Pope Francis' trip to the United Arab Emirates Sunday marks the first time a pontiff has ever visited the conservative Muslim Arabian Peninsula, where over 2.6 million Catholics reside.

African American writers have been ignored for too long by Hollywood but "things are going to change radically", declared the Oscar-winning filmmaker of "Moonlight", Barry Jenkins.

Pope Francis said he was looking to write a new page in the history of relations between religions with his visit to the United Arab Emirates from Sunday.

Italian convicts will be able to video chat with relatives via Skype up to six times a month, the justice ministry said Wednesday.

Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters were among dozens of figures from Britain's creative industries urging the BBC on Wednesday to oppose Israel hosting this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

A Jehovah's Witness arrested in Russia two years ago for extremism is to hear the verdict next week, supporters said Wednesday, as he could spend more than six years in jail.

Politicians have been assassinated, European countries threatened with nuclear annihilation and students lynched, all in the name of combating blasphemy in Pakistan, where the legal punishment for insulting the Prophet Mohammed is death.

A Kuwaiti court on Monday sentenced an opposition politician to seven years in jail for failing to tell his wife he divorced her and continuing to have sexual relations with her, her lawyer said.

Pope Francis said Monday celibacy for priests was a "gift to the Church" and not "optional", nixing the prospect of married men being ordained.

Baguette in hand, beret tilted jauntily, the Parisian looks down at the rowdy, pasta-scoffing Roman: they may be stereotypes, but perceived French smugness is again being blamed for a falling out with Italy.