Japan moved one step closer to adopting a long-delayed treaty on child abductions on Friday when the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave its approval, a government spokesman said.

Japan is the only member of the Group of Eight major industrialized nations that has not joined the 1980 Hague Convention, which requires children be returned to their usual country of residence if they are snatched during the collapse of an international marriage.

Guatemala made claims Wednesday to 13 archeological pieces set to go under the hammer at a Sotheby's auction house sale in Paris next week.

Sotheby's is planning to sell on March 22 and 23 items that once belonged to the now shuttered Barbier-Mueller Pre-Columbian Art Museuma, including a little more than 300 archeological pieces from Mexico and Central and South America.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood sharply criticized an anticipated U.N. document on combatting violence against women, saying on Wednesday that it was "deceitful," clashed with Islamic principles and undermined family values.

The text of the document has not been published because negotiations are continuing, regarding how to address sexual violence and rights of women to control their sexuality as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Vandals have damaged the wreck of a Japanese mini submarine that famously attacked Sydney Harbor during World War II, stealing parts and protected relics, authorities said on Thursday.

The crews from two of the three vessels involved in the assault scuttled their boats and committed suicide but the fate of the third was unknown until 2006 when scuba divers discovered it off Sydney's northern beaches.

Yasmine wants a future free of violence and fear, but like many young Iraqis, 10 years of bloodshed have made her doubt she can find such a future in her home country and she now wants to leave.

The 25-year-old is one of a generation of Iraqis who grew up during the battles and brutal sectarian killings that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

A Chinese city is searching for a foreign traveler to become a "modern Marco Polo", with a 40,000 euro ($52,000) salary on offer to the winner, a tourism official said Wednesday.

Hangzhou in eastern China, renowned for its canals and bridges, was described as the "most beautiful and elegant city in the world" by the Venetian traveler, whose 13th-century journal was one of the first detailed accounts of China written by a European.

Abu Ibrahim says he and his family are the only Christians left in Syria's devastated city of Deir Ezzor, and he is terrified Muslim extremists could make their already difficult life hell.

Yet every Sunday, he and the family peacefully hold prayers in a house they share with 15 soldiers from the rebel Free Syria Army (FSA), all Sunni Muslims.

After 10 years of attacks on Iraqi Christians, Monsignor Pios Cacha wonders if the ancient community's days are numbered.

"Maybe we will follow in the steps of our Jewish brothers," he says.

From pianos with ivory keys to violin bows crafted with tortoise shell, musical instruments made from protected species will soon be able to roam the globe more easily -- with their own passports.

The 178-member Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) agreed on Wednesday to create a system of certificates for such instruments, which currently need a new permit each time they travel.

Egyptian security services have banned a film about the Jews of Egypt on the eve of its scheduled release, the director told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.

"The film was banned by National Security," Amr Ramses said by telephone from New York.