The world's longest domestic cat, a 48.5in (1.23m) Maine Coon named Stewie, has died at the age of eight. Stewie's owner, Robin Hendrickson, said record-holding cat died on Monday evening after battling cancer. The pet, of Reno, Nevada, was awarded the record, measured from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, by the Guinness Book of Records in 2010. The cat was a certified therapy animal that frequently visited a local senior centre near his home. "Stewie was always very social and loved meeting new people," Ms Hendrickson said. "He has touched many lives, and for that I am grateful." He was also the record-holder for world's longest cat tail. More»

A Pablo Picasso portrait of his mistress and "golden muse" Marie-Therese Walter sold for 28.6 million pounds ($45 million) on Tuesday, leading an important Sotheby's auction of impressionist, modern and surrealist art. The sale was the first of a series held in London this month by Sotheby's, Christie's and smaller auction houses in the latest barometer of the strength of the high-end art market. Prices for the most sought-after works have soared in recent years despite broader economic concerns, with collectors in China, Russia and the Middle East joining more established patrons in Europe and the United States. Subtracting the buyer's premium of more than 10 percent, the amount realized for the 1932 Picasso was at the lower end of pre-sale estimates of 25 million-35 million pounds. More»

Anita Ekberg, who famously waded in Rome's Trevi Fountain with Marcello Mastroianni in the 1960 classic film "La Dolce Vita", would probably say "It's about time, darling!" The fountain, arguably the world's most recognizable, is about to get the most thorough face-lift since it was completed in 1762 and the restoration was presented on Monday by a man who also uses the word darling a lot: fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld is artistic director of Fendi, the Italian luxury fashion house which is picking up the tab for 2.2 million euro ($2.9 million) restoration. "I think its a great idea and a great project. This fountain is a symbol of the Rome like the Colosseum and St Peter's and I am happy that we can all help," said Lagerfeld, wearing a black, high-neck jacket, black lace gloves and black sunglasses. The 20-month restoration will clean the fountain, which covers the entire facade of Rome's Palazzo Poli with its allegorical statues of Tritons guiding the shell chariot of the god Oceanus illustrating the theme of the taming of the waters. More»

Climate change is back on the global agenda, with debate in the corridors at Davos given fresh impetus by U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon both highlighting it as top priority this week. Yet business leaders are still struggling to find the economic incentives to change current practices. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has not held back in its own assessment of the dangers, with former Mexican president Felipe Calderon warning of "a climate crisis with potentially devastating impacts on the global economy". Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, summed it up for any Davos doubters: "Unless we take action on climate change, future generations will be roasted, toasted, fried and grilled." More»

Bold claims have been made on behalf of 19th century French painter Edouard Manet - that he invented modern art, or was the man who bridged realism and impressionism. A major exhibition of his work, dubbed a "blockbuster" by the media for its scale and some euphoric early reviews, opens at London's Royal Academy on Saturday and seeks to underline Manet's importance which few recognized during his lifetime. The gallery will stay open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays to cope with anticipated demand, and the Academy is organizing "exclusive" Sunday evening viewings in March and April to allow visitors to see the show with smaller crowds. Those tickets, including a drink and media guide, will cost 30 pounds ($47), double the normal rate, and the exhibition ends on April 14. For Lawrence Nichols, co-curator of the show from the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, where it was first displayed last year, seeking to define Manet's place in the history of European art risks missing the point. More»

The number of seizure patients in a northern Japanese fishing community devastated by the March 11, 2011 tsunami spiked in the weeks following the disaster, according to a Japanese study. The study, published in the journal Epilepsia, looked at 440 patient records from Kesennuma City Hospital, in a city that was devastated by the massive tsunami touched off by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake. Thirteen patients were admitted with seizures in the eight weeks after the disaster, but only one had been admitted in the two months before March 11. Previous research has linked stressful life-threatening disasters with an increased risk of seizures, but most case reports lacked clinical data with multiple patients. More»

The human tendency to share may have more ancient evolutionary routes than previously thought. This is according to a study of the performance of chimpanzees in a test called the "ultimatum game". Traditionally, the game is employed as a test of economics; two people decide how to divide a sum of money. This modified game, in which two chimps decided how to divide a portion of banana slices, seems to have revealed the primates' generous side. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was part of an effort to uncover the evolutionary routes of why we share, even when it does not make economic sense. More»

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a public health emergency on Saturday, giving pharmacists permission to administer flu vaccinations to more people as officials seek to stem the worst flu outbreak in that state in several years. Cuomo's order came a day after federal health officials said that fast-spreading influenza had officially reached epidemic proportions in the United States, following an early start. Nine of the 10 U.S. regions had "elevated" flu activity last week, and 20 children across the country have died, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. In New York, the governor's office said 19,128 cases of influenza have been reported this season, compared with 4,404 positive laboratory tests reported for the entire 2011-2012 season. More»

A British art sleuth has recovered a painting by French artist Matisse that was stolen from a Stockholm museum 25 years ago. Matisse's "Le Jardin", valued at about 6 million crowns ($916,200), was recovered by Christopher Marinello, an art recovery specialist at the Art Loss Register in London. "It is fantastic that the painting has turned up again," said Kristin Ek, spokeswoman for the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. "It was stolen so long ago that really we had almost given up hope." The painting was stolen in May, 1987 when a thief smashed his way into the museum with a sledgehammer during the night. The theft was reported to both Interpol and the Art Loss Register (ALR), the world's largest international private database of stolen, missing and looted artwork. More»

Wellington, Kansas passed an ordinance last month that regulates the number of cats each household can own. Families in the area are now barred from owning more than 4 cats. The new restriction matches the number of dogs each household is allowed. Police from the area have noted that in November of 2012 alone, 231 cats were picked up. According to Wellington Daily News, Police Chief Tracy Heath expressed that 87% of those cats were put down. “…Those are cats that go to the animal clinic, they’re there for the allotted time, and then unfortunately they are euthanized.” The ordinance also set conditions for adopted cats. Cats shall be vaccinated for rabies; they must also be spayed or neutered by a licensed veterinarian, unless the cat is being adopted to a home outside of the city, according to Wellington Daily News. While reactions to the ordinance are mixed, it remains unclear exactly how the new limit will impact the number of cats being euthanized. More»