With the Internet taking over modern reading habits, do you still have to have read Proust, Balzac... or Modiano to be considered cultivated in France? The answer, according to some experts, is 'not necessarily'.

With e-books, online blogs, Twitter and multiple other sources now available, the bedrock of the French intellectual tradition -- the literary book -- is being challenged as never before.

Dog lovers in Iran could face up to 74 lashes under plans by hardline lawmakers that would ban keeping the pets at home or walking them in public.

A draft bill, signed by 32 members of the country's conservative-dominated parliament, would also authorize heavy fines for offenders, the reformist Shargh newspaper reported.

Britain's Princess Anne opened Thursday a 10-week exhibition at the Library of Congress that features one of only four surviving original copies of the nearly 800-year-old Magna Carta.

The 64-year-old daughter of Queen Elizabeth hailed the "shared values" of Britain and the United States, at a ceremony alongside the Lincoln Cathedral copy of the historic document.

An entertainment executive pledged a collection of paintings by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and other major artists to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Thursday, a donation the institution called the largest in its history.

"Los Angeles helped make my career possible," said Jerry Perenchio, the former chairman and CEO of Univision who has lived in the city for 70 years. "My family and I are proud and honored to be able to give something back to a wonderful city."

Turin is seeking to cement its place as a major stop on the international contemporary art circuit by hosting "Shit and Die" -- an exhibition that, organizers stress, is not about faeces or death.

The collection of works from some 50 artists, including Britain's Sarah Lucas, opened to the public Thursday and will run until January 11 at the city's Palazzo Cavour.

Germany kicks off celebrations Friday marking the 25th anniversary of the epochal fall of the Berlin Wall, set to culminate with rock stars and veteran freedom activists joining a millions-strong crowd.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, will lead three days of commemorations for those killed trying to flee the repressive state, leading up to a giant festival Sunday marking the joyous breach of Europe's Cold War division on November 9, 1989.

A talkshow host peering out of a man's stomach and a piece of skin peeling away from a hand to unveil tangerine segments beneath are two of the impossible visions offered by one Japanese body artist.

Hikaru Cho's brushes add a spare pair of eyes to one model and an ear to the back of someone else's hand as she works on art she says is short-lived but intended to reveal a new way to look at the human form.

A stunning 1881 masterpiece by Edouard Manet sold for $65 million at auction in New York on Wednesday, a record for a work by the French impressionist artist.

"Le Printemps," which the auction house Christie's had valued at $25-30 million, depicts a famous actress of the day and was exhibited in 1882 to critical acclaim while Manet was one of the most famous living artists.

Oprah Winfrey and Tom Brokaw are among the featured commentators for an "enhanced" e-book of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."

The e-book was released Tuesday by HarperCollins. It also features a 1964 radio interview with Lee, who rarely speaks to the media. The regular e-book for "To Kill a Mockingbird," Lee's only novel, came out in July. She had been one of the last major authors to withhold electronic rights.

A personal story of grief and raptors that combines memoir, biography and nature writing has won Britain's leading literary award for nonfiction.

Helen Macdonald's "H is For Hawk" was named the winner of the 20,000-pound ($32,000) Samuel Johnson Prize at a ceremony in London on Tuesday.