Zero Extinction Plan

Australia's environment authorities on Tuesday presented a plan to bolster protection and restoration of the country's threatened species and natural places.

"The need for action to protect our plants, animals and ecosystems from extinction has never been greater," Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said in a statement.

Australia's questionable conservation record

Australia, while ranked among the world's wealthiest countries, gets a poor score when it comes to the protection of its animal species.

"Australia is the mammal extinction capital of the world," Plibersek said.

Wildlife advocacy groups say that animal habitats are in decline due to human activity, and events like the devastating 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires are estimated to have killed, injured or displaced around 3 billion animals.

"The Black Summer bushfires in particular have seen devastating results for many species. We are determined to give wildlife a better chance," said Plibersek.  READ MORE...

Mayan City Discovered

The style of architecture of the buildings at Xiol is more typical of the style 

found in regions further south

Archaeologists working in the Yucatan region of Mexico have revealed the remains of a centuries-old Mayan city, local media reported on Friday.

The city of Xiol — which means "the spirit of man" in Mayan — is believed to have been the home of some 4,000 people between 600 and 900 CE, during the late classic period.

The area was first uncovered in 2018 on a construction site for a future industrial park close to the town of Merida on Yucatan's northern coast. Archaeologists from the National Institute for Anthropology and History (INAH) then took over the site.

The Mayan civilization was destroyed by Spanish colonizers in the 17th century

"The discovery of this Mayan city is important for its monumental architecture and because it has been restored despite being located on private land," delegate for the INAH center in Yucatan, Arturo Chab Cardenas, told news agency EFE.

Palaces, priests, pyramids

The site is of particular interest due to its Puuc style architecture — famously used for the Chichen Itza pyramid — which is more typically found in the southern part of the Yucatan region.

The archaeologists also highlighted the array of palaces, pyramids and plazas found at the site as well as evidence of various social classes residing there.

"There were people from different social classes ... priests, scribes, who lived in these great palaces, and there were also the common people who lived in small buildings," Carlos Peraza, one of the archaeologists leading the excavations, said.  READ MORE...