On the road to Egypt's Djoser step pyramid at Saqqara there's not a trace of a tourist anywhere, and a handful of trinket and souvenir salesmen sit on a metal railing hoping for a lucky break.

The uprising that overthrew former president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 dealt a serious blow to Egypt's vital tourism sector, and a year on, visitors have been slow to return to this key archaeological site south of Cairo.

A ghost-hamlet in rural France that became a global media sensation for failing to find a buyer was auctioned off on Monday to South Korean artist Ahae for 520,000 euros ($663,000).

The Asian artist beat competition during bidding from Dutch reality TV giant Endemol that wanted to shoot a series in the hamlet and a Belgian company that wanted to create a center for housing the handicapped.

Two men on Tuesday vandalized a portrait of President Jacob Zuma posing as Lenin with his genitals hanging out in a Johannesburg gallery, as a court case over the painting got under way.

A red X was painted over Zuma's face and black paint smeared across the image, according to an Agence France Presse reporter at the private Goodman Gallery. The eNews television station showed images of two men defacing the painting.

Anna Mollel of Tanzania was Monday awarded a children's rights prize for her work to help thousands of Maasai children with disabilities to live a dignified life, organizers said.

A majority of the some 2.5 million children around the world who took part in the selection of this year's winner voted to give the 2012 World's Children's Prize to Mollel "for her over 20-year struggle for children with disabilities in poor rural areas in northern Tanzania," organizers said.

Tens of thousands of flag-waving Israelis on Sunday marched in celebration of Jerusalem Day when Israel captured the Arab eastern sector of the city 45 years ago during the Six-Day War.

The annual flag march, which tends to draw thousands of religious Zionist nationalists, started near the residence of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, with demonstrators expected to march around the outskirts of the Old City before ending at the Western Wall.

Bangladesh can justly claim to be a nation born of language, but its status as a cradle of linguistic diversity is under threat from nationalist pride and economic growth.

Of the more than 30 recognized languages spoken in Bangladesh, experts say 20 are now on the verge of extinction.

The Bardo museum in Tunisia's capital, renowned for its exceptional collection of ancient mosaics, on Friday opened a new wing after a 10 million euro ($12.7 million) facelift.

Unique in the scope of its treasures, the museum, which doubled its surface area, boasts objects from prehistory, the Phoenician period and Punic and Numidian times, as well as Roman, Christian and Islamic artifacts.

Experts have been unable to assess damage to historic treasures in Mali and Syria caused by rebellions which have added to cultural chaos left by the Arab uprisings, a top UNESCO official said Friday.

The situation is "very, very worrying" in the Mali city of Timbuktu, a U.N. heritage site, where Islamist fighters said to be linked to Al-Qaeda have already destroyed the tomb of a Muslim saint, said UNESCO assistant director general Francesco Bandarin.

Bone-white sand squeaks beneath your feet, the curved beach framed by lush forested hills, empty but for a handful of expats and intrepid tourists who have got wind of Sierra Leone's raw beauty.

Weary of being a poster child for African conflict, Sierra Leone is working to lure back tourists, but for now enjoying some of Africa's most beautiful scenery -- like the palm-fringed Tokeh Beach -- is not for the faint-hearted.

A boom in private museums funded by wealthy collectors is transforming the artistic landscape in Asia, and filling the cultural vacuum left by penny-pinching governments, experts say.

Organizers of the Hong Kong International Art Fair (Art HK), which opened in the southern Chinese city on Thursday, said the next Henry Tate or John D. Rockefeller Jr. could be among the collectors perusing the pieces for sale.