Some art lovers make it a mission to visit and view as many works as possible by 17th-century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer.
Starting Friday, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is making their lives a whole lot easier.
Full StoryThe U.N.'s cultural agency UNESCO said on Tuesday it was ready to provide assistance after two sites listed on its World Heritage list in Syria and Turkey sustained damage in the devastating earthquake.
As well as the damage to the old city of Syria's Aleppo and the fortress in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, UNESCO said at least three other World Heritage sites could be affected.
Full StoryAn ivory spoon dating back 2,700 years that was recently repatriated to the Palestinian Authority from the United States has sparked a dispute with Israel's new far-right government over the cultural heritage in the occupied West Bank.
The clash brings into focus the political sensitivities surrounding archaeology in the Middle East, where Israelis and Palestinians each use ancient artifacts to support their claims over the land.
Full StoryPope Francis opened the second and final leg of his African pilgrimage by heading to South Sudan on Friday, hoping to encourage the young country's stalled peace process and draw international attention to continued fighting and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Francis had one final appointment Friday in Kinshasa with Congo's bishops before flying to the South Sudanese capital, Juba. There, he joins the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, in a novel ecumenical push for peace.
Full StoryPope Francis urged Congo's young people to work for a peaceful and honest future on Thursday, directing himself to a generation that has been particularly hard hit by the country's chronic conflict and getting a raucous response when he acknowledged the corruption that threatens their prospects.
Deafening cheers and chants greeted Francis on his last full day in Congo as he joined tens of thousands of young people at the Martyrs' Stadium in the capital, Kinshasa. The Vatican said more than 65,000 people attended.
Full StoryAustralia is removing the British monarchy from its bank notes.
The nation's central bank said Thursday its new $5 bill would feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles III. But the king is still expected to appear on coins that currently bear the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Full StoryThe discovery of dozens of beakers and bowls in a mummification workshop has helped reveal how ancient Egyptians embalmed their dead, with some "surprising" ingredients imported from as far as Southeast Asia, a study said Wednesday.
The exceptional collection of pottery, dating from around 664-525 BC, was found at the bottom of a 13-meter (42 feet) well at the Saqqara Necropolis south of Cairo in 2016.
Full StorySwedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Tuesday denounced activists who burned the Quran and hanged an effigy of Turkey's president in Stockholm as "useful idiots" for foreign powers who want to inflict harm on the Scandinavian country as it seeks to join NATO.
"We have seen how foreign actors, even state actors, have used these manifestations to inflame the situation in a way that is directly harmful to Swedish security," Kristersson told reporters in Stockholm, without naming any countries.
Full StoryPope Francis is opening a six-day visit to Congo and South Sudan on Tuesday, aiming to bring a message of peace to two countries riven by poverty, conflict and what Francis has called a lingering "colonialist mentality" that still considers Africa ripe for exploitation.
Aid groups are hoping Francis' trip will shine a spotlight on two of the world's forgotten conflicts and rekindle international attention on some of Africa's worst humanitarian crises, amid donor fatigue and new aid priorities in Ukraine.
Full StoryFrance has acquired a stunning Impressionist masterpiece for its national collection of art treasures, with a donation from luxury goods giant LVMH paying the 43 million euros (nearly $47 million) for "A Boating Party" by 19th-century French artist Gustave Caillebotte.
The oil on canvas shows an oarsman in a top hat rowing his skiff on languid waters. The work, remarkable in its realism, delicate colors and almost cinematic perspective, as though the artist was in the boat with the rower, went on display Monday in the Musée d'Orsay. It is the latest addition to the Paris museum's already impressive collection of Impressionist art.
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