China on Friday criticized a press freedom survey from the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club that found nearly half its members were considering leaving the city.

The survey said the members were concerned about a decline in press freedoms under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing following massive antigovernmental protests in 2019.

A LGBT advocacy group in China that has spearheaded many of the country's legal cases pushing for greater rights is halting its work for the foreseeable future.

LGBT Rights Advocacy China announced it was ceasing all activities and shutting down its social media accounts in an announcement on social media Thursday.

One of the Arab world's most famous singers, Sabah Fakhri, who has entertained generations with traditional songs and preserved extinct forms of Arabic music, has died, Syria's government said Tuesday. He was 88.

It was not immediately clear what caused Fakhri's passing.

Organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, in partnership with Metropolis Cinema and in cooperation with the European Union Member States, the European Film Festival returns for its 26th edition.

Taking place exceptionally online, this new edition features a thrilling selection of films from Europe, as well as short films by emerging Lebanese filmmakers.

Tourists are being offered a new glimpse at one of the largest ancient mosaics in the Middle East after renovations undertaken by the Palestinian Authority were unveiled this week.

The 930-square-meter (10,000-square foot) stone mosaic, with intricate geometric patterns, is part of what's known as Hisham's Palace. It was built during the reign of the Umayyads, the first hereditary Muslim dynasty, which ruled from Damascus. The palace was the winter resort of Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, who ruled from A.D. 724 to 743.

The United States has issued its first passport with an "X" gender designation, marking a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who do not identify as male or female, and expects to be able to offer the option more broadly next year, the State Department said.

The department did not identify the passport recipient, but Dana Zzyym, an intersex activist from Fort Collins, Colorado, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that they received it. Since 2015, Zzyym, who prefers a gender-neutral pronoun, has been in a legal battle with the State Department to obtain a passport that did not require Zzyym to lie about gender by picking either male or female.

Pope Francis has agreed to visit Canada to help ongoing efforts at reconciliation with Indigenous peoples following shocking revelations of the Catholic church's role in the abuse and deaths of thousands of native children, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

In a brief statement, the Holy See's press office said that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has invited the pope to make an apostolic journey to Canada "also in the context of the long-standing pastoral process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples." The statement didn't cite why the reconciliation process was needed.

An Amsterdam appeals court ruled Tuesday that a trove of historical treasures from Crimea that have been stored for years at a Dutch museum must be given to Ukraine, saying they are "part of the cultural heritage of the Ukrainian state."

Ukraine's president hailed the decision as a victory for his country.

In a decision with potential ramifications across European museums, France is displaying 26 looted colonial-era artifacts for one last time before returning them home to Benin.

The wooden anthropomorphic statues, royal thrones and sacred altars were pilfered by the French army in the 19th century from Western Africa.

The spiritual leader of the world's 200 million Eastern Orthodox Christians was hospitalized Sunday in Washington on the first full day of a planned 12-day U.S. visit and will stay overnight, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America said.

The archdiocese said Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was preparing to leave for a service at the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in the nation's capital when he felt unwell "due to the long flight and full schedule of events upon arrival."