Pope Francis canceled one audience and skipped speeches he was set to deliver Thursday because of a bad cold, the Vatican said.

Francis, 86, did meet with young Orthodox priests and monks and members of the Max Planck Society, the German research organization that is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. But because of a "bad cold," Francis merely had printed copies of his remarks handed out and didn't read them aloud, the Vatican said in a note.

A project on Instagram to highlight ordinary women and their imperfections has transformed into a modeling agency that aims to redefine notions of beauty in Italy.

The Imperfetta (Imperfect) modeling agency, started in 2020 by Carlotta Giancane, has a casting book full of models who defy the industry's pre-established standards of beauty. They are of all sizes and ages, spanning the gender spectrum, some with disabilities or medical conditions like alopecia or vitiligo, visible scarring or who have lost limbs.

Beverly Gage's J. Edgar Hoover biography "G-Man," Robert Samuels' and Toluse Olorunnipa's "His Name is George Floyd" and Linda Villarosa's study of racism and its effects, "Under the Skin," are among the finalists for awards handed out by the Lukas Prize Project.

The project was established in 1998 and named for the late author and investigative journalist J. Anthony Lukas. The finalists were announced Wednesday by the Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Winners will be announced March 21.

Egypt's ministry of tourism and antiquities unveiled a renovated wing of its oldest museum Monday, home to a 16-meter (52-foot) -long scroll unearthed last year.

The refurbishment marks the first stage of broader renovations for the 120-year-old salmon-colored palatial complex in downtown Cairo, opposite the capital's famed Tahrir Square.

Human Rights Watch called Tuesday on tech companies to better protect LGBTQ communities from "digital targeting" by authorities in Iraq, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

High in Lebanon's rugged mountains, hatmaker Youssef Akiki is among the last artisans practicing the thousand-year-old skill of making traditional warm woolen caps once widely worn against the icy winter chill.

Akiki believes he may be the last commercial maker of the sheep wool "labbadeh" -- a named derived from the Arabic for felt, or "labd" -- a waterproof and warm cap colored off-white, grey, brown or black.

The Gulf nation of Bahrain plans to put three religious reformers on trial Tuesday for allegedly questioning the foundations of Islam, a case that has divided the Shiite majority of the country ruled by a Sunni monarchy.

The three are members of Tajdeed, a local Shiite cultural society that advocates open discussion of religion, and whose members have questioned Islamic jurisprudence and scholarly opinions. Such questioning is taboo in many parts of the Muslim world, where religious and political authorities enforce orthodoxy.

Standing outside the local police station in her village in northeast India, 19-year-old Nureja Khatun is anxious. Cradling her 6-month-old baby in her arms, she has been waiting to catch a glimpse of her husband before the police take him away to court.

Nearly an hour later, she sees her husband, Akbar Ali, for just a few seconds when he is shuffled into a police van. An officer slams the door in her face before she is able to get any answers.

Brazil's Carnival is back.

Glittery and outrageous costumes are once again being prepared. Samba songs will ring out 'til dawn at Rio de Janeiro's sold-out parade grounds. Hundreds of raucous, roaming parties will flood the streets. And working-class communities will be buoyed, emotionally and economically, by the renewed revelry.

Tens of thousands of revelers danced in the streets of Cologne, Duesseldorf, Bonn and other cities and towns across the Rhineland Thursday as they celebrated the traditional start of Carnival in Germany.

Dressed up in bright colors and creative costumes, they sang loudly and swayed to familiar tunes of brass bands and folklore music, and drank lots of beer.