Rural America now accounts for just 16 percent of the U.S. population, the lowest ever.

The latest 2010 census numbers hint at an emerging America where, by mid-century, city boundaries become indistinct and rural areas grow ever less relevant. Many communities could shrink to virtual ghost towns as they shutter businesses and close down schools, demographers say.

Hundreds of unticketed tourists have been turned away from Machu Picchu this week as Peru's famed Inca ruins reached capacity.

Angry tourists blocked a bridge for two hours Monday in the town of Aguas Calientes at the entrance to the ruins. That impeded buses that ferry visitors to the hilltop archaeological site.

A valuable 19th century Polish painting that went missing during World War II has been returned to Poland after being removed from auction in Germany, the culture minister said Wednesday.

Aleksander Gierymski's "Jewish Woman Selling Oranges" was unveiled to reporters by Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski, who said the painting was returned to Poland after many months of on-and-off negotiations with lawyers representing a German person.

Archaeologists believe they have discovered the tomb of Saint Philip, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, in western Turkey, Anatolia news agency said Wednesday, quoting the team leader.

"We have been looking for Saint Philip's tomb for years," Italian Francesco d'Andria told the agency. "We finally found it in the ruins of a church which we excavated a month ago."

When the sun sets and shops close, Pakistan's gold scavengers come to life, sifting through dirt and sewers for precious yellow scraps they can turn to profit.

It is a painstaking, filthy job reserved for those dreaming of a rags-to-riches fortune in one of the poorest countries in Asia, better known for Al-Qaeda and bombs than social mobility.

Civil war or not, every year the holy Muslim month of Ramadan must be respected and in Libya's rebel stronghold of Benghazi women bakers are working overtime to meet demand.

Dozens of women knead dough into shape, making sweets and salty pies, at the iconic Al-Harabi bakery, undaunted by the unrelenting war, sweltering temperatures, power-cuts and tight budgets.

Two "extremely rare" gold medals awarded to Captain William Bligh of HMS Bounty fame will be auctioned in Melbourne this week in one of the most significant maritime history offerings in recent years.

"You'll never see the likes of the Bligh medals again. They're so historical," a spokesman for the auction house told Agence France Presse.

When Sana, who comes from the West Bank city of Hebron, married her Jerusalem-born husband Mohammed 13 years ago, she never imagined their union would lead to a life of fear and hiding.

At first, their different residency permits -- hers for the West Bank, his for Jerusalem -- weren't much of an issue. She could live with her husband in Arab east Jerusalem with a temporary permit, and movement between the city and the West Bank was still fairly easy.

Who will speak Iniai in 2050? Or Faiwol? Moskona? Wahgi? Probably no-one, as the languages of New Guinea -- the world's greatest linguistic reservoir -- are disappearing in a tide of indifference.

Yoseph Wally, an anthropologist at Cendrawasih University in Jayapura keeps his ears open when he visits villages to hear what language the locals are speaking.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in the Holy Land joined forces Monday to launch a multi-faith environmental campaign, citing religious injunctions to protect the Earth across their three faiths.

Among their plans are the convening of an international conference of religious leaders in New York ahead of the 2012 U.N. General Assembly, a North America public relations campaign and training future clerics on the importance of environmental issues, one of the organisers said.