and munitions, officials said. Iraqi and U.S. troops discovered five weapons caches throughout north central Iraq Dec. 4. The largest cache included 27 artillery rounds, several hand grenades, a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher with six rounds, and an AK-47, officials noted. A joint patrol of soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, and...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Nov. 30, 2005) -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers found multiple weapons caches on an island in the Euphrates River Nov. 28. Military officials had been monitoring suspicious activity near the Euphrates River southwest of Baghdad for a couple of weeks. When conditions were right, Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division sprung into action. “The timing was right to attack the target,” said 2nd BCT Commander Col. Todd Ebel. “The pieces of the puzzle fit close enough.” Bombs, rockets, grenades found Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment secured the objective and discovered three...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2005 – Soldiers from the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, discovered three car bombs and detained nine possible terrorists west of Rawah today after their patrol was attacked by a suicide bomber, military officials reported. Two cars approached the mounted patrol at about 1 p.m. local time. One vehicle sped off while the other stopped and waited for the soldiers to investigate. The driver of the stationary vehicle blew up himself and his car. There were no casualties or damages reported as a result of the attack. Soldiers then pursued the second car until they found it...

Archaeologists look to find lost 1,000 years 2005-11-26 Beijing Time AN archaeological project is expected to outline the chronology in the prehistoric millennium from 4,500 years ago to 3,500 years ago to decode the origin of Chinese civilization. The government-backed project, called "Pre-research on the Origin of the Chinese Civilization," was launched in June 2004 with an aim to work out the chronology of the Yao, Shun, Yu periods and the Xia Dynasty, said Wang Wei, deputy director of the Archaeological Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. Yao, Shun and Yu are three leaders...

Archaeologists find western world's oldest map By Hilary Clarke in Rome (Filed: 18/11/2005) The oldest map of anywhere in the western world, dating from about 500 BC, has been unearthed in southern Italy. Known as the Soleto Map, the depiction of Apulia, the heel of Italy's "boot", is on a piece of black-glazed terracotta vase about the size of a postage stamp. It was found in a dig led by the Belgian archaeologist Thierry van Compernolle, of Montpellier University, two years ago. But its existence was kept secret until more research was carried out. "The map offers, to date, for...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2005 – A U.S. Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed in a suicide car-bomb attack near Karmah, Iraq, Nov. 15. No further details were available. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. In other news from Iraq, Iraqi and U.S. soldiers found and disposed of four weapons caches and an improvised explosive device Nov. 14 in north-central Iraq with the help of several local citizens. In the largest discovery of the day, soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 5th...

Archeologists Find Ancient Burial Mounds Wed Nov 9, 9:15 PM ET YEREVAN, Armenia - Archeologists said Wednesday they have unearthed burial mounds dating back to the third millennium B.C. which they believe contain remains and trinkets from ancient Aryan nomads. Historian Hakob Simonian said Wednesday that the four mounds were among 30 discovered about 35 miles west of the Armenian capital Yerevan, containing beads made of agate, carnelian and as well as the remains of what appears to be a man, aged 50-55. Also found were remains of domesticated horses and glazed pottery appearing to show chariots, Simonian said. The...

Japanese researchers find Buddhist stone caves in Afghanistan KABUL, November 9 (SANA) – A team of Japanese researchers has found Buddhist stone caves believed to date back to the eighth century about 120 kilometers west of the Bamiyan ruins in central Afghanistan, the team said Wednesday. The team, headed by Ryukoku University professor Takashi Irisawa, confirmed in late October the discovery of a group of caves built on cliffs located 1 km west of the Keligan ruins in the upper Band-e-Amir River area. The discovery indicates the possibility that the influence of Buddhism may have extended to the area of...

HADITHA DAM, Iraq (Nov. 8, 2005) -- The phrase, ‘It’s a small world,’ is used when people unexpectedly reunite. For two Marines with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, it’s not just a small world, it’s a small Marine Corps. Even though there are hundreds of units in the Marines, Orland, Calif., native, Cpl. Joshua E. Thompson, and Claremore, Okla., native, Cpl. Timothy R. Roundtree, served together nearly every step of their Marine Corps careers. Now in Iraq for the second time together, they spend everyday together fixing vehicles for the battalion’s motor transport section. The two are known to complete...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2005 – Afghan National Army soldiers and U.S. paratroopers with 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), discovered a large cache of weapons, ammunition, mines and documents Nov. 1 in southern Ghazni, in east-central Afghanistan, U.S. military officials reported today. The cache consisted of a heavy machine gun, light machine guns, assault rifles, recoilless rifles, mortar systems with rounds, thousands of rounds of small-arms and light-machine-gun ammunition, 135 rocket-propelled grenades, two crates of fragmentation grenades, and improvised explosive device-making materials, officials said. The items were taken to a nearby forward operating base and destroyed. "This find is significant...

Excitement at Neolithic site find Archaeologists say it will improve understanding of the Neolithic period Archaeologists have unearthed what is thought to be one of the largest Neolithic settlements in Britain. The discovery, which includes buildings, a human burial pit, tools, pottery and ritual objects, was uncovered at a Northumberland quarry. It is hoped it will boost understanding of the period, which dates back thousands of years. The discovery was made during routine archaeological investigation of the quarry, which is run by Tarmac. The settlement, near Milfield Village, Northumberland, includes at least three buildings dating to the 4000 BC Early...

Archaeologists find oldest Chinese dragon totem www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-31 18:43:01 ZHENGZHOU, Oct. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- A 3,700-year-old antique in the shape of a dragon, made up of over 2,000 pieces of turquoise, is believed by many Chinese scholars as the oldest Chinese dragon totem. The antique was discovered in the Erlitou relics site in YanshiCity of central China's Henan Province. Many Chinese scholars believe that Erlitou is the site of the capital of the Xia Dynasty(2,100 BC-1,600 BC), China's first dynasty. "Although some dragon-shaped relics older than the antique in Erlitou have been uncovered in other places, such as the 7,000-year-old...

Chinese archaeologists find one of world's oldest observatories Sun Oct 30, 8:45 AM ET BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese archaeologists claim to have found one of the world's oldest observatories, dating back 4,100 years ago. The observatory was uncovered at the Taosi relics site in Shanxi province, He Nu, a research follow with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency on Sunday. The observatory "was not only used for observing astronomical phenomena but also for sacrificial rites", said He. The remains, in the shape of a semi-circle 40 meters...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Oct. 25, 2005) -- ‘Man’s best friend’ is a term of endearment that has been used by dog lovers for years, and in Iraq that brotherhood continues saving the lives of hundreds of service members. The noses and training of the military working dogs here assist in finding some of the largest weapons caches in Al Anbar province. Leading this pack of dedicated canines is a select group of Marines and an Airman. For Cpl. Justin T. Hanna, his dog Chang, 6, Lance Cpl. Andrew D. Johnson, his dog Charlie, 4, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Brook...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2005 – Coalition raids conducted today in western Iraq produced two car bombs and four suspects, U.S. officials said. In other news, an American Marine was killed Oct. 23 during combat operations in Ramadi. The Husaybah- and Karabilah-area raids targeted buildings suspected of housing senior al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists and foreign fighters. The two car bombs were found outside the safe houses and were primed for use. They were destroyed. The Marine, assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed in action by small-arms fire, officials said. The Marine's name is...

Chinese Archaeologists Find Ancient Tombs Mon Oct 17,11:31 PM ET BEIJING - Archaeologists have unearthed a 1,700-year-old complex of tombs in eastern China that contain bronze mirrors, porcelains and ancient money, a news report said Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT The tombs near the port city of Ningbo were uncovered by a forklift operator working at a construction site, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The report didn't say who was buried in the tombs or how many bodies had been found. Inscriptions in the tombs indicate they were built in 256 A.D., the report said, citing Ding Youfu, a member of the...