The Japanese government on Monday shrugged off renewed calls from South Korean President Park Geun-Hye to apologize to former wartime sex slaves, saying Tokyo hoped Seoul would change its views.

"We have explained our position many times. We want to continue our diplomatic efforts so that our view will be understood," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

Iraq's national museum officially reopened Saturday after 12 years of painstaking efforts during which close to a third of 15,000 stolen pieces were recovered.

The much-delayed reopening was brought forward in what officials said was a response to the destruction of priceless artefacts by Islamic State group jihadists in the northern city of Mosul.

A Picasso painting, snatched more than a decade ago from a storeroom in Paris, has surfaced in New York and will be returned to the French government, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The century-old Cubist oil was smuggled into the United States last December from Belgium with a shipping label that described the contents as a handicraft holiday present worth 30 euros ($37).

Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday the United States was "unwavering" in its commitment to protecting homosexuals worldwide, as he introduced Washington's first envoy for gay rights.

Randy Berry, who was named Monday, is tasked with helping countries coordinate U.S. strategy on rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, as well as to highlight such issues around the world.

Hundreds of female religious guides have been at the forefront of Algeria's battle against Islamic radicalization since the civil war that devastated the North African country in the 1990s.

Their aim is to steer women away from false preachers promoting radical forms of Islam.

Cambodia's most popular tourist attraction — the complex of ancient temples that includes Angkor Wat — is suffering from a form of overexposure: At least five foreign visitors have been arrested and deported this year for taking nude photos at the sacred sites.

Authorities have no tolerance for people stripping down at Angkor Archeological Park, a sprawling, centuries-old UNESCO World Heritage Site that drew 2 million visitors last year. The incidents are also upsetting to ordinary Cambodians, for whom the Khmer-era complex holds enormous spiritual and historical significance.

Two stolen Italian books dating to the 17th century that were discovered in California and many other plundered ancient artifacts will be returned to their country of origin, federal officials say.

The books, "Stirpium Historiae" and "Rariorm Plantarum Historia Anno 1601," were taken from Italy's Historical National Library of Agriculture and sold to an antiquities dealer in Italy, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement. The San Francisco Bay Area buyer willingly surrendered the books to investigators.

A Picasso painting, snatched more than a decade ago from a storeroom in Paris, has surfaced in New York and will be returned to the French government, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The century-old Cubist oil was smuggled into the United States last December from Belgium with a shipping label that described the contents as a handicraft holiday present worth 30 euros ($37).

A video of jihadists in Iraq gleefully smashing ancient statues to pieces with sledgehammers sparked global outrage and fears Friday that more of the world's oldest heritage will be destroyed.

The destruction of priceless Assyrian and other artifacts from the main museum and an archeological site in the northern city of Mosul drew comparisons with the 2001 dynamiting of the Bamiyan buddhas in Afghanistan.

An unprecedented lesbian kiss between two high school students on a popular South Korean TV drama has fueled a debate about portrayals of sexuality in a rapidly modernizing society with deeply conservative roots.

The broadcast and Internet regulatory body, the Korea Communications Standards Commission, said Friday it had received complaints about the scene which aired on Wednesday's episode of "Seonam Girls High School Investigators."