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"French archaeologists working at Saqqara have unearthed the burial chamber of a 4,000-year-old queen, Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), announced today. Badly destroyed, the 33-by 16-foot burial chamber belonged to Queen Behenu, wife of either King Pepi I or Pepi II of the Sixth Dynasty. It was discovered as sand was removed from Behenu's pyramid in South Saqqara, west of the pyramid of King Pepi I."

"Nos meses que antecederam o primeiro Rock In Rio, muita gente duvidava que o evento pudesse se concretizar. E não é difícil entender o porquê. Nunca um festival desse porte havia sido realizado no país. Até aquele mítico janeiro de 1985, era muito raro artistas do primeiro time do rock internacional visitarem o Brasil. Os exemplos eram poucos: Santana, em 1971 e 1973, Alice Cooper, em 1974, Genesis (já com Phil Collins nos vocais), em 1977 e o Queen, em 1981. Como acreditar que teríamos por aqui, de uma só vez, Iron Maiden, Yes, Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, Scorpions, The B-52's, Rod Stewart, The Go-Go's, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Nina Hagen, AC/DC e Whitesnake? Pois isso se tornou realidade, mais precisamente de 11 a 20 de janeiro de 1985. E, há 25 anos, o Brasil finalmente entrou, de uma vez por todas, na rota dos grandes shows internacionais."

"A 2,200-year-old temple that may have been dedicated to the ancient Egyptian cat god Bastet has been unearthed in Alexandria, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said today. The ruins of the Ptolemaic-era building were discovered by Egyptian archaeologists in the port city founded by Alexander the Great around 331BC. Alexandria was the seat of the Greek-speaking Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt for 300 years until the suicide of Queen Cleopatra. The council's statement said the temple was thought to belong to Queen Berenice II, wife of Ptolemy III who ruled between 246BC-222BC. Mohammed Abdel-Maqsood, the Egyptian archaeologist who led the excavation team, said the discovery may be the first trace of the long-sought location of Alexandria's royal quarter. The large number of statues depicting Bastet found in the ruins, he said, suggested that this may be the first Ptolemaic-era temple dedicated to the cat god to be discovered in Alexandria. This would indicate that the worship of the ancient Egyptian cat-god continued during the later, Greek-influenced, Ptolemaic period Statues of other ancient Egyptian deities were also found in the ruins, he added. Zahi Hawass, Egypt's chief archaeologist, said the temple may have been used in later times as a quarry as evidenced by the large number of missing stone blocks. The temple was found in the Kom el-Dekka area near the modern city's main train station and home to a Roman-era amphitheatre and well-preserved mosaics."

"When­ Marie Antoinette died under the heavy blow of the guillotine on Oct. 16, 1793, it was a decidedly unglamorous affair. That's not to say it wasn't a celebration: Many French revolutionaries were ecstatic to bid the extravagant queen adieu forever. After the blade came down, the executioner brandished Marie Antoinette's head in a triumphant wave so that the entire crowd could see it."

"Kate Ravilious for National Geographic News January 14, 2010 Cleopatra and her kin knew a thing or two about crafting an alluring smoky eye. Now French researchers suggest that the ancient Egyptians' heavily painted eyelids did more than attract admirers-they also protected against eye infections. (Related: "Scorpion King's Wines-Egypt's Oldest-Spiked With Meds.") Artifacts and documents from ancient Egypt show that everyone, man or woman from servant to queen, wore black and green powders coated thickly around the eyes. "People wore it on a daily basis," said study co-author Christian Amatore, from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France. According to ancient Egyptian manuscripts, the eye makeup was believed to have a magical role, in which the gods Horus and Ra would protect wearers against several illnesses. Bacterial eye infections such as conjunctivitus, for example, would have been a common problem along the Nile's tropical marshes. But previous chemical analyses of powder residue, taken from ancient makeup containers, had isolated four lead-based compounds. That would seem to suggest that the makeup was harmful, since lead can be highly toxic to humans. Makeup's "Magic" Required Hard Work Instead, the new study found that the low doses of lead salts in the makeup may have actually had beneficial properties: When the salts come into contact with skin, they boost the body's production of nitric oxide. This chemical is known to stimulate the immune system and help fight off disease-causing bacteria. Based on the amount of the lead compounds in the ancient makeup, a wearer's nitric oxide levels would have increased by 240 percent, the study found. "Two of these chemicals do not occur naturally, and would have taken 30 days of hard work to make," Amatore said. "In my opinion, [the ancient Egyptians] were aware that these compounds brought good health, and they were making them on purpose." The research is detailed in the Jan

"O grupo sueco ABBA é tema de um museu e parque temático que abre nesta quarta-feira, dia 28, em Londes. O ABBAWORLD terá músicas e lembranças para satisfazer até o mais fervoroso fã do grupo. O ABBA deu ao mundo sucessos como "Waterloo" e "Dancing Queen" e vendeu mais de 400 milhões de discos desde os anos 70, e deu origem ao musical e filme de sucesso "Mamma Mia". Organizadores suecos dizem que o projeto será um "local para interação total" com a banda. As comemorações começaram nesta terça-feira, dia 26, com uma festa que contará com a presença dos integrantes Bjorn Ulvaeus e Anna-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad. A exibição conta a história do ABBA em 25 salas espalhadas por 2.800 metros quadrados que mostram figurinos, uma réplica do estúdio Polar onde o quarteto gravava, e da cabana à beira do mar perto de Estocolmo onde Ulvaeus e Benny Andersson escreveram músicas da banda, e até mesmo o helicóptero que aparece na capa do disco "Arrival", de 1976. Em uma das áreas interativas, os visitantes poderão recriar o som do grupo em uma mesa de mixagem, ou dançar e cantar com uma versão animada do ABBA feita com tecnologia de "vídeo holográfico". A loja de presentes terá camisetas, ursos de pelúcia, quebra-cabeças e CDs do quarteto. O guia em áudio - narrado pelo ator sueco Stellan Skarsgard, que atuou no filme "Mamma Mia!"- conta a história do ABBA, das bandas amadoras dos integrantes quando adolescentes até o estrelato mundial. A banda estourou em 1974, quando venceu a competição musical Eurovision com "Waterloo". Andersson, Ulvaeus, Lyngstad e Agnetha Faltskog apoiaram a ideia do museu com a doação de objetos e entrevistas que são exibidas em telões. Os organizadores esperam que o ABBAWORLD seja um local de peregrinação, assim como Graceland - residência de Elvis Presley - ou o Beatles Story, em Liverpool, apesar de ser uma mostra itinerante. A ideia é levar o ABBAWORLD a outras cidades após a temporada em Londres, que d

"A menina de 12 anos que foi levada algemada de sua escola em Forest Hills (Queens, Nova York), em fevereiro, para uma delegacia da polícia, por ter escrito em sua carteira, exigirá da cidade US$ 1 milhão de indenização. "