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MADRID (AFP) — Ronaldinho, que le FC Barcelone a soutenu mercredi par un communiqué inhabituel pour essayer de calmer le jeu autour de sa méforme et de sa vie privée, devrait rejouer mardi contre Stuttgart en Ligue des Champions (Groupe E).

11,000-year-old painting surprisingly modernist in style DAMASCUS -- French archeologists have discovered an 11,000-year-old wall painting underground in northern Syria that they believe is the oldest in the world. The two square-metre painting, in red, black and white, was found at the neolithic settlement of Djade al-Mughara on the Euphrates, northeast of the city of Aleppo, team leader Eric Coqueugniot told Reuters. "It looks like a modernist painting. Some of those who saw it have likened it to work by (Paul) Klee. Through carbon dating we established it is from around 9,000 BC," Coqueugniot said. Mustafa Ali, a leading Syrian artist, said similar geometric design to that in the Djade al-Mughara painting found its way into art throughout the Levant and Persia, and can even be seen in carpets and kilims (rugs). "We must not lose sight that the painting is archeological, but in a way it's also modern," he said. France is an important contributor to excavation efforts in Syria, where 120 teams are at work.

Scientists have come up with a new currency designed to be used by inter-planetary travellers. It is called the Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination, or Quid. It is designed to withstand the stresses of space travel and has no sharp edges or chemicals that could hurt space tourists. "None of the existing payment systems we use on earth - like cash, credit or debit cards - could be used in space," said Professor George Fraser from the University of Leicester. "Anything with sharp edges, like coins, would be a risk to astronauts while the chips and magnetic strips used in our cards on Earth would be damaged beyond repair by cosmic radiation," he added.