International

Oldest human relative walked upright 7 mn years ago: study

AFP

The earliest known human ancestor walked on two feet as well as climbing through trees around seven million years ago, scientists said Wednesday after studying three limb bones.

When the skull of Sahelanthropus tchadensis was discovered in Chad in 2001, it pushed back the age of the oldest known representative species of humanity by a million years.

Nicknamed “Toumai”, the nearly complete cranium was thought to indicate that the species walked on two feet because of the position of its vertebral column and other factors.

However the subject triggered fierce debate among scientists, partly due to the scarcity and quality of the available bones, with some even claiming that Toumai was not a human relative but just an ancient ape.

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In a study published in the Nature journal on Wednesday, a team of researchers exhaustively analysed a thigh bone and two forearm bones found at the same site as the Toumai skull.

“The skull tells us that Sahelanthropus is part of the human lineage,” said paleoanthropologist Franck Guy, one of the authors of the study.

The new research on the limb bones demonstrates that walking on two feet was its “preferred mode of getting around, depending on the situation,” he told a press conference.

But they also sometimes moved through the trees, he added.

– ‘Not a magical trait’ –

The leg and arm bones were found alongside thousands of other fossils in 2001, and the researchers were not able to confirm that they belonged to the same individual as the Toumai skull.

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After years of testing and measuring the bones, they identified 23 characteristics which were then compared to fossils from great apes as well as hominins — which are species more closely related to humans than chimpanzees.

They concluded that “these characteristics are much closer to what would be seen in a hominin than any other primate,” the study’s lead author Guillaume Daver told the press conference.

For example, the forearm bones did not show evidence that the Sahelanthropus leaned on the back of its hands, as is done by gorillas and chimpanzees.

The Sahelanthropus lived in an area with a combination of forests, palm groves and tropical savannahs, meaning that being able to both walk and climb through trees would have been an advantage.

There have been previous suggestions that it was the ability to walk on two feet that drove humans to evolve separately from chimpanzees, putting us on the path to where we are today.

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However the researchers emphasised that what made Sahelanthropus human was its ability to adapt to its environment.

“Bipedalism (walking on two legs) is not a magical trait that strictly defines humanity,” paleontologist Jean-Renaud Boisserie told the press conference.

“It is a characteristic that we find at the present time in all the representatives of humanity.”

– Our ‘bushy’ family tree –

Paleoanthropologist Antoine Balzeau of France’s National Museum of Natural History said the “extremely substantial” study gives “a more complete image of Toumai and therefore of the first humans”.

It also bolstered the theory that the human family tree is “bushy”, and was not like the “simplistic image of humans who follow one another, with abilities that improve over time,” Balzeau, who was not involved in the research, told AFP.

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Daniel Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, said in a linked paper in Nature that the study’s “authors have squeezed as much information as possible from the fossil data”.

But he added that the research will not offer “full resolution” of the debate.

Milford Wolpoff, a paleoanthropologist at the US University of Michigan cast doubt on whether Toumai is a hominin, telling AFP that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”.

Wednesday’s study was carried out by researchers from the PALEVOPRIM paleontology institute, a collaboration between France’s CNRS research centre and Poitiers University, as well as scientists in Chad.

Guy said the team hopes to continue its research in Chad next year — “security permitting”.

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Chadian paleontologist Clarisse Nekoulnang said the team was “trying to find sites older than that of Toumai”.

International

Nine People Killed in Two Armed Attacks in Manabí, Ecuador

At least nine people were killed Monday in two nearly simultaneous armed attacks in the province of Manabí, located on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, one of the areas hardest hit by violence in the country, according to the National Police.

The first attack left seven people dead and took place in Camarones, a rural area of the Jama canton. The second occurred in the sector known as La Y, in the seaside town of Canoa, part of the San Vicente canton, where two people were killed.

According to preliminary reports, both incidents occurred early Monday morning when armed men intercepted the victims. Authorities said the motives behind the attacks remain under investigation.

The assault in Camarones happened around 1:15 a.m. local time, when a group of armed individuals stormed a ranch in the area. The victims have not yet been officially identified.

About 15 minutes later, in Canoa, two men traveling in a motorized taxi were intercepted by armed suspects riding motorcycles and shot. One of the victims was identified as a 28-year-old passenger, while the identity of the driver has not yet been confirmed.

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The attacks occurred just days after another multiple homicide on February 12 at a ranch in San Juan de las Cucarachas, a rural area of the Santa Ana canton in Manabí, which left six people dead.

Manabí has been experiencing escalating insecurity linked to disputes among organized crime groups, including drug trafficking networks and territorial control conflicts. In response, the government has maintained a state of emergency in the province since August to address the surge in violence attributed to these criminal organizations.

International

Over 40 Million Affected by Major Snowstorm in Northeastern U.S.

More than 40 million people across the northeastern United States are facing a new major snowstorm this Monday, including residents of New York City, where local authorities have shut down roads to traffic.

The storm triggered widespread flight cancellations early in the morning and caused power outages affecting thousands of homes and businesses throughout the region.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani banned non-essential vehicle travel at least until noon and ordered the closure of public schools as a precautionary measure. Authorities in neighboring states, including New Jersey and Rhode Island, imposed similar restrictions to ensure public safety.

This marks the second major winter storm to hit the East Coast in less than a month, leading to growing frustration among residents.

“I’m fed up. I don’t want to see another snowflake,” said Vincent Greer, a resident of Wildwood, New Jersey, as he shoveled accumulated snow from in front of his building.

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Officials continue to urge residents to remain indoors, avoid unnecessary travel, and monitor local advisories as crews work to clear roads and restore power.

International

Ninth Victim Recovered After Deadliest U.S. Avalanche in Decades

Rescue teams in California on Saturday recovered the body of the ninth and final victim of a deadly avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains, according to the local sheriff’s office.

The avalanche struck a group of 11 skiers and four guides on Tuesday as they were returning from a three-day backcountry trip near Castle Peak, a 2,777-meter (9,111-foot) mountain and popular tourist destination on the U.S. West Coast.

Six people were rescued alive on Tuesday. Authorities said the incident marks the deadliest avalanche in the United States since 1981.

“All nine individuals who lost their lives in the February 17 Castle Peak avalanche have been safely recovered from the mountain,” the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

“There are no words that can truly capture the magnitude of this loss, and our hearts grieve alongside the families affected by this catastrophic event,” Sheriff Shannan Moon said.

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Officials had warned on Thursday that search operations would likely continue through the weekend due to severe weather conditions in the area.

Survivors were able to call for help shortly after the avalanche occurred. However, near-zero visibility and the risk of additional snow slides prevented rescue teams from reaching them for several hours.