Museum of Modern Art’s proposed 82-story, 1,000-foot tower clears final hurdle gets final OK

MoMA 82-story tower approved by NYC Council

New York’s Metropolitan returns ancient pharoanic artifact to Egypt

The Met returns Egyptian artifact

CAIRO — New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will return to Egypt a fragment of an ancient pharoanic shrine it purchased from a collector, Egypt’s antiquities department said Monday.

Celebrity Cruises introduces new seminars, activities

Celebrity Cruises introduces new activities

Miami Art Museum Director resigns as facility prepares to break ground on new building

Miami Art Museum Director resigns

MIAMI — The director of the Miami Art Museum has resigned, effective immediately.

Louisville’s 21c basks in glow of No. 1 ranking in magazine survey of top US hotels

Louisville hotel wins top ranking

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Wade Johnson has plopped down in plenty of hotels, but the business consultant ranks his stays at 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Louisville as a one-of-a-kind experience.

Istanbul exhibition in Paris seeks to reveal the Turkish city’s multicultural soul

PARIS — The glories of Istanbul have arrived in Paris.

Ring with 32-carat diamond, owned by Leonore Annenberg, sells for $7.7 million at NYC auction

NEW YORK — A square, 32.01-carat emerald-cut diamond that billionaire philanthropist Leonore Annenberg bought for her 90th birthday sold for $7.7 million at auction on Wednesday.

With 2 tours and museum, ‘The Third Man’ film still going strong in Vienna 60 years later

VIENNA — Sachertorte. Magnificent palaces. Splendid museums. When Phillip Kalantirsky had his fill of Vienna the Opulent, he stayed on for a taste of Vienna Noir — in a walking tour built around the cult film “The Third Man.”

Lucky magazine hosts Lucky Shops pre-holiday shopping event, Nov. 6-7

NEW YORK — Lucky Magazine is hosting its sixth annual pre-holiday “Lucky Shops” event Nov. 6-7.

Organizers say ArtPrize will come back to Grand Rapids next year

GRAND RAPID, Mich. — A new art festival held this fall in Grand Rapids was so successful that organizers say they’ll do it again next year and maybe even make it an annual event.

Louvre exhibit on masterpieces at Mpls museum

MINNEAPOLIS — Works of art by Michelangelo and Vermeer are among 62 items from the Louvre in Paris now on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Review: Renowned wine journalist George Taber finds new ground in wine tourism

“In Search of Bacchus: Wanderings in the Wonderful World of Wine Tourism” (Scribner, 287 pages, $30), by George M. Taber: Thirty-three years ago, George M. Taber set the world of wine on fire with a four-paragraph dispatch about a tasting in France that compared the work of French vintners with those of their counterparts in California. The California wines won, and winemaking in the New World has never been the same.

Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte calls his 10-day mission to space a success

STAR CITY, Russia — Guy Laliberte, a billionaire who once worked as a stilt-walker and fire-eater, said Tuesday that he accomplished his mission by using a 10-day trip to the International Space Station to promote a humanitarian cause.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte calls his 10-day mission to space a success

STAR CITY, Russia — Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte said Tuesday his mission was accomplished after a 10-day trip to the International Space Station where he hosted a global Web broadcast that featured rock stars and politicians.

Soviet past lives in Moldova’s tiny Trans-Dniester

TIRASPOL, Moldova — Soaring statues of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, portraits of the city’s most productive workers adorning a square, red flags fluttering in the wind during a Communist demonstration.