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PICTORIAL: British Egyptologists Uncover Ancient Pharaoh’s Tomb In Egypt

Published

7 months ago

February 20, 2025

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Over a century after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, British Egyptologists have made another groundbreaking find — the long-lost burial site of Pharaoh Thutmose II, a ruler of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty who lived nearly 3,500 years ago.

The tomb, identified as “C4,” was discovered approximately 2.4 km west of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities confirmed the find, finally resolving the mystery surrounding Thutmose II’s resting place.

For generations, scholars believed his tomb was located near the Valley of the Kings. However, a team led by Professor Piers Litherland from the University of Cambridge uncovered it in an unexpected location — an area previously associated with the burials of royal women.

According to the BBC on Thursday, the entrance to the tomb was first identified in 2022, but extensive excavation was required before experts could confirm that it belonged to Thutmose II. Professor Litherland, who has spent over a decade exploring the Valley of the Kings, discovered a staircase carved into the rock at the base of a cliff, leading to a grand descending corridor.

Initially, the team suspected they had found the tomb of a royal wife.

However, the large doorway and staircase suggested something far more significant. The chamber was filled with sand and limestone debris from ancient floods, delaying access to the burial site. After painstaking excavation, they finally reached the burial chamber.

Inside, they found a ceiling painted blue with yellow stars — a design reserved exclusively for pharaohs. The walls were adorned with scenes from the Amduat, an ancient religious text intended only for kings.

Additionally, fragments of alabaster jars bore inscriptions confirming Thutmose II as the “deceased king,” alongside the name of his wife, Hatshepsut.

Unlike the famous tomb of Tutankhamun, Thutmose II’s chamber contained no treasures or mummified remains. Experts believe flooding forced ancient Egyptians to relocate the pharaoh’s body to the Deir el-Bahri cache, where it was discovered in the 19th century in poor condition — his remains were damaged, and his right arm had been severed.

However, recent studies have cast doubt on the identity of the mummy. The remains are estimated to belong to a man over 30 years old, yet Thutmose II is believed to have died before reaching 30.

Scholars suggest he may have succumbed to disease, as his embalmed body showed signs of an illness that the mummification process could not erase.

Thutmose II ruled either for 13 years (1493–1479 BCE) or as little as three years (1482–1479 BCE), according to various historical estimates. He was part of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, a period often regarded as the pinnacle of Ancient Egyptian civilization. The dynasty, which lasted over 200 years (circa 1539–1292 BCE), produced legendary figures such as Hatshepsut, Amenhotep I, and Tutankhamun.

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UK Nursery Worker Jailed For Abusing 21 Babies

Published

20 hours ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

A judge on Friday jailed a nursery worker for eight years for a string of “gratuitous” and “sadistic” attacks on babies.

In one incident, Londoner Roksana Lecka, 22, kicked a little boy in the face several times.

Lecka, who blamed cannabis for her crimes, admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted after a trial of another 14 counts.

Sentencing her for attacks on 21 babies, Judge Sarah Plaschkes said she had committed “multiple acts of gratuitous violence” at two London nurseries where she worked.

“You pinched, slapped, punched, smacked and kicked them. You pulled their ears, hair and their toes. You toppled children headfirst into cots,” she said.

“Often the child would be quietly and happily minding its own business before you deliberately inflicted pain… Your criminal conduct can properly be characterised as sadistic,” she added.

Lecka’s cruelty was revealed in June 2024 after she was seen pinching a number of children.
Police were called in and found multiple incidents recorded on the nursery CCTV.

Victim impact statements submitted to London’s Kingston Crown Court from parents of Lecka’s victims told how they were left heartbroken and guilt-stricken by the attacks.

“These children were so innocent and vulnerable,” one mother told the court.

“They couldn’t speak, they couldn’t defend themselves and they couldn’t tell us as parents that something had happened to them,” she added.

“They were totally helpless and Roksana preyed upon them.”

The hearing was told that she had apologised to the parents in a letter to the court in which she said cannabis had turned her into a different person.

She had been addicted to the drug around the time of the offences, but had not told the nursery.
She was found not guilty of three further counts of child cruelty.

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Italy Fines Six Oil Firms $1bn Fine For Restricting Competition

Published

23 hours ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

Italy’s antitrust regulator said Friday it has slapped Italian energy giant Eni and five other companies with fines totalling more than 936 million euros ($1.1 billion) for “restricting competition” in the sale of fuel.

The authority said in a statement that Eni, Esso, Ip, Q8, Saras and Tamoil “coordinated to set the value of the bio component factored into fuel prices”, which tripled between 2019 and 2023.

A probe following a whistleblower’s complaint revealed that “the companies implemented parallel price increases — largely coinciding — which were driven by direct or indirect information exchanges among them”, the authority said.

“The cartel began on 1 January 2020 and continued until 30 June 2023,” it added.

AFP

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Trump Signs Order For TikTok’s Sale, Valued At $14bn

Published

1 day ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order declaring that his plan is to sell TikTok’s US operations to American and global investors.

As reported by Reuters on Friday, the order requires companies bidding for TikTok to meet the national-security requirements of the 2024 law that otherwise would ban the app unless its Chinese owners divest.

Speaking to reporters at an Oval Office briefing on Thursday, Vice President James Vance said the newly created US entity would be “valued around $14 billion.

“We actually think this is a good deal for investors, but they will make a determination about what they want to invest and what they think is the proper value,” he said.

The White House on Thursday pushed back the law’s enforcement date to January 20 to allow time for the transaction, investor commitments, and negotiations with Chinese authorities.

The publication of the executive order shows Trump is making progress on the sale of TikTok’s US assets.

However, details remain to be worked out, including how the U.S. company would handle TikTok’s most valuable asset: its recommendation algorithm.

“There was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans’ data privacy as required by law,” Vance said.

According to Reuters, Trump’s order says the algorithm will be retrained and monitored by the U.S. company’s security partners, and operation of the algorithm will be under the control of the new joint venture.

Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had indicated approval of the plans. “I spoke with President Xi,” Trump said. “We had a good talk, I told him what we were doing, and he said go ahead with it.”

Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. TikTok did not immediately comment on Trump’s action.

Trump has credited TikTok, which has 170 million U.S. users, with helping him win reelection last year. Trump has 15 million followers on his personal TikTok account. The White House also launched an official TikTok account last month.

“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said.

He said that Michael Dell, the founder, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies; Rupert Murdoch, the chairman emeritus of Fox News owner Fox Corp, and newspaper publisher News Corp, and “probably four or five absolutely world-class investors” would be part of the deal.