Stuff YOU Should Know
Archaeological Discoveries in Egypt
King Tutankhamun was a pharaoh who ruled Egypt for ten years, until his death in 1324 B.C.E. at the age of nineteen. In 1922, British archaeologists opened his tomb and found a wealth of treasures and artifacts. The study of these artifacts taught the modern world a great deal about ancient Egypt. As a result, “King Tut” has become one of the most well-known Egyptian pharaohs.
Now, on the one-hundred-year anniversary of this important event, archaeologists have made a new discovery, in the desert of Giza, near the Egyptian capital of Cairo. This location is almost four hundred miles from the site of the original Tutankhamun discovery. This discovery includes many coffins, mummies, documents, ceramic amulets believed to have been used in burial rituals, and other artifacts. Archaeologists think these items belong to generals and advisors associated with Tutankhamun. They also think some of the material belongs to another pharaoh: King Teti. He ruled from 2323 to 2291 B.C.E., King Teti founded Egypt’s Sixth Dynasty, which was the last great dynasty before the nation fell into upheaval. He was worshipped as a god by his followers for a thousand years after his death. In fact, there are close to three hundred coffins in this area. Though he was buried about 4,300 years ago, people were buried near him more than a thousand years later.
The artifacts will be taken to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. They will be displayed once the museum opens next year, along with several artifacts from the original Tutankhamun discovery in 1922.
What Do You Think? Tutankhamun and King Teti were buried with items that were special to them, and which people believed they would need to take with them into the next world. If this practice were still going on today, what items do you think people would bury with you?
A Look at the COP27 Climate Summit
On Sunday, November 6, 2022, representatives from around the world gathered for the COP27 Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The summit lasts until November 18 and includes more than forty thousand participants, and over 120 world leaders, such as President Joe Biden. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India did not attend. Because China and India are two of the world’s greatest contributors to climate change, their absence at the summit is significant.
This conference is the United Nations Climate Change Conference. It is called COP because it stands for the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCC. UNFCC stands for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The COP summit’s goal is to create rules-based plans to accelerate global action against climate change. One of the key goals is to limit the average rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the year 2100. According to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the average temperature rise has increased 1.1 degrees Celsius since 1880. Scientists say that if average temperatures rise more than that, devastating climate catastrophes will occur. But some nations are having trouble agreeing to this target. There is concern this target will be adjusted lower to reach a compromise. Thousands of businesses, climate activists, and representatives of the 46 countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change are against a compromise.
There has also been extensive discussion about climate justice: who should pay for the damage that has already been caused by rising temperatures? Such damage includes coastal flooding and violent storms. For example, Pakistan recently experienced devastating flooding across a third of the country. More than 1,700 people died, and the flooding caused $30 billion in damages. Pakistan is responsible for causing less than one percent of global carbon emissions, yet they are one of the nations most affected by climate change.
Dig Deeper When and where was the first COP summit?
Canada’s Elections Under Attack
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, recently accused China of meddling in Canadian elections. According to Canadian intelligence officials, China hasn’t tampered with any votes or with the voting process itself. Rather, China has been working behind the scenes to manipulate the elections by backing certain candidates. In the 2019 federal elections, China is accused of supporting at least eleven candidates. The candidates represented both of Canada’s major political parties. One of the candidates received a donation of the equivalent of nearly $200,000. Chinese intelligence agents have also acted as advisors to several Canadian candidates, and Chinese operatives have taken jobs in Canadian cabinet offices. The goal of these efforts is to influence Canadian policy, and to damage the political career of Canadian candidates who have spoken up against China, or who China views as a threat.
It’s unclear whether these actions had any impact on the elections. Nevertheless, Trudeau has announced that Canada is developing a series of tools to tighten up their election processes and prevent foreign interference in the future. This could include legislation updating the country’s outdated espionage and counterintelligence laws, which officials say are being exploited by China and other hostile powers. Meanwhile, China has denied the claims and says that these accusations are damaging China-Canada relations.