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1,500-Year-Old Frieze Found at Peru Shrine

Archeologists in Peru have unearthed a 1,500-year old frieze with human figures believed to be from the indigenous Moche culture, the latest find at a site famous for its pre-Incan treasures.

The discovery, in Peru's northern La Libertad region, was made at the Huaca de la Luna, or Shrine of the Moon, the El Comercio newspaper reported on Sunday.

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For Afghan Women, Driving a Car Brings both Fear and Freedom

Since Rokhsar Azamee began driving the streets of Kabul last year, she has endured condescension, ridicule, and even threats to her life with some men deliberately causing "accidents" to harass her. But she will not be deterred.

The 23-year-old journalist learned to drive to avoid aggravation from men in the street as she waited each morning for a taxi with a driver who would not hassle her on the way to work.

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As a Boy, Pope Wanted to be a Butcher

When he was still knee-high to a grasshopper, Pope Francis never dreamed of becoming the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics. His secret desire? To be a butcher.

"When I was little, there were no shops where they used to sell things," the pontiff said in an interview published Friday, as he recounted his life growing up in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.

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Egypt Says Scanning for Nefertiti's Tomb Encouraging

Infra-red scanning of King Tutankhamun's tomb could support a British archeologist's theory that Queen Nefertiti -- or another ancient Egyptian royal -- is also buried there, Egypt's antiquities minister said Thursday. 

Archaeologists have never discovered the mummy of the legendary beauty, but renowned British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves said in a recent study that her tomb could be in a secret chamber adjoining Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of Kings at Luxor, southern Egypt.

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Experts to Inspect Alleged Site of 'Nazi Treasure Train'

Experts will next week begin inspecting the site in the southwestern Polish city of Walbrzych where a Nazi train that could contain looted treasure is allegedly buried, the city said Thursday. 

A first group of experts, including the two men who claimed to have found the armored Nazi train, will likely start their non-invasive search early next week, according to municipal spokesman Arkadiusz Grudzien.

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Japan's Dainty Geishas in Secret Fast-Food Raids

A craving for fast food presents few obstacles to most people, but for Japan's dainty, doll-like geishas, it calls for a daring undercover operation -- and a cunning disguise.

While strictly taboo for a geisha to be seen munching French fries, some "geiko" -- as they are known in the ancient city of Kyoto -- and their young "maiko" apprentices have hatched a clever plan to avoid detection.

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Asian Collector Snaps up $43m Modigliani in New York

An Asian collector splurged nearly $43 million on an Amadeo Modigliani painting in New York, scooping the top prize in an otherwise lackluster evening sale at Sotheby's that kicked off the autumn auction season.

The auction house sold $377 million worth of art amassed by self-made American billionaire Alfred Taubman, a former Sotheby's chairman who did jail time for price fixing in 2002.

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Secular Bangladesh Publisher Defiant after Machete Attack

The secular Bangladeshi publisher who survived a horrific weekend attack at the hands of suspected Islamist extremists has vowed to continue his work, and says the country needs to do more to promote free speech.

Ahmedur Rashid Tutul was chatting with two writers in the office of his publishing firm in Dhaka on Saturday, when a group of young men wielding machetes and meat cleavers stormed the building.

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In First, Headscarf-Wearing Judge Conducts Trial in Turkey

A female judge wearing an Islamic headscarf has conducted a trial in Turkey for the first time in the history of the Muslim but secular state, media reports said Wednesday.

A picture of a young, black-robed judge wearing a dark-coloured headscarf in an Istanbul courtroom has been widely shared on social media, with some Twitter users denouncing it as "the declaration of Islamic sharia law".

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Michelle Obama Wants 'Honest Conversation' on Girls' Education

Michelle Obama called for an end to "outdated laws and traditions" preventing millions of girls around the world from completing their education, in an impassioned speech Wednesday in Qatar.

The U.S. first lady, on a seven-day tour of the Middle East, told an education conference in Doha that an "honest conversation" was needed across the globe about how women were treated and how this prevented millions of girls from finishing school.

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