History Archives

Made in China? The Lion of Venice sculpture sits on top of a column in Piazza San Marco

World

Made in China? The remarkable tale of Venice’s iconic winged lion

A winged lion sculpture that symbolises the Italian city of Venice was made in China.

AFPSeptember 3, 2025

Art expert Ariel Bassano with the Nazi-looted 'Portrait of a Lady' after it was retrieved by Argentine authorities from the daughter of an SS officer in the resort of Mar del Plata

World

Argentine police recover Nazi-looted painting spotted in property ad

Argentine authorities recovered an 18th century painting stolen by Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector over a week after it appeared in a...

AFPSeptember 3, 2025

''This is a patent from a crucial stage when he had invented the detonator and was moving forward towards dynamite,' Ulf Larsson said,' said curator Ulf Larsson

World

Lost for 50 years, Nobel patents found in Swedish summer home

A dozen patents belonging to Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel and lost for almost 50 years were recently found in a Swedish couple’s...

AFPSeptember 3, 2025

Khawaja Naim Murad (R), the great-grandson of Sir Salimullah Bahadur - the last prince or Nawab of Dhaka, shows ornament designs as he sits beside his daughter Nameera Naim during an interview with AFP at their house in Dhaka

World

Bangladesh eyes end to treasure trove bank vault mystery

For more than a century, the fate of the dazzling Darya-e-Noor diamond has been sealed inside a bank vault — a mystery that haunts...

AFPSeptember 3, 2025

A police officer watches traffic under a billboard of Ho Chi Minh in Hanoid, a day before Vietnam's National Day

World

Vietnam marks 80th independence anniversary with huge parade

Under fluttering flags and in a fever of national pride, legions of lock-stepped Vietnamese patriots are due to march through Hanoi on Tuesday in...

AFPSeptember 1, 2025

Argentine police raided a house in Mar del Plata for a suspected Nazi-looted artwork seen in a for-sale ad

World

Argentina hunts Nazi-looted painting revealed in property ad

Argentine police hunted Wednesday for a 17th century painting which was allegedly stolen by the Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector and resurfaced...

AFPAugust 27, 2025

Wen Yunfu (L), 96, veteran of the Second Sino-Japanese War, sips a beverage after being interviewed in Yangquan, in China's northern Shanxi province

World

China’s rulers push party role before WWII anniversary

An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he suffered when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a...

AFPAugust 26, 2025

This is the first time France has returned human remains under the law passed in 2023

World

France returns skull of beheaded king to Madagascar

France on Tuesday returned three colonial-era skulls to Madagascar, including one believed to be that of a Malagasy king decapitated by French troops during...

AFPAugust 26, 2025