A 19th century steam train took passengers for a rare ride on the London Underground on Sunday to mark the 150th anniversary of the world's oldest metro system.

A red and black locomotive dating from 1898 and specially restored for the occasion ran between Kensington Olympia station in west London and Moorgate station in the financial district.

The red sun of the Japanese flag flutters alongside the Chinese emblem's five stars at a business zone in Dalian -- a rare sight in a country still embittered by Tokyo's imperial dominance decades ago.

The northeastern city was the only one in China with a Japanese consulate to avoid demonstrations when anti-Japan protests raged across the country over disputed islands four months ago.

Hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims led by naked, ash-covered holy men streamed into the sacred river Ganges on Monday at the start of the world's biggest religious festival.

The Kumbh Mela in the Indian town of Allahabad will see up to 100 million worshippers gather over the next 55 days to take a ritual bath in the holy waters, believed to cleanse sins and bestow blessings.

Italy's highest court on Friday said gay couples can bring up children as well as heterosexual couples in a landmark ruling in a predominantly Catholic country where the issue is a hot-button topic ahead of a general election in February.

"There is no scientific certainty or concrete evidence but only prejudice" behind the idea that "living in a homosexual family is damaging for the growth of a child," the court's ruling said.

A procession of around 100 million devotees, from naked sprinting gurus to worshippers completing simple rituals, will stream into the river Ganges next week for the world's biggest festival.

The Kumbh Mela in northern India, starting Monday and stretching over 55 days, attracts ash-covered holy men who run into the frigid waters, a smattering of international celebrities, as well as millions upon millions of ordinary Indians.

The new Gucci Museum in Florence opened its latest show this month -- a selection of U.S. artist Cindy Sherman's early works -- in a setting where medieval architecture meets fashion history.

"For visitors to Florence, it's nice to react with something that is contemporary and alive," said Francesca Amfitheatrof, curator at the Gucci Museum and a celebrated London-based jewelry designer in her own right.

A former Iraqi soldier and prisoner who brought one of the world's oldest stringed instruments back into the spotlight is set to end his exile and take his haunting songs back home.

Naseer Shamma is something of a global ambassador for the oud -- a pear-shaped, six-stringed wood instrument hailing from ancient Mesopotamia -- but has not reaped the fruits of fame in his turmoil-hit homeland.

More than a million Muslims gathered on the banks of a river in Bangladesh on Friday to pray and listen to religious scholars at the start of the world's second largest annual Islamic congregation.

The streets of Dhaka were largely deserted as devotees flocked to the River Turag at Tongi, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the capital, where the Biswa Ijtema (World Muslim Congregation) is being held over the next three days.

China's one-child policy has created a generation that is less trusting, more risk-averse and perhaps less likely to become entrepreneurs, according to new Australian research released Friday.

Published in the journal Science, the study of more than 400 Beijing residents who were born around the time the controversial population policy was first introduced could have implications for China's economy, researchers say.

Long plagued by a reputation for gang crime and lawlessness, France's port city of Marseille is hoping its year as the European Capital of Culture will finally give its image a makeover.

The gritty Mediterranean city will kick off the festivities on Saturday with a downtown parade, fireworks and the opening of a slew of exhibitions.