By Ann Curry
NBC News anchor

Climbing into Sudan's Nuba Mountains I turned and saw her standing above me, in a dress so clean and white it seemed out of place with her surroundings.

Something about her seemed at once strong, even heroic and yet achingly vulnerable. She didn't move as I raised my camera to take a picture of her and the sleeping baby she carried: two children among thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands living in caves to survive the relentless bombing.

Even small children know to run at the sound of the government's Antonov warplanes.  Our news team had just sat down in at the mouth of a cave when the plane's "Whoooo woooooh" sound grew very loud. Suddenly children and adults started scrambling inside, tripping and falling on top of each other in a silent fear. It is odd, I realized, how quiet children are here, uttering not a word even at this moment.

All we heard was 89-year-old Cooli Kafi Darbar praying. Cooli is a former school teacher, who has been credited with translating the Bible into Kronga, the language of the Nuba people.

His quiet prayer translated, "The God of Isaac and Abraham, thank you for everything, for suffering and for blessings."

Hearing this, his 64-year-old daughter Hanna began to stare, seemingly at some memory, before she started to cry. Then she parted her lips and sang, "Why can't I find any comfort in this world," tears rolling down her left cheek and dropping off her chin.

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It is a good question.

The Nuba are being bombed nearly every day now by their own government that seems intent on clearing them from these mountains.

When the people of South Sudan fought for independence from the government of President Omar al-Bashir (the same President Bashir who the International Criminal Court has accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur), the Nuba fought with them. But when territorial lines were drawn, the Nuba were left on what they considered the wrong side of the border.

Sudan's government says it is fighting an insurgency. We met Nuba rebels who showed us the artillery they said they'd confiscated from government troops, but they insisted their people were attacked first.

People say government military units called the "Abu Tiera," led by Ahmed Harun (also accused by the ICC of crimes against humanity in Darfur), went door to door, targeting only Nuba homes with systematic rape, murder and kidnappings while leaving Arabs untouched.

There are no accurate numbers of how many people may have disappeared, but some experts say satellite images are consistent with reports of mass graves.

Brigadier General Nimori Morat told us, "We are fighting just to live."

The United Nations estimates that in the Nuba Mountains, and in the neighboring states that have also been attacked in the wake of South Sudan’s independence, 585,000 people have been displaced.

This seems to be a war over territory and, in one area, over oil, but it appears to have also unleashed ethnic cleansing.

"They say our skin is like charcoal," the elderly Cooli told us. Another woman who survived an attack said, ”They called us dogs and said we are the only people because we are Arabs and you are Nuba."

How could a war such as this be largely unknown to the rest of the world?

Journalists are not allowed into the Nuba Mountains. It was only because we snuck across the border that we reached the caves, and even then, we were wary of bombs and Sudan military units a few kilometers away. Ultimately we had to leave the same night because it was unsafe, we were told, to stay.

Sure enough, some of the places where we had been were attacked at sunrise and there appeared to be an effort to cut off the road into the Nuba Mountains completely. How will the people in the mountains survive this war, and soon, the potential famine that will result from being unable to plant their crops? Humanitarian aid has also been cut off from the mountains.

While the international community wonders what, if anything, can be done, we saw a boy in a refugee camp wearing, of all things, an Obama t-shirt.

And we heard several people, including children, thank us for taking their picture. If they are going to suffer, and even die, they at least want the world to know what is happening here.

 

Editor's note: Click here to watch Ann Curry's full Sudan report, 'The Man Who Stayed,' from Rock Center with Brian Williams.

Additional resources: Click here to learn more about humanitarian organizations helping Nuba refugees.

A Tibetan man died when detonating a bomb in a government building in western China over the weekend, Radio Free Asia reported.

The man identified as Tashi, 32, part of the large Tibetan minority population concentrated in the western province of Sichuan, targeted a building used to monitor local residents, the report on Monday said, citing India-based Tibetans with contacts in the area.

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"He died in the explosion that also damaged the building. The extent of damage on the government building is not clear," an India-based friend of Tashi told RFA.

The report did not say whether there were other people or casualties in the building at the time, nor report the extent of the damage to the building.

The state-controlled media in China normally does not report on ethnic unrest, so reports like this one typically get out by word of mouth. Radio Free Asia is a U.S. government broadcaster that beams news into undemocratic countries in the region.

Such acts of violence are rare in Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas, though the conflict with the Han Chinese authorities has been more severe since 2008, when a series of protests and demonstrations spread from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, to other Tibetan areas and descended into rioting. The violence was largely aimed at Han civilians and was harshly suppressed by China’s paramilitary. The clashes left at least 10 dead officially and dozens more wounded — though some Tibet watchers say that the casualties were many times higher and that thousands of Tibetans have been arrested.

A more common form of protest among Tibetans has been self-immolation. According to records kept by The International Campaign for Tibet, a group advocating for human rights and democracy in Tibet, 10 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in the months of January and February alone.

China severely represses actions or expressions of support for Tibetan independence. The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetans, fled in the early days of China’s Communist rule, where he has lived in exile ever since.

Ethnic tensions have increased in the past decade with Beijing’s "Open up the West" economic development campaign which has systematically increased the population Han Chinese living in traditionally Tibetan and other minority areas.

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With rhino horns fetching more than gold ounce per ounce, it's not surprising that poaching has escalated. But South Africa's national park service reported Wednesday that it was shocked when it had to arrest four of its own on suspicion of killing rhinos and selling their horns to criminal syndicates.

"The unscrupulous and revolting hands of the poaching syndicates have stretched as far as to taint the hands of those trusted with the great responsibility of being guardians of our natural heritage," South Africa National Parks chief David Mabunda said in a statement.

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The men were stationed at Kruger National Park, which at 7,500 square miles is nearly the size of New Jersey. They were arrested Tuesday after two more rhinos were found dead and their horns cut off.

Home to more than 90 percent of the continent's rhinos, South Africa is on the front line of a worsening war with poachers who send the horns to China and Southeast Asia for use in traditional medicine.

South Africa has sent troops to Kruger Park, but the poaching continues.

NBC's Rock Center reports on efforts to protect rhinos
Rhino dies during operation to protect it from poachers

Poachers killed a record 448 rhinos in South Africa last year and have already killed 80 this year -- setting a pace for a new annual record. Kruger has seen 43 rhinos killed so far this year.

A decade ago South Africa had more than 20,000 rhinos and was losing about 15 a year to poachers.

But poaching has increased dramatically in the last few years as the spread of wealth in places like Vietnam and Thailand has enabled more people to buy powdered rhino horn, a prized ingredient in traditional medicine, though it has no proved benefits.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Galileo's retraction of his theories and the excommunication of Martin Luther are among the closely guarded documents that the Vatican has put on display to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the establishment of its archives at its current location in Rome.

The Holy See on Wednesday opened an exhibition of 100 documents -- a tiny fraction of its archives -- in Rome’s Capitoline Museums. The exhibit is entitled “Lux in Arcana: The Vatican Secret Archives Reveals itself.”

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It is the first, and possibly the only time, the documents will be seen outside the Vatican walls, according to the exhibition’s website.

Britain’s Telegraph newspaper live-blogged the exhibit's opening on its website on Wednesday. 

Some of the documents on display include:

• A letter from an English nobleman to Pope Clement VII in 1530 that demands that King Henry VIII be allowed to divorce Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn.
• An 1887 letter from a Native American chief written on a strip of bark that refers to the pope as the "Grand Master of Prayers."
• The astronomer Galileo’s retraction of his theories of the galaxy after his trial on heresy charges in 1633.
• Documents from the trials of the Knights Templar.
• The excommunication decree of reform leader Martin Luther.
• The abdication deed of Queen Christina of Sweden. Rumored to be a hermaphrodite, she gave up her throne in 1654 to convert to Catholicism and move to Rome.

The documents in the exhibition are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of documents in the pope’s archive, which also includes the popes' correspondence with such historical figures as Michelangelo, Voltaire, Mozart, Hitler and even Abraham Lincoln.

The Vatican archives are typically only seen by closely scrutinized researchers and scholars.

Business Insider contributed to this report.

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Egypt on Wednesday lifted a travel ban on seven Americans being tried on charges that the pro-democracy groups they worked for fomented unrest with illegal foreign funding.

But according to an Egyptian lawyer representing one of the groups, the Americans and other foreign workers would only be allowed to travel after each defendant posts bail of 2 million Egyptian pounds (approximately $300,000 U.S.), NBC News Cairo Correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin reported.

Still, the shift could signal an end to the worst crisis in relations between Egypt and the U.S. in 30 years.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also said Wednesday she expected the row over the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to be resolved "in the very near future," but said the U.S. does not have confirmation that the travel ban has been lifted.

"We do not have confirmation that the travel ban has been lifted. We hope that it will be, and we will continue to work toward that,'' Clinton told U.S. lawmakers. "The reporting is encouraging but we have no confirmation.''

U.S. officials have said $1.3 billion in annual military aid has been put at risk by the case.

Cairo court adjourns trial of NGO workers

It was not immediately clear when any of the activists involved would leave the country. Sixteen of the 43 people facing charges are Americans. Seven Americans are in Egypt and some of those have sought refuge in the U.S. embassy.

"The assistant to the attorney general, following a request from the investigating judges, has issued an order to lift the ban," a judicial source close to the proceedings told Reuters, adding the charges have not been dropped against any of those involved.

Judge Abdel Moez Ibrahim, head of the Cairo Appeals Court who appoints judges to the case, also confirmed to Reuters that a decision had been taken to lift the travel ban.

Asked for the nationalities of those affected by the decision, he said: "All of them are Americans."

The U.S. embassy had no immediate comment. The Egyptian military also had no comment on the case.

Clinton: Resolution likely 'in very near future'
"We believe we will resolve this issue concerning our NGOs in the very near future. That is my best assessment sitting here today," Clinton told U.S. lawmakers when asked about the case.

The NGO workers also include Egyptians, Serbs, Norwegians and Germans. They have been accused of receiving foreign funds without the approval of the Egyptian authorities.

The workers are also alleged to have carried out political activities unrelated to their work and accused of failing to obtain necessary operating licenses.

The NGOs say they have long sought to register in Egypt and describe the crackdown as part of a wave of repression against civil society by the generals who took power after President Hosni Mubarak's overthrow last year.

Washington ties with Cairo have been a cornerstone of its Middle East policy since Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel.

Two of the groups involved, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), are loosely affiliated with the major U.S. political parties and one of the accused, IRI Egypt Director Sam LaHood, is the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The first session of the court took place Sunday and was adjourned to April 26. That adjournment had raised hopes among activists' supporters that the case could be dropped to spare further damage to Egypt's ties with its ally.

A day before the decision to lift the travel ban, the Egyptian judge who had handled the trial resigned without giving any reasons.

Ayman Mohyeldin, NBC News Cairo correspondent, as well as Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Updated at 11:15 a.m. ET: GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- A former CIA "ghost prisoner" who grew up in the Baltimore area admitted to a U.S. war crimes court on Wednesday that he was an al-Qaida money courier and martyr-in-training now prepared to help prosecute other terrorism suspects.

A lawyer entered a guilty plea to five charges, including murder, on behalf of Majid Khan at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. Asked by the judge if he understood the plea, Khan answered in English, "yes, sir."

Khan was the first of the so-called "high-value" detainees to plead guilty.

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A ghost prisoner is an official term for someone whose identity has been hidden and unregistered at a detention center.

From Md. to Gitmo: Ex-gas station worker faces trial

After nearly nine years in U.S. custody, the Pakistani native appeared in public for the first time at the top-security courtroom. He pleaded guilty in a deal that spares him from a potential life sentence in exchange for helping prosecute other prisoners.

He faces up to 25 years in prison but will likely serve far less. Sentencing will be deferred to 2016.

Khan, a square-faced 32-year-old with short black hair, goatee and glasses, wore a dark suit, white shirt and tie as he stood in court next to his military lawyer, Army Lieutenant Colonel Jon Jackson, who spoke on his behalf.

His lawyers were seeking to seal the details of his deal to protect him and his family. Prosecutors said it should be open because of overwhelming public interest. A judge was expected to rule on the issue Wednesday.

Khan moved to Maryland with his family in 1996 and graduated from a suburban Baltimore high school. He met self-described Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed during a trip to Pakistan in 2002 and became his acolyte.

Images: Life goes on in Guantanamo

Under Mohammed's instruction, Khan passed a test designed to prove his willingness to become an al-Qaida suicide bomber. He donned a fake bomb vest and waited to set it off in a mosque in Karachi where he was told then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf would show up.

Khan also delivered $50,000 of al-Qaida cash to the group that drove a truck bomb into the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003, killing eight people and wounding dozens.

A California woman who survived the blast watched Wednesday's hearing from behind a glass wall in the courtroom spectators' gallery.

Khan's parents and other relatives were scheduled to watch via closed-circuit television at a Maryland military base. He also has a wife in Pakistan and a daughter he has never seen.

'Tortured' Gitmo prisoner seeks release of secret videos

Pakistani police arrested Khan at his brother's house in Pakistan in March 2003 and turned him over to the CIA. His family did not learn what had happened to him until three and a half years later, when then-President George W. Bush announced he had closed the secret prisons and sent Khan and more than a dozen other CIA ghost prisoners to Guantanamo.

Khan is the seventh captive convicted in the still-evolving Guantanamo tribunals designed to prosecute non-U.S. citizens on terrorism charges outside the regular civilian and military courts. He is the fifth to plead guilty in exchange for leniency.

Four of those guilty pleas have occurred under the administration of President Barack Obama, whose attempts to close the Guantanamo detention camp and move the trials into civilian federal courts have been thwarted by Congress.

Msnbc.com staff, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Updated at 10:32 a.m. ET: CAIRO, Egypt – A man arrested in Cairo International Airport on Wednesday on suspicion of being a senior al-Qaida leader appeared to be the victim of mistaken identity, U.S. officials said.

Egyptian security sources originally told NBC News and other media organizations that the man arrested was Mohammed Ibrahim Makkawi, who is also known as Saif al-Adel. Al-Adel is thought to have been put in charge of the tactical planning of al-Qaida attacks since the death of Osama bin Laden in May.

Speaking to The Associated Press, two U.S. officials later said that the arrested man appeared to have been mistaken for the wanted al-Qaida leader. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence information that has not been publicly released.

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A National Security Council official also told NBC News that the situation appeared to be a case of mistaken identity.

The FBI said it was still sorting out details of the case.

"We are aware that an individual has been taken into custody and every effort is being made by the U.S. government to verify the identity of the person in custody," said William Carter, a spokesman at FBI headquarters.

Embassy bombings
The FBI has listed Mohammed Ibrahim Makkawi on its most-wanted list as an alias for the senior al-Qaida leader known as Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian who has been indicted by the United States for an alleged role in the Aug. 7, 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people. He also was linked to the 2002 killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Nazar Ghorab, a prominent Egyptian defense lawyer, told NBC News the man arrested at the airport was not al-Adel. Ghorab said the detained suspect was a sometime member of several Islamist militant groups who was nowhere as senior as al-Adel.

Ghorab was one of al-Adel's lawyers in Egypt and represented him and other prominent Islamist militant leaders including Mohammed al-Zawahiri, the brother of current al-Qaida leader Ayman al Zawahiri.

NBC News and others originally cited the FBI which identified "Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi" as a high-ranking member of the terrorist group. 

Makkawi was arrested after traveling to Egypt from Pakistan via the United Arab Emirates, sources told NBC News. He was detained upon arrival and handed over to Egyptian intelligence officials, NBC News said.

The FBI describes al-Adel as "a high-ranking member of the al-Qaida organization" and the State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

'Lies'
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Makkawi said he al-Adel and that he had nothing to do with the terror group since 1989.

"I am not the wanted Saif al-Adel," Makkawi told reporters. "What has been said about me is lies. I never took part in actions against people or installations."

"I decided to come to Egypt to live in peace and because I am certain of my innocence," he said.

Makkawi gave his birth date as Dec. 17, 1954. The FBI says Saif al-Adel was born in the 1960s.

Wearing a gray Arab robe and a jacket, Makkawi looked nothing like the man in the photograph distributed by the FBI as that of Saif al-Adel's. Makkawi has receding silver hair and wears glasses.

Makkawi said that Saif al-Adel's real name was Mohammed Salah Zidan. Montasser el-Zayat, a lawyer who represented Makkawi in Egypt, also told the AP last year that al-Adel's real name was Mohammed Salah Zidan. Al-Adel's FBI profile was posted in October 2001 when the FBI "Most Wanted Terrorist" list was created -- just a month after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The name "Mohammed Salah Zidan" is not mentioned in the FBI profile.

"I challenge any security agency to prove that I am Said al-Adel, who is a different person whose name is Mohammed Salah Zidan," said Makkawi.

A senior Egyptian security official involved in the case supported Makkawi's assertion of innocence. The official said Makkawi was a former army officer who left Egypt in the 1980s to join the fight against Russian forces in Afghanistan.

The official said Makkawi was wanted for questioning in Egypt in a case dating back to 1994 that involves the activities of a militant  group, whose members fought the government of ousted president Hosni Mubarak in an insurgency in the early 1990s.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

NBC News' Ayman Mohyeldin, Charlene Gubash, Kristen Welker, Robert Windrem, msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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BEIJING -- An explosion at a chemical plant in northern China on Tuesday killed at least 16 people, injured more than 40 and left dozens missing.

Fears of new blasts later halted rescue efforts, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

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The official Xinhua News Agency said that about 100 people were working at the Hebei Zhaoxian Keeper Chemical Co. plant in Hebei province's Zhaoxian county when a workshop was flattened.

Xinhua quoted Zhaoxian deputy chief Wu Haijiang as saying that rescue work had been stopped due to the risk of explosions.

China's State Administration of Work Safety said on its website that the blast happened during the production of guanidine nitrate, a high-energy fuel and propellant.

'I couldn't move any more'
However, China Daily reported that the plant mainly produces pesticides. It added that the force of the explosion broke windows more than a mile from the site.

The newspaper quoted worker Li Jianfei, 24, as telling China Central Television that he heard three explosions.

"When I crawled out of the workshop, I couldn't move any more," he added. "It was someone else who carried me to the ambulance."

The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

The Associated Press reports from Osan air base, South Korea — As a sleek black U-2 roared back from a mission, Pontiac muscle cars zoomed along the runway to help it touch down using a low-tech method dating back more than half a century to when this Cold War-era aircraft was cutting-edge.

These "chase cars" race down the runway at speeds of more than 120 miles per hour to meet each landing and guide the pilot down.

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They estimate the plane's distance from the ground in feet and radio that to the pilot — "Five ... five ... four ... three ... three" — until the plane is brought to a stall with about two feet to go and essentially drops down to the ground.

"It's notorious for being hard to land," the pilot said after climbing out of the cockpit.

But the legendary U-2 "Dragon Lady" remains one of Washington's most prized possessions on the Cold War's last hot front. Pumped up by a $1 billion overhaul, a trio of these piloted aircraft are proving they can still compete with the most futuristic drones on a crucial mission: spying on North Korea. Read more.

 

 

Heavy fighting broke out on Wednesday near the main rebel stronghold of Baba Amr in the city of Homs when Syrian troops began a ground assault, opposition sources told Reuters.

"The army is trying to go in with infantry from the direction of al-Bassel football field and fierce confrontations with automatic rifles and heavy machine guns are taking place there," activist Mohammad al-Homsi told the news service from Homs.

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He said the military had shelled the area heavily on Tuesday and overnight before the ground attack started.

The reports of a ground assault came as the United Nations put the death toll in the 11-month uprising against authoritarian President Bashar Assad at well over 7,500. Activists reported more than 250 dead in the past two days alone — mostly from government shelling in Homs and Hama province.

Clinton: Syria's Assad could be labeled a war criminal

Tunisia's president — the first since the country's own Arab Spring uprising toppled his predecessor — offered the Syrian leader asylum as part of a negotiated peace, an offer Assad will almost surely refuse.

A Syrian diplomat reportedly stormed out of an emergency U.N. meeting amid renewed calls for a cease-fire to deliver humanitarian aid. A top human rights official told The Associated Press a U.N. panel's report concluded that members of the Damascus regime were responsible for "crimes against humanity."

Rebel stronghold shelled as Syria vote result looms

In shift, China backs aid
In a possible significant change of tact, China backed international efforts to send humanitarian aid to Syria, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said, after Western powers proposed a United Nations resolution authorizing humanitarian aid.

It was not clear whether Yang's remarks mean China will consider the proposed new U.N. Security Council resolution. China is one of the five permanent members of the Council which have the power to veto such resolutions.

"The pressing task now is for all sides to cease violence in the Syrian conflict, and to launch as soon as possible inclusive political dialogue and together deliberate on a reform plan," Yang told Elaraby, who has previously said Beijing's veto lost it diplomatic credit in the Arab world.

'I think I will die,' man in Syria's besieged city of Homs says — then the line goes dead

"The international community should create conditions for this, and extend humanitarian aid to Syria," added Yang.

China is trying to win back diplomatic ground after its widely condemned handling of the Syrian crisis.

Western powers said the U.N. Security Council would work on a draft resolution about extending help to stricken parts of Syria, and France urged Russia and China not to veto it, as they have previous drafts.

Yang made the comments in a phone call late on Tuesday with the head of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, the official Xinhua news service reported on Wednesday.

The bloodshed in Syria, where government forces have been bombarding neighborhoods held by opposition forces, has turned into a broader test setting Western powers against China and Russia over how the world should respond to civil turmoil.

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Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Updated at 11:17 a.m. ET: LONDON -- A woman believed to be the widow of one of the four suicide bombers that killed 52 London commuters in July, 2005, is being sought by Kenyan authorities in relation to a terrorist plot in that country, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Kenyan police were searching for a woman who evaded them when they tried to capture members of a group thought to be planning an attack on the city of Mombasa in December, 2011, the newspaper reported. (The Times operates behind a paywall.)

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One of the identities the suspect was believed to be traveling under was Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of Jermaine Lindsay, who blew up a subway train at King's Cross station on July 7, 2005, Kenyan police told The Times.

The suspect had claimed to be Natalie Faye Webb, a South African, but the passport with this name was determined to be fake, the newspaper reported.

Lindsey's backpack-borne bomb claimed 26 lives on 7/7, as the attack is known in the U.K.

A Kenyan police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told The Times: "We know quite a bit about her now. She has had three identities in the past and that [Samantha Lewthwaite] is one possible identity."

Kenyan police have been working with British police over the operation and have sent a large team to Nairobi to help with the investigation, the newspaper reported.

New al-Qaida video suggests Somalia alliance

Lewthwaite, 28, a convert to Islam who called her husband's actions on July 7, 2005, "abhorrent," is suspected of being part of a cell directed by terrorist group al-Shabab, according to The Times.

Lewthwaite's family say they have not had any contact with her in years, the newspaper reported.

Police are also searching for another British suspect, Habib Ghani of London, according to the Times.

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Msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in “good physical condition” after surgeons in Cuba removed a lesion from his pelvis, Reuters reported. The socialist leader, 57, has been quietly treating cancer, although what type has not been disclosed.

"There were no complications relating to his local organs,” Vice President Elias Jaua told Venezuela's parliament in Caracas. He said tests would be carried out on the extracted tissue in the coming hours to determine whether the lesion had been malignant.

As the vice president spoke, supporters cheered and cried out, "Onward, comandante!" the Associated Press reported.

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Venezuelans are talking about little else than Chavez's health. Some still suspect he may have even invented the cancer to draw sympathy and create the image of a conquering return to fitness, while others speculate he could die within months.

Chavez has stayed mostly mum about his illness although he announced last week that doctors in Cuba had found a new growth about one inch in diameter in the same area where a baseball-size cancerous tumor was removed last summer.

He traveled to Cuba for treatment because the communist-led Caribbean island's former president, Fidel Castro, is a close friend and his main political mentor.

According to Chavez, it was Castro who broke the news to him by his hospital bed that he had cancer last June. Chavez has since returned for chemotherapy sessions and medical tests in Cuba, where he is guaranteed privacy and tight security.

The latest health setback has fueled fresh doubts about Chavez's health, his ability to campaign for re-election in October and his fitness to govern for another six-year term if he wins.

Chavez faces opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, a 39-year-old state governor who hopes to woo former Chavez voters with his promise of a Brazilian-style "modern left" government.

Before the announcement that he would need more surgery, opinion polls showed Venezuelans broadly split – a third pro-Chavez, a third pro-opposition and a third undecided.

But the polls indicate Chavez might have a slight edge in voter enthusiasm - attributed to his popularity among the poor and an increase in welfare spending for the most needy.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.

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The Mexican army says it has found 120 plastic helmets worn by members of the Knights Templar drug cartel during initiation ceremonies for new members, the Associated Press reported.

This style of helmet is worn in rural Mexico by people portraying centurions in plays during Easter week. The helmets were found in a rural area in the Michoacán department in western Mexico.

The Knights Templar emerged in 2010, announcing itself on banners strung across the country. The Knights’ leaders claimed this was the new name of La Familia Michoacana, an organized crime syndicate that is the main producer of methamphetamine to the United States.

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The rename was also a rebrand, according to those banners, which stated that the Knights were committed to “Safeguarding of order, preventing robberies, kidnappings and extortions,” The Monitor, a newspaper in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, reported. In about a year, however, the Knights Templar earned a reputation for violence and drug trafficking.

Then again, the name may be fitting.

The Knights take their name from the original Knights Templars, which were founded during the Middle Ages. Although the 13^th-century Knights were a charitable organization, they were also the most vicious crusaders.

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Now that the word about "the Jesus Discovery" is out in the open, outside experts are weighing in — and many of them look upon the robotic exploration of a 1st-century Jerusalem tomb as a technological tour de force resulting in an archaeological faux pas.

On one level, the "Jesus Discovery" investigators saw this project as a follow-up on the sensational claim they made five years earlier in "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," that Jesus and members of his family were buried in what is now a southeast residential neighborhood of Jerusalem. On another level, they set forth what they said were the earliest known evidence of Christian references in the Holy City — in the form of an inscription referring to resurrection on one casket, and a fishlike design on another casket.

Today, several experts specializing in 1st-century Christianity said the investigators failed to make their case on either level.

"In my assessment, there's zero percent chance that their theory is correct," said Andrew Vaughn, executive director of the American Schools of Oriental Research, or ASOR.

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Christopher Rollston, an expert in Semitic epigraphy at Emmanuel Christian Seminary in Tennessee, said that although the underground chamber is "a nice tomb ... it's hard to press it into service as an impressive find."

Some archaeologists were familiar with the project months before it came into the spotlight, but non-disclosure agreements kept them from commenting  until today's press announcement at Discovery Times Square in New York. The project has already spawned a book by scriptural scholar James Tabor and filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, titled "The Jesus Discovery," and a documentary about the find is due to air on the Discovery Channel this spring.

When today's embargo lifted, the criticism from outside experts hit with full force on the ASOR Blog.

"Nothing in the book 'revolutionizes our understanding of Jesus or early Christianity,' as the authors and publisher claim, and we may regard this book as yet another in a long list of presentations that misuse not only the Bible but also archaeology," Duke University biblical scholar Eric Meyers declared.

Jodi Magness, a religious-studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said "it pains me to see archaeology hijacked in the service of non-scientific interests, whether they are religious, financial, or other." In her view, Tabor, Jacobovici and their colleagues set out to dig up evidence to support their earlier claims about a different tomb nearby, the so-called "Jesus Family Tomb" — and then rustle up a fresh round of media attention.

"Professional archaeologists do not search for objects or treasures such as Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, or the Holy Grail," she wrote. "Usually these sorts of expeditions are led by amateurs (nonspecialists) or academics who are not archaeologists. Archaeology is a scientific process."

Old and new claims
The main objection to the claims for the Jesus Family Tomb, like the claims themselves, retraces ground that's been well trod since 2007: Just because bone boxes are marked with the name "Jesus" and the names of his brothers and sisters, as mentioned in the Bible, doesn't necessarily mean these are the actual biblical figures.

Tabor and Jacobovici produced a statistical analysis looking at the frequency of names in ancient Jerusalem, and claimed that the close fit to the names on Jesus' family tree couldn't be just a coincidence. Last month, Tabor said further research has strengthened the case he and Jacobovici laid out in 2007.

The critics insisted once again that a statistical argument could never win the day. "Dramatic claims require dramatic evidence. ... The claims of Tabor and Jacobovici for this tomb are no more convincing now than they were then," Rollston wrote.

But what about the inscription in the more recently explored tomb, known as the Patio Tomb? And what about the fish? Rollston said the fish was more probably a type of ornamental design typically seen on Jewish bone boxes, known as a nephesh tower. Where Tabor and Jacobovici saw the "fins" of the fish, Rollston saw the eaves of the tower's roof.

Even if it was intended to be a fish, "it would most naturally be understood as simply a reflection of a nautical motif in a tomb," or perhaps representative of the deceased's occupation — for example, a fishmonger. Unlike Tabor, Rollston did not rule out the possibility that a Jew would have such a design engraved on the bone box.

As for the inscription, Rollston said the resurrection connection was questionable. Tabor, Jacobovici and their colleagues suggested that it could be interpreted as reading, "Divine Jehovah (Yahweh), lift up, lift up," or "The Divine Jehovah raises up from [the dead]." But Rollston said the first letter in the word that was said to refer to Jehovah — IAEO — looked like a T rather than an I.

"This can't be an iota," he told me, "and that's the one letter that has to be there."

He also questioned the interpretation of the inscription's key word, "UPsOO," or "hupso," which would be a form of the verb "to lift up." Even if one assumes that's what was intended, the word wouldn't necessarily refer to raising up in the resurrection sense, he said. And even if one assumes it was indeed meant as a reference to resurrection, there were some Jewish sects back then — such as the Pharisees — that believed in a general resurrection.

"For someone to state that this is an early Christian tomb, there really has to be some clear and decisive evidence to back up that statement," Rollston told me. "And it just really isn't here."

In a follow-up email, Tabor told me that the "tower will not float" as an alternate explanation for the fishlike image. He also pointed to the comments he posted on the ASOR Blog, taking further issue with the nephesh tower interpretation. In a comment addressed to Rollston, he said, "We have much to discuss, but I look forward to doing it face to face."

On the positive side...
Not every outside expert was totally critical: The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted Yuval Baruch, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority, as saying that Tabor and Jacobovici may well be right about the fish. Baruch noted that the fishlike image was not photographed "in the best light," but added: "If it is indeed a fish, it is fantastic. It has no parallel."

Baruch cautioned against reading too much into a single decoration, however. "Different decorations are being discovered all the time," he told Haaretz.

Rollston and ASOR's Vaughn both said the robotic-arm exploration technique that Tabor and his colleagues used to explore the 1st-century tomb held promise for future digs. Israel's religious and civil authorities are reluctant to have ancient sites disturbed, and even if the excavations are approved, they can create huge disruptions for residential areas like the one where the tomb currently in question is located. Tabor and his colleagues circumvented many of those typical problems by using a camera-equipped robotic arm that they snaked down through a pipe going into the tomb.

"The robotic-arm technology used by James Tabor is truly amazing," Vaughn said. "To be able to explore in a relatively non-invasive way, and to respect the artifacts and bones that may be present there, is certainly of much value."

Magness, however, stressed in her blog posting that robotic-arm video couldn't take the place of a full-fledged dig.

"The archaeological endeavor involves piecing together all available information, not just one artifact taken out of context," she wrote. "Context is the reason that archaeologists go to so much trouble to document the provenance of every feature and artifact dug up on an excavation. The current claim is based on finds that have no context, as they have not been excavated. All we have are photos taken by a robotic arm of objects (or parts of objects), the dates and identification of which are unknown or unclear."

Rollston said further analysis could well shed more light on the central question raised by the current controversy: How did the first Christian communities emerge and manifest themselves? But the process of getting definitive answers doesn't necessarily match the typical time frame for a television production or book project.

"The wheels of scholarship, like the wheels of justice, grind slowly but surely," he told me.

More about biblical brouhahas:

• New find revives 'Jesus Tomb' flap
• Claims about tomb stir tempest
• Messianic message stirs debate
• Return to King Solomon's mines
• Help scientists decipher 'lost' gospel
• Gallery: The archaeology of Christianity
• Experts stumped by markings in Jerusalem

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Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

With tensions between Israel and Iran running sky high over the latter's nuclear program, U.S. officials and military analysts are growing increasingly concerned that Israel will launch a multi-phase air and missile attack that could trigger waves of retaliatory missile strikes from Tehran.

Such a shootout could quickly spiral into a regional conflict that would potentially force the U.S. to intervene to protect its interests.

The emerging consensus among current and former U.S. officials and other experts interviewed by NBC News is that that an Israeli attack would be a multi-faceted assault on key Iranian nuclear installations, involving strikes by both warplanes and missiles. It could also include targeted attacks by Israeli special operations forces and possibly even the use of massive explosives-laden drones, they say.

The Iranian response to such an attack is uncertain, but many experts and officials believe it is likely to include retaliatory missile strikes. Iran has more missiles in its arsenal than Israel, according to some estimates, and has the capability of striking targets in most Israeli population centers.

"I think that it would strike Iran as a reasonable response, an eye for an eye," said Christopher J Ferrero, a professor of diplomacy at Seton Hall University in New Jersey and an expert on Middle East missile forces.

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He also said Iran would likely attack major cities with its Shahab 3 missiles, which he said are not as accurate as the Israeli missiles, but would be an effective "instrument of terror … that could certainly cause significant damage to heavily populated suburban and urban areas.

 

 

Israel possesses advanced anti-missile defenses, but those systems could be overwhelmed if Tehran launched large numbers of missiles, as Ferrero expects.

Given the immense difficulties in carrying out successful air strikes on the four key Iranian installations using its warplanes alone -- as laid out last week by the New York Times, U.S. officials say Israel would be likely to coordinate such airstrikes with waves of missiles. This would greatly increase the chances of penetrating fortifications that Iran has built to protect some of its key installations and overwhelm Iran's air defenses, said the former and current U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Two words:  Jericho missiles," said one former White House and Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, when asked how Israel would attack Iranian targets at great distances. "They are conventionally armed, have a very small CEP (circular error of probability, meaning they are highly accurate) and can be used in conjunction with a strike fighter operation."

Israel has as many as 100 Jericho ballistic missiles – both short- and medium-range – as well as submarine-launched cruise missiles, though the officials say they believe the latter are unlikely to be used. The short-range Jericho I missiles would be of no use in an attack on Iran, because the targets are far beyond its 300-mile range. However, the  medium-range Jericho II's are capable of  hitting targets as far as 900 miles away – or as far east as Tehran. Israel also tested a Jericho III intercontinental ballistic missile in 2008 and Israeli media have reported that it may have deployed one or more of the weapons, which would put all of Iran within reach.

The missiles would most likely be launched from the Hirbat Zekharyah missile range, midway between Israel and the Mediterranean Coast, according to "Critical Mass: the Dangerous Race for Superweapons in a Fragmenting World," by William E. Burrows and Robert Windrem, and various Israeli press reports.

Although designed to be part of Israel's nuclear deterrent force, the Jerichos can be equipped with high explosives as well as nuclear warheads. U.S. officials have said that an Israeli attack, if it happens, would be intended to surgically take out the nuclear facilities, not inflict the mass casualties that would result from a nuclear attack.

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Iran has no capability to defend against a missile strike, said Ferrero, the expert on Middle East missile arsenals.

"If the Jerichos are accurate enough to get to their targets, they will get to their targets," he said.

What Iran does have is hundreds of Shahab 3 medium range ballistic missiles, according to U.S. estimates. The Shahab 3 also has a range of roughly 900 miles.

Israel, possibly supplemented by U.S. shipborne anti-missile systems – the Aegis Standard Missile-2 -- could intercept and destroy some of the incoming Iranian missiles, said Ferrero. But the numbers favor Iran, he said.

"I believe that (the Iranians) have a sufficient inventory that they could overwhelm those missile defenses and still get enough missiles through to cause damage," he said.

The critical factor may be the number of  missile launchers in Iran's inventory, Ferrero said, because penetrating Israel's defenses would require numerous  missiles, but also enough launchers to be able to fire them off simultaneously. That number is a closely guarded secret, he said.

Additionally, U.S. intelligence estimates say Iran has supplied Hezbollah with more than 40,000 short-range rockets and missiles since 2006. However, U.S. officials are uncertain whether Hezbollah would follow Iranian orders, and risk Israeli retaliation or, if they did, how many they would fire.  The majority of the rockets and missiles are unguided.  Israel and the U.S. have worked on a short-range missile defense system called Iron Dome, but there are concerns that waves of attacks could overwhelm the system.

Also open to question in U.S. and Israeli military circles is whether an Israeli attack would meet its objective: setting back the Iranian nuclear program anywhere from two to five years.

U.S. officials say Israel would be likely to concentrate its attacks on four key Iranian nuclear complexes. Key facilities within those complexes – the Natanz and Fordo centrifuge facilities, both south of Tehran; the Arak research reactor, southwest of Tehran; and a uranium hexafloride production and research facility near the city of Isfahan – are protected by heavy fortifications, they said.

The Jerichos are stored in tunnels in limestone formations around Hirbat Zekharyah and rolled out for firing. They would likely be used as part of a one-two punch, the officials say. The first attack would be carried out by Israeli strike fighters and would be intended to breach the heavily fortified outer ceilings of the facilities. The second (and possibly even third) wave would be missile attacks aimed at destroying the facilities within, the officials said. 

Asked if Jerichos would have the accuracy and the explosive power to take out hardened bunkers or fortifications believed to be protecting Iran's most-sensitive underground nuclear facilities, a current U.S. official replied, "You would be surprised at their accuracy." The official added that the missiles' warheads would contain a special mix of explosives that could penetrate the Iranian defenses.

U.S. officials also say Israel may have learned the location of facilities that fabricate centrifuge components. These, too, could be targeted.

A 2010 book on the possibility of an Israeli attack laid out the difficulties Israel would face if it attempted to use only its strike fighters on those targets.

 "Attacks against the sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Arak alone would stretch Israel's capability and planners might be reluctant to enlarge the raid further," wrote authors Steven Simon and Dana H. Allin, in "The Sixth Crisis – Iran, Israel and the Rumors of War." Simon, then a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, now heads the Middle East Desk at the National Security Council.

The biggest problem is the fortification of the two centrifuge facilities. Simon and Allin describe the challenge using aircraft only.

"Natanz is the only one of the … likely targets that is largely underground, sheltered by up to 23 meters (75 feet) of soil and concrete," they wrote. "… Bombs used in a ‘burrowing' mode, however, could penetrate deeply enough to fragment the inner surface of the ceiling structures above the highly fragile centrifuge arrays and even precipitate the collapse of the entire structure."

But for the attack to have high odds of success, they argue, aircraft would have to drop additional bombs into the cavities created by the first bombs. That would require "time on target" -- a luxury that the Israeli jets at the outermost limits of their 1,100-mile range would likely not have. While they estimate the success rate of such a plan at "better than 70 percent," they call it "complicated and highly risky."

Another difficulty for attacking Israeli aircraft would be finding a route to the targets that could be flown covertly or with the tacit approval of Sunni Arab states, who are at least as frightened of an Iranian nuclear capability as the Israelis.

Simon and Allin (and others) have written that there are three "plausible routes" that Israeli warplanes would take to attack Iran: a northern approach, likely along the Syrian-Turkish border; a central path that would take them over Jordan and Iraq; and a southern route that would transit the lower end of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The southern route is the most likely, U.S. officials suggest, because the Saudis and other Sunni-dominated Gulf states are eager for someone to take out the Iranian threat. They prefer the U.S. do it, but have reportedly shared intelligence on the Iranian program with the Israelis, if only on a limited basis, according to the U.S. officials.

No matter what route the fighter bombers take, they would use what one U.S. official described as "high-low, low-high" flight paths – flying high first to increase fuel efficiency, then low for most of the trip to evade radar, then climbing high again as the bombs are released in what is known as a "flip toss" from as far as 10 miles from the target.

The Israelis would be prepared to lose aircraft if necessary, the officials said.

Although Simon and Allin do not discuss adding a missile component, other experts, including many current and former U.S. officials, believe the Israelis already have made a decision to have them in the attack menu.

Missile attacks would be coordinated with fighter-bomber attacks (presumably, the Israelis' F-16, F-18 and extended-range F-15I Strike Eagle). The missiles would have to be launched so that warheads strike targets following the strike fighter attacks.  Because of the short flight time, minutes rather than hours in the case of the aircraft, the missile launch would almost certainly take place at the last possible moment to ensure the secrecy of the overall attack.

The Israelis are not planning to use their submarine-launched cruise missile force -- "not enough of them," one official said of the subs. (The Israelis have long had nuclear tipped sub-launched cruise missiles as part of their deterrent force.) 

Beyond the strike fighters and the missile force, U.S. officials suggest the Israelis could use two other "weapons" against Iran.

The first is special operations forces that would be secretly inserted into the country. At the least, they could be employed to illuminate aim points for laser-guided bunker-busting bombs. At the most, they could launch their own attacks on facilities, particularly those believed to contain enriched uranium.

The other is a new generation of large drones with wingspans approaching those of a Boeing 777  (almost 200 feet). Costing $30 million each, the Heron drones are capable of remaining airborne for 40 hours at a time and have a range of 4,600 miles. While they can be equipped with surveillance and electronic warfare equipment, some officials call them "strike drones," meaning they could be loaded with explosives and used to attack Iranian targets.

While the initial days of an Israeli-Iranian conflict would probably be bloody, most experts say that the open warfare would be expected to wind down within days or weeks, since neither side has the ability to occupy the other's territory or enough missiles to sustain attacks.

But that would bring with it its own set of problems, as the conflict would be likely to continue on a lower level, involving covert operations and terrorism.

"You could have a very nasty covert war emerge," said Ferrero.

Robert Windrem is a senior investigative producer for NBC News.

A "crack" in Earth's magnetic field has opened the way for yet another thrilling display of the northern lights near the top of the world.

We're in the middle of an upswing in the sun's 11-year activity cycle, leading up to an expected peak in 2013. If solar storms get too intense, there could be a heightened risk of outages in satellite communication and electrical grids. But fortunately, the only significant effects from the solar outbursts so far have come in the form of heightened auroras, occasionally ranging as far south as Nebraska.

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Auroras arise due to the interaction of Earth's magnetosphere with electrically charged particles streaming from the sun. That interaction energizes atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen in the ionosphere, causing ripples of greenish and reddish light between 60 and 200 miles up in Earth's polar regions.

SpaceWeather.com's Tony Phillips reports that the interplanetary magnetic field tipped south this week and opened a crack in our planet's magnetic shield to fuel a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm. The Space Weather Prediction Center said the storm was sparked by particles sent out from the sun during an eruption last Friday.

You can see the atmospheric physics at work in the picture above, captured by Andrei Penescu in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, on Feb. 27. Fittingly, Kangerlussuaq is home to the Sondrestrom Upper Atmospheric Research Facility, a project that studies the aurora and other atmospheric phenomena.

Here are a few other photos from this week's auroral displays, plus two video extras. One is "Temporal Distortion," a time-lapse tribute to the aurora and other wonders of the night sky by Dakotalapse photographer Randy Halverson. It includes some of the auroral imagery we featured back in October, and features original music by Bear McCreary, the award-winning composer for TV shows such as "Walking Dead" and "Battlestar Galactica."

The other is David Peterson's compilation of time-lapse videos captured by astronauts on the International Space Station, including some primo views of the aurora from above. Here's what NASA's Mike Fossum, a former space station resident, had to say about the clip: "This is the best video I've seen from photos we took on ISS! Stunning!!"

Can't argue with that...

More auroral glories:

• Rocket flies into the northern lights
• Northern lights appear to wash over ship in Norway
• The sun sends Earth a valentine
• Aurora extravaganza glows in space
• Planet looks back at the northern lights
• Auroras spark awe across the north
• Solar weather stirs up super sights
• Northern lights go way, way south
• Speed through Lapland's lights
• Beautiful blasts from solar storms
• Get a video view of Canada's aurora
• Slideshow: The best of the northern lights
• Cosmic Log's auroral archive

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Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

A huge diamond coveted by European kings, queens and princes for centuries, used to reinforce alliances between nations and pawned to pay off royal debts goes on sale at Sotheby's in Geneva on May 15.

The auction house called the "Beau Sancy" gem "one of the most important historic diamonds ever to come to auction," reflecting its part in the fluctuating fortunes of Europe's royal families for more than 400 years.

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The stone, a 35-carat modified "pear double rose cut" diamond belonging to Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia and head of the former ruling dynasty of the German empire, is expected to fetch $2 million to $4 million.

"It's a stone that appeals to me greatly as a survivor of all those tumultuous events," said David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's jewelry in Europe and the Middle East.

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"Stones from royal collections hardly ever appear at auction. In my career this is an absolute one-off," he told Reuters by telephone from New York.

Bennett, who sold a pink diamond for $46.2 million in 2010 which was a record for any jewel at auction, said estimating the value of a stone like the Beau Sancy was difficult given its rarity.

“It is the most important and oldest stone to come onto the art market, Phillip Herzog von Wurttemberg, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe told the Local, an English language website in Germany. “It is set very simply in a hook with a loop so it could be put on a necklace.”

The diamond originated from the mines in India near Golconda and was acquired by Nicolas de Harlay, Lord of Sancy, in Constantinople in the 1500s, explaining its name.

In 1604 it was bought for 75,000 livres by French King Henry IV as a gift for his wife, Marie de Medici.

Jealous queen?
According to Sotheby's, the queen had long coveted the stone, especially after learning that de Harlay had sold a larger diamond called the Sancy and now part of the Louvre Collection to King James I of England.

Henry IV was assassinated in 1610, and after years of rivalry between Marie and her son King Louis XIII, she was eventually exiled in disgrace.

She escaped to the Netherlands, and to settle her debts her possessions were sold, including the Beau Sancy which was acquired by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau for 80,000 florins, the largest expenditure in the state budget of 1641.

In the same year, the diamond was used as a sweetener to help seal the wedding of Frederick's son William to Mary Stuart, daughter of King Charles I of England.

Kate takes her new puppy for a walk

Following Mary's death in 1660, the Beau Sancy was pawned to settle her debts, but in 1677 the stone re-entered the Treasure of the House of Orange-Nassau following the wedding of William III to Mary II Stuart.

The couple ascended the throne of England in 1689, meaning the Beau Sancy entered the collection of the Queen of England, but since the couple had no children, the diamond returned to the Netherlands.

Hidden in crypt
From there it moved to the Prussian monarchy in 1702, becoming the principal ornament of the new royal crown of Prussia, but its dramatic story did not end there.

The diamond remained in Berlin after the last king of Prussia fled to exile in November, 1918 at the end of World War I, and at the end of World War II it was transferred to a bricked-up crypt for safe-keeping.

British troops found the stone and returned it to the estate of House of Prussia, where it has remained ever since.

The Beau Sancy, which has been shown publicly only four times in the past 50 years, will be exhibited to the public in an international tour before the Geneva auction, according to Sotheby’s.

Here are the dates and locations of the public exhibitions:

• Hong Kong -- March 30- April 2
• New York - April 14-16
• Rome -  April 19
• Paris - April 24-25
• London - April 27-30
• Zurich - May 2-3
• Geneva  - May 11-15

Reuters contributed to this report.

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The Texas Highway Patrol, which works alongside the U.S. Border Patrol to stop illegal drug smuggling from Mexico, is getting new means to chase down the black hats: six 34-foot gunboats, outfitted with automatic weapons and bulletproof shielding, according to a report by KHOU television in Houston.

The vessels, which are similar to U.S. Navy gunboats used in rivers during the Vietnam War and are capable of operating in as little as 2 feet of water, are scheduled to launch in March.

Officials quoted in the story said that drug cartels increasingly were using the river to smuggle drugs into the United States, or fleeing safely back to Mexico if detected.

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The new vessels, emblazoned with "Texas Highway Patrol" logos, are part of a growing presence on the border by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which also has a $4 million reconnaissance helicopter which was purchased with seized drug money, according to KHOU.

"It sends a message," Jose Rodriguez, Texas DPS Regional Commander told the station. "Don't mess with Texas."

The boats -- costing about $3.5 million -- were funded with a combination of Texas legislative money and federal grants, according to DPS spokesman Tom Vinger. They will operate on the Rio Grande and lakes that feed it as well as on the Intercoastal Waterway, a narrow channel between the coast of Texas and South Padre Island.

He said they were in part a response to the "splashdown" strategy that drug traffickers have used in recent years to avoid arrest and confiscation of the drugs. When pursued, some smugglers drive into the river where they are met by boats that take the people and cargo back to the Mexico side of the border river.

"Just like any patrol unit, the (gunboat) patrols give higher visibility to deter and, if necessary, to interdict," said Vinger.

The nonprofit Texas Border Coalition said resources to stop drug smuggling and other illicit activities -- including smuggling of illegal immigrants -- would be more effectively utilized by investing in legal border crossings.

The border checkpoints are "woefully lacking" in technology and personnel, said Julie Hillrichs, spokeswoman for the organization, which studies a range of issues that affect border communities. The result is not only continued smuggling, but hours-long wait times for legitimate commerce, she said.

In a recent report, the coalition said an estimated 90 percent of the cocaine, marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine and MDMA smuggled across the border comes through checkpoints alongside legal commerce.

"We're not suggesting that these vessels would not be needed," said Hillrichs. "We’re just saying that we have identified what we believe to be a weaker link. Drug cartels don’t send drugs through the river; they smuggle it through the border crossings," she said.

The federal government has spent more than $90 billion over the last decade to secure the U.S.-Mexico border — a significant portion of which has funded use of the U.S. military, including the National Guard, to bolster U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection forces, the coalition said.

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European Union foreign ministers are recommending that Serbia be allowed to become an official candidate for membership in the 27-member bloc after the country reached a key agreement with its former province of Kosovo.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted congratulations to Serbia after a meeting of the EU's foreign ministers.

Nicolai Wammen, minister of European affairs for Denmark, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said Serbia had fulfilled the conditions demanded by the bloc.

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The ministers were expected to confirm Serbia's candidacy, an essential step toward membership, but couldn't overcome objections from Romania.

 

Bucharest unexpectedly refused to sign an agreement on granting Serbia the coveted status of candidate to join the 27-country bloc, in a row over minority rights in the former Yugoslav state, EU diplomats said.

"This is not a critique," Romania's foreign minister Cristian Diaconescu told a Romanian daily, adding that Romania wants to encourage Belgrade to improve its attitude toward minorities.

There are about 30,000 ethnic Romanians living in Serbia. Some members of the 40,000-strong ethnic Vlach community also consider themselves Romanian, while other Vlachs think of themselves as Serbian.

Romanian President Traian Basescu has urged Serbia to grant ethnic Romanians living on its territory the right to education in the Romanian language and access to services in Romanian Orthodox churches.

"We ask (Serbian authorities) to grant them the right to tuition in Romanian, to have an Orthodox church, to have a newspaper in their language, to have the right to tune into Romanian television or have a broadcast in Romanian," Basescu told a gathering of ethnic Romanians last year after meeting Serbian President Boris Tadic.

Belgrade appeared to have been taken unawares by the Romanian move and had no immediate reaction.

But other EU capitals insisted Serbia should be rewarded for years of democratic reforms, the capture of war crimes fugitives and efforts to mend fraught relations with Kosovo, a former province that declared independence in 2008.

In a compromise, foreign and EU affairs ministers meeting in Brussels left it to their heads of state and government to make a formal decision when they meet on Thursday and Friday.

Serbia had been expected to be made a formal candidate in December, after it captured two top war crimes suspects. But ministers delayed, saying they wanted to see more progress in talks between Serbia and Kosovo.

The BBC reported Serbia agreed on Friday to allow Kosovo to participate in west Balkan regional meetings, even as it still refuses to recognize its 2008 self-declared independence.

An EU proposal to have Kosovo's nameplate at meetings followed by an asterisk was also accepted, according to the BBC. There will be an added footnote explaining the territory's disputed status.

Some 80 countries have recognized Kosovo since it declared independence in 2008, but the European Union has no official position toward Kosovo's status. Romania does not recognize the former province's independence.

Winning EU candidate status is a largely symbolic step toward the start of accession negotiations, which often require years as applicants seek to harmonize their laws with EU rules and meet other requirements.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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