Retirement is not traditionally on the cards for queens, kings or popes, but a string of abdications in recent months, some unprecedented, show many are choosing to step aside instead of labouring on until death.

Belgian King Albert, 79, became the latest to announce he will abdicate his throne, a little over a week after the emir of Qatar Hamad ben Khalifa Al Thani stepped down in favour of his son -- a first for an Arab country.

A lizard dipped in wine may not seem like an obvious asthma remedy, but as Cambodian traditional healers strive to turn their ancient wisdom into a professional industry such treatments are finding their way into the classroom.

For generations, the secrets of "Kru Khmer" traditional remedies have been passed down by word of mouth -- often from father to son -- with each expert tweaking the methods along the way.

Extravagant displays of Independence Day fireworks lit up the skies around the United States, including 19 single bursts in Arizona to remember the firefighters killed in a wildfire, the Statue of Liberty reopened eight months after it was shuttered by Superstorm Sandy, and President Obama urged citizens to live up to the words of the Declaration of Independence.

Four barges carrying 40,000 shells on the Hudson River on Thursday night unleashed a barrage of brilliant reds, whites and blues — some in shapes and smiley faces — as spectators marveled at the classic New York over-the-top fireworks display, snapping videos and pictures on their phones.

Civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr is being remembered in a Washington, D.C. exhibition held to tie-in with the 50th anniversary of his famous march on the U.S. capital.

"One Life: Martin Luther King, Jr", takes a look back at the epic sweep of the slain Nobel laureate's life and times.

Wearing a long skirt, headdress and loose blouse embroidered with bright flowers, Mariana de la Noche road on a float in Mexico City's recent gay pride parade. The float was for "muxes," Zapotec indigenous men who dress and behave in ways associated with women.

The 33-year-old restaurant cook was picked as queen of the "muxes" (pronounced MOO-shays) living in Mexico City, where for the first time Saturday they celebrated a "vela," as community parties are known in their hometown of Juchitan, a city of Zapotecs in the southern state of Oaxaca.

The Statue of Liberty, closed since the destruction wrought by Superstorm Sandy, reopened to the public this Fourth of July as Americans across the country mark the U.S. Independence Day holiday with fireworks and barbecues.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials presided over a celebratory ribbon-cutting Thursday to mark the reopening of the national landmark. Some repairs to brick walkways and docks are still underway, but much of the work has been completed since Sandy swamped most of the national landmark's 12-acre (5-hectare) site.

Cambodia has joined hands with Australia in an effort to use the Internet to help preserve its fabled Angkor Wat temple complex.

The Australian Embassy announced Thursday that a recently opened website, angkorsunsets.com, will give tourists recommendations for where in the 160-square-mile (400-square-kilometer) complex one can watch spectacular sunsets.

Iran's volleyball triumph has created a dilemma for the state broadcaster, which is struggling to tailor its coverage of matches, attended by scantily dressed women, to the moral guidelines of the Islamic republic.

Competing for the first time in the FIVB Volleyball World League, Iran is seen as the underdog.

One of China's rarest stamps sold for HK$6.9 million ($890,000) at auction in Hong Kong, the auctioneers said Wednesday.

With just 32 recorded copies, the Qing Dynasty "1897 Red Revenue Small One Dollar" stamp is "China's rarest regularly-issued stamp", Interasia Auctions said in a press release.

Few people have been photographed more often than Kate Moss, and some of the most famous images of the supermodel are going under the hammer at a Christie's auction this fall.

The sale, announced Wednesday, includes a shot of Moss encased in bronze glitter by Allen Jones and images by well-known photographers including Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Weber, Mario Testino, Sam Taylor-Wood and Irving Penn.