A decree by a senior Iranian cleric that Muslims can quench "extreme thirst" during the Ramadan fasting month has stirred debate in the Islamic republic's clergy, media reports said Thursday.

"Those who cannot bear extreme thirst can drink just enough water to quench it. This would not break their fast," said the fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Assadollah Bayat Zanjani, who is seen as close to reformers.

Britain on Wednesday became the 15th country worldwide to legalize gay marriage when Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal assent to a bill approved by lawmakers.

Here is a breakdown of countries with similar laws on the books.

Italian screenwriter Vincenzo Cerami -- author of the screenplay for "Life is Beautiful" by Roberto Benigni -- died on Wednesday at the age of 72.

"Vincenzo Cerami is the one person who has taught me how to strike people's feelings, how to make people emotional," Benigni said.

Out of respect for Pope Francis due here next week, sand artists have covered up the curves of female sculptures on Brazil's world famous Copacabana beach.

The beach is where crowds of young Catholic faithful from around the globe will welcome the pontiff for World Youth Day.

As Syria's Muslims observe the fasting month of Ramadan at a time of war for a third year running, many people are turning to black humor to help them cope.

Jokes are a way to weather the difficulties of food shortages, violence and death that mar the sense of community and celebration supposed to accompany the religious month.

International auctioneer Christie's said Tuesday it will hold its first ever sale in India as it seeks to capitalize on the country's expanding art scene.

The London-based house, which has had an office in financial hub Mumbai for two decades, will stage its inaugural sale in December.

A Romanian museum is analyzing ashes found in a stove to see if they are the remains of seven paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Monet and others that were stolen last year from the Netherlands, an official said Tuesday.

Prosecutor spokeswoman Gabriela Chiru told The Associated Press that Romania's National History Museum is examining the ashes found in the stove of Olga Dogaru. She is the mother of Radu Dogaru, one of three Romanian suspects charged with stealing the paintings from Rotterdam's Kunsthal gallery in a brazen daytime heist.

Slain Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi's sprawling residence in Tripoli, Bab al-Aziziya, will be turned into an amusement park under plans announced on Tuesday by the tourism minister.

"The work to clear away the rubble from the ruins of Bab al-Aziziya, which was a black spot in Tripoli and a source of concern for residents, has begun," the minister Ikram Basha Imam said.

The mother of a Romanian art heist suspect has admitted to torching seven stolen masterpieces, including works by Picasso and Monet, the Mediafax news agency reported Tuesday.

The mother of suspect Radu Doragu said she incinerated the artworks, valued at over 100 million euros ($130 million), in her stove in a bid to "destroy any evidence".

Chinese authorities have closed a museum which contained scores of fake exhibits, including a vase decorated with cartoon characters billed as a Qing dynasty artefact, state-run media reported Tuesday.

The facility, built in northern China's Hebei province at a cost of 540 million yuan ($88 million), has "no qualification to be a museum as its collections are fake", a local official told the Global Times newspaper.