Earliest-known images of Jesus found in Egyptian tomb?
London: Spanish scientists have discovered what could be one of the earliest-known images of Jesus Christ, painted on the walls of a mysterious underground structure in an ancient Egyptian tomb.
A team of archaeologists led by Josep Padro from the Catalan Egyptology Society (SCE) has unearthed a mystery underground structure in buried tombs, which date back to the 6th and 7th centuries, in the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus.
The structure is decorated with Coptic images – or paintings by a group who number among the earliest Christians – and may contain one of the earliest-known representations of Jesus Christ.
Padro, who has spent over 20 years excavating sites in the area, described the discovery to La Vanguardia newspaper as “exceptional”. Padro said the underground stone structure was “incredibly good, but we don’t know what it is”.
According to The Local, the archaeologists found “five or six coats of paint on the walls, the last of which was from the Coptic period of the first Christians.”
Among the plant motifs and inscriptions was the “figure of a young man, with curly hair, dressed in a short tunic and with his hand raised as if giving a blessing,” according to Padro.
“We could be dealing with a very early image of Jesus Christ,” he added. A team is now translating the inscriptions surrounding the figure.
The Egyptian ministry will take responsibility for developing the archaeo-logical site, which was discovered by a joint team from the CSE and the University of Barcelona. (PTI)
Last Titanic letter sells for record 119,000 pounds
London: A letter from two Titanic survivors describing the “wonderful journey” onboard the ship, written just hours before the doomed liner hit an iceberg and sank in 1912, has sold for a record 119,000 pounds at an auction.
The letter was written by survivors Esther Hart and her seven-year-old daughter Eva, hours before the ship hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean on April 14 on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
The letter survived as it was in the pocket of Hart’s husband’s coat which he gave her to keep warm, the ‘BBC News’ reported. In the letter meant for her mother in east London, Hart wrote that they were enjoying what she called the “wonderful’ journey”.
Hart’s husband Benjamin died along with more than 1,500 people in the disaster. The letter, which was auctioned at Henry Aldridge & Son of Devizes on Saturday, fetched 119,000 pounds, which the auctioneers said was a new world record for a Titanic letter. “It’s very rare because it’s a letter that’s written on board Titanic, which makes it exceptional,” said auctioneer Andrew Aldridge.
“But what rises it to the absolute top of the pile is it’s the only letter known that was written on Sunday 14 April, so the day the ship hit the iceberg,” said Aldridge. The letter, embossed with the White Star Line flag, is headed “On Board RMS Titanic” and dated “Sunday afternoon”.
In the letter, Hart describes being sick the day before and unable to eat or drink, adding she had since recovered and had been to a church service that morning, the report said. (PTI)
World’s oldest man dies in Italy at age 111
London: The world’s oldest man has died in Italy at the age of 111, just days before celebrating his 112th birthday, Guinness World Records said.
Arturo Licata was awarded the Guinness World Records title of oldest living man on February 28, 2014 at the age of 111 years and 302 days. “It’s sad to hear of the passing of Signor Licata – a man born before the Wright brothers’ first powered flight, and one of only four men older than 111,” said Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief.
Licata passed away on April 24, aged 111 years and 357 days.
He is survived by seven children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
His wife Rosa passed away in 1980, when Licata was 78 years old.
Licata was born on May 2, 1902 in the southern Italian city of Enna. At the age of nine he went to work in the mines and, in 1921, aged 19, he joined the Italian army. Licata’s military service finished in 1939 and he went on to enjoy a successful career in business. Currently 115-year-old female, Misao Okawa of Japan, is recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living person. She was born March 5, 1898 and lives in Osaka. The greatest fully authenticated age to which any human has ever lived is 122 years, 164 days by Jeanne Louise Calment of France, who died in 1997. (PTI)
When an English county side visited 1937 Berlin to play with Nazi cricket team!
London: A new book has reportedly revealed that a cricket team from Worcestershire had visited Germany in 1937 to play in three matches organised by members of the Nazi hierarchy who had developed an interest in the sport.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) recorded the 1937 visit by the Gentlemen of Worcestershire cricket club to Berlin, which is mentioned in the book ”Field of Shadows” authored by British writer Dan Waddell.
According to the BBC, the Nazi Reichsportsfuhrer Hans von Tschammer und Osten, who had visited England to watch a Davis Cup tennis semi-final between Germany and USA at Wimbledon and a Lord”s county match, may have met Maj Maurice Jewell, a stalwart of the Gentlemen team, and asked him to bring a cricket team to Berlin.
The report mentioned that the Gents, as they are still known, are one of the oldest surviving cricket teams in the world- they played their first match in 1848 and is a wandering or nomadic club with no home ground.
Wadell wrote in his book that after the Nazi minister”s request, Jewell was able to rustle up a team of wealthy gentlemen, five of whom had played first class cricket for Worcestershire, as well public schoolboys who could travel within a few weeks to Berlin, adding that the team won all the three of the matches comfortably.
The book also mentioned that the team arrived in Berlin as the city was celebrating its 700th anniversary in an event manufactured by Nazi propagandists and the Gents were asked to give the Nazi salute before their first match, which they were forced to oblige.
The report further mentioned that atmosphere of intrigue around the tour led to speculation that one of the English players might have been a spy. (ANI)
Buffalo Bills cheerleaders sue team over ‘jiggle test’
Washington: One of five former Buffalo Bills cheerleaders, who is suing the team, has shared specific details of the “jiggle test” that determined whether the women were physically prepared to perform on game day.
Alyssa U., a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the Bills, and her attorney spoke with Huffington Post about the case, which alleges cheerleaders were underpaid for hundreds of hours of work at public appearances, where they were sexually objectified.
The cheerleaders’ bodies were also routinely evaluated by a coach who documented their flaws, Alyssa said.
She said that one week prior to the game, they were to dress in their uniforms and stand before their coach, who had a clipboard in her hand.
They had to face forward, turn around, face back to the front and do about 10 jumping jacks. And from there, she would write down on her notepad what parts of their bodies jiggled, she said.
The next day, the women would receive an email with checkmarks that indicated what body parts — including “butt, thighs, back, stomach” — they needed to work on. (ANI)
Russian father teaches toddler son how to smoke in new viral video
New York: An undated video showing a Russian father teaching his little son how to inhale and blow out smoke has gone viral on LiveLeak. In the video, the unidentified shirtless man helps his toddler light a cigarette in the kitchen after he fails to understand what to do with the lighter and sticks it in his mouth, a News agency reported.
After two minutes, the man takes the bud away from him and asks him to spit tobacco out on the table. The video, which also shows the dad asking his son if the smoke has “kicked in”, has been viewed over 60,000 times on the website. (ANI)
