Sean Michaels has won one of Canada's most prestigious literary awards for his novel about a musical instrument.

Michaels won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his book "Us Conductors" on Monday. The debut novelist's book is about the Russian-born inventor of the theremin, which is an ethereal musical instrument that is played without physical contact.

A brooch commissioned by a French empress, or perhaps an iconic watch considered the most complicated ever made entirely by hand?

The list of spectacular pieces on sale at Christie's and Sotheby's traditional autumn jewel and watch auctions in Geneva this week is long, with nearly $200 million expected to change hands.

A pair of paintings by iconic abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko sold Monday for a whopping $76.5 million, the auction house Sotheby's said.

Rothko's "Untitled," a blue and purple oil painting from 1970 sold for $39.9 million. It was estimated to earn up to $20 million.

It was the last round of a recurring argument: M. Indira Gandhi's husband wanted her to convert to Islam. A committed Hindu, she refused.

He threatened divorce. Both started shouting. Neighbors came looking. Suddenly, he snatched their 11-month-old daughter from the arms of an older child, tucked her under one arm and sped off on his motorbike.

Egypt will soon open to tourists the courtyard in front of the Sphinx, the colossal monument which has been under restoration for nearly four years, officials said on Sunday.

Carved from a single ridge of stone, the Sphinx is one of the most visited monuments in the world, and has been regularly restored following from air pollution and underground water damage.

Records tumbled at a special auction in Geneva Sunday to mark 175 years of Patek Philippe watches, with a rare pink gold item going for $2.67 million, auctioneers Christie's said.

The auction of 100 wrist and pocket watches brought in a total of $19,731,099, double the original estimate, and set nine world records in the process. Christie's said in a statement after the three-hour bidding battle.

The dust and cobwebs lie thick after nearly a century, but the memory of the French soldier who grew up in this bedroom -- and who died in Belgium in World War I -- is today as vivid as the sunlight streaming through the window.

Dragoons officer Hubert Rochereau's presence permeates the place. It emanates from photos and from the second lieutenant's various possessions -- uniforms, riding trophies, books -- frozen in time on the top floor of a large home in Belabre, a small village in central France.

U.S. President Barack Obama told the world Friday to remember lessons from the emotional fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago, particularly in light of "Russia's actions against Ukraine."

Berlin kicked off celebrations Friday of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall, which culminate Sunday with a party to mark the historic event which led to German reunification.

With the Internet taking over modern reading habits, do you still have to have read Proust, Balzac... or Modiano to be considered cultivated in France? The answer, according to some experts, is 'not necessarily'.

With e-books, online blogs, Twitter and multiple other sources now available, the bedrock of the French intellectual tradition -- the literary book -- is being challenged as never before.

Dog lovers in Iran could face up to 74 lashes under plans by hardline lawmakers that would ban keeping the pets at home or walking them in public.

A draft bill, signed by 32 members of the country's conservative-dominated parliament, would also authorize heavy fines for offenders, the reformist Shargh newspaper reported.