Muslim pilgrims are descending in droves on Mecca for the hajj, the world's largest annual gathering, which Saudi Arabia insists will not be affected by instability rocking the region

Chris LaPorte from Michigan created the 13x26ft masterpiece (pictured) for the ArtPrize 2012 using an 80-year-old photo of his grandfather and his high school marching band.

Taliban insurgents said on Tuesday that the Pakistani schoolgirl its gunmen shot in the head deserved to die because she had spoken out against the group and praised U.S. President

As the global economy lurches from one crisis to another, one industry is benefiting from the uncertainty. Books that try to make sense of it all are selling well...

A cache of as yet unseen Franz Kafka manuscripts will be made available online to scholars after an Israeli court ruled they weren't given as a gift to the secretary of the author's executor and friend, Max Brod.

DORTMUND, Germany (Reuters) - Germany's neo-Nazis are hanging up their bomber jackets, unlacing their black leather boots and even grabbing a bite to eat at their local Turkish kebab shop.Eschewing their

The slowdown in the Chinese economy is producing an unexpected reduction in violence and social conflict, a senior Chinese security official says.

Primary school students may not fully understand the Confucian works they are reciting, but the works are a big part of China's pilot efforts to promote traditional Chinese cultural education among the country's youth.

The boss of French clothing firm Zadig & Voltaire has apologised for saying that Chinese tourists would not be welcome at an exclusive new hotel planned by the company in Paris.

The swift conviction of Pope Benedict's former butler leaves lingering suspicions that he was a pawn in a much larger Vatican intrigue involving infighting in the papal court and alleged corruption at the highest levels of the Roman Catholic Church.