The Vatican is limiting the use of honorific "monsignor" titles, according to a letter sent to Catholic dioceses around the world, after repeated complaints from Pope Francis about careerist priests.

The Secretariat of State, the central administration of the Catholic Church, said it said on Wednesday that the title could now only be given to priests who are at least 65 years old and those who occupy senior posts.

One hundred years after the start of World War I, Britain has been gripped by an unexpectedly bitter argument over the legacy of the conflict, focusing on the television comedy "Blackadder".

Comments by the education minister Michael Gove about the war this week have sparked a fierce debate that, despite its historical origins, goes to the heart of present-day questions about British identity.

Some 80 shells left over from the Second World War have been uncovered on a beach in northwestern France pounded by strong waves during a storm, police said Tuesday.

Bomb disposal experts were sweeping the beach in Locmariaquer, a small town in Brittany, where a security cordon had been put up around the area where the shells were gathered, after a walker stumbled across them on Monday.

The Paris Louvre, one of the world's largest museums, will be able to fund restoration work on the Winged Victory of Samothrace, one of its masterpieces, after collecting one million euros in individual donations.

The work will also include repairs to the large staircase that leads up to the 2nd-century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike, the museum told Agence France Presse on Monday.

In Iran, free condoms and government-backed vasectomies are out, replaced by sermons praising larger families and discussions of even offering gold coins to the families of newborns.

Having successfully curbed birth rates for two decades, Iran now is promoting a baby boom to help make up for its graying population. But experts say it is difficult to encourage Iranians to have more children in a mismanaged economy hit by Western sanctions and 36 percent inflation.

Two archaeologists had a hunch that the Buddha's birthplace in southern Nepal held secrets that could transform how the world understood the emergence and spread of Buddhism.

Their pursuit would eventually see them excavate the sacred site of Lumbini as monks prayed nearby, leading to the stunning claim that the Buddha was born in the sixth century BC, two centuries earlier than thought.

An Indian judge has declared premarital sex "immoral" and against "every religion" and added that no educated woman should have sex believing that her partner will marry her.

Sessions court judge Virender Bhat made the comments while finding a 29-year-old Indian man not guilty of raping a woman just because he had promised beforehand to marry her.

Model yachts, rustic fishing boats and wooden rafts dangle above visitors as they step into the new Perez Art Museum Miami. The colorful display is both a playful nod to South Florida's maritime culture and a somber reference to the perilous journeys many make to get here. It is the perfect entry to a museum that channels the city around it: whimsical, vibrant, brimming with culture from across the Americas - and yes, a work in progress.

The museum, which opened in December, still lacks a permanent blockbuster, but its retrospective of Chinese master and political dissident Ai Weiwei, on display through mid-March, should temporarily satisfy. And the museum's eclectic and provocative collection, coupled with its bay front location, has quickly turned the PAMM - as locals already call it - into a must-see destination for tourists and natives.

Wojciech Kilar, a symphonic composer who gained fame writing film scores for "The Pianist" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula," was hailed as a glorious figure in Polish and European music at his funeral on Saturday.

Poland's First Lady Anna Komorowska and Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski joined musicians and hundreds of Kilar's fans during the ceremonies at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Katowice, the composer's hometown, during which his music was played.

Egypt's minister of antiquities says Japanese archaeologists have unearthed the tomb of an ancient beer brewer in the city of Luxor that is more than 3,000 years old.

Mohammed Ibrahim says Friday the tomb dates back to the Ramesside period and belongs to the chief "maker of beer for gods of the dead" who was also the head of a warehouse.