Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in 2011 in Wal-Mart's hometown, Bentonville, Arkansas, with a respectable collection of work by famous artists from Norman Rockwell's "Rosie the Riveter" to a George Washington portrait by Gilbert Stuart.

But the museum has just opened a massive exhibition of contemporary art called "State of the Art" that could be a game-changer. The museum is sometimes mocked by critics from outside the region for its location and Wal-Mart connections — its permanent collection was funded by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton — but the new show represents a serious effort to introduce contemporary art to a mainstream audience far from the rarefied galleries of hipster neighborhoods and urban centers.

Think of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf and what springs to mind? Billowing white robes against desert dunes, camel racing and falconry or futuristic buildings needling skywards?

In a Tokyo karaoke booth thick with cigarette smoke, Shinsuke Chiba's eyes bulge as the 41-year-old rips into an enthusiastic, if somewhat misjudged, rendition of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK".

A search team is set to salvage the wrecks of Japanese and British military aircraft which crashed in a northeastern Indian lake during fierce fighting in World War II, an organizer said Wednesday.

Indonesia pledged Thursday to step up protection of ancient cave paintings that researchers say show that Europe was not the birthplace of art as many had long believed. 

A marigold and magenta mohawk adorning his shaven skull, Chinese punk rocker Shan Lin has a subversive message in a country that suppresses dissent -- a rebel with a cause.

"The more anarchists the better, the more chaos and the more we love that! This country is so screwed up! There's a reason our band is called The Demonstrators," said the 30-year-old, before taking the stage at a punk festival in Beijing.

Jose was 13 when he entered the violent, murky underworld of the "maras," the gangs that have stained Central America's streets in blood.

Like the tens of thousands of young people who have joined these brutal urban tribes, the olive-skinned 26-year-old wears his fate tattooed on his skin -- though his are less visible than many members' full-body tattoos.

Dressed in an immaculate white lab coat, Sandra Mottaz stares intently through a stereo microscope at a bold-coloured painting purportedly by French master Fernand Leger, searching for signs of forgery.

Deep in northern Colombia's mountains, an isolated community of indigenous Wiwa people struggled Tuesday to comprehend why 11 of their own were struck dead by a bolt of lightning during a tribal ceremony.

"We're trying to recover our spirits, because this was a big shock to our community. That nature would treat us this way -- we are in mourning," Lorenzo Gil, a Wiwa member told AFP.

A U.S. federal court swept away bans on same-sex marriage in up to five more U.S. states Tuesday, bringing the number where gay weddings are permissible or likely soon will be to 35.

In the second piece of good news for same-sex marriage supporters in as many days, the appeals court handed down rulings covering Nevada and Idaho, but likely to also cover Alaska, Arizona and Montana which are under its jurisdiction.