Looting

Striking at a longtime practice in the Four Corners area, federal authorities Wednesday unsealed indictments against 24 people in what they called the largest investigation ever into the looting of Native American artifacts on public lands. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the charges at a Salt Lake City news conference and said in a telephone interview that many of the stolen items, valued at $335,000, came from sacred burial sites.

After four months of testimony that cast a harsh light on the operatic lives of East Coast social royalty -- with tales of greed, abuse and bitter family feuds -- a jury today convicted legendary philanthropist Brooke Astor's son of tricking her into changing her will. The jury, which deliberated 11 full days, found Anthony D. Marshall guilty on 14 of the 16 counts against him, including grand larceny involving the theft of cash and art, possession of stolen property and conspiracy to defraud Astor.

He works as a blacksmith in one of Baghdad's swarming Shiite slums. But at least once a month, Abu Saif tucks a pistol into his belt, hops into a minibus taxi and speeds south. His goal: to unearth ancient treasures from thousands of archaeological sites scattered across southern Iraq. Images of Baghdad's ransacked National Museum, custodian of a collection dating back to the beginning of civilization, provoked an international outcry in the early days of the war in 2003.

Even after being torched by looters, the Kimwa Grand bar remains one of the most popular gathering points in this western Kenyan city. But rather than dancing and drinking, dozens of young men are looting the nightclub's charred remains, carting away door frames, metal scraps and whatever else they can carry. "This is our vote," said Allen Ojwang, 18, one of the scavengers, referring to Kenya's disputed Dec. 27 presidential election. "We were denied our rights, so now we are taking this."

He's a preacher's son and part-time college student who idolizes Martin Luther King Jr. and aspires to escape Kenya's biggest slum. But when this East African nation erupted in postelection chaos, an unfamiliar rage took over inside the boyish-looking 21-year-old. "I felt like my life had been stolen," said Bernard, whose last name was withheld for his protection. "In my mind, I wanted to damage everything. I picked up a rungu [wooden club] and started to run."

Liberated from its shipping crates, the ancient statue drew a crowd of employees when it arrived in December 1987 at the J. Paul Getty Museum's antiquities conservation lab. The 7 1/2 -foot figure had a placid marble face and delicately carved limestone gown. It was thought to depict Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Some who came to see it believed that the sculpture would become the greatest piece in the museum's antiquities collection. One man, however, saw trouble.

AFGHANISTAN is far from the only country to suffer from looting and illicit trafficking of its cultural heritage, but it is going under a spotlight. The "Red List of Afghanistan Antiquities at Risk," an illustrated guide to endangered objects published by the Paris-based International Council of Museums, will be launched by the U.S. Committee of ICOM and the American Assn. of Museums today in Washington, D.C.

About 4,000 artifacts seized by border police in Denmark have been returned to the National Museum of Afghanistan, the Danish prime minister said this week during a visit to the Afghan capital, Kabul. The Afghan archeological artifacts include coins dating back to the 1st and 2nd centuries BC and figurines of lions and horses. The National Museum of Afghanistan, founded in 1930, was looted and deliberately vandalized under the Taliban.

Authorities bolstered the troop and police presence Saturday in the earthquake-shattered zone south of Peru's capital after a wave of looting targeted shops, relief vehicles and aid storage sites. Hundreds of reinforcements were posted along highways and in the hard-hit cities of Chincha, Pisco and Ica. Three days after the devastating 8.

"This is the greatest untold story of World War II," says Robert M. Edsel, leafing through his profusely illustrated book about the return of Nazi-confiscated art. A labor of love and research, "Rescuing da Vinci: Hitler and the Nazis Stole Europe's Great Art -- America and Her Allies Recovered It" focuses on the Monuments Men, a mostly volunteer cadre of about 350 men -- and women -- who worked for the Allied Forces' Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives section.