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China offered on Saturday to buy Greek government bonds when Athens resumes issuing, in a show of support for the country whose debt burden pushed the euro zone into crisis and required an international bailout.

The 'mystery stone' discovered on a mountainside in New Mexico, appears to be inscribed with ancient Greek or Hebrew. For decades, scholars have wondered if it's proof that Mediterranean peoples came to the New World thousands of years ago.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Greek debt by four notches to junk status. It follows Standard & Poor's, which put the debt-laden country in the speculative-grade camp almost seven weeks ago.

European leaders were close to agreement on measures aimed at persuading jittery investors that Greece will not be allowed to default.

Goldman Sachs helped the Greek government to mask the true extent of its deficit with the help of a derivatives deal that legally circumvented the EU Maastricht deficit rules. At some point the so-called cross currency swaps will mature, and swell the country's already bloated deficit.

Somali pirates freed a Greek- flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil on Monday and witnesses said four pirates were killed in a clash between rival groups over the ransom.

Greek firefighters planned to continue to work through the night to contain dozens of wildfires, including a massive blaze outside Athens, authorities said.