Law enforcement officials across Europe arrested 60 people last year in a crackdown that retrieved over 11,000 trafficked artworks and artifacts including ancient books, sculptures and coins, Interpol said Thursday.

As part of an annual operation codenamed Pandora VII, forces led by Spain's Guardia Civil police swooped on the art criminals from September 13 to 24 last year in a slew of European nations, the international police cooperation body said.

Pope Francis on Wednesday greeted the foreign envoy of the Russian Orthodox Church, just days after revealing a secret "mission" was under way to try to put an end to the war in Ukraine.

Metropolitan Anthony attended Francis' weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square and then greeted Francis at the end. He presented the pope with an icon, which Francis blessed. Anthony was later seen being led off the stage by one of Francis' aides.

Museums in Austria and Greece are discussing the potential return to Athens of two ancient Greek sculptures, a move which could have a knock-on effect for the world's thorniest cultural heritage dispute: the fate of the British Museum's Parthenon Sculptures.

The talks announced by Austria's foreign minister on Tuesday concern two small pieces of the 2,500-year-old marble works from the Acropolis. The sculptures are now held in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum.

The United Nations announced Tuesday night that its premier prize for press freedom has been awarded to three imprisoned Iranian female journalists "for their commitment to truth and accountability."

The winners are Niloufar Hamedi who broke the news that 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died last September while being held by the morality police for wearing her headscarf too loosely, and Elaheh Mohammadi who wrote about her funeral.

"My mum doesn't agree with what I do here: at home, we don't eat like this," laughs Alan Geaam, the first Lebanese chef to earn a Michelin star in Paris.

The self-taught chef believes that promoting Lebanon's culinary riches means combining them with some of "the elegance and refinement" of French cuisine.

The long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, "The Covenant of Water," is Oprah Winfrey's latest book club pick.

"The Covenant of Water," published Tuesday, is Verghese's first work of fiction since his million-selling "Cutting for Stone" came out in 2009. Verghese's current book is a multigenerational saga set in India from 1900-1977.

The 2023 Canada-United Kingdom Media Freedom Award was presented Tuesday to independent Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr for its “extraordinary commitment to high-quality independent journalism,” the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said.

“The newspaper continued to report, amidst a takedown of their website and legal threats to its reporters. This award signals Canada and the UK’s enduring commitment to supporting free and independent journalism,” the FCDO said in a statement.

Pope Francis has revealed that a secret peace "mission" in Russia's war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.

"I'm available to do anything," Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. "There's a mission that's not public that's underway; when it's public I'll talk about it."

Tunisian President Kais Saied has preached freedom of thought at a book fair, shortly before authorities confiscated a book comparing him to Frankenstein, its author and publisher said.

A statue of Buddha has been discovered in Egypt's ancient seaport of Berenice on the Red Sea, shedding light on trade ties with India under the Roman empire.

A Polish-U.S. mission discovered the statue "dating back to the Roman era while digging at the ancient temple in Berenice", an antiquities ministry statement said on Wednesday.