The long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, "The Covenant of Water," is Oprah Winfrey's latest book club pick.

"The Covenant of Water," published Tuesday, is Verghese's first work of fiction since his million-selling "Cutting for Stone" came out in 2009. Verghese's current book is a multigenerational saga set in India from 1900-1977.

The 2023 Canada-United Kingdom Media Freedom Award was presented Tuesday to independent Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr for its “extraordinary commitment to high-quality independent journalism,” the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said.

“The newspaper continued to report, amidst a takedown of their website and legal threats to its reporters. This award signals Canada and the UK’s enduring commitment to supporting free and independent journalism,” the FCDO said in a statement.

Pope Francis has revealed that a secret peace "mission" in Russia's war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.

"I'm available to do anything," Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. "There's a mission that's not public that's underway; when it's public I'll talk about it."

Tunisian President Kais Saied has preached freedom of thought at a book fair, shortly before authorities confiscated a book comparing him to Frankenstein, its author and publisher said.

A statue of Buddha has been discovered in Egypt's ancient seaport of Berenice on the Red Sea, shedding light on trade ties with India under the Roman empire.

A Polish-U.S. mission discovered the statue "dating back to the Roman era while digging at the ancient temple in Berenice", an antiquities ministry statement said on Wednesday.

Egypt's antiquities ministry has insisted that Cleopatra had "white skin and Hellenistic characteristics" in an ongoing row over a Netflix drama-documentary depicting the famed beauty of antiquity as black.

"Queen Cleopatra", produced by Jada Pinkett Smith and starring Adele James, is due for release on the streaming platform on May 10.

Pope Francis will outline his vision for the future of Europe during a three-day visit to Hungary that started Friday, with Russia's war in Ukraine, migration flows and Hungary's tense relations with Brussels looming large over the pontiff's weekend journey.

Hungarian officials say Francis' pilgrimage was designed primarily to let the pope minister to the country's Catholic community and to encourage its members in their faith. But with the war unfolding next door and Hungary butting heads with other European Union nations over rule of law issues and LGBTQ+ rights, Francis' words and deeds in the heart of Europe will carry strong political undertones.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday calling on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to swiftly reverse their increasingly harsh restrictions on women and girls, which range from very severely restricting education to banning women from most jobs, public spaces and gyms.

The council condemned the Taliban's ban on women working for the U.N., a decision the resolution calls "unprecedented in the history of the United Nations."

From simple geometric shapes to the intricately wrought details of daily life, the quilt designs in a show now running at the American Folk Art Museum show how powerfully this art form has told stories for centuries and been a vehicle for creativity.

"What That Quilt Knows About Me" comprises 35 quilts and related works in an intimate gallery space.

Ukraine's prime minister said he asked Pope Francis during a private Vatican audience Thursday to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken to Russia.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, briefing reporters on his half-hour audience with the pontiff, said he also invited Francis to come to Ukraine.