Lawyers for the German art collector who kept more than 1,400 works in his Munich apartment have filed an appeal against the pieces' seizure two years ago, arguing that the decision was disproportionate and the art irrelevant as evidence in the case against their client.

Collector Cornelius Gurlitt's spokesman, Stephan Holzinger, said in a statement Wednesday the complaint against the decision to search Gurlitt's apartment and seize the art was filed last week at a court in Augsburg, where prosecutors handling the case are based.

A group of 83 mostly elderly South Koreans accompanied by family converged Wednesday on a coastal resort prior to crossing into North Korea for the first reunion in more than three years for the peninsula's divided families.

Having had their hopes shattered when Pyongyang cancelled a previous reunion last September, many had been wary of the agreement to hold a gathering from Thursday at a mountain retreat in North Korea.

One of three works by the elusive British street artist Banksy has sold at a Miami auction for $575,000.

An anonymous buyer purchased "Kissing Coppers," spray-painted in 2005 on the Prince Albert Pub in Brighton, England, at the Fine Art Auctions Miami on Tuesday night. The piece was expected to sell anywhere from $500,000 to $700,000.

Five years after it closed for a two-year renovation, Paris's Picasso museum -- which houses one of the world's most extensive collections of the Spanish master's work -- is to reopen its doors.

The final bill for the refurbishment of the 17th-century baroque mansion in Paris's historic Marais quarter now stands at 52 million euros ($71 million), 22 million euros more than the original budget due to changes in the scope of the work.

Lebanese poet Ounsi al-Hajj, who pioneered the use of free verse in Arabic poetry in the 20th century, died Tuesday aged 77.

"His health had deteriorated in recent days. He was suffering from colon cancer and died on Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by his family at his home," a relative told Agence France Presse.

The elderly German son of a Nazi-era art dealer has launched a website with information about an art trove discovered at his home, suspected to contain Nazi-looted works.

Cornelius Gurlitt's spokesman said in a statement that the Internet site www.gurlitt.info demonstrated the willingness of the 81-year-old and his lawyers for dialogue both with the public and possible claimants.

Two Indian writers said Monday they have asked publisher Penguin to pulp their books and return the copyright, in protest at what they see as its failure to defend free speech.

Penguin ignited the row last week with its decision to withdraw a 2009 book on Hinduism in India, to settle a court battle with activists who took offence at the American author's depiction of the religion.

A South Florida artist is facing a criminal charge after police say he smashed a $1 million vase by a Chinese artist at Miami's new art museum to protest what he called its favoritism for international rather than local art.

Maximo Caminero, 51, was charged with criminal mischief after Sunday's incident at the Perez Art Museum Miami. According to a Miami Police Department arrest affidavit, a security guard told officers that Caminero picked up a colored vase by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei. When told to put it down, the security guard said, Caminero smashed it on the floor.

Racing against time, South Carolina archeologists are digging to uncover the remnants of a Civil War-era prisoner-of-war camp before the site in downtown Columbia is cleared to make room for a mixed-use development.

The researchers have been given four months to excavate a small portion of the 165-acre (66.7-hectare) grounds of the former South Carolina State Hospital to find the remnants of what was once known as "Camp Asylum." Conditions at the camp, which held 1,500 Union Army officers during the winter of 1864-65, were so dire that soldiers dug and lived in holes in the ground, which provided shelter against the cold.

The Egyptian minister of antiquities says that a team of German archaeologists has discovered missing pieces belonging to the famed Colossi of Memnon. The statues, dating to roughly 1350 BC, were damaged in an earthquake during the Roman era.

The colossi are some of Egypt's oldest touristic attractions, drawing tourists since ancient times. The twin statues, over 18 meters (60 feet) tall each, are of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who was worshipped as a deity. The statues are the only remains of a large temple that was built in memorial of the pharaoh.