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Peru reopens 3,800-year-old Penico archaeological site for visitors
A 3,800-year-old citadel of the Caral civilisation – one of the world’s oldest – has reopened for visitors in Peru after eight years of comprehensive restoration and research.
Researchers have identified the Penico archaeological site as a vital trading centre that connected early Pacific coastal communities with those in the Andes and Amazon regions.
Located in the Supe Valley, about 180km (110 miles) north of Lima and only 19km (12 miles) from the Pacific Ocean, Penico was an unremarkable hilly landscape until excavations commenced in 2017.
Archaeologists believe the site could provide crucial information about the enigmatic collapse of the Caral civilisation, which flourished between 3,000 and 1,800 BC.
The opening ceremony featured regional artists playing pututus – traditional shell trumpets – as part of an ancient ritual honouring Pachamama, Mother Earth, with ceremonial offerings of agricultural products, coca leaves, and local beverages.
“Penico was an organised urban centre devoted to agriculture and trade between the coast, the mountains and the forest,” archaeologist Ruth Shady, who leads research at the site, told the AFP news agency. She said the settlement dates to between 1,800 and 1,500 BC.
The site demonstrates sophisticated planning, strategically built on a geological terrace 600 metres (2,000ft) above sea level and parallel to a river to avoid flooding.
Research by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture has uncovered 18 distinct structures, including public buildings and residential complexes. Scholars believe Penico was built during the same period as the earliest civilisations in the Middle East and Asia.
According to Shady, researchers hope the site will shed light on the crisis they believe hastened the Caral civilisation’s decline. This crisis, she explained, was linked to climate change that caused droughts and disrupted agricultural activities throughout the region.
‘World’s Oldest Marathon Runner’ Dies Aged 114 In Road Accident
India’s Fauja Singh, believed to be the world’s oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident aged 114, his biographer said Tuesday.
Singh, an Indian-born British national, nicknamed the “Turbaned Tornado”, died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state’s Jalandhar district on Monday.
“My Turbaned Tornado is no more,” Fauja’s biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on X.
“He was struck by an unidentified vehicle… in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja.”
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Singh did not have a birth certificate but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911.
He ran full marathons (42 kilometre) till the age of 100.
His last race was a 10-kilometre (six-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when 101, where he finished in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.
He became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the ripe old age of 89, after the death of his wife and one of his sons, inspired by seeing marathons on television.
Although widely regarded as the world’s oldest marathon runner, he was not certified by Guinness World Records as he could not prove his age, saying that birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule in 2011.
Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.
His strength and vitality were credited to a routine of farm walks and a diet including Indian sweet “laddu” packed with dry fruits and home-churned curd.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute on social media.
“Fauja Singh was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness,” said Modi on X
John Torode ‘asked to resign by BBC and blame mental health issues over racist comment’
MasterChef host John Torode has been dragged into the scandal surrounding his former co-star Gregg Wallace as he has been accused of using a racist remark and allegedly told to resign
The BBC have been alleged to have asked MasterChef host John Torode to resign from the cooking show after he was accused of using a racist remark – and blame mental health. It comes after the long-standing presenter admitted an allegation against him had been upheld.
John spoke out after his co-star Gregg Wallace was found to have been involved in 45 substantiated claims of misconduct.
A report by law firm Lewis Silkin for production company Banijay revealed that 45 out of 83 accusations against Wallace were corroborated. The findings also included two separate claims implicating others, with one involving racist remarks.
Hours after the report went public, Torode took to social media to publicly admit he is subject to an allegation of racist language.
The BBC said it welcomed the report and confirmed Wallace was told “we have no plans to work with him in future”.
Following Torode’s admission, a source alleged that the BBC told him to claim he had mental health issues and resign from MasterChef – following Gregg out the door.
It has been claimed the BBC called John on Thursday night, followed by an email on Friday with him needing to make a decision by Monday.
“It was suggested he quit due to the stress and scrutiny of the furore around the show,” a source told the Sun. “Obviously he was absolutely shocked and appalled and told them quite firmly he didn’t have any mental health issues.”
They added: “John absolutely loves MasterChef, and doesn’t want to lose his job because of an investigation into his co-star.”
In the report, he was cited but not named. Torode, who has hosted the BBC show since 2005, claimed he had “no recollection of the incident” and expressed being “shocked and saddened”.
His Instagram statement read: “Following publication of the Executive Summary of the investigation into Gregg Wallace while working on MasterChef, I am aware of speculation that I am one of the two other individuals against whom an allegation has been upheld.
“For the sake of transparency, I confirm that I am the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion. The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended in a malicious way and that I apologised immediately afterwards.
“I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened. However, I want to be clear that I’ve always had the view that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment. I’m shocked and saddened by the allegation as I would never wish to cause anyone any offence.”
Yesterday the BBC said it welcomed the findings from Lewis Silkin and confirmed that Wallace had been informed “we have no plans to work with him in future”.
A statement said: “The investigation details a substantial number of allegations of inappropriate conduct spanning 19 years. This behaviour falls below the values of the BBC and the expectations we have for anyone who works with or for us.
“Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour – both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC. We accept more could and should have been done sooner.”
The BBC flagged that two allegations relating to “other individuals” working on MasterChef now needed to be urgently addressed by the production company.
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“Lewis Silkin’s findings include two further allegations which were upheld, relating to other individuals. The BBC takes these findings very seriously and we have asked Banijay UK to take action to address these issues, which is underway. This will be completed as a priority.”
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Buhari’s Body Leaves London For Daura
The remains of former President Muhammadu Buhari have departed London in the United Kingdom for Daura, Katsina State, ahead of a state burial in honour of the late ex-Nigerian leader.
The body of the late president was conveyed on a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) craft on Tuesday before 8 am.
Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other top government officials accompanied the body of the late former president.
Buhari passed on on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in a London hospital, at about 4.30 pm, following a prolonged illness, though the nature of the illness was not disclosed. He was 82.
President Bola Tinubu is expected to receive the body of the late president in Katsina by Tuesday at noon.
Already, the Federal Government has declared Tuesday, July 15, 2025 a public holiday for the state burial of the former Nigerian leader in his rustic and agrarian hometown of Daura.
Buhari, whose ramrod-straight posture was admired by many, hailed from Daura, Katsina State, in Nigeria’s North-West zone. He served as the country’s military head of state between January 1984 and August 1985.
READ ALSO: Police, NSCDC Deploy Thousands Of Personnel For Buhari’s Burial
Known as ‘Baba Buhari’ on the streets of northern Nigeria where he enjoyed an unparallel, cult-like following, the late president was a political force that many of his colleagues couldn’t disregard.
With the country’s return to democracy in 1999, Buhari contested for president in 2003, 2007 and 2011 but he lost despite having 12 million votes in each of the elections.
In 2013, his Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) joined forces with Tinubu’s Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), some factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to birth the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the 2015 election, riding on their ‘Change’ mantra, Buhari with his running mate Yemi Osinbajo ousted then-incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP and got themselves the much-coveted Aso Villa spot.
Both Buhari and Osinbajo were sworn in on May 29, 2015 and returned elected on May 29, 2019. Their victory was the first time in the Fourth Republic that an opposition defeated an incumbent president and the party in power. Both men handed over to their partymen Tinubu and Shettima on May 29, 2023.
Police, NSCDC Deploy Thousands Of Personnel For Buhari’s Burial
The Katsina State Command of the Nigeria Police Force said it has, in collaboration with other security agencies, led by the AIG Zone 14 Katsina, deployed adequate security measures in Daura town and across the command for the burial of late former president Muhammadu Buhari to ensure a hitch-free burial.
The command, headed by CP Bello Shehu, extended its deepest condolences to the government and people of Katsina State, the family, friends, and the entire nation on the passing of the former president.
The Command, in a statement by its Spokesman, DSP Abubakar Sadiq, acknowledged Buhari’s contributions to the nation’s development and growth.
In a related development, the State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Aminu Datti, announced the deployment of 2,807 operatives ahead of the burial of the former president.
Commandant Datti disclosed this during a brief meeting with senior management staff of the command earlier on Monday at the State Command Headquarters, Katsina.
Datti disclosed that Commandant General Abubakar Audi expressed deep grief over the passing of Buhari.
The CG also ordered adequate security deployment to ensure safety and security before, during and after the burial.
The Commandant also emphasised certain operational strategies to include intensive surveillance, gathering credible intelligence, community engagement, collaboration and synergy with other security agencies, among others.
Relevant departments, units and special forces were detailed and deployed to ensure adequate security in this period of grief.
Strategic deployment of personnel was done in Daura, the hometown of the late president, the Umar Musa Yar’adua International Airport, Katsina, the Palaces of their Royal Highnesses Emir of Katsina and Daura, as well as other sensitive areas of the state.
Both covert and overt personnel in all the 34 LGAs of the state were charged with adequate protection of all facilities belonging to LGAs, the State and the Federal Government.