One of the oldest salt mines in Europe, Poland's Wieliczka, on Tuesday called for photos of salt from across the globe for a contest and show at its underground museum.

"We thought it would be good to learn about the rest of the world's salt and compile a portrait of it," museum spokeswoman Malgorzata Bogucka told Agence France Presse.

Russia's federal guard service launched an investigation after photos appeared in the media of a disgraced former employee posing behind Vladimir Putin's desk in the Kremlin, an official said Tuesday.

Pictures of the man, named Alexei Ustimchuk, sitting diminutively behind the giant desk in Putin's Kremlin office, spread through the internet as people ridiculed the lack of security that permitted a simple employee such access.

Researchers say Thailand is showing the world how to respond to the global food crisis: by raising bugs for eating.

The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization released a study and handbook Tuesday on what they call 'six-legged livestock' — edible bugs and worms that can help meet global food demand that is expected to grow 60 percent by 2050. The agency says they provide a rich source of protein, vitamins and minerals.

Hong Kong on Tuesday joyfully welcomed the return of a giant inflatable rubber duck, which drew tens of thousands of visitors before it was abruptly deflated for maintenance for almost a week.

The southern Chinese city has taken the 16.5-meter-tall (54-feet) yellow inflatable duck, conceived by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, to its heart since it was towed into the harbor on May 2 to cheering crowds.

Antonio Banderas will star in a movie as one of the 33 Chilean miners trapped deep underground for more than two months in 2010, and the charismatic survivor he's playing couldn't be happier.

Mike Medavoy, producer of "The 33," announced on Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival that Banderas will play Mario Sepulveda, who known as "Super Mario" became the public face of the miners.

The first-ever statue of Pope Francis has been unveiled in a potato field near Naples -- an unorthodox homage to the fact that the Argentine pope's ancestors were farmers in northern Italy.

The statue will be presented to the pope next month by Italian actor Barbato De Stefano, who comes from the village of Cicciano where it was presented and has financed the project.

An elderly New Zealand anti-royalist was fined Monday over a plan to hurl manure at Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla during their visit to Auckland last year, reports said.

Sam Bracanov, 77, pleaded not guilty to preparing to commit an assault after his arrest on November 12 as the royals readied to meet crowds on the Auckland waterfront while touring to mark Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee.

One single ticket in Florida has matched all the numbers to win the highest Powerball lottery jackpot in U.S. history at an estimated $590.5 million, officials said early Sunday.

The lone winner was sold at a supermarket in Zephyrhills, Florida, according to Florida Lottery executive Cindy O'Connell. She told The Associated Press by telephone that more details would be released later.

A U.S. man who dug a handful of old lottery tickets out of his cookie jar was shocked to find out one of them was worth $4.85 million, officials said.

Ricardo Cerezo's wife asked him to take the 11 lotto tickets that had been sitting around the house to the store to check if any of them were winners.

An Australian politician says he has learned a valuable lesson in social networking after he "liked" a Facebook photo without realizing that it showed a teenage prankster exposing himself.

Western Australia Minister for Education Peter Collier said he clicked the "like" button under what he thought was an innocent photo of the then-16-year-old in late 2011. Collier apologized Thursday and said he had no idea that the teen, who was otherwise fully clothed and posing alongside an older man, was playing a prank commonly known as "sneaky nuts."