The warm spices in gingerbread, the woodsy aroma of pine and fir trees, and the fruity tang of mulled wine are smells synonymous with the holiday season. Many people enjoy lighting candles, incense and fireplaces in their homes to evoke the moods associated with these festive fragrances.

Burning scented products may create a cozy ambiance, and in the case of fireplaces, provide light and heat, but some experts want people to consider how doing so contributes to the quality of the air indoors. All flames release chemicals that may cause allergy-like symptoms or contribute to long-term respiratory problems if they are inhaled in sufficient quantities.

Egypt on Sunday revealed the revamp of two colossal statues of a prominent pharaoh in the southern city of Luxor, the latest in the government's archaeological events that aim at drawing more tourists to the country.

The giant alabaster statues, known as the Colossi of Memnon, were reassembled in a renovation project that lasted about two decades. They represent Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt about 3,400 years ago.

Iran has arrested Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, her supporters said Friday.

A foundation in her name said she was detained in Mashhad, some 680 kilometers (420 miles) northeast of the capital, Tehran, while attending a memorial for a human rights lawyer recently found dead under unclear circumstances.

Images of the Virgin of Guadalupe on their backs, devotees of Mexico's patron saint flooded streets on the north side of the capital overnight, converging with music, bottle rockets, candles and prayers on the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Some say that every Dec. 12, all roads in Mexico lead to the enormous circular Roman Catholic house of worship where the faithful come to show their devotion on the anniversary of this apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1531, one of the largest Catholic pilgrimages in Latin America.

A group of Syrian-American Jews have registered a nongovernmental organization in Syria in a bid to restore Jewish heritage in a country where the once-sizable religious minority has shrunk to almost nothing.

"Jewish Syrians are an integral part of the Syrian fabric," Syrian Minister of Social Affairs Hind Kabawat told The Associated Press Friday. "Our country is a mosaic of all sorts of civilizations, religions, sects, and nations."

Scientists in Britain say ancient humans may have learned to make fire far earlier than previously believed, after uncovering evidence that deliberate fire-setting took place in what is now eastern England around 400,000 years ago.

The findings, described in the journal Nature, push back the earliest known date for controlled fire-making by roughly 350,000 years. Until now, the oldest confirmed evidence had come from Neanderthal sites in what is now northern France dating to about 50,000 years ago.

UNESCO recognized Wednesday Egypt's favorite daily dish as intangible cultural heritage, to the delight of Egyptians digging into the spicy staple at every corner.

"We grew up eating koshary in plastic bags. It's a heritage we grew up with," Emad Yassin told AFP during the lunch rush of a popular downtown Cairo joint, Koshary Abou Tarek.

Tripoli's historic 12th century "Citadel Raymond De Saint Gilles" was officially inaugurated following months of restoration efforts carried out by the Lebanese army and youth from marginalized communities, through UK funding to the NGO MARCH.

Wednesday's inauguration ceremony was attended by Deputy Head of Mission Victoria Dunne with the Director General of Antiquities at the Ministry of Culture (representing Minister Ghassan Salameh) Sarkis Al Khoury, Tripoli's Mayor Dr. Abdel Hamid Kareemeh, senior Lebanese Army officers, Head of MARCH Lea Baroudi and local youth from the city.

Archaeologists have finished uncovering the longest continuous remains of an ancient wall that encircled Jerusalem, including possible evidence of a 2,100-year-old ceasefire between warring kingdoms.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado 's daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother's behalf Wednesday, hours after officials said Machado would miss the ceremony.

Machado has been in hiding and has not been seen in public since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in a protest in Caracas, Venezuela's capital.