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Archaeologists have unearthed a 3,000-year-old city that was lost beneath the sands in Egypt. The finding of this lost city is believed to be the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. This unearthed city is known as ‘The Rise of Aten’ or the ‘Lost Golden City’. Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the ancient city near Luxor, home of the Valley of the Kings. It was uncovered in September 2020 by a team led by renowned archaeologist Zahi Hawass and he revealed this to the world earlier this week. Terming it as the largest ancient city ever discovered in Egypt, Hawass explained that the ‘Lost Golden city’ was founded by one of the greatest rulers, Amenhotep III, the ninth king of the 18th dynasty who reigned between 1391 and 1353 B.C.”. The city's streets had mud brick houses with 10 feet high walls, and rooms filled with utensils used in daily life. Artefacts, including rings, scarab amulets and coloured pottery vessels, and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep III’s cartouche that were found during the discovery confirmed the dating of the city. In the southern part of the city, the archaeological team found a bakery, a cooking and food preparation area with ovens and storage pottery whose size suggests it was used to cater to a "very large number of workers and employees." Also, a skeleton of a person buried with arms stretched out to the side and rope wrapped around the knees has been found. Last year, archaeologist Hawass team started excavation in the area searching for the mortuary temple of King Tutankhamun between the temples of Ramses III and Amenhotep III near Luxor. Within weeks, they found mud bricks formations that eventually turned out to be a well-preserved large city. However, the northern region is still to be unearthed. A large cemetery and tombs, similar to those in the Valley of Kings, were also uncovered but have not been explored yet. Further excavations of the area will reveal what truly happened 3500 years ago.

In a rare congenital disorder, a baby girl with two heads and three hands was born at a private nursing home in Kendrapara district on Sunday (April 11). The parents of this child Umakant Parida and Ambika, happen to be residents of Kani village in Rajnagar area. Sources said that the child was born with four eyes, four ears and three hands, one of which is at the back of her body. Doctors have shifted the child to Cuttack’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatric, also called Sishu Bhawan, for specialized treatment.

On Monday, Balasore district recorded 158 positive cases of Covid-19. The district administration revealed that at least 101 persons residing in Emami Paper Mills colony have been infected with the virus. After detection of so many cases, Balasore CDMO Dr Dulalsen Jagdev informed that one colony of the mill was declared a micro-containment zone. The mill authorities also shut down one of the three units in the paper mill, the CDMO said. A few days back, 2 persons had tested positive for COVID-19 in the Emami Paper Mill.

The regional centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday (April 11) issued thunderstorm warning for several districts in the state for the next few days. A yellow warning has been sounded for 11 districts of Odisha, from morning of April 12th till morning of April 13th. Thunderstorms with lightning and gusty surface wind speed reaching 30-40 kmph, are very likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Kandhamal, Boudh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Malkangiri, Koraput, Nuapada, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi. There are also chances of light to moderate rain or thundershowers at a few places over the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, and Boudh and at one or two places over the districts of Bolangir, Bargarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Balasore. Dry weather is very likely to prevail over the rest districts of Odisha.

Over 700 vaccination centres in Odisha have run out of Covid-19 vaccine doses. State Health & Family Welfare Director, Bijay Panigrahi on Monday (April 12) informed that as many as 2.71 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be reaching Odisha by Monday evening. The inoculation drive is underway in 775 vaccine centres of the state since the other 700 centres reportedly had to halt the vaccination drive due to shortage of vaccine doses.

Actress Rashmika Mandana also considered as the ‘National Crush’ was recently spotted by the shutterbugs at Mumbai airport. Adorable camaraderie was evident as the actress was spotted interacting with the paparazzi. The actress also blew a kiss to the cameras, as she left the airport premises.

Sallu alias Yakub Khan, who is the close aide of escaped gangster Hyder, surrendered before the Chauliaganj Police on Monday. As per reports, Sallu used to meet Hyder, when the gangster was undergoing treatment at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Reports suggest that, after surrendering, Sallu agreed to cooperate with the police in the manhunt to nab Hyder, who escaped from police custody on Saturday (April 10) while he was undergoing treatment at the Cuttack hospital. Meanwhile, police are still clueless about the whereabouts of Hyder even after 36 hours of his escape.

  Alleging the ruling-BJD of attacking its party workers during the campaigning for the upcoming bypoll in Pipili, the state-BJP moved the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Monday. The BJP accused the BJD of attacking some saffron party workers in Sahajpur Panchayat in Pipili. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra came down hard on the BJD alleging that the ruling-party and the state government are protecting those with a criminal background.

  The Station Master of Nayagarh Railway Station was allegedly attacked and his office was ransacked by some miscreants on Sunday (April 11). The official was allegedly attacked for prohibiting consumption of alcohol on station premises. As per sources, station master Sanjay Pradhan noticed a group of 8-10 people consuming alcohol and chit-chatting on the station premises and stopped them from doing so, citing it to be illegal. However, the group allegedly turned violent and attacked him. They overpowered Pradhan and beat him black and blue leaving him seriously injured. Later, they terrorized the other railway staff present at the spot. Before leaving the station, they ransacked property inside offices and also set fire to some equipment at the railway station. After receiving a formal complaint, police launched an investigation into the matter.

At a time when a new wave of Coronavirus is sweeping the country, congregation of lakhs of devotees at Kumbh Mela is alarming. On the occasion of the second 'shahi snaan' during Kumbh Mela, lakhs of devotees took a holi dip in River Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Uttarakhand's Haridwar on Monday (April 12). With the chants of 'Har Har Mahadev' and 'Ganga maiya ki jai', devotees along with sadhus of various akharas took the holi dip & performed pujas. Despite rising COVID19 cases, Haridwar is jam-packed with pilgrims for Kumbh Mela. With such huge congregation of devotees social distancing during the 'shahi snan' went for a toss. Police said it is difficult to ensure social distancing with such heavy crowd.

Chhattisgarh has been experiencing the worst outbreak of COVID19 with new infections and fatalities rising sharply. The death toll has been so high that its crematoriums are choking with dead bodies.

  Amid the resurgence in Covid19 cases in Odisha, the State government is putting more restrictions in place to contain the spread of the virus. The Directorate of Medical Education & Training (DMET) Odisha has asked people to avail telemedicine facilities from home to avoid crowding at the hospitals amid the rise in Covid cases. The State Health Department has asked the superintendents of Medical Colleges, directors of Capital Hospital, RGH Rourkela, CDMOs and PHOs of all districts to strictly follow the Covid protocols meant for healthcare institutions which were issued in March and May 2020.

A 14-foot long king cobra was rescued from Asanbani village in Garadihi Panchayat under Nilagiri Block of Balasore on Monday (April 12). The snake was spotted in the kitchen of a villager triggering panic among the residents of the village. Later, the villagers called the snake rescue team which rescued the reptile. The snake has been kept on medical observation and will be released into the forest.

Amid the high-voltage campaigning for the Pipili bypoll, the Assembly constituency was brought under a thick security blanket. As many as three companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) along with 29 platoons of Odisha Special Armed Police (OSAP) and one platoon of Swift Action Force have been deployed in the constituency. The voting for the bypoll is scheduled to be held on  April 17.  

  In a major revelation in the mysterious death of Rama Devi Women’s University girl Jharaphula, Jajpur police on Monday claimed that she was murdered. Police said that Jharaphula was murdered and the second accused in the case has been arrested. According to police, Jharaphula Nayak, a student of Rama Devi (RD) Women’s University was reportedly murdered by her boyfriend Rakesh Swain. Rakesh, the main accused in the murder case, was arrested by police a few days after the body of the Jharaphula was found dumped on roadside. Jajpur superintendent of police (SP) Rahul PR said the second accused, identified as Amaresh Rout was arrested for his involvement in the murder conspiracy.