ROME (Reuters) – Rome’s “Holy Stairs,” which some Catholics believe were climbed by Jesus in Jerusalem, have been uncovered from a protective wooden casing for the first time in nearly three centuries and restored. The 28 marble steps will remain bare temporarily for devout pilgrims to climb on their knees with direct contact with the…
Continue ReadingST. CATHERINE’S, EGYPT – (Reuters) – At St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Egypt’s Mount Sinai, the silence in the library is broken only by low electrical humming, as an early manuscript is bathed in green light. A team from Greece are photographing thousands of fragile manuscripts, including some of the earliest copies of…
Continue ReadingLONDON (Reuters) – In Ryan Hatrick’s London kitchen, Prince William and his wife Kate smile from lined up royal-themed mugs, a magnet of Queen Elizabeth sticks to the oven, and a tea towel marking Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle hangs nearby. Books about the British royal family lie on the table around which the…
Continue ReadingREUTERS (April 17) – A Thai animal rescue group welcomed a dog who was rescued nearly 220 kilometers (136 miles) from shore Monday. The dog, named Boonrod – a Thai word which roughly translates to “the saved one” – was brought to shore for a health check after being found dehydrated and hungry by workers…
Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Boy or girl, Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan’s first child will be bold and courageous, and Harry will be the more patient parent, according to a U.S. astrologer. If, as royal watchers expect, Meghan gives birth in late April or the first week of May, the baby will be…
Continue Reading(Corrects spelling of name in paragraph 8 in April 14 story.) LONDON (Reuters) – Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama charmed thousands of Britons on Sunday, telling anecdotes about meeting the “wonderfully warm and funny” Queen Elizabeth and praising London’s diversity at an event in the capital. Obama, the wife of Barack Obama, who was…
Continue ReadingATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s president called on Monday for Britain to free the Parthenon marbles from the “murky prison” of its national museum, upping the rhetoric in a near 200-year-old campaign for the sculptures’ return. President Prokopis Pavlopoulos spoke at Athens’ own glass-fronted Acropolis Museum, which campaigners hope will one day house the classical reliefs…
Continue ReadingBAGRAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) – As the early morning light breaks over the plain north of Kabul, bird hunter Jan Agha checks his snares as he has done for the past 30 years, hoping to catch a crane, using a tethered bird to lure others down to the nets. Bird hunting is an ancient sport in…
Continue ReadingHAVANA (Reuters) – Cones of white paper sprout from the seasalt-eroded pillars of one colonial building along Havana’s seafront, elaborately painted curtains cascade from another while out front children play with an installation of multicolored hoses. Havana’s 13th Biennial kicked off this weekend with works by more than 300 contemporary artists from 52 countries taking…
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MUNICH (Reuters) – If you are a “Game of Thrones” fan and appreciate the element of surprise, stop reading now. Students at the Technical University of Munich have developed an application to predict which character has the best chance to claim the coveted Iron Throne in the HBO hit medieval fantasy series about warring families.…
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