A German octogenarian puts his lifelong fascination with armor under the hammer Tuesday when the largest private collection of medieval weapons goes on sale for millions of euros.

The collection valued at between three and four million euros ($4-5.4 million), goes up for auction in Brussels and includes not only classical armor and weaponry such as shields, helmets and swords, but also crustaceans.

The Indian capital of New Delhi marked its 100th birthday on Monday without any official celebrations of a day that revives memories of British rule over the country.

On December 12, 1911, visiting King George V told crowds at an elaborate imperial ceremony that India's capital would be moved from the eastern port of Calcutta to a new city to be built next to the ancient settlement of Delhi.

Kensal Rise library was opened by Mark Twain in 1900 -- and how it could do with the support of the great American man of letters now to fight off its threatened extinction as government cuts bite.

The red-brick Victorian building has closed its doors and will be shut down permanently unless a determined campaign organized by the residents of the multi-ethnic district of north London can save it.

One hundred years ago Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen won the race to the South Pole in a dramatic and ultimately fatal duel with British adventurer Robert Scott that captured the world's attention.

On December 14, 1911, not long before the outbreak of World War I as nationalism was on the rise in Europe, Amundsen and the four members of his team were the first to plant the Norwegian flag at the southernmost tip of the globe.

The United States has returned a gold monkey head to Peru dating back to the Moche civilization that flourished in northern Peru from the second to eighth centuries, officials said Friday.

The gold pendant, which was returned Thursday during a repatriation ceremony at the Peruvian Embassy in Washington, had been exhibited for years at the Museum of New Mexico, Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. It had been donated by private collector John Bourne.

A brass desk set inscribed "AH" and used by Adolf Hitler at the signing of the Munich Pact, which preceded World War II, has sold for $423,000, a U.S. auction house said.

The ceremonial desk set, including ink wells and the Nazi crest of an eagle and swastika, had been expected to fetch at least half a million dollars.

Artists pore over their computers -- drawing up work experience and not sketches -- in a rigorous "boot camp" inspired by Nelson Mandela that combines practical business sense with talent.

The five students are in a six-week residency in the isolated hills of Qunu at the Nelson Mandela Museum, overlooking the icon's childhood home where he has been living for the last four months.

A recently attributed painting by 17th century Spanish artist Diego Velazquez sold at auction in London on Wednesday for £3 million ($4.7 million, 3.5 million euros), Bonhams auction house announced.

"Portrait of a Gentleman" -- a painting of a bald, middle-aged man with a moustache wearing a collar similar to those worn by men in the 1600s -- was bought by a US art dealer for a price within the auction house's estimate.

Artists pore over their computers -- drawing up work experience and not sketches -- in a rigorous "boot camp" inspired by Nelson Mandela that combines practical business sense with talent.

The five students are in a six-week residency in the isolated hills of Qunu at the Nelson Mandela Museum, overlooking the icon's childhood home where he has been living for the last four months.

One of Paris's top theaters was bracing Thursday for a showdown with Catholic extremists vowing to disrupt the opening of "Golgota Picnic", a virulent on-stage attack on consumerism and religion.

French fundamentalist Catholics have been waging a sometimes violent campaign of protests in recent months against works they perceive as blasphemous, picketing plays and pelting theatre-goers with eggs.