British Indian author Salman Rushdie is a master of magical realism who captured global attention as the target of a fatwa that forced him into hiding, and which now drives his fierce defense of freedom of speech.

British author Salman Rushdie, whose writings have made him the target of Iranian death threats, was attacked and stabbed in the neck at a literary event on Friday in western New York state.

Police said that a male suspect stormed the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer, with the writer suffering "an apparent stab wound to the neck."

An international LGBT gathering in Taiwan was cancelled Friday after global organizers demanded the self-ruling island's name be removed from the 2025 event -- a move slammed by the government.

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is returning ancient sculptures and other works of art that were illegally exported from Italy, the museum announced Thursday.

The Getty will return a nearly life-size group of Greek terra-cotta sculptures known as "Orpheus and the Sirens," believed to date from the fourth century B.C., according to the museum.

For most teenage girls in Afghanistan, it's been a year since they set foot in a classroom. With no sign the ruling Taliban will allow them back to school, some are trying to find ways to keep education from stalling for a generation of young women.

At a house in Kabul, dozens gathered on a recent day for classes in an informal school set up by Sodaba Nazhand. She and her sister teach English, science and math to girls who should be in secondary school.

Pope Francis has met with a fourth group of transgender people who found shelter at a Rome church, the Vatican newspaper reported Thursday.

L'Osservatore Romano said the encounter took place Wednesday on the sidelines of Francis' weekly general audience. The newspaper quoted Sister Genevieve Jeanningros and the Rev. Andrea Conocchia as saying the pope's welcome brought their guests hope.

Heavy rains lashing Yemen's capital of Sanaa, which dates back to ancient times, have in recent days collapsed 10 buildings in the Old City, the country's Houthi rebels said Wednesday.

At least 80 other buildings have been heavily damaged in the rains and are in need of urgent repairs, said the rebels, who have controlled Sanaa since the outbreak of Yemen's civil war more than eight years ago.

Some of the world's most prized works of contemporary Western art have been unveiled for the first time in decades — in Tehran.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-line cleric, rails against the influence of the West. Authorities have lashed out at "deviant" artists for "attacking Iran's revolutionary culture." And the Islamic Republic has plunged further into confrontation with the United States and Europe as it rapidly accelerates its nuclear program and diplomatic efforts stall.

Jill Biden is helping National Geographic promote its upcoming documentary series on U.S. national parks.

The first lady introduces each installment of "America's National Parks," a five-night series scheduled for broadcast on consecutive nights beginning Aug. 29.

Houshang Ebtehaj, a distinguished Iranian poet whose small but influential body of work made him a major figure in his own country and in world literature, died on Wednesday in Cologne, Germany. He was 94.

His death was confirmed by his daughter, Yalda Ebtehaj, who said on Instagram that her father, known by his pen name "Sayeh," or Shadow, had "joined the other world." In the post, she quoted a verse written by her father in the style of the great mystic poet Rumi: "Roam, roam roam ... There are strangers in this home, so you strangely roam."