1.9.0 - Clean up README badge duplication and introduce versioned README head markers

Changed

• README badge cleanup: Removed duplicated Packagist badges from the repository README so only a single Packagist badge is shown.
• Maintainer header cleanup: Removed a duplicated Packagist badge from the maintainer header area of the README to keep badge presentation consistent across the README.

Added

• Versioned README head management: Added a new mechanism to manage the README “head” section using versioned release markers (delimited start/end region markers such as MAINTAINER:README_HEAD start/end).
  • This enables more reliable, structured replacement of the README header content during release creation.
  • The README header can be regenerated in a consistent way (e.g., including optional branding like a logo, title/description, and badges reflecting release/version state).

Compatibility / Migration Notes

• If you previously relied on an older README header/badge setup that depended on the previous managed structure (e.g., older anchors or non-marker-based placeholders), migrate to the new marker-delimited README head management approach.
• Header content is now controlled by the marker-defined region, so updating release/README generation tooling should target these versioned markers rather than the prior approach.