A blue-and-white vase from  ancient China’s Ming Dynasty  (1368-1644) in Hong Kong. (Xinhua-Yonhap News)HONG KONG (AFP) ― A blue-and-white Ming vase fetched nearly $22 million in Hong Kong on Wednesday, setting a new record at auction for porcelain from the ancient Chinese dynasty.An unide

VIENNA (AFP) ― Philippe Jordan, the youthful conductor of the Paris Opera, will also head the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from the 2014-2015 season, officials said on Wednesday.Jordan, a 36-year-old Swiss, will replace Italian Fabio Luisi at the helm of Vienna’s second-most prestigious ensemble, offic

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Grammy award-winning soul diva Adele has been forced to cancel a planned U.S. tour for a second time due to a hemorrhage in her vocal chord, promoters for the British singer said Tuesday.The “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” songstress had been set to launch almost a m

Directing-and-writing duo Lee Jung-sub and Kang Eun-kyung scored a major success with KBS’ explosive hit series, “Bread, Love and Dreams” last year. Now, director Lee and scriptwriter Kang are looking to repeat history by returning to KBS with another ruggedly optimistic, down-on-luck drama, “Glory

A member of the media looks at “Nu Bleu Souvenir de Biskra” a 1907 painting by Henri Matisse, on the eve of the opening of the exhibition, “Matisse, Cezanne, Picasso, L’aventure des Stein,” at the Grand Palais in Paris on Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap News)PARIS (AP) ― The lady with the crazy hat is back, 106

BAGHDAD (AFP) ― The Baghdad International Film Festival, which runs all this week, is the latest effort by Iraqis to use an improving but precarious security situation to break their decades-long cultural isolation.The opening ceremony on Monday had all the glitz of a major film premiere. A huge cro

NEW YORK (AP) ― To gab, perchance to argue. Ay, there’s the way to make New Yorker magazine fans happy.And so it was a delicious moment at the annual New Yorker Festival this past weekend when Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro mused to his co-panelist, Hollywood director Roland Emmerich: “I’ve long

BEIJING (AFP) ― In a poky room in a backstreet of Beijing, self-taught brewer Carl Setzer uses spicy Sichuan peppercorns, oolong tea leaves and cinnamon to invent beer flavors suited to Chinese tastebuds.The burly American runs Great Leap Brewing, one of a small but growing number of micro-breweries

Move over paper catalogs. Online retailers with products selected by experts and sometimes tailored ― by you ― to your specific interests are the new face of food marketing.Featuring celebrity “curators” like Padma Lakshmi and editorial superstars like Ruth Reichl, the sites aim to cut through the v

PARIS (AP) ― Before Britain’s royal wedding, when the identity of the designer behind the dress Kate Middleton would wear to the alter was still the best-kept secret in the kingdom, some in the fashion world cast doubt on the rumors pointing toward Alexander McQueen, saying the label’s aesthetic was

BRIGHTON, England (AFP) ― A retired British decorator has transformed his home by covering its interior in renaissance-style murals to emulate the Sistine Chapel after being inspired by a book about the Vatican.Robert W. Burns, 64, swapped his roller for a more delicate paintbrush after buying the b

NEW YORK (AP) ― A treasure hunt devised by composer Stephen Sondheim prompted hundreds of people, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, to scamper through the dinosaur section of the American Museum of Natural History on Monday night.“That was a blast,” said Tony Award-winning actor

WATFORD, United Kingdom (AFP) - Harry Potter fans mourning the end of the boy wizard movies will have their spirits lifted by a new British attraction offering “muggles” a peek at the magic behind the films.The cameras have stopped rolling in the cavernous Great Hall, at the Quidditch pitches and in

MADRID (AP) ― A fugitive who escaped Spanish jail 25 years ago has been awarded one of the Basque country’s top literary awards, but told he cannot have the money that goes with it until he hands himself into authorities.The Basque regional government gave the award to Joseba Sarrionandia on Monday

NEW YORK (AP) -- British television productions picked up a leading seven International Emmy nominations Monday, including acting nods for Christopher Eccleston in “Accused” and Julie Walters in “Mo.”Brazil had six nominations, all for TV Globo productions, including best actor and actress nominatio

PARIS (AFP) ― Maori art was once neglected within New Zealand and under-valued elsewhere, but as the community’s work went on display in central Paris this week, one tribal chief said the current outlook is much rosier.“Now, it’s extremely expensive to buy our art,” Matiu Rei, head of the Ngati Tao

BUSAN ― Asia’s largest annual film festival opens with a glittering cast in South Korea on Thursday as it seeks to cement its place on the world cinema stage against growing competition.The Busan International Film Festival, now in its 16th edition, is moving into a new $140 million permanent home,

GALVA, Illinois ― One hundred and sixty miles southwest of Chicago, a man has planted a pair of reconditioned 20-by-48-foot drive-in movie screens in what used to be a cornfield.I went out there the other night, to Galva Autovue Drive-in (admission: $3 for anyone older than 3), owned and operated by

LOS ANGELES ― It may seem too good to be true, but Versace is launching an apparel line at fast-fashion retailer H&M in November. Missoni suede heels, with the luxe Italian fashion house’s signature zigzag print, hit the shelves at discount giant Target. Even Vera Wang is designing diamond engagemen

KANSAS CITY, Missouri ― Maybe the biggest barrier to working out is time. Barrier, challenge, excuse?So fitness trainers hate to see anyone frittering away precious workout periods or filling them with less-than-effective exercises. Actually, it makes them crazy.We asked a few trainers to point out