CAIRO (AP) ― The artifacts from the Egyptian Museum damaged by looters will be restored over the next five days, the country’s antiquities head said Monday.Zahi Hawass also said that steps were being taken to reopen Egypt’s famed archaeological sites, which have been closed since unrest seized the country two weeks ago.During huge anti-government protests on Jan. 28, looters climbed a fire escape

PARIS (AP) ― Like an enterprising Andy Warhol of the 16th century, German Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder produced multiple paintings of the same subject, churning out strikingly similar versions of his trademark soft-edged nudes and angel-faced Madonnas.This penchant for repetition did nothing for Cranach’s reputation, and for centuries he was overshadowed by another giant of German ar

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― American violin-making is enjoying a rebirth, craftsmen say, despite the rapidly improving production by fellow makers in China which artisans here see both as a threat ― and a boon ― to their livelihood.Even with U.S. interest in classical music slipping, and some orchestras folding in harsh economic times, support for the artisans’ business is such that hundreds of individual American violin-makers are thriving.“Violin and bowmaking in this country is the best it’s been in U

LONDON (AFP) ― The world’s great museums are increasingly using the Internet and social networking sites to pique the interest of people who might never think of setting foot in an art exhibition.At a click of a mouse, some of the greatest galleries in the world can come to life in a way that has hitherto been near-impossible when seen with the naked eye.The launch of the Google Art project, takin

KANSAS CITY, Montana ― I’ve always wanted a grand piano. Not because I play but because I adore those decorating-magazine tableaus of beautifully framed photos sitting atop a piano.That would certainly solve a problem for me: I don’t have a lot of space to display pictures around the house. So how can I show off my favorite photos of Grandma, the hubby and the dogs ― other than posting them on Fac

Winter is not good to our skin. The wind chaps. The dry air wicks. The combination blows us into the arms of the billion-dollar cosmeceutical industry, which awaits with pricey over-the-counter potions and serums promising to undo the season’s damage.But these companies often promise much more than simple moisturizing. Their products can, according to their advertising, “help to boost oxygen micro

MINNEAPOLIS ― Jody Buell thought she was falling in love, but she fell for someone who didn’t exist.The Burnsville, Minniapolis, woman didn’t catch on to the scam until she had spent more than $10,000 on her online admirer.Instead of sinking into despair, however, Buell decided to get even.For the past two years, she has been helping other fraud victims get advice, support and fellowship from an o

TROMSOE, Norway (AP) ― In the arms race now gripping the travel industry, there is almost nothing cruise ships will not do to tempt new customers.Some boast of climbing walls, ice skating rinks and water parks.Others offer endless bingo, salsa, yoga or gambling. Travelers can go clubbing all night, have their bodies scrubbed with precious oils, or attend culture and history lectures by Ivy League

At home in soggy Seattle I’m a lackadaisical gardener, yet visiting Kauai has turned me into a garden-loving tourist.Kauai, like its sister Hawaiian islands, is a botanical bonanza. Bathed in the island’s natural steroids of endless sunshine and warm-rain cloudbursts, plants flourish. Wandering through one botanical garden I gaped at a croton, a broad-leaved tropical plant, that towered over my he

LONDON (AP) ― He had a reputation as a literary recluse, but a trove of previously unseen letters written by J.D. Salinger to a British friend reveals a sociable man who took bus trips to Niagara Falls, ate fast-food hamburgers, enjoyed watching tennis and claimed always to be writing new work.The 50 letters and four postcards have been donated to a British university, which made them public Thurs

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― A mom whose 4-year-old died after losing a battle to a brain tumor called Wednesday for tougher U.S. regulation of chemicals suspected of being behind a rise in childhood cancers.“There’s growing evidence linking toxic chemicals and carcinogens in the environment with childhood cancer,” Christine Brouwer told a telephone news conference as she described losing a child to cancer.

PARK CITY, Utah ― It takes a lot of faith to make an independent film. This year, independent films are showing a lot of faith.Among the roughly 120 features playing at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, a surprisingly large number use faith ― and specifically Christianity ― as either a critical narrative fulcrum or a key expositional backdrop. And the dramas do not always take a neutral stance.K

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― The familiar green logo of Starbucks will soon appear on Indian streets as the U.S. group bets on lifestyle changes that are turning the tea-drinking country into a booming market for cafes.India’s appetite for the bitter brew has never been stronger, with its overwhelmingly young population opting to while away time in shiny Western-style cafes instead of the traditional coffeeh

PARIS (AP) ― Haute couture got tugged in opposite directions on Tuesday, as Chanel channeled the street ― embracing the mixed-up, casual-chic styles of today’s trendsetting It Girls ― while Givenchy sent out what can only be described as extreme haute couture ― breathtaking, Baroque garments that crossed the divide between clothes and art.Karl Lagerfeld said he had “Gossip Girl” star and new Chane

FORT WORTH, Texas ― It was a frostbitten January day 50 years ago when the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art opened its doors to the public. Only 400 people braved the threat of an icy Camp Bowie Boulevard to visit the memorial to Fort Worth’s greatest champion.Before his death in 1955, as a final act of magnanimous boosterism, Amon G. Carter Sr., the self-made millionaire and publisher of the Sta

Comic strip journalist calls it quits after 70 years of reportingBrenda Starr was born June 30, 1940, full-grown into a big-city newspaper office where she was an oddity, a female reporter.Also gorgeous, a fiery redhead, as they say, with a glamorous if out-of-place wardrobe. Straight away Brenda Starr demanded respect in a man’s world, insisting on hard-hitting news assignments.Hers was a call to

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Sir Elton John is “fed up” with being a treated like a “second-class citizen” in the U.S.That’s why the 63-year-old gay singer said he took a stand last week during a performance at a private Beverly Hills fundraiser for the ongoing legal challenge to California’s gay marriage ban. The outspoken British piano man, who became a parent to a baby boy on Christmas Day with partner D

WAGENINGEN, Netherlands (AFP) ― Dutch student Walinka van Tol inspects the worm protruding from a half-eaten chocolate praline she is holding, steels herself with a shrug, then pops it into her mouth.“Tasty ... kind of nutty!” the 20-year-old assures her companions clutching an array of creepy crawly pastries at a seminar, which forecast that larvae and locusts will invade Western menus as the pri

EL TARTER, Andorra (AP) ― It is less than 32 kilometers from border to border. It has two heads of state, a bishop from Spain and the president of France, but its official language is Catalan. Its mountains rise higher than 2,745 meters, and they accommodate some 20 kilometers of ski slopes.This is Andorra, a tiny landlocked principality that is almost all vertical, tucked in the eastern Pyrenees

MADRID (AFP) ― A new hotel has opened in the heart of Madrid proudly declaring that it is complete rubbish.More of a wooden shack than a five-star establishment, the walls of the Beach Garbage Hotel are strewn with detritus dragged up by the tide, recovered from landfills or snapped up at flea markets.Among the wall decorations: plastic drums, wooden frames, musical instruments, striped socks, tir