A Chinese province where authorities have removed hundreds of rooftop crosses from Protestant and Catholic churches has proposed a ban on any further placement of the religious symbol atop sanctuaries.

The draft, if approved, would give authorities in the eastern province of Zhejiang solid legal grounds to remove rooftop crosses.

Russian investigators are carrying out a probe into art valuations by experts at one of the country's top museums, Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery, a gallery spokeswoman said Wednesday.

"The investigation is continuing outside the gallery's premises,"  spokeswoman Anna Kotlyar told Agence France Presse.

Jeff Koons' "Balloon Dog" and Henry Moore's "Archer" are among some of the world's most iconic sculptures competing for space at a new museum exhibition where one of Alberto Giacometti's signature figurines appears to stride boldly into the room.

It would be a world-class show if the pieces weren't copies made of Styrofoam, using the same techniques for making the floats in Rio's Carnival parades.

The family of an American tank commander who won three historic paintings playing poker during World War II returned the stolen art treasures on Tuesday to their rightful owners.

Two more paintings acquired by a librarian while serving for the U.S. army in Germany in late 1945 were also handed over during a ceremony at the State Department in Washington after the families had contacted a U.S. foundation that tracks down missing artwork.

A Vincent Van Gogh painting fetched more than $66 million at a New York auction on Tuesday, the most paid for a work by the Dutch post-impressionist artist since 1998.

According to the Sotheby's auction firm, Van Gogh's "Les Alyscamps," which depicts a stand of autumnal trees, had been expected to go for around $40 million but ultimately an Asian collector paid $66.3 million after an intense bidding war between five potential buyers.

Russia is pulling out all the stops for celebrations on Saturday marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with 16,000 troops marching in a Red Square parade, along with hundreds of units of military hardware.

In a defiant show of military strength despite international condemnation over its actions in Ukraine, Russia will roll out new Koalitsiya-SV howitzers as well as cutting-edge Armata T-14 tanks for the first time. 

An official says Turkey's Culture Ministry has launched an inquiry following reports that priceless ancient mosaics had been ruined while being restored and moved to a new museum in southern Turkey.

A newspaper in Hatay province said several mosaics at the Archaeological Museum were badly restored and seriously damaged while being moved to the museum's new premises in the city of Antakya. Hurriyet newspaper published before-and-after pictures of three of the mosaics, in which the restored versions appeared to be distorted.

Law student Mikhail Kosyrev used to have a negative view of Stalin but his attitude has drastically changed in recent years, he said, insisting the wartime tyrant meant well.

"Over the past five years I've often watched documentary films about Stalin, about that time on television and learnt more about him," the 29-year-old told Agence France Presse.

Many faced social stigma and were long kept in the dark about their true parental origins, with birth certificates that usually said "father unknown".

Now, 70 years after the end of World War II, many German children of Allied occupation forces are breaking the silence on what was long a taboo subject.

The Danish editor who commissioned the Mohammed cartoons that triggered deadly protests a decade ago said Monday the failed attack on a Texas cartoon exhibition won't change how "politically correct" Americans feel about the drawings.

"The lines have already been drawn in this debate in the U.S. and I do not think events like these can change anything, because people will read their own opinions into it," Flemming Rose told Jyllands-Posten, where he is currently the foreign editor.