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Egypt Archaeologists Reveal New Archaeological Finds

In this Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, photo released by Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, archaeology workers clean a small pink granite statue of Ramses II, near the ancient pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Archeologists in Egypt unveiled two new discoveries, the rare statue of Ramses II, one of the country's most famous pharaohs, and a diminutive ancient sphinx that was found in the southern desert province of Minya. (Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities via AP)
In this Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, photo released by Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, archaeology workers clean a small pink granite statue of Ramses II, near the ancient pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Archeologists in Egypt unveiled two new discoveries, the rare statue of Ramses II, one of the country's most famous pharaohs, and a diminutive ancient sphinx that was found in the southern desert province of Minya. (Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities via AP)
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Egypt Archaeologists Reveal New Archaeological Finds

In this Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, photo released by Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, archaeology workers clean a small pink granite statue of Ramses II, near the ancient pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Archeologists in Egypt unveiled two new discoveries, the rare statue of Ramses II, one of the country's most famous pharaohs, and a diminutive ancient sphinx that was found in the southern desert province of Minya. (Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities via AP)
In this Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, photo released by Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, archaeology workers clean a small pink granite statue of Ramses II, near the ancient pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Archeologists in Egypt unveiled two new discoveries, the rare statue of Ramses II, one of the country's most famous pharaohs, and a diminutive ancient sphinx that was found in the southern desert province of Minya. (Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities via AP)

Archaeologists in Egypt have unveiled two new artifacts from antiquity, a rare statue of one of the country´s most famous pharaohs and a diminutive ancient sphinx.

Egypt´s Ministry of Antiquities announced that a pink granite statue of celebrated ancient ruler Ramses II was found last week, describing the artifact as "one of the rarest archaeological discoveries."

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the three-and-a-half-foot statue was crafted in a style that ancient Egyptians used to portray and capture an individual´s essential nature, adding that it was the first such statue to be found fashioned from granite.

A hieroglyphic inscription found on the back of the stone bore the name "strong bull," a reference to the king´s "strength and vitality," he added.

The statue, caked in mud, was found on the property of a man arrested earlier this month for carrying out illegal excavations near the ancient pyramids of Giza, according to the ministry statement. It did not say how the statue came to be on the man's property.

"It´s in very good condition," Niveen al-Areef, a spokeswoman for the antiquities ministry, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "We are now studying its importance and trying to determine its inscriptions."

Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, ruled Egypt for around 60 years, from 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C. He is credited with expanding ancient Egypt´s reach as far as modern Syria to the east and modern Sudan to the south.

Over the weekend, Egyptian archaeologists also unearthed a dwarf limestone sphinx from a ditch in the southern desert province of Minya. At barely over one foot tall, the statue is no match for the towering Great Sphinx at the Pyramids of Giza, but the ministry said its finely carved face, which appears well-preserved, reflects impressive artistic skill and attention to detail.

Egypt frequently touts its archaeological discoveries in hopes of spurring a vital tourism industry that has been reeling from political turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

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Varieties

Hiker Killed in Rare Suspected Mountain Lion Attack in Colorado

FILE - The General Store is seen Oct. 24, 2006, in Glen Haven, Colo. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring, File)
FILE - The General Store is seen Oct. 24, 2006, in Glen Haven, Colo. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring, File)
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Hiker Killed in Rare Suspected Mountain Lion Attack in Colorado

FILE - The General Store is seen Oct. 24, 2006, in Glen Haven, Colo. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring, File)
FILE - The General Store is seen Oct. 24, 2006, in Glen Haven, Colo. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring, File)

A hiker in Colorado has died in the state's first suspected fatal mountain lion attack in over 25 years, authorities said.

The woman was found unresponsive by other hikers on the Crosier Mountain trail northeast of Estes Park around noon on Thursday.

The hikers saw a mountain lion near the woman's body and scared it away by throwing rocks. A doctor was among the hikers and attended to the woman but found no pulse, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told reporters, according to Reuters.

CPW officers responded to the ⁠scene and shot dead two lions in the area. It is not known whether one or multiple animals were involved in the suspected attack, the agency said in a statement. It is believed the woman was hiking alone.

“There were signs that this was consistent with a mountain lion attack,” Van Hoose told a press ⁠conference.

Mountain lion attacks on humans in Colorado are rare, with 28 reported to CPW since 1990. The last fatal attack was in 1999.

CPW pathologists are performing necropsies on the dead animals to check for abnormalities and neurological diseases like rabies and avian influenza, as well as human DNA, Van Hoose said.

CPW policy mandates the killing of any mountain lion involved in an attack on a human so as to prevent repeat incidents. If human DNA is not found on either dead lion, authorities will continue to ⁠search for animals that may have been involved, Van Hoose said.

Larimer County Coroner will release the identity of the victim and cause of death, she said.

Colorado has a healthy mountain lion population, estimated by CPW to be between 3,800 and 4,400 adults. Conservation efforts have brought the species back from near extinction in the 1960s due to bounty hunting.

Mountain lions are common in the Front Range area where the woman was found, Van Hoose said. The animals go down to lower elevations in winter in search of prey like deer and elk, increasing chances of encounters with humans.

Varieties

Heroic Staffer Blocks 400-pound Runaway Prop at US Disney Theme Park

FILE - The road to the entrance of Walt Disney World, Monday, March 16, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
FILE - The road to the entrance of Walt Disney World, Monday, March 16, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
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Heroic Staffer Blocks 400-pound Runaway Prop at US Disney Theme Park

FILE - The road to the entrance of Walt Disney World, Monday, March 16, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
FILE - The road to the entrance of Walt Disney World, Monday, March 16, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

A staffer at Disney World in Florida was hailed as a hero after he blocked a 400-pound (180-kilogram) rubber boulder that was bouncing toward the audience at an Indiana Jones-themed live show.

"Woah! That's heading right for us!" an audience member can be heard saying on a YouTube video of the incident on Tuesday as the weighty object bounces off its track.

The boulder bashes into the staff member who had moved to try to block the prop from bouncing into the audience, knocking him down. Colleagues rush to his aid and quickly get him to his feet, with blood visible on his scalp.

Disney confirmed the incident happened during an "Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular." It said a performer was injured when a prop moved off its track.

"We're focused on supporting our cast member, who is recovering," a Disney spokesperson said in a statement to AFP on Friday.

"Safety is at the heart of what we do, and that element of the show will be modified as our safety team completes a review of what happened," the spokesperson added.

The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is staged at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. A blog post on the company's website says the boulder is made of rubber and weighs 400 pounds.

Varieties

Angelina Jolie Visits Egyptian Side of Rafah Crossing to Gaza

US actress Angelina Jolie speaks to a member of the Egyptian Red Crescent at the Egyptian Rafah border crossing, part of her visit to the North Sinai Governorate to inspect aid entering the Palestinian Gaza Strip, on January 2, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
US actress Angelina Jolie speaks to a member of the Egyptian Red Crescent at the Egyptian Rafah border crossing, part of her visit to the North Sinai Governorate to inspect aid entering the Palestinian Gaza Strip, on January 2, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Angelina Jolie Visits Egyptian Side of Rafah Crossing to Gaza

US actress Angelina Jolie speaks to a member of the Egyptian Red Crescent at the Egyptian Rafah border crossing, part of her visit to the North Sinai Governorate to inspect aid entering the Palestinian Gaza Strip, on January 2, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
US actress Angelina Jolie speaks to a member of the Egyptian Red Crescent at the Egyptian Rafah border crossing, part of her visit to the North Sinai Governorate to inspect aid entering the Palestinian Gaza Strip, on January 2, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie visited on Friday the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing into Gaza, where she spoke with members of the Red Crescent and truck drivers ferrying humanitarian aid, AFP journalists said.

According to local media, the actor and former special envoy for the UN refugee agency made the visit to see the condition of injured Palestinians transferred to Egypt and to look into aid deliveries into the devastated territory.

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began, 414 people have been killed and 1,142 wounded in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry. The overall Palestinian death toll from the war is at least 71,266.

Accompanied by an American delegation and greeted by former and current officials, Jolie said she was "honored" to meet aid volunteers at the crossing.

A Red Crescent volunteer told the Oscar winner that "there are thousands of aid trucks just waiting" at the border crossing.

The Rafah border crossing was set to be reopened under the ceasefire in effect in Gaza since October, but has so far remained closed.