Krishnadev Calamur

One of the many casualties of Syria's civil war is the country's architectural heritage. We've told you about damage to the historic 11th century Umayyad mosque and the ancient city of Palmyra. Now comes a story from The Associated Press about damage to the Crac des Chevaliers, ...

The arrest of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams this week in Northern Ireland is raising questions about academic freedom across the Atlantic.

As NPR's Scott Neuman reported:

"The arrest was prompted in part by a Boston College-sponsored history project on the conflict in Northern Ireland that included ...

Organizers of a campaign to save the Willow Run Bomber Plant in Ypsilanti Township, Mich., say they've raised enough money to buy a part of the facility and turn it into a museum.

The Montana Supreme Court has overturned a 30-day prison sentence handed to a former high school teacher who was convicted of a raping a 14-year-old student.

We told you last year about the case. Here's a brief summary:

Stacey Dean Rambold was sentenced to a month in prison ...

China is poised to surpass the United States this year as the world's biggest economy, says an estimate released Wednesday by the World Bank's International Comparison Program.

The U.S. has held the top position since 1872, according to the Financial Times, when it took the spot from Britain. ...

Bob Hoskins, the British actor who starred in memorable films such as The Long Good Friday, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mona Lisa and The Cotton Club, has died. He was 71.

The Guardian cited his agent as saying Hoskins died Tuesday from pneumonia. He had retired from films in ...

We told you last year about the uncertain future of the Michigan factory where the iconic Rosie the Riveter and thousands of other women built B-24 bombers during World War II. Sadly, it could be the end of the road for the Willow Run plant in Ypsilanti Township.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says that after an investigation that verified it was Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist comments in audio released over the weekend, the NBA will ban him for life.

Silver says the NBA will also fine Sterling $2.5 million — the maximum fine allowed — and ...

Announced, the cast is: The Star Wars franchise has announced the cast for the upcoming Episode VII movie.

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson and Max von Sydow will join the cast of the new movie. The three stars of the original films ...

For many people, their 80s are a time for quiet reflection — but Doris Payne didn't get that memo.

The 83-year-old walked into an upscale jewelry store in Riverside County, Calif., last October and said she wanted to spend a $42,000 insurance check. She tried on necklaces, earrings and rings ...

A 2-week-old boy born to a Pakistani couple visiting India is being denied permission to return home with his parents because he lacks the proper travel documentation.

The story begins with Mai Fatima, her husband, Mir Muhammad Mahar, and their two children. The couple, from Ghotki, Pakistan, were expecting a ...

North Korea isn't exactly known for its light touch: It has referred to its foes as a "rat-like group of bastards," a "shameless political dwarf" and even a "swish of skirt."

That aforementioned "swish of skirt" is the target of North Korea's latest diatribe.

The Committee ...

A Utah woman accused of killing six babies during the course of a decade shortly after giving birth to them has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder.

Megan Huntsman, 39, was being held on $6 million bail. She is accused of killing the children between 1996 and 2006, ...

A group of British men have won a sex-discrimination case against a university that paid them less than some of their female coworkers.

At issue was how much money the 18 men – carpenters, plumbers and caretakers – employed by the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, made compared with ...

The climbing season on Mount Everest is still in doubt after last week's disaster on the mountain in which 13 Sherpas died and another three are missing and presumed dead. As Mark Memmott notes over at our Two-Way blog, it was the single deadliest day on the mountain.

But ...

Win Tin, a former newspaper editor who became Myanmar's longest-serving political prisoner for his pro-democracy activism, has died. News reports gave his age as 84 or 85.

The Associated Press reports that he'd been hospitalized since March 12 in Yangon with respiratory problems. The cause of death was ...

^{We updated this post with a major development at 1:26 p.m. ET. Friday}

Reports that an agreement between French unions and the consulting and tech industries would force 1 million workers to turn off their phones after 6 p.m. turns out to be exaggerated.

A French reader tweeted us a ...

Medecins Sans Frontieres' new report criticized the Greek government for its treatment of migrants, calling it not only a "violation of national, European and international standards, but also" harmful to people's health and dignity.

In its report, Invisible Suffering, the group, also called Doctors Without Borders, said:

"MSF's ...

Searchers in Washington are using bulldozers and bare hands to work their way through debris at the scene of Saturday's mudslide near the tiny community of Oso. At least 24 people are believed to have died.

As The Seattle Times reports, geological studies have warned for decades that ...

(This post was updated at 5:48 p.m. ET)

President Obama announced new punitive measures last week to expand the initial sanctions on Russia for its moves in Crimea. The measures, along with steps outlined by the European Union, impose asset freezes and travel bans on some Russian officials and target ...