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Monday, April 15, 2013

Students accuse gym teacher of masturbating to porn at middle school

A Long Island physical education teacher has been arraigned on child endangerment charges after four students allegedly discovered him masturbating while watching internet porn at school.

Aaron Kozlowski, 31, stands accused of committing the sordid crime in February, reports WPIX. Prosecutors say the incident occurred in a locker-room office at North Shore Middle School in the hamlet of Glen Head.

The children who say they witnessed Kozlowski?s autoeroticism are all ages 12 and 13. They didn?t report what they allegedly saw until recently.

Kozlowski, who has since been suspended from his job, reportedly turned himself in to the police. He was released without bail after he signed an order of protection that prevents him from having any contact with the children.

At the arraignment, Kozlowski?s fianc?e appeared by his side. So did his mother.

One of Kozlowski?s attorneys, Rick Ostrove, told CBS New York that his client is an innocent man.

?I think that at least one of the kids has something against him, and that he so much said so to other teachers who will be witnesses to that,? Ostrove said. ?They?re middle school kids. They make things up.?

Kozlowski has a clean arrest record and his attorney stressed that his reviews at the school have been favorable.

?My client?s been there for nine years and has never done anything wrong,? Ostrove told CBS.

Two of the four students who have accused Kozlowski have a lawyer themselves, who alleges that the middle schoolers have found handwritten notes containing death threats in their lockers.

?Until we know who issued those death threats, they will remain frightened,? the attorney, Peter Bongiorno, told CBS New York.

Follow Eric on Twitter?and send education-related story tips to?erico@dailycaller.com.

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Jamie Foxx Honored With MTV Generation Award At MTV Movie Awards

The 'Django Unchained' star also receives Best WTF Moment Award, along with co-star Samuel L. Jackson.
By Brett White

Jamie Foxx accepts the Generation Award at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards
Photo: Kevork Djansezian/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705654/jamie-foxx-mtv-generation-movie-awards.jhtml

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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Seeking calm in Koreas, US looks again to China

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, looks at Chinese President Xi Jinping before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Saturday, April 13, 2013. The question of how Washington can persuade Beijing to exert real pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's unpredictable regime is front and center as Kerry meets Saturday with Chinese leaders in Beijing. (AP Photo/Yohsuke Mizuno, Pool)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, poses with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Saturday, April 13, 2013. The question of how Washington can persuade Beijing to exert real pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's unpredictable regime is front and center as Kerry meets Saturday with Chinese leaders in Beijing. (AP Photo/Yohsuke Mizuno, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, poses with Chinese President Xi Jinping before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Saturday, April 13, 2013. The question of how Washington can persuade Beijing to exert real pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's unpredictable regime is front and center as Kerry meets Saturday with Chinese leaders in Beijing. (AP Photo/Yohsuke Mizuno, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Chjina Gary Locke upon arrival at Beijing Capitol International Airport Saturday, April 13, 2013 in Beijing. (AP Photo/Paul J. Richards, Pool)

BEIJING (AP) ? As North Korea prepares a potential missile test and issues threats almost daily, the Obama administration on Saturday looked again for China to force its unruly neighbor to stand down.

It's a strategy that has produced uneven results over decades of American diplomacy, during which Pyongyang has developed and tested nuclear weapons and repeatedly imperiled peace on the Korean peninsula.

But with only the counter-threat of overwhelming force to offer the North Koreans, the U.S. has little choice but to rely on Beijing to de-escalate tensions in a peaceful manner.

The question of how Washington can persuade Beijing to exert real pressure on Korean leader Kim Jong Un's unpredictable regime was front and center as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held a series of meetings with Chinese leaders in Beijing.

As they sat down together in China's Great Hall of the People, Kerry told President Xi Jinping that he looked forward to talking about the Korean situation. He later met Premier Li Keqiang and other top communist party figures.

The immediate crisis: a North Korean test of a mid-range missile with a range of up to 2,500 miles that the U.S. believes could happen any day. The long-term problem: a nuclear program that may soon ? or already ? include the capability to deliver a warhead on a missile.

China is the only country with significant leverage over North Korea, a regime that like few in the world actually cherishes its isolation.

The Chinese have dramatically boosted trade ties with their neighbors and maintain close military relations some six decades after they fought side by side in the Korean War. They provide the North with most of its fuel and much of its food aid.

But Beijing, which values stability in its region above all else, clearly has different priorities than Washington.

China's greatest fear is the implosion of North Korea's impoverished state and the resulting chaos that could cause, including possibly millions of refugees fleeing across the border into China.

For that reason, China has in many ways looked past North Korea's bellicose rhetoric and activity, prioritizing the security of Kim's regime ? like his father's and grandfather's previously ? over nuclear proliferation concerns.

"China's main interest in North Korea is not denuclearization; it is ensuring that the North Korean government does not fall," Asia expert John Pomfret wrote in a recent opinion piece.

"While Beijing might be exasperated with the Kim dynasty's uncanny ability to wag China's dog, China will support Pyongyang because the alternative, a North Korean collapse, is worse," he wrote. "While many South Koreans fear the cost of unification with their brothers to the north, China opposes that even more stridently."

China also remains deeply wary of any American military buildup in its backyard, suspicious that the containment effort toward North Korea may be part of the long-term U.S. strategy to expand its influence in the region and even ring in fast-growing China with countries closer to Washington.

U.S. officials say they've gone to great lengths to explain to China that the American objective in North Korea ? at least in the short term ? is not regime change.

While the U.S. abhors the North's human rights record, its regular provocations and military links with other international pariahs such as Iran, it has stressed over years of conversations with Beijing that pushing for North Korean denuclearization could reinforce stability.

In Seoul on Friday, Kerry said President Barack Obama had canceled a number of military exercises planned with South Korea. The message was directed as much to Pyongyang as Beijing that the U.S. wasn't seeking a military confrontation.

"I think we have lowered our rhetoric significantly and we are attempting to find a way for reasonableness to prevail here," Kerry told reporters. "We are seeking a partner to deal with in a rational and reasonable way."

The Obama administration believes it may now have greater scope for diplomatic progress.

It has pointed to Xi's recent criticism of Pyongyang as illustrative of a subtle shift in China's outlook. Beijing also has backed U.N. sanctions in response to North Korea's tests of a nuclear device and intercontinental ballistic missile technology over the last four months.

But, U.S. officials say, China has refused to stamp out business between its companies and North Korean entities under American sanctions. And it has failed to eliminate the flow of funds to North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program.

And even as North Korea has issued outlandish threats including nuclear strikes against the United States, American officials say they aren't even considering asking China to slow its burgeoning trade and investment ties with its neighbor.

The U.S. is in somewhat of a bind. It wants the Chinese to do its bidding, but it cannot push too hard, given that the U.S.-China relationship is of paramount importance to global security and the world economy. The U.S. and China are the world's two biggest economies.

On the one hand, U.S. officials blame China for continuing to provide North Korea protection for its provocations. Yet they also claim China's position is moving closer to the rest of the international community, even if that's had little impact on the North's behavior.

Pomfret pointed to President George W. Bush's memoir as a lesson of China's true objectives. Bush described how in October 2002 he invited then-President Jiang Zemin to his ranch and asked for China's help to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons.

Jiang, Bush said, told the American leader that "North Korea was my problem, not his." Only when Bush threatened a military strike against the North did China react differently, Bush wrote.

Six-party denuclearization talks started soon after, but they didn't solve the problem. By 2006, North Korea was a nuclear power.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-13-AS-US-China-North-Korea/id-fb37f5f813d74ecc971edd74728e1e76

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John Kerry in Seoul: North Korea missile launch ... - World News

Secretary of State John Kerry issued a stern warning Friday, telling Kim Jong-un North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

Secretary of State John Kerry said a North Korean missile launch would be a ?huge mistake" and reiterated that the United States would defend its allies if necessary after arriving in the South Korean capital on Friday.

North Korea has run paratrooper drills close enough to be seen from the Chinese border.&nbsp;&nbsp; Arriving in Seoul, South Korea, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned North Korea against a missile launch saying &nbsp;the U.S. would &ldquo;defend our allies and defend ourselves.&rdquo; ITV&rsquo;s Angus Walker reports

Kerry also warned Pyongyang that firing a medium-range missile would be a "provocative and unwanted act."

?Kim Jong Un needs to understand, as I think he probably does, what the outcome of a conflict would be,? Kerry said. ?Our hope is we can get back to talks."

?The rhetoric that we are hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable by any standard,? Kerry added. The United States ?will, if needed, defend our allies and defend ourselves,? he said.

North Korea's two medium-range missiles remained fueled and ready to fire on the country's east coast Friday, U.S. military and intelligence officials said. However, there had been no heightened movement or activity by the country's military that would suggest an imminent rocket launch.

Kerry met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Friday for the first of four days of talks amid speculation about North Korea?s military capabilities and uncertainty over what threat the isolated nation?s erratic leader may make next.

The South Korean president thanked Kerry for his leadership in recent weeks as North Korea has escalated its rhetoric.

Pentagon intelligence has assessed that North Korea likely does have the ability to launch nuclear missiles, which raises the stakes for John Kerry, who just landed in South Korea, to find a diplomatic way out of the crisis. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

?I also wish to express my appreciation for your leadership in having the recent G8 foreign ministers meeting in London issue a stern warning to North Korea,? Park told Kerry through an interpreter. ?I also wish to say given the escalating tensions on the peninsula, your visit will certainly showcase how closely we are coordinating our efforts.?

John Everard, a former British ambassador to North Korea, said Pyongyang was going to have to make a decision whether to fire or not fire their missiles soon.

?They are liquid-fueled missiles, and the liquid that you use for such missiles is quite nasty stuff,? he said. ?You can't leave the missile full of fuel because the fuel will corrode the missile.? You either have to fire it within about 10 days of fueling it or you have to defuel it, which is a messy and dangerous process. So they're coming to a crunch point.?

?I suspect that they are planning on launching.? I don't think -- or I hope -- that the missile won't be directed at anything. I think they will probably go for a test, drop the missile into the sea," he said. "And we hope that if they do that, they don't feel the need to fly it over the top of Japan, which they did in 1998.?

Everard added that ?frankly their missiles are not that good, they are old-fashioned ? ?[and] their guidance systems are poor.?

Later on Friday, South Korea and the U.S. released the following joint statement:

The 60-year alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea is crucial for security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The United States reaffirms its commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea in the wake of recent unacceptable provocations by North Korea.

Both sides agree on the importance of the denuclearization of North Korea, knowing that North Korea's dangerous nuclear and missile programs threaten not only its neighbors, but also its own people.

The United States stands vigilantly by the Republic of Korea's side, and is prepared for and capable of defending and protecting itself and its allies. Both of our countries are taking prudent measures - both military and diplomatic - to enhance our security. At the same time, the two countries remain committed to the goal of peaceful denuclearization. In this context, the United States welcomes the Trust-building Process on the Korean Peninsula proposed by President Park Geun-hye.

We will continue working with all Six-Party partners and the international community to make clear that North Korea must adhere to its international obligations and commitments or face further isolation. We will continue to encourage North Korea to make the right choice. If North Korea does so, we are prepared to implement the commitments under the 2005 Six-Party Joint Statement. But Pyongyang must prove its seriousness by taking meaningful steps to abide by its international obligations.?

Nuclear missile capability?
Kerry addressed a report by the Pentagon?s Defense Intelligence Agency, which was disclosed in a congressional hearing on Thursday, that said the agency has ?moderate confidence? that North Korea is capable of mounting a nuclear weapon on a missile, but that such a weapon would likely not be reliable.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks on Capitol Hill Thursday regarding recent military threats made by North Korea.

After the hearing, Pentagon spokesman George Little said ?it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced? at the Thursday hearing.

Kerry said Friday that while North Korea has tested a nuclear device, they have not yet shown the capability to build a weapon small enough to be mounted on a ballistic missile.

?It is inaccurate to suggest that the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- North Korea's official name] has fully tested, developed, and demonstrated capabilities that are articulated in that report,? Kerry said. ?But obviously they have conducted a nuclear test so there is some kind of device. But that is very different from miniaturization and delivery and from tested delivery and other things. Does it get you closer to a line that is more dangerous? Yes.?

Kerry said the United States would continue to work with allies including Japan to find other ways to de-escalate tensions, and said that President Barack Obama has ordered a number of unspecified exercises not to take place to help calm the heated rhetoric.

As Kerry heads to Seoul, South Korea, tensions with North Korea continue to rise as it remains unclear whether or not the latest rhetoric is merely Kim Jong-un showing off his military strength. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

"We are all united in the fact that North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power," Kerry added.

Kerry also planned to visit China and Japan on his East Asia trip. The U.S. has engaged in aggressive diplomacy with China, North Korea?s northern neighbor and benefactor, in the latest round of saber-rattling.

Pyongyang relies on China for basic supplies like food and fuel, as well as a diplomatic link to the world, but Beijing?s good will toward the impoverished nation has recently waned. There are signs Chinese officials have tired of the North?s bellicose rhetoric, and China supported a round of United Nations sanctions following the country?s third nuclear test.

?We do not want to see chaos and conflict on China?s doorstep,? Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told NBC News.

NBC News' Jim Miklaszewski and Ian Johnston, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The youngest son of Kim Jong Il succeeded his late father in 2011, becoming the third member of his family to rule the unpredictable and reclusive communist state.

Related:

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Analysis: China grows weary of North Korea

Full North Korea coverage from NBC News

This story was originally published on Fri Apr 12, 2013 4:07 AM EDT

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/12/17715774-john-kerry-in-seoul-north-korea-missile-launch-would-be-huge-mistake?lite

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Saturday, April 13, 2013

Despite tensions, NKorea readies for festivities

People visit a flower show featuring thousands of Kimilsungia flowers, named after the late leader Kim Il Sung, while models of a rocket and missiles are also displayed in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, April 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

Two military officers admire displays at a flower show featuring thousands of Kimilsungia flowers, named after the late leader Kim Il Sung, while models of rockets and missiles are also exhibited in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, April 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

North Korean children hold up red scarves to be tied around their necks during an induction ceremony into the Korean Children's Union, the first political organization for North Koreans, held at a stadium in Pyongyang on Friday, April 12, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Retired North Korean military members stand at attention during an induction ceremony for children into the Korean Children's Union, the first political organization for North Koreans, held at a stadium in Pyongyang on Friday, April 12, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Retired North Korean military members tie red bandanas around the necks of children during an induction ceremony into the Korean Children's Union, the first political organization for North Koreans, held at a stadium in Pyongyang on Friday, April 12, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? As the world watches to see what North Korea's next move will be in a high-stakes game of brinksmanship with the United States, residents of its capital aren't hunkering down in bunkers and preparing for the worst. Instead, they are out on the streets en masse getting ready for the birthday of national founder Kim Il Sung ? the biggest holiday of the year.

The festivities leading up to Kim's birthday come amid fears that North Korea may be planning to test launch a new missile in retaliation for what it claims are provocative war games by U.S. and South Korean troops just across the Korean border. Even at such a seemingly innocuous setting as a flower show in Kim's honor, North Korea's warning that it is prepared to strike back if pushed too far is on prominent display.

This year's exhibition of "Kimilsungia" flowers ? which North Koreans claim their scientists have bred into the most beautiful orchids in the world ? is built around mockups of red-tipped missiles, slogans hailing the military and reminders of the threats that North Koreans feel are all around them.

"It is because we have a nuclear deterrent like nuclear weapons that we are able to live our normal lives and have a beautiful flower exhibition like this," said Kim Sung Sim, a Pyongyang greenhouse worker who contributed to the display, which opened Friday.

The escalation of tensions comes as North Korea is also celebrating a slew of anniversaries for its young leader, Kim Jong Un, who took power in December 2011 following the death of his father, longtime leader Kim Jong Il. He was named head of the Workers' Party a year ago Thursday, and marks his first year as head of the National Defense Commission, the top government body, on Saturday. The birthday of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on Monday is the most important of the national holidays designed to cement loyalty to the ruling Kim family.

Whether this year's celebrations will include a missile launch or some other action that could escalate the tensions remains to be seen.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived in Seoul on Friday for talks with South Korean officials, warned the North not to test fire a missile.

"If Kim Jong Un decides to launch a missile, whether it's across the Sea of Japan or some other direction, he will be choosing willfully to ignore the entire international community," Kerry told reporters.

He said the test would be a "huge mistake" for Kim.

A senior U.S military official told reporters there was no sign of military movements in the North and no real prospect of war. He spoke on condition of anonymity, saying he wasn't authorized to speak publicly about military intelligence.

But that doesn't mean North Korea won't put on some sort of a military show.

During last year's celebrations, North Korea failed in an attempt to send a satellite into space aboard a long-range rocket. The U.S. and its allies criticized the launch as a covert test of ballistic missile technology. North Korea tried again in December and succeeded. That was followed by the country's third underground nuclear test on Feb. 12.

Officials in Seoul and Washington say Pyongyang appears to be preparing to test fire a medium-range missile designed to be capable of reaching Guam. Foreign experts have dubbed the missile the "Musudan" after the northeastern village where North Korea has a launch pad, and say it has a range of 3,500 kilometers (2,180 miles).

A medium- or long-range missile test would be particularly significant because North Korea may now be capable of arming a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency concluded in an assessment revealed Thursday. Kerry refused to comment specifically Friday on that intelligence report, but said the North is still some time away from having a nuclear bomb that is "small, light and diversified."

South Korean officials have said they do not believe Pyongyang can place a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile yet, but have put their military on high alert. Japan has also deployed PAC-3 missile interceptor units around Tokyo to protect its capital.

A Chinese city near the border with North Korea staged an air raid drill on Thursday amid the tensions, state media said. Authorities in Huichen, a city of 250,000 people in Jilin province, sounded alarms in residential areas and led participants to underground shelters, the China News Service reported.

It wasn't clear how long the drill had been planned or how many people took part. Calls to the city's spokesman and civil air defense office rang unanswered.

Kerry, who is also visiting China and Japan, is hoping to get Beijing to join the United States in pressuring Pyongyang.

China backed North Korea with troops during the 1950-53 Korean War and has been a major economic pipeline for the impoverished country. With little arable land, North Korea has struggled to feed its people, with two-thirds of the population of 24 million grappling with chronic food shortages, according to the World Food Program.

In Pyongyang on Friday, thousands of schoolchildren were amassed at Kim Il Sung Stadium for the induction of second-graders from around the country into the Korean Children's Union, one of the first steps into North Korea's political structure. They pledged to study hard and to build up strength to defend their nation. Retired military officers helped them tie on red scarves to complete the ritual.

"The U.S is our sworn enemy," said Ri So Hyang, a 13-year-old taking part in the ceremony. She said her brother had just enlisted. "I hope he'll fight well against the U.S. imperialists since I cannot."

Elsewhere around the city, workers tidied up buildings and roads alongside banners that read "Defend to the death" and called on citizens to become "human bombs" for leader Kim Jong Un.

Though few North Koreans have access to international media, and instead get their news from state media, they said they were aware of the tensions with the U.S.

At the flower exhibition, a guide called the current political situation "complicated."

"I don't know whether there will be a missile launch test, but if we do I think it will be just for national defense," Kim Jong Gum said. "And I think there's no need for other countries to try to tell us what to do and what not to do."

___

Associated Press writers Jean H. Lee and Jon Chol Jin in Pyongyang; Bradley Klapper in Seoul, South Korea; and Kimberly Dozier and Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-12-Koreas-Tension/id-720cd53b7f124a10b845a2c24aabf4ea

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Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive test-driven, quietly tears up the track (video)

Sure, Mercedes-Benz is building all-electric vehicles for the daily grind, but none can deny the 750-horsepower SLS AMG Electric Drive is by far its most exciting EV. One lucky test-driver -- Chris Harris from YouTube channel DRIVE -- recently had the opportunity to point the overtly shiny beast round a track, and filmed it for his online passengers. He's initially unsure the car will turn petrol-heads on, and talks torque, cockpit layout, driving modes and some behind-the-scenes tech before giving in to the sheer insanity of what's happening on the track and under the hood. Then he picks the brains of a project manager at MB, discussing E-Cells, the chassis, electric motors and how they're all responsible for the silent but deadly ride he's just experienced. If you've got close to 20 minutes to spare (it is Friday, after all), we highly recommend you buckle up for the full video below.

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How Au. Sediba walked, chewed and moved

Apr. 11, 2013 ? A team of South African and international scientists from the Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and 15 other global institutions, are publishing six papers and an introduction by Prof. Lee Berger, the lead author and project leader, in the journal Science on the 12th April 2013.

The papers report on some of the most complete early human ancestral remains ever discovered. The 2-million-year-old fossils belong to the species Australopithecus sediba (Au. sediba) and provide what Berger, from the Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute, describes as "unprecedented insight into the anatomy and phylogenetic position of an early human ancestor."

The six papers represent the culmination of more than four years of research into the anatomy of Au. sediba based on the holotype and paratype skeletons commonly referred to as MH1 and MH2, as well as the adult isolated tibia referred to as MH4. The fossil remains were discovered at the site of Malapa in August of 2008, and the species was named in 2010 by Berger and his colleagues. The articles presented in Science complete the initial examination of the prepared material attributed to these three individuals.

The papers are entitled: Dental morphology and the phylogenetic "place" of Australopithecus sediba; Mandibular remains support taxonomic validity of Australopithecus sediba; The upper limb of Australopithecus sediba; Mosaic morphology in the thorax of Australopithecus sediba; The vertebral column of Australopithecus sediba; and The lower limb and the mechanics of walking in Australopithecus sediba, with the introduction entitled The Mosaic Anatomy of Australopithecus sediba.

In essence, the six studies describe how the 2-million-year-old Au. sediba walked, chewed and moved.

Berger summarises that Au. sediba provides us with the most comprehensive examination of the anatomy of a definitive single species of early hominin. "This examination of a large number of associated, often complete and undistorted elements, gives us a glimpse of a hominin species that appears to be mosaic in its anatomy and that presents a suite of functional complexes that are both different from that predicted for other australopiths, as well as that for early Homo.

Such clear insight into the anatomy of an early hominin species will clearly have implications for interpreting the evolutionary processes that affected the mode and tempo of hominin evolution and the interpretation of the anatomy of less well preserved species," says Berger.

"Aside from the 26 authors from 16 institutions involved in these publications, the team focusing its research efforts on Au. sediba and Malapa now numbers more than 100 researchers from around the world and represents one of the largest dedicated archaeological or palaeontological research programmes," says Prof. Loyiso Nongxa, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand. Berger adds that the work undertaken to date, although only five years in the making (since the discovery of the site in mid-2008), represents some of the most extensive focused literature on a single early hominin species yet created.

Included in the recent discoveries from the site are a new species of fox, named by the team as Vulpes skinneri just three months ago, and the discovery of more than 300 early human ancestor remains, including parts of skeletons still encased in rock.

Berger concludes: "Discoveries such as Australopithecus sediba and the Malapa site demonstrate the need for further African based exploration in the rich fossil fields of southern Africa, and additionally demonstrate the tremendous promise of the palaeosciences on the continent."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of the Witwatersrand.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

P. Schmid, S. E. Churchill, S. Nalla, E. Weissen, K. J. Carlson, D. J. de Ruiter, L. R. Berger. Mosaic Morphology in the Thorax of Australopithecus sediba. Science, 2013; 340 (6129): 1234598 DOI: 10.1126/science.1234598

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/XhNSxRSKrRA/130411142931.htm

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