WorldNews

[attach=full]18139[/attach] Archaeologists expressed fears Friday that after ransacking the Mosul museum in Iraq, Islamic State group jihadists would embark on a systematic destruction of heritage in areas under their control. Particularly at risk are the ancient cities of Hatra, a UNESCO world heritage site, and Nimrud. Both are south of Mosul, which has been the jihadists' main hub in Iraq since June last year. "This is not the end of the story and the international community must intervene," said Abdelamir Hamdani, an Iraqi archaeologist at New York's Stony Brook University. Continue reading...

BERLIN (AP) — German Parliament approves four-month extension to Greece's financial bailout. Continue reading...

MADRID (AP) — Police say they have arrested eight Spaniards suspected of fighting on the pro-Russian side in eastern Ukraine. Continue reading...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Friday announced it has test fired a "new strategic weapon" in the final day of a large-scale naval and air defense drill, saying the system would play a key role in any future battle against the United States. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18138[/attach] SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's most popular tourist attraction — the complex of ancient temples that includes Angkor Wat — is suffering from a form of overexposure: At least five foreign visitors have been arrested and deported this year for taking nude photos at the sacred sites. Continue reading...

BEIJING (AP) — A suspected people-smuggling boat carrying 19 people capsized off the Chinese territory of Macau on Friday, leaving 15 people missing, the Macau government and Chinese state media said. Continue reading...

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A prominent U.S. blogger, known for his writing against religious fundamentalism, has been hacked to death by unidentified attackers in Bangladesh's capital, police said Friday. Continue reading...

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia coach Michael Cheika has added former Wallabies Stephen Larkham and Nathan Grey to his staff for the Rugby World Cup. Continue reading...

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Eden Park, New Zealand's largest stadium, was designed to host rugby matches, not cricket. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18135[/attach] The discovery of another bright light on the dwarf planet Ceres has NASA scientists perplexed as the US Dawn probe prepares to enter the orbit of the largest object in the asteroid belt and possibly resolve the mystery. The images taken nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers) from Ceres show that a bright spot on the planet scientists previously discovered appears next to another slightly darker spot, NASA said in a news release. The light appears in the same basin as the other spot, images released by NASA show. "This may be pointing to a volcano-like origin of the spots, but we will have to wait for better resolution before we can make such geologic interpretations," Chris Russell from the Dawn mission said. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18129[/attach] Thousands of Central African Republic (CAR) refugees are threatened by malnutrition in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they have sought refuge, a medical charity said Thursday. CAR is struggling to recover from the coup that ousted president Francois Bozize in March 2013 and triggered a wave of deadly sectarian violence between the country's Christian and Muslim populations. "The majority of the refugees... depend largely on the generosity of the local population," which is itself poverty-stricken, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement. These precarious living conditions bring problems of malnutrition and water-borne diseases," it added. Continue reading...

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say a Pablo Picasso painting worth millions of dollars was stolen in France and smuggled into the U.S. by someone who falsely labeled it as an "art craft" worth about $37 when it was shipped. Continue reading...

NEW YORK (AP) — A Pakistani man on trial in the U.S. for planning to bomb a British shopping center testified Thursday he was exaggerating his prowess with women in online chats and emails he sent mentioning potential wedding dates and a bride, denying the communiques were coded to disguise an al-Qaida plot. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18128[/attach] U.S. stocks drifted to a slightly lower finish on Thursday, weighed down by falling energy stocks as the slump in oil prices deepened. Continue reading...

Peru is seeking the extradition of a Greenpeace activist from Argentina to face charges he damaged the country's iconic Nazca Lines during a widely criticized stunt last year, a court said on Thursday. The Supreme Court's Permanent Criminal Chamber said Peru was on firm legal ground to ask Argentina to extradite Mauro Fernandez, a regional Greenpeace coordinator who illegally entered the Nazca Lines archaeological site to stage a photo in December. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18115[/attach] Mexico's international image is taking a beating these days, even from two worlds that rarely see eye-to-eye: The Holy See and Hollywood. President Enrique Pena Nieto was already struggling with falling approval ratings, relentless drug violence and a conflict of interest scandal when Pope Francis and an Oscar winner chimed in this week. In recent months, Mexico has faced international outrage and regular protests over the disappearance and alleged slaughter of 43 college students at the hands of a police-backed gang in September. Germany's federal commissioner for human rights policy, Christoph Straesser, met with parents of the victims in Guerrero state on Wednesday and said his country suspended arms sales to Mexico because German guns were apparently used in the attack on the students. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18114[/attach] Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf paid emotional tribute to the American people on Thursday as the United States formally wound up its successful five-month mission to combat the west African nation's Ebola outbreak. With Liberia now in recovery from the worst outbreak of the deadly virus in history, the visiting Sirleaf thanked the United States for coming to the region's aid in its hour of need. "America responded, you did not run from Liberia," Sirleaf told US lawmakers in Washington, expressing the "profound gratitude" of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Liberia, once the country worst hit by Ebola, has registered 4,037 of around 9,600 deaths in the epidemic, which began in Guinea in December 2013. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18113[/attach] MILAN (AP) — Shape and color engaged designers on the second day of Milan Fashion Week of womenswear previews for next autumn and winter, featuring shows by Fendi, Max Mara, Just Cavalli and Prada. Continue reading...

Dozens of black-clad protesters clashed with riot police in central Athens on Thursday, smashing shop windows, throwing petrol bombs and burning cars after an anti-government march, the first since the leftist Syriza party took power a month ago. Around 450 far-left protesters took to the streets of Athens against the newly elected left-right coalition government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, which agreed a deal with EU partners last week to extend an aid program to Athens. After the march, about 50 anti-establishment protesters wearing hoods hurled petrol bombs and stones at police in Athens' central Exarchate district, a Bohemian quarter known as a haunt for artists and left-wing intellectuals. A small number of shop windows and bus stops were also smashed or damaged during the violence. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18112[/attach] SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two stolen Italian books dating to the 17th century that were discovered in California and many other plundered ancient artifacts will be returned to their country of origin, federal officials say. Continue reading...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice will convene a meeting on Thursday with her European counterparts to discuss Russia's actions in Ukraine. Rice will meet with representatives from Italy, France, the UK and Germany to discuss future costs they might impose on Russia, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday. (Reporting by Julia Edwards and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Susan Heavey) Continue reading...

[attach=full]18107[/attach] Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan arrives in Cuba on Thursday to help prod negotiators from the Colombian government and leftist guerrillas to clinch a peace agreement. The 2001 Nobel Peace Prize winner will meet with both delegations, after declaring in Colombia that any peace agreement must be just, and must meet the standards of the international community. "Transitional justice is an issue of concern and controversy in Colombia," Annan said Wednesday, referring to truth-seeking, reparations to victims and accountability for crimes. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18106[/attach] WINTERBERG, Germany (AP) — Elana Meyers Taylor and pushing partner Cherrelle Garrett of the United States held a comfortable lead after the first two women's bobsled heats at the world championships on Thursday. Continue reading...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is backing efforts by South American nations to re-launch a dialogue between Venezuela's government and opposition following new reports of violence. Continue reading...

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A lawyer says Maldives' former president has denied in court that he ordered the arrest of a top judge three years ago. Continue reading...