There's an art to taking the perfect selfie -- from the angle, to the focus, cropping out that pesky outstretched arm and above all, the smile.

In a celebration of self-portraits in the social media age Tommy Honton and Tair Mamedov are set to open the Museum of Selfies in Los Angeles this Sunday -- an interactive exhibition exploring the history and cultural phenomenon of snapping a photo of yourself.

Top South Korean musical acts including a K-pop girlband are set to hold a rare concert in North Korea Sunday evening in the latest reconciliatory gesture before a rare inter-Korean summit. 

The name chosen by the small European country of Macedonia at its independence 27 years ago has ever since been rejected by Greece, provoking an impassioned dispute.

For Greece the name is part of its own cultural heritage, a source of pride as that of an ancient province that was the core of Alexander the Great's empire more than 2,000 years ago.

Long seen as a pioneer for women's rights in the Arab world, Tunisia is pushing ahead with reforms promised after its 2011 revolution -- but campaigners say much remains to be done.

The country's 2014 constitution was praised as a key achievement in the revolt that toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.

A French vegan activist was set to appear in court on Thursday for allegedly condoning terrorism after writing on social media that a butcher killed in an Islamist attack deserved his fate, a legal source told AFP.

The unusual case, being prosecuted under France's tough anti-terror security laws, was to be heard in the town of Saint-Gaudens in southwest France.

A historic deal between China and the Vatican on the appointment of bishops is not "imminent," a Vatican spokesman said Thursday, contradicting an optimistic statement from a Chinese government-approved bishop.

The first Van Gogh painting to go under the hammer in France in more than two decades was unveiled Wednesday.

Yuri Gagarin, feted as a Soviet national hero for being the first man in space, was killed in a plane crash 50 years ago but the details of his death remain shrouded in mystery.

On March 27, 1968, at 10:18 am, Gagarin was preparing for a training flight in his MiG-15 plane at the Chkalovsky aerodrome near Moscow, his former cosmonaut colleague Vladimir Aksyonov recalls. 

As a child, Adnan Khalaf used to marvel at the Iraqi city of Basra's "shanasheel", finely crafted bay windows complete with intricate wooden latticework and ornate stained glass.

Barely clothed or naked and perched suggestively on a bed or chair, the plastic dolls on offer in the most controversial "brothel" in Paris have led to accusations that they could encourage rape.

Since February, four silicone figures have been on offer at hourly rates of 89 euros (110 dollars) in a discreet apartment in the south of the city, far from the historic red-light district around the Pigalle area in the north.