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Professor Krzysztof Grzymski, of the University of Toronto, has discovered the royal palace of the ancient kingdom of Nubia, buried in the sands of present day Khartoum. He and his colleagues have found what they believe are the remains of a palace and a colonnade built more than 2,000 years ago by the greatest black civilization ever.”It’s quite remarkable, we can see them clearly beneath the sand,” says Grzymski.

The ancient Nubian city of Mero

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Julie Watson writes in AP Latin America that this year, in fields in the drought-stricken Mexican state of Chihuahua, Mexican farmers are threatening a bitter fight for Rio Grande water that could affect relations between the United States and Mexico.

U.S. officials say that under a 1944 treaty, Mexico owes Texas farmers 1.5 million acre-feet of water. Each acre-foot is enough to cover one acre of land with one foot of water, an amount equivalent to 326,000 gallons. The treaty gives Mexico a larger quantity of water, but via the Colorado River far to the west.
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The FBI has issued an all-points bulletin for a 22-year-old man in connection with pipe bombs found in mailboxes in five states within the last week. The man has been identified as Luke John Helder, described as a white male with dark hair and green eyes. The FBI says he?s “armed and dangerous.”

He was last seen in Texas — where the most recent bomb was found — driving a gray or black 1992 Honda Accord with a Minnesota license plate bearing the number EZL 783. A pipe bomb found in a mailbox in Amarillo, Texas on Monday night appears similar to the 17 found in four other states. A source from the FBI says he believes a note was found but couldn?t confirm this.
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The world’s biggest and sinkiest flower has burst into flower at London’s Kew gardens. The huge crimson-colored plant, known as Amorphophallus titanium, smells like a mixture of excrement and rotting flesh. It also has a distinctive look, with giant red petals bursting out of a tall, phallic-like stem.

The vast A. titanium is currently growing at a rate of four inches per day. Its foul smell has earned it the nickname “corpse flower” at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Nigel Taylor, head of horticulture there, says, “It does smell just like a dead carcass of an animal.” Fortunately, the plant’s smell is only emitted every few hours. It is given off to attract carrion flies, while the vivid colored petals attract bees.
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