Many splendid pieces of Warsaw's architecture are gone or disfigured forever — victims of war and communism. But now some can be appreciated again — in miniature.

The fate of some of Warsaw's architectural gems reflects the tragic story of a city that went through years of war, then decades of communism in which buildings were torn down or neglected. Generations of residents have grown up unaware of the past splendor of the city once called the "Paris of the North."

A sculpture by U.S. pop artist Jeff Koons has been pulled from a retrospective of his work at the Center Pompidou in Paris after he was accused of ripping off a French clothing advert, the museum said Tuesday.

The multi-million-euro artwork depicts a large pig and a tiny penguin with the bust of a woman lying on snow in a fishnet top revealing her breasts.

A letter from a World War I soldier describing the "extraordinary sight" of a spontaneous Christmas ceasefire between German and British soldiers was published on Wednesday, 100 years after it was written.

British army officer Alfred Dougan Chater wrote the letter to his mother from a freezing trench on the western front in 1914, describing an event remembered as a moment of fleeting humanity in a four-year war that killed more than 16 million.

They were a rare sign of individuality during the grim Communist era. But now Hungarians are turning their backs on their gaily-painted "Cube" houses, ashamed of the simple geometric patterns and trompe-l'oeil effects that brightened their darkest days.

In the 1960s and 1970s the "Kadar Cube" -- named after the all-powerful communist leader of the time Janos Kadar -- transformed the Hungarian countryside.

In highly conservative Saudi Arabia where most forms of entertainment are forbidden, art has taken to the streets.

Dozens of paintings are being displayed on outdoor advertising billboards in the capital Riyadh and other cities in what organisers say is the kingdom's first public art show.

The Rhode Island church where John Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier married in 1953 will be commemorating the wedding.

The Newport Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/IX5CGL ) that a presentation highlighting the wedding, titled "A Return to Camelot: A Remembrance of Jackie and JFK's Wedding Day" is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Church.

Nearly 300 sites of incalculable value for Syria and human history have been destroyed, damaged or looted in almost four years of war, the U.N. said Tuesday, citing "alarming" satellite evidence.

From prehistoric settlements and ancient markets to world-famous mosques and Crusader castles, Syria is home to countless treasures.

"In the name of the Bell, the Pan and the Holy Pot..." Slovenia's newest religion may have the strangest of scriptures, but in a country plagued by corruption scandals, its anti-graft gospel has gained a huge following. 

The Trans-Universal Zombie Church of the Blissful Ringing has become the country's fifth biggest religion in less than a year, according to its founder Rok Gros, with already over 10,000 faithful in a nation of two million.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described efforts to promote birth control as "treason", saying contraception risked causing a whole generation to "dry up", reports said Monday.

Pope Francis lambasted the Vatican's bureaucracy on Monday, saying some within the Church had a lust for power, were indifferent to others and suffered from "spiritual Alzheimer's".

The Argentine used a Christmas speech to cardinals, bishops and priests to list a catalog of ailments plaguing some at the very top and urging a "cure".