Some of the most famed Shiite clerics of modern times have gathered together in a modest room under a religious school in Najaf in central Iraq -- as wax figures, waiting to be put on display.

The 20 likenesses depicting people who studied, lived or were born in Najaf, most of them clerics, are arrayed around the walls of the carpeted room, with fans protecting them from the heat.

The Maxxi museum of contemporary art in Rome was placed under the special administration of Italy's culture ministry on Thursday, amid fears ballooning debts and funding cuts could force it to close.

A ministry press release said architect Antonia Pasqua Recchia has been appointed to take over the reins of the museum, which was designed by the Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid and opened its doors only two years ago.

The Dalai Lama will receive the 2012 Templeton Prize, one of the world's biggest monetary awards, in a ceremony at Saint Paul's Cathedral in London on May 14, organizers said Wednesday.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will receive the £1.1 million ($1.8 million, 1.4 million euro) prize for his work in encouraging scientific research and harmony among religions.

Minister of Tourism Fadi Abboud issued decision no 168 exempting Lebanese from paying entrance fees to the National Museum and all archeological sites on the occasion of International Museum Day, the National News Agency said Thursday.

"On the occasion of International Museum Day and the 70th anniversary of the National Museum, all Lebanese shall be exempted of entrance fees to the National Museum on Friday the 18th of May and on Sunday the 27th,” the statement said.

A Francis Bacon painting of a man and his reflection brought in $44.9 million at Sotheby's in New York on Wednesday, capping a week of breathtaking sales in the luxury art market.

Bacon's "Figure Writing Reflected in a Mirror" was one of the three pillars at the Manhattan auction and had a pre-sale estimate of $30 million to $40 million.

Beirut Photo Exhibition is the first international photography fair in Lebanon that will be held in September 2012, and has thus urged all photographers to submit photographic works for the initial selection phase.

The photographers are required to send, before June 15th 2012, three photographic works (less than 3 years old) in color or black and white to artheum@gmail.com with first name, last name, bio, works description, & contact details.

The Lebanese Film Festival is back on this summer's festivals program and will be celebrating its 10th anniversary from August 23-26, 2012 at the Metropolis Empire Sofil, the LFF said in a press release Wednesday.

To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the Lebanese Film Festival, which was created by “..né.à Beyrouth” in 2001, has come up with a revised program set up by a new team.

A sunset-colored painting by Mark Rothko became the world's most expensive contemporary art work Tuesday when it fetched $86.9 million in a stunningly lucrative auction at Christie's in New York.

"Orange, red, yellow" was as hot on the Christie's block as the colors on the bold, large-scale abstract canvas. A thicket of hands shot up to catch the attention of auctioneer Christopher Burge, bids leaping in increments of a million, sometimes two million dollars.

When the French seized Casablanca in the early 1900s, they turned the historic Morrocan port into a classic of colonial architecture that would be immortalized in the 1942 namesake film.

In the decades since the release of "Casablanca", real-estate development and property speculation have reshaped the city into one bearing little resemblance to its movie depiction and preservationists are increasingly fretting about what will become of the crumbling French colonial facades, neo-Moorish details and Art Deco hotels.

A priceless 17th-century Stradivarius cello got broken while being handled by experts in Spain's royal palace, an official said Monday.

The cello is one of five antique instruments by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari, renowned for the exquisite sound of his instruments, which were acquired by king Felipe V who ruled Spain at the turn of the 18th century.