The almost seven-decade life of Russian revolution leader Vladimir Lenin's statue in Kiev ended in spectacular fashion, with a half backwards somersault and dive head-first into the ground.

As hundreds of thousands protested against the government of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and its rejection of a pact with the European Union, some 30 people in masks surrounded the statue in central Kiev.

A Paris auction of sacred objects from the Hopi and San Carlos Apache Native American tribes will go ahead Monday despite objections from the United States and activists, auctioneers EVE said.

The U.S. embassy had asked Paris to suspend the sale of the ceremonial masks and head-dresses after the failure Friday of a legal challenge by advocacy group Survival International on behalf of Arizona's Hopi tribe.

An Andy Warhol portrait of Farrah Fawcett currently held by actor Ryan O'Neal is worth an estimated $12 million, an appraiser told a jury Friday.

New York art appraiser Lee Drexler testified in a lawsuit by the University of Texas at Austin against the actor in which the school is seeking to gain possession of the Fawcett portrait for its art museum.

The U.S. State Department on Friday fended off criticism for commissioning a $1 million sculpture for its London embassy, saying it was "a good use of our limited resources."

The piece by Irish-born artist Sean Scully was purchased as part of the department's Art in Embassies program and will be reportedly installed at the new mission due to open in 2017.

The late Tito, former Yugoslavia's communist strongman, has been largely ignored in Slovenia since its independence but historians insist that, good or bad, he should be remembered: and a new exhibit does just that.

Josip Broz -- nicknamed "Tito" -- ruled over the former Yugoslavia from 1945 until his death in 1980, having been named president for life.

A Romanian man accused of stealing seven masterpieces from a Dutch museum was arrested in Britain after months on the run, Romania's Interior Ministry said Friday.

"Following an exchange of information between Interpol Romania and Interpol Manchester, one of the suspects accused of the theft of several paintings in Rotterdam was arrested in Britain," the ministry said in a statement.

A state-of-the art Palestinian city with residential towers, a mall and a convention center is rapidly going up on once desolate West Bank hills and turning into a symbol of national pride.

A giant Palestinian flag flies from the highest point of Rawabi, signaling to Israeli settlers living nearby that the first new Palestinian city being built since Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 isn't just about real estate.

Cyprus, dubbed the "Island of Love" as the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite, is a magnet for Lebanese and Israeli couples from across the water to tie the knot in a civil wedding.

"We don't have the same religion," shrugged Yohana, resplendent in a white dress fresh out of her suitcase.

Pope Francis on Thursday set up a committee to fight child sex abuse in the Catholic Church and give pastoral care to victims following a recommendation from a council of cardinals he has asked to advise him.

The announcement was made by U.S. cardinal Sean O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston and one of the eight members of the council, who said the precise composition of the new committee will be announced "in the near future".

Traditional Japanese Washoku cooking methods, millenia-old Georgian wine-making techniques and the Mediterranean diet were among 14 new entries added to UNESCO's list of "intangible heritage" in need of being preserved.

Envoys picked the new listings at a meeting in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, UNESCO said in a statement late Wednesday.