The UNESCO World Heritage Committee opened its annual session in Phnom Penh on Sunday to determine the listing of new world heritage sites, including Japan's iconic Mt. Fuji. Mt. Fuji would be Japan's 17th World Heritage site, if approved by the 21-member committee under the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The meeting is scheduled to run until June 27. The decision on the listing of Mt. Fuji is expected to be announced on June 22 or 23, according to a Cambodian official.

Quito, Jun 11 (EFE).- The body of the giant tortoise known as "Lonesome George," which died a year ago, is being embalmed in the United States, a process after which it will be returned to Ecuador to be exhibited in the Galapagos archipelago. Jorge will thus become a "wake-up call to make people see what can happen to a species if we humans keep destroying our home, the natural world, without realizing what we're doing," Washington Tapia, director of applied research at Galapagos National Park, told Efe.

By Zelie Pollon SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - Firefighters, taking advantage of cooling temperatures, gained ground on Friday against a pair of blazes in New Mexico, one of them threatening dozens of archeological sites and sacred Native American landmarks west of Santa Fe.

Authorities in Chile and Argentina on Monday issued a red alert and ordered the evacuation of 3,000 people living near the Copahue volcano near their common border, saying an eruption could be imminent. Chile's interior minister Andres Chadwick said anyone living in a 25-kilometer (15-mile) radius of the volcano had been asked to leave -- a total of more than 2,200 people. Another 800 people were cleared from homes on Argentina's side of the border, according to local officials.