Since the beginning of time, elves have been the stuff of legend in Iceland, but locals here will earnestly tell you that elves appear regularly to those who know how to see them.

Construction sites have been moved so as not to disturb the elves, and fishermen have refused to put out to sea because of their warnings: here in Iceland, these creatures are a part of everyday life.

A Japanese billionaire is the mystery art collector behind the $57.3 million purchase of a huge self-portrait by Jean-Michel Basquiat at auction earlier this week, his art foundation said Thursday.

"Jean-Michel Basquiat is coming to Japan," businessman Yusaku Maezaw wrote on his Instagram account, posing in front of the painting.

Pope Francis said Thursday he is prepared to set up a commission to study the possibility of women entering the Catholic clergy at the rank of deacon, one below a priest.

Using tip-offs, stakeouts and stealth, civilian investigators are playing a crucial role in helping Cambodian police track down foreign pedophiles, as they battle to spread the message that the impoverished nation will no longer be a playground for abusers.

For the First time in Lebanon and in close collaboration with Grand Cinemas- ABC Dbayeh , SESOBEL rolled out the red carpet for all children with autism in Lebanon on Thursday, April 21, 2016 , by introducing a movie in a sensory-friendly environment that suits the specific needs of these children :

At the height of the frenzy of China's Cultural Revolution, victims were eaten at macabre "flesh banquets", but 50 years after the turmoil began, the Communist Party is suppressing remembrance and historical reckoning of the era and its excesses.

Launched by Mao in 1966 to topple his political enemies after the failure of the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution saw a decade of violence and destruction nationwide as party-led class conflict devolved into social chaos.

Italy is set to legalize gay civil unions with a confidence vote in parliament Wednesday on a bill hailed as a historic turning point but criticized as a missed opportunity for greater change.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called the vote, which begins at 2:10 pm (1210 GMT) in the lower house, to force the controversial bill through, putting his cabinet on the line in a challenge to the Catholic right and rebels in his own party.

Boots, sneakers and sandals donated by families seeking missing loved ones in a region of Latin America stricken by drug violence are dangling in a new exhibit in Mexico.

Each of the 86 pairs of shoes hanging from the ceiling was donated by a family member to symbolize how far they have walked in their desperate search.

A handwritten journal has been found in the depths of a small Australian bookshop detailing what experts believe are battle plans from the Napoleonic wars.

The diary of British Lieutenant-Colonel John Squire, who served with the Duke of Wellington, was discovered among a pile of books in a cupboard at Cracked and Spineless New and Used Books in the Tasmanian capital Hobart.

Mohamed Al-Subeeh was a senior restorer at Syria's best-known mosaic museum, but as war swept deeper into his province, destroying artifacts and threatening his and his family's lives, he was forced to flee.

The 64-year-old from Idlib province never dreamed that he would ever work in a museum again, certainly not in Germany, to which he had fled in a 23-day journey that involved a rubber boat ride across the Mediterranean, endless bus and train rides and hours of trekking on foot.