"We are in a war."

Hundreds of conservative Republicans who gathered for the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority conference this week in Washington see a conflict raging across the United States pitting their faith and family values against liberal encroachment fueled by President Barack Obama.

The West Bank community of Battir, granted UNESCO endangered World Heritage status on Friday, is famous for its Roman-era irrigation system that is under threat from the Israeli separation barrier.

The U.N. cultural agency's World Heritage Committee granted protected status to the agricultural community south of Jerusalem, where Israel plans to build part of the barrier, after an emergency nomination by Palestinian officials.

Open one door to see a naked woman perched on a bicycle seat high on a wall; enter another room and find twins reading identical books under a pair of dot paintings.

Fleeting installations involving living people are stealing the show at this year's Art Basel, the world's biggest meeting place for deep-pocketed collectors.

The writers' group PEN is honoring Salman Rushdie for his "outstanding" literary output and support for freedom of expression.

The India-born writer, who spent years in hiding after his novel "The Satanic Verses" drew a death edict from Iran's religious authorities, was named winner Friday of the PEN/Pinter prize.

A Japanese military brothel in China has been declared a protected historic site, state media said Thursday, as Beijing highlights old grievances amid modern-day tensions with its longtime rival.

The seven-building complex in the eastern city of Nanjing housed more than 200 "comfort women" forced to serve Japanese soldiers during World War II, and was the largest such facility in Asia, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

What would Lady Macbeth be without something extravagant in which to sweep on stage or Hamlet without a silk doublet and padded hose?

Costumes -- the unsung heroes of Shakespearean theatre -- are the stars of a new exhibition that reveals the huge effort that goes into dressing the Bard's leading men and women.

The United States on Thursday slapped sanctions on Uganda including canceling a military air exercise, visa bans and freezing some aid after Ugandan leaders brought in tough anti-gay laws.

The new legislation signed into law in February "runs counter to universal human rights and complicates our bilateral relationship," the White House said, as it announced the new steps.

Hundreds of children are believed to have been kidnapped in Africa and brought to Britain for brutal voodoo rituals, a U.N. watchdog said Thursday, urging London to step up its fight against the scourge.

"We're concerned about reports that hundreds of children have been abducted from their families in Africa and trafficked to the UK, especially London, for religious rituals," said Kristen Sandberg, head of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Amsterdam residents fearing the loss of a popular park have rejected a multi-million-euro Holocaust memorial by famed U.S. architect Daniel Libeskind, forcing officials to rethink the plan.

A district council in the city voted on Tuesday to send the project back to the drawing board after residents complained that the city had backed the project without having properly consulted them.

Denmark's largest purpose-built mosque, including the country's first minaret, opens on Thursday in Copenhagen's gritty northwest district after receiving a 150 million kroner (20.1 million euros, $27.2 million) endowment from Qatar.

The longstanding political influence of the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party (DPP), as well as the row over Prophet Mohammed cartoons that led to deadly protests in Muslim countries have strained relations between Denmark's largest religious minority and the majority population.