After his release from an Israeli jail, Barakeh Taha could finally marry and held the wedding at a disputed West Bank site holy to Muslims and Jews where tension once led to a massacre of unarmed Palestinians.

No random choice, Taha aimed to back a Palestinian campaign to claim heritage rights over an ancient burial cave in the heart of Hebron's Old City.

Escaping a city wracked by incessant violence, Syrian Christians from Homs flocked to a nearby monastery on Sunday to celebrate Christmas away from a place that "has gone mad."

The Saint George de Mishtaya monastery, parts of which were built in the sixth century, lies in a lush valley some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Homs which has become a major frontline in the uprising against the regime.

Ancient manuscripts are treated like hospital patients at a famous book restoration institute in Rome that has worked on everything from the Dead Sea Scrolls to one of the oldest Korans in the world.

"Look at this poor man suffering!" exclaimed Marina Bicchieri, head of the chemistry department at the Institute of the Pathology of the Book, as she examined oxidation levels on the unique institution's most recent project.

Behind a locked glass door lies the 17th floor of Copenhagen's Bella Sky hotel: the Bella Donna floor is off-limits to men so women will feel safe and pampered, even though it's in violation of gender equality laws.

"I'm not allowed to enter. I have to wait here." Except in the event of an emergency, even hotel manager Anders Duelund cannot pass through the door.

Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni shrine, often seen as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression, had its main wooden gate set on fire early Monday in a suspected arson attack, a shrine official said.

A small fire scorched the "Gate of gods", which stands about 13 meters (43 feet) tall and 28 meters wide, at around 4:00 am, the official said.

Sori Yanagi, whose designs for stools and kitchen pots brought the simplicity and purity of Japanese decor into the everyday, has died. He was 96.

The pioneer of Japan's industrial design died of pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital Sunday, Koichi Fujita of Yanagi Design Office said Monday.

Visitors to Ohio's first casino won't see glitzy Las Vegas-style stage shows but instead will get an invitation to gamble and then sample the attractions in blue-collar Cleveland.

The Horseshoe Casino Cleveland will open in late March on four floors of a renovated department store overlooking Public Square in the heart of downtown.

A rare clay seal found under Jerusalem's Old City appears to be linked to religious rituals practiced at the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago, Israeli archaeologists said Sunday.

The coin-sized seal found near the Jewish holy site at the Western Wall bears two Aramaic words meaning "pure for God."

Nelson Mandela's grandson will tie the knot with a third wife in a traditional ceremony on Christmas Eve Saturday despite a court ban on the wedding, according to a report.

All systems were go for chief Mandla Mandela's union with Swazi princess Mbali Makhathini at the Mvezo Royal Palace in rural Eastern Cape province, family spokesman Sidima Mnqanqeni told Sapa news agency.

Czechs and world leaders paid emotional tribute to Vaclav Havel on Friday at a pomp-filled funeral ceremony, ending a week of public grief and nostalgia over the death of the dissident playwright who led the 1989 revolution that toppled four decades of communist rule.

Bells tolled from churches while a wailing siren brought the country to a standstill in a minute of silence for the nation's first democratically-elected president after the nonviolent "Velvet Revolution."