Weymouth ridgeway skeletons 'Scandinavian Vikings'

Fifty-one decapitated skeletons found in a burial pit in Dorset were those of Scandinavian Vikings, scientists say.

Mystery has surrounded the identity of the group since they were discovered at Ridgeway Hill, near Weymouth, in June.

Analysis of teeth from 10 of the men revealed they had grown up in countries with a colder climate than Britain's.

Archaeologists from Oxford believe the men were probably executed by local Anglo Saxons in front of an audience sometime between AD 910 and AD 1030.

The Anglo Saxons were increasingly falling victim to Viking raids and eventually the country was ruled by a Danish king.

The mass grave is one of the largest examples of executed foreigners buried in one spot.

It was discovered during investigative excavation work before construction started on a controversial £87m relief road through the ridgeway.

Samples of 10 remains were identified as Scandinavian by Dr Jane Evans and Carolyn Chenery, of NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, part of the British Geological Survey, based in Nottingham.

Their work has revealed that the men had scattered Scandinavian origins, with one even thought to be from north of the Arctic Circle.

Isotopes in the men's teeth also show they had eaten a high protein diet, comparable with known sites in Sweden.

Initially, it was thought the burial site dated from the Iron Age (from 800 BC) to early Roman times (from AD 43) after examining pottery in the pit, later identified as a Roman quarry.

Radiocarbon dating later revealed they were from the Saxon period.

Oxford Archaeology removed the 51 skulls from the ground and are continuing to examine the remains to try to link the find to historical events.

Project manager David Score said: "To find out that the young men executed were Vikings is a thrilling development.

"Any mass grave is a relatively rare find, but to find one on this scale, from this period of history, is extremely unusual."

He added that without analysing all the bodies it was impossible to know for certain that all the skeletons were those of Vikings, but it was possible to make a "strong inference".

The archaeologists believe the men were stripped naked either before being killed, or before being buried, because there was no evidence of clothing, such as pins or toggles.

Most of them were in their late teens to early 20s, with a handful in their 30s.

read more...

Brazil entrepreneurs thrive on the web

The internet is transforming people's lives in many different ways around the world - but is it making us individually richer and, if so, how?

Brazil is a country with a foot in two camps - part rich, mainly poor, so it's a good place to take the financial pulse of a global phenomenon like the internet.

Brazilians love the web. Not everyone has access, but those who do spend an average of 70 hours a month online, which is more than anywhere else in the world.

Less than a third of Brazilians have a connected computer at home, so most people go online at internet cafes, known locally as Lan Houses.

There are more than 100,000 Lan Houses dotted around the country.

Winning combination

The country's online revolution has created opportunities to establish small businesses that simply didn't exist before.

Fabio Seixas is a 35-year-old "serial entrepreneur" whose three previous businesses went bust.

But he appears to have struck gold with an innovative way of selling designer T-shirts online, by getting his customers to do much of the work.

His website runs online competitions asking people to submit designs for T-shirts, which are then displayed on the site and people vote for the ones they like best.

He then manufactures the winning entries.

It means he only produces goods he is sure customers will like, and in internet-crazy Brazil his online design competitions have become very popular.

"With a local shop, you don't have access to many people, but with the internet I can have customers all over this big country," he says.

He created his company with $7,000 five years ago, and now his turnover is $1m a year.

He says that it is hard for entrepreneurs to raise money in Brazil.

"We don't have access to venture capital and the banks are not lending money, but the internet allows us to start a business with low costs," he says.

"You have to be innovative to attract attention. We're doing well because people are talking about us."

Massive growth

Fabio's business is by no means an isolated case.

The growth of commerce in Brazil is not coming from the top 50 retailers, it comes from the other 10,000 retailers," says Romero Rodrigues, founder of BuscaPe, Brazil's first price comparison website.

He maintains that there is an ever-growing number of internet retailers, whose sales increase every year.

"Many of these companies began working from home, sometimes mom and pop businesses, and now they have 40 or 50 people working for them," he says.

He dropped out of college to found BuscaPe 12 years ago at the age of just 21.

His site helps people find cheap deals on goods ranging from Television sets to perfume.

He started in Brazil, but now BuscaPe has expanded across Latin America and Mr Rodrigues recently sold a 90% stake in the company to a South African electronic media company for more than $300m.

But he denies that the deal made him a multi-millionaire, as the proceeds were shared with other investors who had put money into BuscaPe to finance its rapid expansion.

Social advantages

The internet is also helping people who don't aspire to be entrepreneurs, in ways that open up income generating opportunities.

Paulo Ivan is unemployed and lives in a shelter in the country's commercial capital Sao Paulo.

He uses the internet to find work by emailing his CV in response to online job advertisements.

He logs on at a city council-run internet cafe known as a Telecentro, where internet access is available free of charge.

"This is a huge city so it is easier to look on the web than go walking from one employment agency to another," he explains.

"It saves a lot of time and I don't always have enough money for the bus or the subway, sometimes not even enough to eat," he adds.

The internet has given him hope and opened up new opportunities, even though it has not secured him a job recently.

"Unemployment is a serious problem here, people spend more time out of jobs than in them," he explains.

Changing habits

The growth of the web has also transformed the way services are delivered in Brazil.

Millions of Brazilians do their banking online, buy tickets for the theatre and, most importantly perhaps, interact with government via the web.

Administrative tasks that used to take hours of queuing and hassle at government offices can now be done in minutes online.

The internet helps people get personally richer in myriad small ways that add up to something big, according to economist Diane Coyle, author of a book The Weightless Economy.

"The internet gives people access to much more information, which they can use to find a job or get better qualified," she says.

"It also opens up new market opportunities" by making it easier, cheaper and quicker to buy and sell things.

The internet reduces what economists call "the transaction costs" of doing business.

It is in small ways like this, multiplied many times over, that the internet helps some people become a bit richer - and a few of them very wealthy indeed.

read more...

Sebastian Pinera sees Chile plans jolted by earthquake

Sebastian Pinera will face one of the most daunting challenges ever confronted by a Chilean president when he takes office on Thursday, less than two weeks after the country was hit by a massive earthquake.

He has already acknowledged that his pre-election plans have largely gone up in smoke, and he will have to reassess everything in the light of the catastrophe.

It's still too early to know how much the reconstruction effort will cost, but estimates vary between $12bn (£8bn) and $30bn.

For a relatively small country like Chile, that represents up to 20% of gross domestic product, and Mr Pinera will have to divert funds from other areas to finance the rebuilding.

Even before he has taken his seat in the presidential palace, it seems that the die of his government has been cast.

"Ours will be a government of reconstruction," he said in a sombre news conference last week.

Mr Pinera made some bold promises during the election campaign: 6% annual growth over the next four years and the creation of a million new jobs.

Many analysts questioned those pledges at the time. Now they are even more sceptical.

So far, the new president has said little about how his plans will change, and those fine details are likely to emerge only in the next week or so, once he is in power.

But his interior minister and campaign manager, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, suggested there would have to be a major reassessment.

"It's as if you've been studying for an exam and then just when you're about to take it they change the subject," Mr Hinzpeter told Chilean newspaper El Mercurio at the weekend.

A responsible government has to refocus, re-evaluate and redesign its programme. But we won't use the earthquake as an excuse to abandon the key promises of our campaign."

Despite the enormity of the challenge, the earthquake and its aftermath could well play into Mr Pinera's hands.

Firstly, he is assuming office amid a tremendous outpouring of solidarity and patriotism.

Chileans have donated millions of dollars to help survivors of the 27 February quake, and everywhere you look in Santiago there are red, white and blue national flags draped across buildings.

If Mr Pinera can harness that feeling of goodwill and national defiance in the face of adversity, it could propel his government forward.

Secondly, the new president is likely to benefit from a bounce in the economy in the second half of this year, as the reconstruction effort kicks in. Analysts say the building boom will generate employment and offset much of the negative economic impact of the earthquake.

Thirdly, the mood in the country chimes with Mr Pinera's own centre-right agenda. During the election, for example, he campaigned on a tough law-and-order ticket, promising to crack down on crime.

After seeing survivors of the quake looting supermarkets - and in some cases making off with television sets and washing machines - Chileans might feel that Mr Pinera is on the right track.

'Off the hook'

When the army was deployed to stop the looting, many Chileans applauded. The public appears to have adopted a tougher, no-nonsense attitude towards crime and, so long as that persists, Mr Pinera might well prosper.

"It feels like there's been a shift to the political right," said Raul Sohr, a Chilean political analyst. "Suddenly people want someone in charge with a firm hand and that's what Pinera is offering."

Mr Sohr also said that to some extent, the quake "lets Pinera off the hook".

"If he meets his targets he can take the credit for it and if he doesn't he can always blame it on the impact of the earthquake

Mr Pinera has already taken some specific steps to confront the catastrophe.

Last week, he appointed new heads of regional government for the worst hit areas. They included two senior directors of major Chilean construction firms.

For now, Mr Pinera appears to have the public on his side.

A poll in El Mercurio at the weekend found that 56% of Chileans regarded his government as well-prepared for the task ahead.

On Thursday, he will take over from outgoing President Michelle Bachelet in a deliberately austere handover ceremony.

The sumptuous dinners have been cancelled and, instead, Ms Bachelet will simply hand him the red, white and blue presidential sash and wish him well.

From then on, this quake-shattered country is in his hands.

read more...

Lessons from Iraq's first-time voters

In 2006 and 2007, Osama Salim didn't miss a single day's school at Baghdad College for boys.

That was quite an achievement.

Baghdad College is in Adhamiya, a largely Sunni Muslim district of Baghdad which for months was occupied and menaced by al Qaeda in Iraq.

They've gone now but the memory of those days is still vivid.

Of the 1,800 students at the college at the time, only about 300 made it regularly every morning.

I met Osama with four of his friends, all 18 years old - Atar Keyhan, Becker Shakir, Mustafa Ibrahim Younis and Mustafa Abdel Karim.

Last Sunday they all went out to vote for first time.

Osama didn't make it to the polling station - soldiers wouldn't let him pass. The others succeeded.

"It was great voting for the first time," they said, "It was great to choose our leaders. It was a great feeling."

They all agreed when one of them said: "Voting is an obligation."

I asked them if they had access to the internet at home. Three said "Yes."

I asked them if they used Facebook. "Sometimes." They find it a useful way of making contact with other students in Iraq and overseas.

But they don't think Facebook and the internet are very important parts of their lives.

They are more concerned about incessant power cuts in Baghdad and water that isn't fit to drink.

And there was a clear message to students in Britain. They should count themselves lucky and have a serious attitude to studying and work hard - and not spend valuable time on frivolous things like Facebook.

Occupation

I asked if because of all the challenges in Iraq, did they automatically work hard?

"Yes, yes," they chorused, "There is no free time. We work all the time we have."

As the British elections are looming, I wondered if these Baghdad students were aware of the main party leaders in the UK. Gordon Brown? Yes. David Cameron? Silence. Nick Clegg? Blank faces.

One of the students was disappointed that Gordon Brown had defended the invasion of Iraq when he gave evidence at the current Chilcott Enquiry into the Iraq War.

"It was an occupation. The occupation of Iraq was a great error," he said.

All these students are football-crazy. All Iraq is football-crazy. I asked Osama, Atar, Becker and the two Mustafas which national and club teams they supported.

Brazil and Liverpool. Argentina and Barcelona. England and Real Madrid. Egypt and Liverpool. France and Barcelona.

Five young Baghdad students, all speaking to me in fluent English at a college that was founded by American Jesuits in 1932.

When it became clear that these Christian priests had no predatory intentions to convert students to Christianity, they were accepted - partly because of an ethic the Jesuits shared with their Iraqi students: hard work.

read more...

Mystery of 75 starlings falling from the sky

The deaths of 75 starlings which appeared to fall from the sky and crash land on to a driveway in Somerset has mystified the RSPCA animal charity.

The birds were spotted falling onto the entrance of a house in Coxley in Somerset on Sunday 7 March.

Animal welfare officer Alison Sparkes, who was called by police, said: "It was a remarkable sight, I've never seen anything like it."

There is no evidence the birds were ill or poisoned before they hit the ground.

Predator theory

Ms Sparkes said: "Onlookers said they heard a whooshing sound and then the birds just hit the ground.

"They had fallen on to the ground in quite a small area, about 12ft (3.6m) in diameter.

"They appeared to be in good condition other than injuries that they appear to have suffered when they hit they ground.

"Our best guess is that this happened because the starlings were trying to escape a predator such as a sparrow hawk and ended up crash landing."

She said that the birds had suffered broken beaks, broken legs and wings and abdominal injuries.

Five of the birds survived the fall but had to be put down because of their severe injuries.

read more...

Afghanistan does not want 'proxy wars', says Karzai

Afghanistan does not want other countries' "proxy wars" fought on its soil, President Hamid Karzai has said.

He was speaking following talks with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad, and a day after Iran and the US traded blows over their activities in Afghanistan.

Mr Karzai said he did not want India and Pakistan, or anyone else, to fight their wars on his country's territory.

Parties to the Afghan conflict are rethinking policy ahead of 2011 when the US says it will begin to withdraw.

Pakistan role

Mr Karzai is making his first visit to Pakistan since his controversial re-election last year.

The trip comes amid an expected surge of Western troops in Afghanistan this summer. It also follows the recent arrests of Taliban leaders in Pakistan which indicate the military there may be willing to reign in the militants.

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says Mr Karzai is visiting Pakistan amid a thaw in relations between the two countries on the one hand, and some fundamental shifts in the regional situation on the other.

The Afghan leader held detailed meetings with both President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. He has also met Pakistan's army chief, Gen Ashfaq Kayani. Before heading to Islamabad, he had a meeting with the visiting US defence secretary Robert Gates.

"Without Pakistan and without its co-operation with Afghanistan, Afghanistan cannot be stable or peaceful," Mr Karzai told a news conference in Islamabad.

"It is also, I believe, recognised in Pakistan that without a stable and peaceful Afghanistan there cannot be stability or peace in Pakistan.

"Afghanistan does not want a proxy war between India and Pakistan in Afghanistan. It does not want a proxy war between Iran and the United States in Afghanistan," he said.

Mr Karzai also called on Islamabad to hand over the alleged Taliban second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, arrested last month. Mr Gilani said his government was still considering the request.

Our correspondent says the purpose of Mr Karzai's visit appears to be to take Pakistani leaders into his confidence on the impending Western troop surge, and to find out to what extent Pakistani political and military leaders would be willing to withdraw support from the Taliban.

For their part, the Pakistanis need guarantees against Indian influence in Afghanistan, our correspondent says.

They are also keen to have a role in training the Afghan forces, a proposal which Mr Karzai has reportedly cold-shouldered for the moment.

On Wednesday Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid a short visit to Kabul. He accused the US of playing a "double game" in Afghanistan after the US used the same term to condemn Iran's role.

read more...

Sweden to extradite Auschwitz sign theft suspect

A court in Stockholm has ruled that a Swedish man can be extradited to Poland to face trial over the theft of a sign from the Auschwitz death camp.

Investigators accuse Anders Hogstrom, 34, of instigating the theft of the infamous Arbeit Macht Frei sign from the camp gates last December.

The sign was recovered shortly afterwards, cut into three pieces.

Mr Hogstrom, 34, a former neo-Nazi leader, is likely to appeal against his extradition, his lawyer said.

Five Polish men have already been arrested over the theft.

The sign, which weighs 40kg (90lb), was half-unscrewed, half-torn from above the death camp's gate.

The 5m (16ft) wrought iron sign - the words on which translate as "Work sets you free" - symbolises for many the atrocities of Nazi Germany.

The theft caused outrage in Israel, Poland and around the world. More than a million people - 90% of them Jews - were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz in occupied Poland during World War II.

read more...