Culture News

Moscow - The Kremlin is preparing a new culture policy for Russia focusing on its distinctive civilisation and traditional values, which observers say has political ends amid Moscow's standoff with the West.

Hong Kong - A rare Ming-era wine cup broke the world auction record for any Chinese porcelain on Tuesday, selling in Hong Kong for $36.05 million to Shanghai tycoon Liu Yiqian, Sotheby's auction house said.

Libreville - Some in Gabon believe the bitter iboga root comes from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. Others elsewhere have derided it as a dangerous drug.

Rome - Ground sensors and satellites will be deployed in a new bid to keep the ancient Roman city of Pompeii from crumbling following a series of recent collapses at the sprawling and long-neglected site near Naples.

- Cambodia's Angkor Wat has been digitally mapped for the first time, allowing people to visit the World Heritage Site from the comfort of their armchair using Google Street View.

Tokyo - Spring officially arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday when Japan's weather agency announced the start of the cherry blossom season.Forecasters watching trees at the capital's central Yasukuni Shrine said the city's first blossoms had appeared there, marking th...

- Ancient manuscripts in the Vatican library penned from East Asia to the Pre-Colombian Americas will be digitized by a Japanese company as part of a global project to make the collection available for free viewing by the public.Japan's NTT DATA will dig...

Rome - Italians in Venice and its surrounding region are voting this week on whether to break away from the rest of the country and form their own country, organisers told AFP on Monday.The online vote, organised by local independence parties, is not legally ...

Madrid - Drummers, singers, dancers, actors and other artists will swarm the streets of Madrid on Sunday to stage outdoor performances to protest against declining state support in Spain for the arts.The performers will take to 25 stages that will be set up acr...

London - The Vikings are renowned as bloodthirsty warriors, but a new exhibition at the British Museum aims to show the cultural achievements and trading skills that spread their influence far and wide."Vikings: Life and Legend", which opens on Thursday and run...