Pope Francis flew towards Athens on Saturday for the first visit by a pontiff in two decades, with the Greek capital under high security over anti-papal sentiment among Orthodox hardliners.

Pope Francis on Friday condemned "slavery" and "torture" suffered by people fleeing war and poverty, speaking at a prayer service for migrants on a visit to the divided island of Cyprus. 

Pope Francis lamented centuries of hostility and prejudice that have divided Catholics and Orthodox as he met Friday with the leader of Cyprus' Greek Orthodox Church and pointed to works of charity as a means to help heal the rift between Catholic West and Orthodox East.

Archbishop Chrysostomos II hosted Francis for private talks at his residence and then invited the pope to the brand new Orthodox Cathedral of St. Barnabas for an encounter with the Holy Synod, the highest decision-making body of the Greek Orthodox Church.

The United Arab Emirates has eased some of its harsh drug laws, relaxing penalties for travelers who arrive in the country with products containing THC, the main intoxicating chemical in cannabis.

The new law, published in the UAE's official gazette, says people caught carrying food, drinks and other items with cannabis into the country will no longer land in prison if it's their first time. Instead, authorities will confiscate and destroy the products.

Egyptian authorities were unveiling a renovated ancient promenade in the city of Luxor dating back 3,000 years, the latest government project undertaken to highlight the country's archaeological treasures.

Egypt has struggled to revive its tourism industry, battered by years of political turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, and more lately, the coronavirus pandemic.

Israeli authorities have said they would permit 500 members of the Gaza Strip's tiny Christian community to enter Israel and the occupied West Bank to celebrate Christmas.

Israel has in the past allowed Gazans to exit the blockaded territory for Christmas, though the practice was frozen last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A renowned Chinese fashion photographer has apologized for her past work after online critics called it insulting to the Chinese people and fashion house Dior removed one of her photos from a show in Shanghai.

Chen Man acknowledged the criticism of her earlier work, including "Young Pioneers," a series of images of a young model with backdrops of major landmarks such as China's massive Three Gorges Dam or with an image of the country's first lunar orbiter flying out from under her dress.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati gave Pope Francis on Thursday a tile from a 19th-century Beirut church that was seriously damaged in the August 2020 port explosion that killed 216 people and injured more than 6,000.

Miqati met privately with Francis who told him that he was praying that God would help Lebanon "get up" and get back on its feet.

From November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to December 10 , the International Human Rights Day, the United Nations System in Lebanon, the Sexual and Gender-based Violence Taskforce (SGBV TF) and the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) are joining forces, for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, to urge actions to end and prevent gender-based violence in the country, the U.N. said on Thursday.

According to the latest estimates, nearly 1 in 3 women aged 15 years and older, around the world have been subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner, non-partner, or both, at least once in their lifetime[2]. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated all the risk factors that increase violence against women and girls, while reinforcing many of the root causes such as gender stereotypes and harmful social norms. As examples, findings from 2021 indicate that online sexual harassment and blackmailing of women nearly doubled during the COVID-19 lockdown in Lebanon. The Internal Security Forces have reported “a clear and significant increase of domestic violence incidents” during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Huang Xueqin, who publicly supported a woman when she accused a professor of sexual assault, was arrested in September. Wang Jianbing, who helped women report sexual harassment, was detained along with her. Neither has been heard from since. Meanwhile, several other women's rights activists have faced smear campaigns on social media and some have seen their accounts shuttered.

When tennis star Peng Shuai disappeared from public view this month after accusing a senior Chinese politician of sexual assault, it caused an international uproar. But back in China, Peng is just one of several people — activists and accusers alike — who have been hustled out of view, charged with crimes or trolled and silenced online for speaking out about the harassment, violence and discrimination women face every day.