The declaration of independence over the weekend was actually decades in the making—at least. Here's the story.

Major European powers and the U.S. recognized Kosovo on Monday, a day after the province's ethnic Albanian leaders declared independence from Serbia.

Feathered arrows lying near the well-preserved coffin suggest that the mummy, when alive, may have been a mercenary for an Egyptian king, experts say.

A new monkey debuted in a London "rain forest," a beagle bounded to glory in New York, Japanese children huddled in igloos, and more.

Asians en route to the Americas were thwarted by glaciers on the Beringia land bridge that used to exist near present-day Alaska, a new study claims.

Some say compensation to the "Stolen Generations"—an estimated hundred thousand Aborigines taken from their parents until the 1970s—is the next step. Australia's new leader has ruled out such reparations.

Alaska, the Mississippi Delta, and California's Central Valley are among the regions where people are least able to respond to and cope with natural disasters, a new study says.

After burning tires and blocking roads last week around the ancient Inca capital of Cusco, residents promised further unrest if more private hotels are allowed.

A 2,000-year-old mine has been found in Peruvian mountains, offering proof that an ancient Andean people mined hematite long before the Inca Empire, archaeologists say.

Check out a selection of 2007's most compelling news pictures, recently announced by World Press Photo.

Head lice picked from thousand-year-old Peruvian mummies suggest the pesky parasites accompanied modern humans on their first migration out of Africa, a new study says.

Birds came into being a hundred million years ago, a new genetic study suggests, possibly putting to rest a long-held debate about their origins.

See the solar system's tallest mountain in blazing color, a "distressing" whaling photo, a potential heir to the Concorde, and more.

The ancient Maya painted one of their most ornate temples with mica to make it sparkle in the sun, a new study suggests.

A hundred years older than the first known European oil paintings, the newfound Afghan artworks were discovered where the Taliban destroyed giant Buddhas.