Australia's first gay weddings took place Saturday, ushering in a new era after the country's marriage equality law came into effect this month.

The United States on Friday returned to Lebanese officials three relics stolen during Lebanon's civil war, including a statue once exhibited at New York's premier museum, officials said.

The ancient artifacts included a bull's head, which was recovered this summer from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it had been on loan.

The 14th Dalai Lama announced a new iPhone app which will allow devotees to watch live video of his teachings to his 16.6 million Twitter followers on Thursday.

The art is striking -- a miniature three-masted ship in cardboard, with bits of T-shirt for the sails and threads from a prayer cap for ropes. A picture of a huge mosque at water's edge. A shadowy and faceless Statue of Liberty.

A court in Cairo on Tuesday sentenced an Egyptian pop singer to two years in prison for "inciting debauchery" over a racy music video clip, a judicial source said.

India has slapped a nationwide ban on television ads for condoms during prime time hours, citing rules prohibiting "vulgar" content and concerns over children viewing salacious material.

This may or may not come as a surprise: Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2017 is "feminism."

Yes, it's been a big year or two or 100 for the word. In 2017, lookups for feminism increased 70 percent over 2016 on Merriam-Webster.com and spiked several times after key events, lexicographer Peter Sokolowski, the company's editor at large, told The Associated Press ahead of Tuesday's annual word reveal.

Abu Bakr Salem, one of the most popular singers of the Gulf who synthesized Yemen's rich musical traditions, has died aged 78 in Saudi Arabia after leaving an indelible mark on music in the Arab world.

Salem, who held Yemeni and Saudi nationalities, died of a long illness Sunday in a Riyadh hospital, his son Aseel Abu Bakr said in a Twitter post.

Saudi Arabia on Monday lifted a decades-long ban on cinemas, part of a series of social reforms by the powerful crown prince that are shaking up the ultra-conservative kingdom.

Same-sex couples hurried to declare plans to tie the knot on Saturday as Australia's new marriage equality law came into effect, with wedding registry offices holding special hours for the first day of legalised gay unions.