The most famous gun in French literature, the revolver with which Paul Verlaine tried to kill his lover and fellow poet Arthur Rimbaud, is going under the hammer on Wednesday.

All cinemas must play the national anthem before screening movies and audiences should stand for it, India's highest court ruled Wednesday, drawing angry accusations of an assault on civil liberties.

From Syria to Iraq, via Mali and Afghanistan, Islamist fighters have targeted priceless cultural heritage sites after denouncing them as un-Islamic.

An outspoken billionaire Saudi prince has called for an "urgent" end to his country's ban on women driving, saying it is a matter not just of rights but of economic necessity.

"Stop the debate: Time for women to drive," Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said on his official Twitter account.

Dutch MPs on Tuesday voted by a large majority to approve a ban on wearing the Islamic full-face burqa in some public places such as schools and hospitals.

Emma Morano, humanity's last known survivor of the 19th century, turned 117 in style on Tuesday, dressing up for the occasion and demanding to know "does my hair look all right?" before having her photograph taken.

Dozens of women entered the inner sanctum of a historic mosque in India on Tuesday after winning a bitter legal battle for a ban on female worshipers to be lifted.

A month ago it was on the front line of Iraq's battle to retake Mosul, but now the village of Gogjali echoes with shouts of "Chicken! Tomatoes! Cigarettes!"

An average of three Canadian soldiers were sexually assaulted or harassed each day over the past year, usually by a superior, according to a survey released Monday.

One of Hungary's main Muslim organizations decried Monday what it said were "xenophobic" steps taken by an ultra-nationalist town mayor to preserve traditional Christian values and prevent immigration.