The U.N.'s top human rights body overwhelmingly approved a measure calling on countries to do more to prevent religious hatred in the wake of Quran burnings in Europe, over the objections of Western countries who fear tougher steps by governments could trample freedom of expression.

Applause broke out in the cavernous chamber of the Human Rights Council on Wednesday after the 28-12 vote, with seven abstentions, on a measure brought by Pakistan and Palestine that was backed by many developing countries in Africa, as well as China and India, and Middle Eastern countries.

In a landmark verdict, Japan's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of a transgender bureaucrat who sued the government over access to female toilets at work.

The court found that a decision barring the woman from using nearby toilets and forcing her to use others two floors from her office was "extremely lacking in validity".

A prominent Iranian rapper who backed nationwide anti-regime protests last year, has been sentenced to more than six years in prison over charges of "corruption on earth", local media reported Monday.

Toomaj Salehi, 32, was arrested in October after expressing support for mass demonstrations triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Mahsa Amini. She was arrested for allegedly breaching the country's strict dress code for women.

Muslims in Pakistan were holding rallies on Friday to observe a "Day of the Sanctity of Quran" after the South Asian Islamic nation's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a call for anti-Sweden protests over last week's burning of the Islamic holy book in Stockholm.

The biggest anti-Sweden rallies were expected in the eastern city of Lahore and in Karachi, the largest city in the country. In the capital, Islamabad, lawyers holding copies of the Quran protested in front of the Supreme Court, while worshippers outside mosques held small rallies, demanding the severing of diplomatic ties with Sweden.

The Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday on Thursday, as hundreds of his supporters and exiled Tibetans thronged his hillside Indian headquarters in Dharamsala.

Artists played traditional welcome tunes as the Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in his open mobile van to preside over the celebrations in the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang Temple, which was festooned with Tibetan and Buddhist flags and portraits.

A Quran burning and a string of requests to approve protests involving the destruction of more holy books have left Sweden torn between its commitment to free speech and its respect for religious minorities.

The clash of fundamental principles has complicated Sweden's desire to join NATO, an expansion that gained urgency after Russia's invasion of Ukraine but needs the approval of all current members. Turkey has blocked Swedish accession since last year, citing reasons including anti-Turkish and anti-Islamic protests in Stockholm.

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have ordered beauty parlors across the country to shut within a month, the vice ministry confirmed Tuesday, the latest curb to squeeze women out of public life.

The order will force the closure of thousands of businesses run by women -- often the only source of income for households -- and outlaw one of the few remaining opportunities for them to socialize away from home.

The Fourth of July is Americana at its core: parades and cookouts and cold beer and, of course, fireworks.

Those pyrotechnics also make it an especially dangerous holiday, typically resulting in more than 10,000 trips to the emergency room. Yet fireworks remain at the center of Independence Day, a holiday 247 years in the making.

In Japan, a nation reputed for loyalty to companies and lifetime employment, people who job-hop are often viewed as quitters. And that's considered shameful.

Enter "taishoku daiko," or "job-leaving agents." Dozens of such services have sprung up in the last several years to help people who simply want out.

The Foreign Ministry condemned Thursday as "violent" and "provocative" the burning of a copy of the Koran by an Iraqi living in Sweden during a protest authorized by the police.

Under a heavy police presence, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old who fled to Sweden several years ago, on Wednesday stomped on the Koran before setting several pages alight in front of Stockholm's largest mosque.