Ancient Egyptian Tomb of ‘Morning Secret Keeper’ Uncovered in Aswan

Tourists pose for a photo at Saqqara area near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis. (Reuters)
Tourists pose for a photo at Saqqara area near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis. (Reuters)
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Ancient Egyptian Tomb of ‘Morning Secret Keeper’ Uncovered in Aswan

Tourists pose for a photo at Saqqara area near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis. (Reuters)
Tourists pose for a photo at Saqqara area near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis. (Reuters)

The tomb of a prominent statesman who lived in the era of the Fifth Pharaonic Dynasty has finally been opened, revealing the belongings of its owner, who worked as a royal supervisor.

A Czech archaeological mission operating in Abusir, north of the Saqqara region in Giza announced that it has uncovered a huge limestone and brick tomb for a man identified as Kaer S, dating back to the eras of King Nyuserre Ini and King Neferirkare Kakai.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa al-Waziry said that the tomb's engravings showed that Kaer S had several titles, including the "Supervisor of the King’s affairs", "Morning Secret Keeper" and the "his master's beloved."

Adel Okasha, director of the Central Department of Antiquities of Cairo and Giza, said that the mission found a rose granite statue in the main well of the tomb, broken into two parts.

The statue represents Kaer S sitting on a small backless chair, while wearing a short beret and a wig.

The seat also featured the name and titles of its owner.



Brazil Fires Drive Acceleration in Amazon Deforestation

Illegal burning of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas, in September 2024. MICHAEL DANTAS / AFP/File
Illegal burning of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas, in September 2024. MICHAEL DANTAS / AFP/File
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Brazil Fires Drive Acceleration in Amazon Deforestation

Illegal burning of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas, in September 2024. MICHAEL DANTAS / AFP/File
Illegal burning of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas, in September 2024. MICHAEL DANTAS / AFP/File

A record fire season in Brazil last year caused the rate of deforestation to accelerate, in a blow to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's pledge to protect the Amazon rainforest, official figures showed Friday.

The figures released by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), which tracks forest cover by satellite, indicated that deforestation rate between August 2024 and May 2025 rose by 9.1 percent compared to the same period in 2023-2024, said AFP.

And they showed a staggering 92-percent increase in Amazon deforestation in May, compared to the year-ago period.

That development risks erasing the gains made by Brazil in 2024, when deforestation slowed in all of its ecological biomes for the first time in six years.

The report showed that beyond the Amazon, the picture was less alarming in other biomes across Brazil, host of this year's UN climate change conference.

In the Pantanal wetlands, for instance, deforestation between August 2024 and May 2025 fell by 77 percent compared to the same period in 2023-2024.

Presenting the findings, the environment ministry's executive secretary Joao Paulo Capobianco chiefly blamed the record number of fires that swept Brazil and other South American countries last year, whipped up by a severe drought.

Many of the fires were started to clear land for crops or cattle and then raged out of control.