Two investigative journalists accused of publishing stolen papers which exposed scandal in the Vatican were acquitted Thursday, while a whistle-blowing Spanish prelate was sentenced to jail time in the Vatileaks trial.

UN cultural agency UNESCO will gather in Istanbul on Sunday to review candidates to join its prestigious World Heritage List, ranging from 350-million-year old fossils to works by Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

Saudi Arabia will hit hard those who seek to harm its young people, King Salman said on Tuesday after suicide bombers struck Islam's second-holiest site and two other targets.

The Afghan Taliban on Tuesday condemned a deadly suicide bombing at Islam's second holiest site in the Saudi city of Medina, describing it as "an act of enmity and hatred."

Tributes poured in on Tuesday for Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami, acclaimed as a "towering figure" in world cinema, following his death in France at the age of 76.

Justin Trudeau made history Sunday by marching with tens of thousands of people in Toronto's Gay Pride parade, becoming the country's first sitting prime minister to participate.

Thunderous applause greeted Trudeau as he paraded down a main Toronto artery, waving a Canadian maple-leaf flag bordered with a rainbow.

They speak little Arabic and don't have a real mosque, but Cuba's small Muslim community practices the faith and will quietly mark the end of Ramadan as best they can.

A Saudi-funded mosque in Nice opened its doors for the first time Saturday, after a 15-year tussle with the local town hall.

Retired pope Benedict XVI is to lift the lid in a new book on his troubled time at the head of the Catholic Church, publishers announced Friday.

Human Rights Watch on Friday hailed the UN's "historic" decision to create a new post tasked with fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.