200,000 buffaloes, goats, chickens, pigeons to be sacrificed at Hindu festival in Nepal

200,000 animals to be sacrificed at Nepal festival

Hundreds of thousands of animals to be sacrificed at Hindu festival in southern Nepal

Mass animal sacrifice festival begins in Nepal

Banned Chinese director brings gay romance film to Hong Kong

Banned director brings romance film to Hong Kong

Mass animal sacrifice festival to go ahead in southern Nepal despite protests

Nepal mass animal sacrifice festival to go ahead

New travel books: 100, 300, 500 and 1000 ideas

New travel books: 100, 300, 500 and 1000 ideas

Holiday displays include tree made of feathers, Rock Center, Obamas’ first National Tree event

Tree-lightings, from Rock Center to The Grove

Culture clash in Iran as government tries to rein in artists protesting political turmoil

Iran artists in tug of war with government

Fear of swine flu causes surge of garlic sales in public markets of Serbia

Swine flu causes surge of garlic sales in Serbia

New Orleans international art show refocuses, hopes economic rebound will boost attendance

Organizers rethink int’l art show in New Orleans

Begun in dread, Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s season ends well: Ticket sales a record

Slings? Arrows? Nay: Bard thrives in Oregon

Danish film of neo-Nazi gay affair wins top prize at Rome festival, Mirren wins best actress

ROME — A Danish movie about a gay love affair between two members of a neo-Nazi group won top honors Friday at the Rome Film Festival, while Helen Mirren won the best actress award.

Film about Japanese village that hunts dolphins gets mixed reactions at Tokyo film festival

TOKYO — Viewers expressed mixed reactions Wednesday to “The Cove,” a covertly filmed movie about a Japanese dolphin-hunting village that was shown to the Japanese public for the first time at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Stellaaahhh!!! Clarksdale festival focuses on Miss. city’s role in Tennessee Williams plays

CLARKSDALE, Miss. — Fans of the playwright Tennessee Williams will be shouting for Stella this weekend in Clarksdale, Miss.

London’s Frieze Art Fair opens amid signs that the contemporary art market has cooled

LONDON — The British capital’s cutting-edge art sale kicks off Thursday, but cautious collectors may be cutting back.

Google to launch new Google Editions platform to sell books accessible anywhere

FRANKFURT — Google Inc. is launching a new service for booksellers next year called Google Editions, which will let readers buy books and read them anywhere on gadgets ranging from cell phones to possibly e-book devices.

Census shows more Americans trying their hand at raising crops, livestock on ‘hobby farms’

GEM, Ind. — Most evenings, Gary Mithoefer can be found at the end of a long gravel driveway off a busy highway, tending two garden plots filled with white sweet potatoes, squash, cabbages and a dozen other vegetables still thriving in early fall.

After 80 years, a California harvest fair refuses to grow up _ and that’s a good thing

CARUTHERS, Calif. — At the harvest fair, it’s all about the pie.

A Love Story? Skeptics remain, but Michael Moore has loyal following in GOP-leaning Mich. town

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Seated on a platform in a blocked-off street, the founder of the Traverse City Film Festival grinned as Mayor Michael Estes hailed him for boosting the local economy and cultural scene — “with almost no government assistance!”

Police say 29 people die after 2 boats capsize in flooded rivers during Indian festival

PATNA, India — Two boats capsized in flooded rivers in eastern India’s Bihar state during a major Hindu festival, killing at least 29 people and leaving around 22 missing, police said Tuesday.

Police say 27 people die after 2 boats capsize in flooded rivers during Indian festival

PATNA, India — Two boats capsized in flooded rivers in eastern India’s Bihar state during a major Hindu festival, killing at least 27 people and leaving around 24 missing, police said Tuesday.

Munich police: 2 suspected of ties to Islamic extremists detained; Oktoberfest security upped

MUNICH — Munich police say two men are in preventative custody for suspected links to Islamic extremists and officials are increasing security at the ongoing Oktoberfest beer festival.

‘City of Life and Death’ by Chinese director Lu Chuan wins Spain’s top film award

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain — Chinese director Lu Chuan’s film “City of Life and Death” has won the top prize at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival.

Germany bans flights over Munich’s Oktoberfest following terror threats

BERLIN — German authorities banned all flights over Munich’s annual Oktoberfest beer festival on Saturday after a series of Islamic terror threats targeted Germany for its role in Afghanistan.

Come one, come all: Sex offenders offered home in Fla. apartment cluster touted in brochures

PAHOKEE, Fla. — No sign marks Miracle Park, a cluster of one-story yellow buildings surrounding a small church that caters to one of society’s most despised demographics: sex offenders.

Farm workers, organizations hope suit will bring NM ag laborers under workers’ comp coverage

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Joe Griego’s life changed in seconds when he turned his back on a bull he was trying to corral during work at a southern New Mexico dairy. The bull attacked, leaving Griego with serious injuries.

Spokane County, Wash., sheriff says he’ll bill state $37,000 in hunt for escaped killer

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County sheriff says he’ll bill Washington state $37,000 for the cost of hunting down an insane killer who walked away from a county fair field trip arranged by his mental hospital.

Insane killer says escape was unplanned, took opportunity of outing at county fair in Spokane

SPOKANE, Wash. — The insane killer who walked away from a county fair field trip arranged by his Washington state mental hospital says he didn’t plan his escape.

Cleveland Orchestra to set up residency at New York’s Lincoln Center Festival

NEW YORK — Call it Cleveland on the Hudson: The Cleveland Orchestra is setting up a multiyear residency at the Lincoln Center Festival starting in 2011.

Taiwan film festival Web site hacked ahead of screening of Uighur activist documentary

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Hackers on Monday posted vulgarities and pro-Chinese slogans on a Taiwanese film festival’s Web site to protest plans to screen a documentary about an exiled Uighur activist accused by Beijing of inciting recent ethnic violence in China’s west.

Schizophrenic killer recaptured in Wash.; ditched mental institution staff at county fair

SEATTLE — A schizophrenic killer who slipped away from the staff of a mental institution during a trip to a county fair has been recaptured after three days on the loose.