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Israel returns 22 artifacts as Greece pushes to bring antiquities home

Israel on Tuesday returned 22 ancient artifacts that had been illegally removed from Greece, as Athens steps up an international repatriation campaign ultimately aimed at securing the return of sculptures taken from the Acropolis.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni received the objects from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Amir Ganor, director of its theft prevention division, at a ceremony held at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

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Pope Leo XIV diagnosed with lung cancer after surgery to remove part of right lung

Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery Tuesday that confirmed he has lung cancer and doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung, the Vatican said.

Tests confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin after the surgery. It said the diagnosis had been suspected by preoperative tests and was confirmed during surgery.

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Pope Leo XIV to enter Rome hospital for removal of lung nodule

Pope Leo XIV was expected to be admitted to a Rome hospital Tuesday for the removal of a lung nodule in an operation experts say will determine whether the lesion is malignant and if other treatment is needed.

Leo has offered a rare level of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his 17-month papacy. He revealed the discovery of the small, localized nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and announced that he would have it removed.

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2 Renoir paintings stolen from a French museum have been found, 6 arrested

Two Renoir paintings stolen from a museum in southern France last month have been found, and six people arrested, local authorities said Friday.

The mayor of the town housing the Renoir Museum, Bryan Masson, issued a statement praising investigators who tracked down the paintings and suspects. The statement did not elaborate on how they did so.

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Navi Pillay, South African rights champion, wins Nobel Peace Prize

Former U.N. human rights chief Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, a judge on the International Court of Justice, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in Oslo, Norway.

The South Africa-born Pillay, 85 years old, was recognized for her efforts to promote peace and international law, said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

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Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson wins Nobel Prize in literature

Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson won the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday "for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature."

Ingrid Carlberg, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, said the author was in Iceland "listening to the wind" when the academy reached her to notify her of the win.

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Cuba's cherished ballet tradition endures through daily blackouts and shortages

For months, two-thirds of Cuba had no electricity at night. Some neighborhoods in the capital of Havana have been without running water for more than two weeks. Transportation is scarce and eggs, bread and cooking oil are hard to find.

Yet every morning, about 178 young students gather for classes at the National Ballet School in the capital. Housed in an imposing Art Nouveau building in the heart of Old Havana, the school combines rigorous dance training with academic classes in math, Spanish, history and science.

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Pope urges religious leaders in France to preach peace

Pope Leo XIV urged religious leaders on Monday to preach messages of peace and unity as he wrapped up a visit to France by recalling the forces of dialogue that contributed to Europe's post-World War II integration.

Leo traveled to the eastern city of Metz, near the border with Luxembourg and Germany, to preside over an interreligious meeting. It was held at a conference center named for Robert Schuman, a French Catholic statesman regarded as one of the founding fathers of European unity.

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Rebranding nations is harder than renaming products

Five years ago, Turkish Prime Minister President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the world to stop confusing the heirs to one of history's great empires with a ridiculous American bird.

Type Turkey into Google and you get images and articles "that conflate the country with Meleagris — otherwise known as the turkey," state media announced. "Famous for being served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners … 'Turkey' is defined as "something that fails badly.'"

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Pope Leo heads to Lourdes, one of Catholicism's most famous pilgrimage sites

Pope Leo XIV will visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes this weekend as part of his four-day apostolic journey to France, which is the first official papal state visit to the country in 18 years.

The site near the Spanish border draws millions of pilgrims annually, including sick and disabled believers hoping for a cure from the famed spring water in the Lourdes grotto. Here is what to know about Lourdes, one of Catholicism's most important pilgrimage sites.

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