News in Brief (2024-01-13)

Tens of thousands protest in Poland against ex-ministers' imprisonment
WARSAW, Jan 12: Tens of thousands of opposition supporters massed outside Poland's parliament on Thursday to protest against the new government's changes to state media and the imprisonment of two former ministers convicted of abuse of power. The march reflects mounting tensions in the country as the new pro-European Union coalition government led by Donald Tusk tries to undo the policies of the previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party administration. It also came as President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, said on Thursday he had started proceedings to pardon the two ministers in the last government who were jailed this week for abuse of power, escalating his own stand-off with the new government. — Reuters
Huge ancient lost city found
in the Amazon
LONDON: A huge ancient city has been found in the Amazon, hidden for thousands of years by lush vegetation. The discovery changes what we know about the history of people living in the Amazon. The houses and plazas in the Upano area in eastern Ecuador were connected by an astounding network of roads and canals. The area lies in the shadow of a volcano that created rich local soils but also may have led to the destruction of the society. While we knew about cities in the highlands of South America, like Machu Picchu in Peru, it was believed that people only lived nomadically or in tiny settlements in the Amazon. "This is older than any other site we know in the Amazon. — BBC