Forty years after the division of Cyprus, Greek and Turkish Cypriot schoolchildren are still being taught separate narratives of their shared legacy of pain.

On July 20, 1974, the first Turkish troops landed on the north coast at Kyrenia, with the declared aim of protecting the Turkish Cypriot minority after a coup to unite the island with Greece.

"Spasiba, Katya," David Hallberg calls out, thanking a colleague in what sounds like a pretty convincing Russian accent. We're on our way upstairs to his dressing room at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, where his name is emblazoned on the door — in Cyrillic letters.

Talk about worlds colliding. For the past three years, since he made headlines by becoming the first American — and first foreigner — to be named a principal dancer at the storied Bolshoi Ballet, Hallberg, a blond, elegant dancer from the American heartland, has lived what he calls two separate lives — his American life, in New York, and his Russian life, in Moscow.

The Imperial War Museum in London reopens its doors Saturday after a £40-million ($70-million, 50-million-euro) refit, with a new permanent exhibition to the experiences of Britons and Commonwealth soldiers in World War I.

One hundred years after the start of the 1914-1918 conflict, curators have harnessed modern technology to create a multi-sensory experience for a new generation of visitors.

A German court ruled Wednesday that 4.5 million euros ($6.1 million) be paid from the estate of the late Princess Soraya of Iran to three French charities.

The French Red Cross, an animal protection group and an organisation for the rights of disabled people must equally share the money, which is part of the fortune of Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiary, who died in Paris in 2001, the court in Cologne ruled.

A collection of unusual items signed by anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela are to go under the hammer on Thursday, on the eve of the former South African president's birthday. 

Among the 202 lots on sale are an array of kitsch items, including salt and pepper shakers in the shape of Mandela and FW de Klerk -- the last president to rule over apartheid South Africa, with whom he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. 

The Hong Kong Book Fair opened its doors Wednesday with hundreds of thousands expected to attend the seven-day show, packed with everything from cute cartoons to cutting-edge political satire.

Some book stalls reflected the heightened tensions in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, where fears are growing over what is seen as increasing interference by Beijing and where pressure for democratic elections is growing.

A Japanese businessman whose donation helped restore an ancient Roman pyramid said it was a way of thanking Italy for his success, as he toured the monument with Italy's culture minister on Tuesday.

Dressed in an impeccable white suit, the wavy-haired fashion importer Yuzo Yagi admired the work due to be completed within months thanks to his two-million euro ($2.7 million) gift.

Croatian lawmakers adopted Tuesday a long-awaited law allowing gay couples to register as life partners, enjoying the same rights as their heterosexual peers except on adopting children.

Gay rights activists hailed the legislation in the largely conservative EU member state, which is strongly influenced by the powerful Roman Catholic Church.

Four Romanians behind a spectacular art heist in the Netherlands were ordered Monday to pay 18 million euros, with the fate of the stolen masterpieces by Picasso, Monet, Gauguin and Lucien Freud still a mystery. 

Seven paintings that were temporarily on display at the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam were stolen in 2012 in a raid that lasted only three minutes, in what the Dutch media called "the theft of the century".

Nana Mouskouri, one of the best-selling singers of all time, returned to the stage in her native Greece on Monday as part of a tour to celebrate her 80th birthday.

Ahead of a concert at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, where six years ago she bid goodbye to the music industry, the icon known for her signature black-rimmed glasses and marble-like profile, admitted leaving was a mistake.