After more than a decade of restoration and study, the public is getting a glimpse at the oldest surviving copy of works by an ancient Greek mathematical genius at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.

The exhibition, "Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes," which opened Sunday, tells the story of the 1,000-year-old text and the work of dozens of scientists and scholars who uncovered its secrets. After the exhibition closes Jan. 1, the Archimedes Palimpsest will be returned to its anonymous owner.

Publishers from Arab countries attending the world's biggest book fair have welcomed a greater freedom of speech ushered in by the fall of repressive regimes but still face challenges.

Thirteen Syrian exhibitors who had registered to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair were absent from the five-day event due to a visa problem, the fair's director of communications Katja Boehne said.

Researchers in South Africa have discovered what may have been the world's earliest artist's studio.

A 100,000-year-old workshop used to mix and store the reddish pigment ochre has been discovered in Blombos Cave on the rugged southern coast near Cape Town. At the same site, scientists have found some of the earliest sharp stone tools, as well as evidence of fishing.

A group which has translated nine books about the Holocaust both into Arabic and Farsi for the first time appealed Thursday for publishers, saying "young people are yearning for this".

Launched in 2009, the Aladdin Project has already translated "The Diary of Anne Frank" and Primo Levi's "If This Is a Man", among others, which can now be downloaded for free from their website.

The U.N. cultural organization UNESCO said Thursday it would launch a mission to the ancient Thai city of Ayutthaya to assess the damage to the World Heritage site from the worst floods in decades.

It said the visit to the country's former capital would be arranged shortly by the Thai government, which is also preparing to apply for emergency assistance from the World Heritage Fund.

A homage to the disappearing format of analogue film by the British artist Tacita Dean is the latest exhibition to fill the cavernous space at the Tate Modern in London.

Plunged into darkness, visitors to the former power station see a huge screen resembling a piece of film, placed vertically, up which scrolls a constantly changing series of images, such as the sun, a snail or a factory chimney.

The world's biggest book fair, due to open Tuesday, wants to put paid to fears for the survival of the book in its traditional, bound form in the face of its digital rival's growing popularity.

While electronic books and other gadgets have been all the talk of the Frankfurt Book Fair in recent years, industry movers and shakers say the future of both ebooks and printed books is safe.

Archaeologists say they've discovered the ruins of what is believed to be Peru's oldest Roman Catholic church.

The church outside the northern coastal city of Piura was built in 1534 but its mud walls deteriorated over time as Spanish conquistadors abandoned the area, said archaeologist Cesar Astuhuaman of Piura University.

Kenyans are bidding farewell to the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in a state funeral marked with prayers, praises and tree planting.

Hundreds of Kenyans, including President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, amassed at a landmark park in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, to attend prayers held for the late Wangari Maathai.

French luxury brand Hermes has launched a limited edition Indian sari range as it seeks to "connect" with Indian culture and the country's elegant traditions, it said Saturday.

Indian women may wear Western dress during the day but for weddings and other formal occasions they often prefer to wear six-yard (five and a half meter) saris, reflecting the strong pull of tradition.