NAIROBI, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - Plans to send Turkana Boy -- a unique hominid skeleton -- and other prehistoric jewels from Kenyan museums for exhibition in the United States have sparked heated debate among Kenya's scientific community.

The trip will bring in a much-needed windfall to Kenya's cash-strapped museums but the fossils' discoverers and researchers -- led by world-renowned Kenyan paleo-anthropologist Richard Leakey -- fear it could cause irreparable damage to the relics.

KIEV, Sept 23, 2007 (AFP) - About a hundred people gathered in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Sunday to commemorate one of the most infamous massacres of East European Jews during World War II, the Babi Yar massacre.

Relatives of the dead laid flowers, candles and small stones according to Jewish tradition at a monument formed in the shape of a menorah, or seven-branched candelabrum.

Prayers were said in Hebrew by Ukrainian chief rabbi Yakiv Blaykh.

HANOI, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - As booming Vietnam hurls itself into the 21st century, the wrecking ball is taking its toll on the architectural heritage of the capital, long hailed as one of Asia's urban marvels.

Rapid population growth is putting ever more pressure on Hanoi, where old houses, cafes and temples overlook tranquil lakes dotted across the city and French colonial villas still line many leafy boulevards.

PARIS, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - The UN cultural agency UNESCO added 23 new sites to their global 'bio-reserves' list on Thursday, naming areas from Australia to Mongolia in an effort to prevent further flora and fauna loss.

They were selected from a list of 33 submitted by member states and include the mountainous area of Jabal al Rihane in Lebanon and the And Atoll, a seascape consisting of 607 islands in Micronesia.

They and 21 others chosen will join 529 sites in 105 countries already in the programme, which was launched by the UN agency in 1970.

CHICAGO, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - A US museum will not return the remains of two infamous man-eating lions to Kenya because they are too fragile to travel, the museum's president told a Chicago newspaper Thursday.

The lions killed at least 140 Indian workers in the 1890s before being shot by famed British railway engineer Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson, whose adventures formed the basis of the 1996 movie 'The Ghost and the Darkness.'

Patterson sold the lions to Chicago's Field Museum in 1924 for 5,000 dollars, today the equivalent of about 60,000 dollars.

LJUBLJANA, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - Heavy rains hit Slovenia's northwest on Tuesday causing flooding and mudslides in the region where two persons went missing while a World War II museum was severely damaged, Slovenian state radio said.

Flash floods in the town of Zelezniki, some 60 kilometres (40 miles) northwest of capital Ljubljana, swept away about 150 cars, the report said.

Two people who were believed to have been in their cars, are still missing, police said.

BEIJING, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - An ambitious water diversion project in China risks submerging cultural relics up to 4,000 years old, despite efforts by heritage officials to rescue them, state media said Tuesday.

With just three years left before the South-North Water Diversion Project -- a 25-billion-dollar scheme to divert water from China's lush south to its parched north -- is finished, only one third of the preservation project has been completed, China Daily reported.

PARIS, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - Casually dressed in a shirt and jacket with no tie, President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed visitors who toured the Elysee presidential palace at the weekend and got a first glimpse of his office.

Each year, the official residence of the president opens to the public for a weekend but for the first time guests could see one of the president's two offices and stroll in the Elysee gardens.

CHICAGO, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - A US museum said Wednesday it has not received any request from Kenya to return the remains of two lions that killed at least 140 Indian workers in the 1890s before being shot by a famed British railway engineer.

Kenyan officials said Monday that they planned to use international protocols to repatriate the lions, which are considered part of the country's heritage.

NAIROBI, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - Kenya is demanding that a US museum returns the remains of two lions that killed at least 140 Indian workers in the 1890s before being shot by a famed British railway engingeer, officials said Monday.

The killing of the railway workers by the infamous 'Maneaters of Tsavo' over a nine month period briefly halted the construction of the Kenya-Uganda line, a project so perilous it was dubbed the 'Lunatic Express.'

NAIROBI, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - Kenya has urged a US museum to return the remains of two lions dubbed the 'Maneaters of Tsavo' that were sold eight decades ago by a colonial British railway builder, officials said Monday.

Two maneless lions in Tsavo East National Park, about 300 kilometres (188 miles) southeast of the capital, killed at least 140 Indians workers over nine months, briefly halting the construction of the Kenya-Uganda railway in the late 19th century.

HANOI, Sept 9, 2007 (AFP) - Vietnam plans to restore the ruins of an ancient imperial city in central Hanoi dating back to the seventh century with help from Japan and the UN cultural organisation, heritage officials say.

Work is expected to start next year to preserve the old citadel ahead of the capital's 1,000th birthday in 2010 and would strengthen Hanoi's chances of having its historic cultural heart declared a World Heritage site in future.

VIENNA, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - Forgotten behind its high walls, one of Europe's most important 19th-century Jewish cemeteries, now dilapidated, desperately awaits salvation after years of indifference on the part of Viennese authorities.

Over 7,000 graves dating from 1784 to 1874 when Austria was at the height of the industrial revolution, are facing total ruin in Vienna's Waehring cemetery, worn as they are by time, overrun with weeds and sometimes vandalised.

WASHINGTON, Sept 2, 2007 (AFP) - Across the United States, Americans are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of a French nobleman to whom they still feel indebted, centuries after he helped them win independence, the Marquis of Lafayette.

'There were many French and people of other nationalities who came over to serve in the American Revolution, but Lafayette was rather special,' said Diane Windham Shaw, curator of a collection devoted to the French marquis at a university named after him, Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.

HONG KONG, Aug 19, 2007 (AFP) - Campaigners who launch court actions to save parts of Hong Kong's architectural heritage are damaging the city's international competitiveness, a leading politician said Sunday.

Earlier this month, protesters failed in a last-ditch High Court application to prevent the demolition of Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for British royals, in order to make way for a new by-pass.

BISSAU, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) - A bronze statue of Ulysses Grant has gone missing in the west African nation of Guinea Bissau with police on the lookout for the likeness of 18th US president and Civil War hero.

'I don't know when the statue was taken but it must have been a while ago ... well before I took up my functions in this town,' said Braca de Pina, who began serving as governor of the island of Bolama four months ago.

The statue was erected in the 19th century by the Portuguese to thank Grant for his support for Portugal's claim to the island.

HANOI, Aug 15, 2007 (AFP) - Vietnam will ban jet skis and stop tourist resort development inside world-heritage listed Halong Bay following a request by the UN cultural organisation, state media reported Wednesday.

Authorities in the communist country will also halt new permits for fish and shrimp farms in the bay, one of the country's main tourist draws, and speed up plans to resettle some island residents to the mainland, it said.

BEIJING, Aug 12, 2007 (AFP) - China's historic Silk Road city of Dunhuang and its archaeological treasures are under threat from the effects of climate change, human activity and mismanagement, state media reported on Sunday.

The oasis city, home to the UN World Heritage-listed Mogao Grottoes, has recently seen rivers run dry, vegetation die off, underground water levels fall sharply and sand storms increase, Xinhua news agency said.

HONG KONG, Aug 10, 2007 (AFP) - A Hong Kong court Friday approved the demolition of a pier that was the traditional landing point for British royals, the latest blow for those battling to save the city's heritage.

The colonial-era Queen's Pier, the arrival point for visiting dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, has been the focus of a fierce campaign to save it from being knocked down to make way for a traffic bypass.

HONG KONG, Aug 10, 2007 (AFP) - A last-ditch court bid by protesters campaigning against the demolition of Hong Kong's Queen's Pier was Friday dismissed, the latest blow for those battling to protect the city's heritage.

In a written judgement High Court judge Johnson Lam said: 'I dismiss the application.'

Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for visiting dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, was due to be taken down last week to make way for a bypass.

HONG KONG, Aug 1, 2007 (AFP) - Police late Wednesday rounded up the last of the campaigners protesting against the demolition of a colonial-era Hong Kong pier, the latest flashpoint in the struggle between developers and defenders of the city's heritage.

Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, has been occupied since April by protesters trying to stop it being destroyed for a new bypass.

HONG KONG, Aug 1, 2007 (AFP) - Police clashed with campaigners protesting the demolition of a colonial-era Hong Kong pier Wednesday, the latest flashpoint in the struggle between developers and defenders of the city's heritage.

Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, has been occupied since April by protesters trying to stop it being destroyed for a new bypass.

HONG KONG, Aug 1, 2007 (AFP) - Hong Kong police have evicted most of the activists protesting the demolition of a pier in the city's famous downtown harbour Wednesday.

Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, has been occupied since April by campaigners trying to stop it being destroyed for a new bypass.

The government issued warnings on Tuesday urging the activists to leave the pier by Wednesday or face prosecution and costs incurred by delaying the project.

HONG KONG, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - A Hong Kong court on Tuesday delayed the demolition of a historic downtown pier, giving hope to activists working to preserve the former British colony's architectural heritage.

Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, was to be pulled down from Tuesday to make way for a bypass, and later be rebuilt in another location.

HONG KONG, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - A Hong Kong court on Tuesday delayed the demolition of a historic downtown pier, giving hope to activists working to preserve the former British colony's architectural heritage.

Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, was to be pulled down from Tuesday to make way for a bypass, and later be rebuilt in another location.

HONG KONG, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - A Hong Kong court on Tuesday delayed the demolition of a historic downtown pier, giving hope to activists working to preserve the former British colony's architectural heritage.

Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, was to be pulled down from Tuesday to make way for a bypass, and later be rebuilt in another location.

HONG KONG, July 30, 2007 (AFP) - Hong Kong activists launched legal action Monday against the government's decision to dismantle a historic pier, hours after it gave them an ultimatum to leave the pier or face prosecution.

Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana, is set to be dismantled at the end of this month to make way for a bypass and eventually be rebuilt in another location.

HONG KONG, July 27, 2007 (AFP) - A group of Hong Kong activists began a hunger strike Friday in an eleventh-hour bid to save a historic pier threatened with demolition.

Queen's Pier, the traditional landing point for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana, is set to be dismantled at the end of this month to make way for a bypass.

Authorities say they will rebuild it in a new location, but the protesters have vowed not to back down until the government agrees to keep it where it is.

LONDON, July 26, 2007 (AFP) - A well-preserved sword used by one of king Henry VIII's personal guards in the 16th century went on display for the first time on Thursday in a museum in southern England.

The 41-inch (one-metre) sword, made of iron with steel cutting edges and a basket hilt, was among thousands of artefacts retrieved 25 years ago from the wreckage of the warship 'Mary Rose'.