Swedish inventor and scholar Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), who made a vast fortune from his invention of dynamite in 1866, ordered the creation of the Nobel prizes in his will.

His 1895 testament stipulated his fortune was to be placed in a fund destined to honour "those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind".

World-famous, reclusive artist Banksy is loose on the streets of New York, hosting a unique show that has whipped up excitement among hipsters and the chattering classes.

The England-based graffiti maestro, who has never been formally identified, has promised to unveil a new piece of art on each day of the month somewhere in the city.

With the magical sound of wooden flutes, the scent of incense, and the warm Andean sun making shadow patterns across the rolling hills, this event has all the hallmarks of a happy, festive occasion. Families spread out picnics; strolling musicians and vendors sell cotton candy, toys, flowers and food.

But this celebration is taking place in a cemetery, el Cemeterio de Nueva Esperanza, one of the largest cemeteries in the world. And the event is the Day of the Dead, celebrated throughout Latin America on Nov. 1, a day after American kids go trick-or-treating for Halloween.

A model of Pablo Picasso's famed Chicago sculpture will be auctioned next month and Christie's estimates it will sell for between $25 million and $35 million.

The late Spanish artist created the piece, named "Tete," between 1962 and 1964. The iron and sheet metal model that goes to auction on Nov. 4 in New York is 41 ½ inches (11 centimeters) tall and 27 ½ inches (0.69 meters) wide. It was later made into the 65-foot (20-meter)-tall, welded-iron sculpture unveiled on Aug. 15, 1967 in Chicago's downtown Daley Plaza.

Activist shareholder Dan Loeb Wednesday launched an all-out attack on the management of art auctioneers Sotheby's, calling for a new chief executive and criticizing company expenses.

Loeb, chief executive of hedge fund Third Point, released a blistering letter to Sotheby's chief executive William Ruprecht in which he said the auction house, which traces its history to 1744, had fallen behind rival Christie's in key emerging markets, Internet sales and the growing modern art segment.

A portrait of Nelson Mandela by British artist Richard Stone and a portrayal of him playing the role of Jesus at the Last Supper are some of the works on display in London's "We Love Mandela" exhibition.

Some 22 artists, all South African with the exception of Stone, are displaying around 50 works reflecting the "emotions of people", their feelings and ideas about South Africa's first black president, exhibition curator Natalie Knight told Agence France Presse.

Military cemeteries around the world housing American soldiers who died in key battles during the First and Second World Wars were temporarily closed from Tuesday due to the U.S. government shutdown.

The move affects some 20 cemeteries in France, Belgium, Britain, Italy, Tunisia and Mexico which serve as the final resting place for troops who died in landmark campaigns such as the Normandy D-Day landings, the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) said on its website.

A patriotic Russian group on Tuesday called for President Vladimir Putin to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his Syria diplomacy, claiming he was more deserving of the award than laureate U.S. President Barack Obama.

A group that lists senior Russian officials among its members announced at a news conference that it had written to the Nobel prize committee backing Putin for the prize awarded to Obama in 2009.

The world is aging so fast that most countries are not prepared to support their swelling numbers of elderly people, according to a global study being issued Tuesday by the United Nations and an elder rights group.

The report ranks the social and economic well-being of elders in 91 countries, with Sweden coming out on top and Afghanistan at the bottom. It reflects what advocates for the old have been warning, with increasing urgency, for years: Nations are simply not working quickly enough to cope with a population graying faster than ever before. By the year 2050, for the first time in history, seniors older than 60 will outnumber children younger than 15.

Books about Margaret Thatcher, Roman Britain and bumblebees are among finalists for Britain's leading nonfiction book prize.

Charles Moore's "Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography," Charlotte Higgins' portrait of ancient Britain, "Under Another Sky," and "A Sting in the Tale" by bee conservationist Dave Goulson are on the shortlist for the Samuel Johnson Prize.