The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington said Friday it's ramping up its photography collection with the acquisition of 100 images from the late Irving Penn.

They include rare street photographs from the 1930s and 1940s, most of them unpublished, as well as images from post-war Europe and examples of Penn's iconic fashion, portrait and still-life photography.

Kencho Tshering, a red-robed Buddhist monk, takes a call from the King of Bhutan's office, then duly dashes off to start a ceremony praying for a break in the monsoon rains.

But while he may be on speed dial for royal requests, the clout of his fellow monks is on the wane in the remote kingdom as it absorbs the impact of technology and democracy as well as an abuse scandal.

Algeria's High Islamic Council condemned on Wednesday a group of Berbers who organized a public lunch during the Ramadan fast to protest against its official imposition.

During the day on Saturday, some 500 "non-fasters" gathered in Tizi Ouzou, east of the capital, where they publicly ate, drank and smoked to make their point.

Helsinki is waiting to receive a second proposal for a Guggenheim museum in the Finnish capital, a city official said Tuesday, after rejecting the first offer mainly due to its high cost.

Plans for a Finnish Guggenheim franchise costing around 140 million euros ($186 million) were turned down by the Helsinki city council in a close vote in May last year, despite having the backing of center-right mayor Jussi Pajunen.

"When I was a child, I was told that homosexuals would burn in hell," said Ertugrul, a Muslim fighting for greater freedom for gays in a country where homosexuality remains taboo.

Ertugrul, who did not want to give his last name, is president of the group Muslims and Gays, which he says wants to "break taboos" in Muslim-majority Turkey, where gays are still subject to violence and abuse.

The country that gave us the words restaurant, bistro and cuisine is changing how it eats.

For the first time in France, fast food overtook traditional restaurant receipts as the economic crisis deepened, and the share of people who pack a lunch for work is rising faster by the year. Meanwhile, lurid reports of the increasing number of traditional restaurants resorting to frozen pre-packaged meals to hold down their prices have shaken France's sense of culinary identity.

"Who's the hero of Iraq?" roars Mohanned al-Hindi, parading like a wrestler in a ring and cheered by fans, after winning the traditional Ramadan game of Mheibis.

His victory is not one of brawn, but one of careful observation -- Hindi has found the ring that a member of the opposing team held hidden in the palm of his hand, thereby scoring a point in the Mheibis championship round.

International auction house Christie's will appraise some pieces in the Detroit Institute of Arts collection as a federal judge considers a state-appointed emergency manager's request to push the city into the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Christie's also will assist and advise on valuing the artwork while leaving the pieces in the city's ownership, the New York-based firm said Monday on its website.

They appeared out of nowhere, making a mess, operating without a permit and disrupting the football season by luring gawkers. But who can resist 10 tons of buried gold?

That's what a team of 20 men say they have been digging for since Friday in the middle of a suburb of Paraguay's capital.

A rare portfolio of photographs from Marilyn Monroe's last sitting is up for grabs to the highest bidder.

Freeman's auction house in Philadelphia estimates the limited-edition portfolio of 10 photos, made from fashion photographer Bert Stern's original negatives from his June 1962 assignment for Vogue, could fetch $10,000 to $15,000 when it goes on the block Sept. 10.