The symbol of solidarity brought a harsh backlash. As Lebanese rockers Mashrou' Leila played in Cairo, fans hoisted in the air rainbow flags, the global emblem of gay equality.

A 500-year-old painting believed to be by Leonardo da Vinci sold for $450.3 million in New York on Wednesday, blazing a new world record for the most expensive work of art sold at auction, Christie's said.

Egyptian pop diva Sherine Abdel Wahab has been referred to trial for suggesting at a concert that drinking from the Nile River could lead to illness, judicial officials said Wednesday.

Celebrations swept across Australia Wednesday as voters emphatically endorsed same-sex marriage after more than a decade of divisive debate, and political leaders immediately began moves to enshrine the historic shift in law by Christmas.

Moves to make French more female-friendly have sparked impassioned debate in France, with an appalled Academie Francaise warning of a "mortal danger" to the language of Moliere.

An Indonesian museum that allowed visitors to take selfies with a life-size wax sculpture of Hitler against a backdrop of Auschwitz concentration camp has removed the exhibit following international outrage, the manager said Saturday.

UNESCO's new director general, French former culture minister Audrey Azoulay, says her top priority will be to calm the waters for a body riven by dissensions and under fire for dragging its feet on much needed reforms.

An estimated 14 million Shiite pilgrims thronged Iraq's holy city of Karbala on Friday to mark the annual Arbaeen commemoration, as Baghdad looks to wipe out the Islamic State group that has targeted their branch of Islam.  

For decades, beer in Lebanon has meant just one thing: the ubiquitous local pilsner, Almaza. But now a crop of local microbrews is making headway in the home market.

More than a decade in the making, the Louvre Abu Dhabi opened its doors Wednesday, winning praise from visiting French President Emmanuel Macron as a "bridge between civilizations" and religions.