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Showing posts from December, 2021

130-Year-Old Time Capsule Found In Base Of US Statue

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  \ Washington:  Workers dismantling the pedestal of a statue of a Confederate general discovered a copper box on Monday believed to have been buried 130 years ago, the second apparent time capsule unearthed at the site. "They found it!" tweeted Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. "This is likely the time capsule everyone was looking for." According to an 1887 newspaper article, a time capsule hidden in the base of the statue of General Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, contained relics such as buttons and bullets, Confederate currency, maps, a rare picture of assassinated president Abraham Lincoln in his coffin and other items. A shoebox-sized container found in the base of the statue was opened by conservators last week but was clearly not the time capsule mentioned in the 1887 newspaper piece. The governor's tweet was accompanied by pictures of the copper box. Lee's statue in Richmond, the Virginia city that was...

Ship Captain Who Admitted To "Partying" Gets 20-Month Jail Over Oil Spill

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  The captain and first officer of a dry bulk carrier, which triggered the biggest environmental disaster in Mauritius, have been sentenced to 20 months in prison in the Indian Ocean island nation. Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, the captain, and Subodha Tilakaratna, the first officer of the MV Wakashio were sentenced in the Intermediate Court of Mauritius on Monday. Both pleaded guilty on Dec. 20 to the charge of endangering safe navigation. Since the two men have been in police custody for almost 16 months and the guilty plea means leniency in the sentencing, the length of imprisonment are deemed to have been completed. "If we take into account the time spent on remand and remission for good conduct, the sentence may be seen as served," Amira Peeroo, lawyer for Tilakaratna said in a phone interview from Port Louis, after the sentencing. Mauritius battled widespread pollution following the oil spill, which threatened the livelihoods of communities that depend on the ocean, and the B...