1.5 Million-Year-Old Tools Discovered in Iraq's Western Desert

A new Sky News documentary highlights the ongoing plight of Yazidi women still enslaved by ISIS, nearly a decade after the group's atrocities in Sinjar, Iraq, in 2014. Titled *10 Years of Darkness: ISIS & The Yazidis*, the film, reported by special correspondent Alex Crawford, details the mass abductions and systematic violence faced by the Yazidi community, many of whom remain traumatized and struggling for justice. Through firsthand eyewitness accounts and raw footage from the Middle East, the documentary sheds light on the harrowing stories of those affected, including Kovan, who was abducted at age 14, and Farida Khalaf, a human rights activist whose memoir recounts the brutal attack on her village. Khalaf has since become an international advocate for the Yazidi cause, meeting with world leaders to push for accountability for ISIS crimes. According to Crawford, the documentary reveals that thousands of Yazidi women are still held captive, continuing to suffer from the brutality of their captors. The documentary will be available on Sky News platforms starting May 2.

The Yazidi community in Iraq is experiencing a profound sense of betrayal as the U.S. government halts crucial aid that once supported them, following the 2014 genocide by the Islamic State (IS). During the first Trump administration, significant funding was pledged, benefiting religious minorities, including the Yazidis. However, this support has dwindled under the second Trump administration, according to activists and former USAid employees. In the Iraqi town of Sinjar, where many Yazidis were killed, essential services, including healthcare and infrastructure projects, have stalled due to the freeze in aid. Mirza Dinnayi, a Yazidi human rights activist, expressed shock over the suspension of USAid, labeling it a critical loss for their communities. The aid freeze has also severely impacted charities like Catholic Relief Services, facing potential layoffs and program shutdowns amounting to half of their $1.5 billion budget. This shift reflects broader changes in Republican attitudes toward aid, as former supporters of Yazidi rights now align with movements aiming to diminish USAid. Current and former USAid officials lament the loss of vital support networks for the trauma-affected Yazidi people.

A recent archaeological project in the Iraqi Western Desert has uncovered over 850 artifacts from the Old and Middle Paleolithic eras, including ancient stone hand axes believed to be up to 1.5 million years old. The project, led by archaeologist Ella Egberts and funded by the British Institute for the Study of Iraq, focused on a small area, roughly six by 12 miles, where seven Paleolithic sites were identified. According to Egberts, the excavation of a dried-up lakebed proved particularly fruitful, yielding tools such as hand axes and more sophisticated Levallois flakes, which date back between 300,000 and 50,000 years. “The other sites also deserve equally thorough systematic investigation,” Egberts stated, emphasizing the potential for further discoveries that could enhance the understanding of early human behavior in the region. Research in Iraq has been limited due to regional instability; however, the team successfully navigated challenges, with Egberts noting positive local interactions. The Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritages has expressed support for continued investigations in future efforts.