Activists praised Myanmar authorities Saturday for allowing a peace march through Yangon calling for an end to the nation's civil conflicts, after several people were charged for rallying without permission last year.

Around 300 people joined the colorful International Day of Peace rally through the city -- the majority wearing blue t-shirts printed with anti-war slogans -- with just a handful of police watching the event.

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A group of 10 French imams will meet Pope Francis on Wednesday in the latest sign of rapprochement between the Vatican and the Muslim world.

The meeting has been organised by Marek Halter, a French Jewish author known for promoting religious tolerance who has organised similar initiatives in the past.

Thailand's iconic "Temple of Dawn" on the banks of Bangkok's Chao Phraya river is to undergo a three-year renovation costing around $4 million, authorities said Friday.

Wat Arun, one of the kingdom's most famous landmarks, known for the morning light reflecting off its porcelain-encrusted surfaces, will remain open to visitors during the overhaul, according to officials.

Three popular Norman Rockwell masterpieces that depict slices of American life are heading for the auction block.

"Saying Grace," ''The Gossips" and "Walking to Church" are among seven works by the Saturday Evening Post illustrator going on sale at Sotheby's Dec. 4.

Japanese literary superstar Haruki Murakami is favorite for this year's Nobel Prize in Literature, betting odds showed Friday, after repeatedly being mentioned as a contender for the prestigious global gong.

Online bookmaker Ladbrokes.com was Friday offering odds of 3-1 on the novelist scooping up the prize, which will be announced in Sweden next month.

A collection of over 100 letters, photos, plasters, drawings and personal items that once belonged to Pierre-Auguste Renoir were sold at auction Thursday in New York, despite protests from the Impressionist master's great-grandson.

Sale organizer Heritage Auctions, which billed it as the largest collection of Renoir memorabilia, said the items earned nearly $1.3 million in total -- far short of the hoped-for $3 million.

A man was beheaded and his girlfriend beaten to death in an "honor killing" in northern India after they eloped, police said Thursday.

The woman's mother, father and uncle were arrested after the gruesome murders carried out in a village in the state of Haryana on Wednesday, police said.

Pakistani police have arrested eight people after three men accused of serious crimes were made to walk over hot coals in a 'trial by fire' ritual to prove their innocence.

A jirga, or council of elders, in Mana Ahmadi tribal village in the central province of Punjab ordered two murder suspects and one accused of adultery to undergo the ordeal on Sunday, local police official Saeed Khan Leghari told AFP.