Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed new legislation introducing harsh punishments for the justification or denial of Nazi war crimes.

The legislation makes it a criminal offence to deny facts established by the Nuremberg trials regarding the crimes of the Axis powers and to disseminate "false information about Soviet actions" during World War II.

Sitting in a cafe in downtown Beirut, Syrian novelist Khaled Khalifa's thoughts keep wandering back to his home and favorite place in the world, the northern city of Aleppo, much of which now lies in ruins, demolished by civil war.

For him, the ancient metropolis is much more than a beautiful city known for its majestic, 13th century citadel, spicy cuisine and maze-like covered bazaar. It is his inspiration, the center of his pain, the place where the seeds of rebellion against an oppressive government were formed.

Sixty years ago, French troops were crushed by Vietnamese fighters in a landmark battle that led to the country's independence, dented Paris's prestige and fueled independence movements in other colonies.

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu, which ended on May 7, 1954 after nearly two months of relentless fighting in a valley where French soldiers were encircled and roundly defeated was also a milestone in the history of liberation movements worldwide.

Celebrities including Virgin group founder Richard Branson have vowed to boycott a hotel chain linked to Brunei's sultan after he introduced a controversial Islamic penal code in his country.

Brunei's all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced last Wednesday that he would push ahead with the sharia law that will eventually include tough penalties such as death by stoning.

Little by little, the deserts of northern Sudan slowly reveal the secrets they have held for 2,000 years and more.

With wheelbarrows, pulleys and shovels, sweating laborers have unearthed the remains of pyramids, temples and other ancient monuments. 

Harlequin, the global queen of bodice-ripping books telling tales of romance between doctor and nurse, or servant and heir, has been seduced by media magnate Rupert Murdoch.

Murdoch's News Corp said Friday it will buy Harlequin Enterprises from Canadian media group Torstar Corporation, tying the knot with 455 million Canadian dollars (US $414.5 million) in cash.

World press freedom has hit its lowest level in a decade after a regression in Egypt, Turkey and Ukraine, and U.S. efforts to curb national security reporting, a watchdog said Thursday.

A report by Freedom House, which has been conducting annual surveys since 1980, found that the share of the world's population with media rated "free" was 14 percent in 2013, or only one in seven people.

The Whitney Museum of American Art will open its new downtown Manhattan home next year with an exhibition of works from its permanent collection, followed by shows dedicated to artists including Archibald Motley and Frank Stella, museum officials said Thursday.

Officials made the announcement at the unfinished facility, offering a behind-the-scenes look as construction continues at the space next to the High Line elevated park and looking out on the Hudson River. The new museum, the Whitney's fourth home since it was founded in 1930, is expected to open in Spring 2015.

Some eight hours dusty drive from the nearest major settlement, tucked into the eastern corner of Turkmenistan and unknown to the outside world until the second half of the last century, lies one of the most mythical yet least visited spots in the former Soviet Union.

Turkmenistan's Plateau of the Dinosaurs is the location of one of the most magnificent collections of fossilised dinosaur tracks anywhere on Planet Earth, which only became known to Soviet palaeontologists in the 1950s.

The Baha’i International Community on Thursday accused Iran of excavating a cemetery where hundreds of its followers are buried, and urged the Tehran government to halt the work.

The grave site in the southern city of Shiraz, some 710 kilometers (440 miles) south of Tehran, has been used by Baha'is for decades.