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Unlikely trio decodes Mary Queen of Scots' secret letters

<p>An international trio of codebreakers have made history by decoding and deciphering a treasure trove of lost letters written by none other than Mary Queen of Scots.</p> <p>The unlikely team - consisting of a computer scientist, a physicist, and a musician - have a passion for historical ciphers and have been working together for 10 years.</p> <p>The letters were assumed lost until they were discovered in Paris, in the National Library of France. The documents and their unusual symbols had been neglected in a mislabelled folder until the trio got to the bottom of them and revealed their true origin. It was only when the code had been broken that it was possible to identify the author as Mary.</p> <p>George Lasry, the team’s computer scientist and cryptographer, is a member of the DECRYPT Project - an organisation with the aim of digitising, transcribing, and identifying historical ciphers.</p> <p>It didn’t take long for the team to realise the letters were written in French, not Italian, once they began working on the unique ciphers. They noted the use of feminine form verbs and adverbs, and mentions of captivity, as well as one codebreaking keyboard: Walsingham.</p> <p>“We were expecting Italian because that is what the catalogue said, but then we started to see some French words - 'ma liberté' (my freedom) - and sentences no-one would write if they were free," Lasry explained to <em>Good Morning Scotland.</em></p> <p>“So we knew it was someone in captivity, and some of the language was in feminine form, so it was a woman,” he went on. “She also wrote 'mon fils' - my son - so it was a woman in captivity with a son.</p> <p>"We thought 'this is too crazy', it can't be Mary Stuart. But then we saw the word 'Walsingham' and we knew Francis Walsingham was the spymaster of Queen Elizabeth I, so we concluded it was from Mary.</p> <p>"It was very difficult to believe at the start so it was a very exciting moment."</p> <p>Mary, who spent the last 19 years of her life in English captivity, was able to smuggle her letters out via trusted visiting courtiers. Said letters, amounting to around 50,000 words in total, have offered new insight into Mary’s time in captivity.</p> <p>"We have cracked more difficult codes, and we have deciphered an occasional letter from a king or queen, but nothing compared to 50 new letters from one of the most famous historical figures,” Lasry said of their historic accomplishment.</p> <p>While it is believed that other letters may still be hiding out there for the next team of enthusiastic researchers to discover, this batch is set to keep historians and researchers busy for some time yet.</p> <p>“In our paper, we only provide an initial interpretation and summaries of the letters," Lasry explained, “a deeper analysis by historians could result in a better understanding of Mary's years in captivity.</p> <p>"It would also be great, potentially, to work with historians to produce an edited book of her letters deciphered, annotated, and translated."</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Technology

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Suspected murderers' drove straight to McDonald's

<p><span>Three people have been arrested in connection with the deaths of three friends who set out to go on a fishing trip.</span><br /><br /><span>Authorities confirm they have arrested Tony "TJ" Wiggins, 26, has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing the three men near a lake in the central Florida community of Frostproof on Friday night, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.</span><br /><br /><span>Wiggins' girlfriend, Mary Whittemore, 27, and his brother, William "Robert" Wiggins, 21, have also been charged with accessory after the fact of a capital felony.</span><br /><br /><span>The trio were arrested just five days after they allegedly killed three mates, Damion Tillman, 23, Keven Springfield, 30, and Brandon Rollins, 27.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837057/murder-trio-alleged-au-3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b54b11269c88432fa539056c2027153a" /></p> <p><em>Brandon Rollins</em><br /><br /><span>Mr Rollins called his father before his death, begging for “help”.</span><br /><br /><span>The three friends were planning to fish on Friday night, but a truck carrying the suspects followed them.</span><br /><br /><span>Judd says TJ Wiggins eventually got out and shot them in a rural area of Frostproof, east of Tampa.</span><br /><br /><span>"When we found these people ... massacred ... we thought, my goodness, what could have happened there. Now we know," Judd told reporters Wednesday.</span><br /><span>Details about whether the three suspects had attorneys weren't immediately available.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837056/murder-trio-alleged-au-4.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/d13516aaec3941b0a1159a8d6a37c931" /><br /><br /><span>Surveillance video showed Damion Tillman purchasing items at Dollar General, and a clerk told investigators that Tillman said he was going fishing.</span><br /><br /><span>After questioning all three suspects, Robert Wiggins eventually admitted to investigators that he had seen Tillman at the Dollar General store Friday night while standing in line with his brother, the sheriff's office said.</span><br /><br /><span>Robert Wiggins went on to tell investigators that while driving a truck with TJ and Whittemore, his older brother directed him to turn onto a particular road instead of going home.</span><br /><br /><span>Then two trucks carrying the three eventual victims passed by, and TJ Wiggins told his brother to "make a U-turn and follow the trucks," the sheriff's office said.</span><br /><br /><span>The sheriffs office said "Robert stayed in the truck with Whittemore, while TJ got out and confronted" one of the men.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837058/murder-trio-alleged-au-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/901feef8bfb54ef4a1dfd14f93d2d75d" /></p> <p><em>Mr Rollins called his father before his death, begging for “help”.</em><br /><br /><span>He allegedly punched him and accused him of stealing his truck.</span><br /><br /><span>"Robert told detectives he watched as TJ shot all three victims. TJ then asked Robert to help him put (one of the victims) into the back of one of the trucks," the sheriff's office said.</span><br /><br /><span>Judd says he they are still uncertain about the details or veracity of TJ Wiggins' claim surrounding the stolen truck.</span><br /><br /><span>"The only information we have is TJ is allegedly mad over some kind of truck deal that happened some period of time ago. We've not had an opportunity to ... dig into that," the sheriff said.</span><br /><br /><span>Oddly enough, the suspects allegedly drove to McDonald’s right after the killings and ordered 10 double cheeseburgers and two chicken sandwiches.</span><br /><br /><span>The next morning, Robert took his truck to a car wash and cleaned it, according to the sheriff's office.</span><br /><br /><span>TJ Wiggins is being held on charges of first-degree murder; tampering with evidence; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, the sheriff's office said.</span><br /><br /><span>All three suspects are scheduled to have their first appearance in court at 1 p.m. on Thursday.</span></p>

Legal

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Bananarama: Where are they now?

<p>Bananarama were one of the most popular trios around in the ‘80s. It’s been 31 years since they released their <em>Greatest Hits Collection</em>, but they are back on tour around Australia.</p> <p>With hits like <em>Venus, Love In The First Degree </em>and <em>I Heard A Rumour</em>, it’s hard not to see why fans are excited that they’re touring again.</p> <p>The trio has turned into a duo and have a much more modern look. Remaining members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward spoke to <em>Sunrise</em> about their success in 2019 and how the ‘80s continues to live on.</p> <p>Siobhan Fahey, one of the original Bananarama members, left the group in 1998 to form her own group Shakespears Sister. Her replacement Jacquie O'Sullivan also left the group in 1991.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">We sat down with ‘80s pop icons Bananarama before they kick off their Australian tour in Melbourne tonight! 👏🏻 <a href="https://t.co/e7kVANolC6">pic.twitter.com/e7kVANolC6</a></p> — Sunrise (@sunriseon7) <a href="https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1098686204071968768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>“The '80s were such a popular period. I mean, they still do massive tours of ‘80s artists,” Sara explained.</p> <p>However, they wouldn’t be where they are without their loyal fans.</p> <p>“I am just amazed at how far people will travel to see you. The ones I see in the audience here [in Australia] have been to the UK when we toured, they came to America, and I just think it’s just amazing how loyal they are.”</p> <p>Their audience has continued to expand, with younger fans being in the audience as well.</p> <p>“There are much younger people who know all the words, and that’s always really surprising.”</p> <p>With a new album on the way, <em>In Stereo,</em> which will be launched April 9, the group are enjoying being on tour for now.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery to see the trio as well as what the duo looks like now.</p>

Music