With private jets filling the air and lines of luxury limousines on the ready, deep-pocketed collectors from around the world have flocked to Switzerland this week for Art Basel, the biggest contemporary art fair on the planet.

Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa has pulled out of a trip to Switzerland that was to mark his return to the podium in Europe after years of poor health, an official told AFP Thursday.

A rare 75-year-old comic book featuring the debut of Superman found in a Minnesota home's wall fetched US$175,000 at auction, comic book seller Comicconnect.com said on Wednesday.

Portugal has about 250 grape varieties, many of them unique to the country, and they represent a large number compared with most other wine-making nations because of the country's relatively small population.

American hard rock band Aerosmith will perform at a rock festival in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung Aug. 24, the first time the legendary band will perform in Taiwan, festival organizers announced yesterday.

Berlin Wednesday kicks off the reconstruction of its palace, a divisive 590-million-euro (US$783 million) project to recreate the baroque architectural jewel whose post-war remnants were razed by communist leaders.

Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr put snapshots of his musical and creative life on display in a new exhibit, “Ringo: Peace & Love,” which opened on Tuesday at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

The world's oldest person and the oldest man ever to have lived has died of natural causes aged 116, officials in Japan said Wednesday.

Briton Henry Cavill becomes the latest actor to don Superman's famous red cape as “Man of Steel” hits theaters this week — and hopes it's just the start of a rebooted blockbuster franchise.

Iran is again cracking down on people with pet dogs, viewed as unclean in Islam, but Soroush Mobaraki says sales are booming despite fears the pooches might be “arrested” and their owners fined.