A defining portrait of England's queen Elizabeth I has been bought for the nation, auctioneers said Friday, after thousands of donations to a fundraising campaign to keep the painting in Britain.

Italy's long-awaited, much-disputed law allowing gay civil unions took effect Friday after it was published in an official journal, as couples start applying for legal recognition of their same-sex relationships.

A Palestinian plan to sue Britain over a 1917 declaration backing a Jewish homeland in Palestine could help rally supporters, but has little chance of success, legal analysts say.

Pope Francis on Friday walked alone through the notorious wrought-iron "Arbeit Macht Frei" gate at Auschwitz-Birkenau, beginning a historic visit to the former Nazi death camp.

His head bowed, the pope prayed in silent contemplation before meeting Holocaust survivors -- some of whom he tenderly kissed -- in front of the death wall where the Nazis summarily executed thousands of people by firing squad.

High school finals are always a terrifying prospect for Egyptian students. After cheat sheets were leaked this year, the exams turned into a nightmare for Mariam Khaled.

She had gone home to sleep after finishing an exam. When she woke up, she discovered she would have to resit it.

It feels as if time has stood still at Lello, a Gothic Revival style bookstore in the historic center of Porto, whose heady "olde worlde" ambiance inspired some of the scenes for Harry Potter.

It was in Portugal's second city that Potter author J. K. Rowling let her imagination off the leash during two years spent teaching English in the northern town, spending her free time writing early drafts of the seven-volume global blockbuster that made her a literary household name.

Hamada Bayloun is not particularly religious, but across his entire upper back spreads a large tattoo of the most revered saint in Shiite Islam, Imam Ali.

He is one of a growing number of Shiite Muslims in Lebanon who have inked themselves with Shiite religious and political symbols as a show of pride in their community since neighboring Syria's civil war broke out in 2011, fanning hatreds between Shiites, Sunnis and other faiths across the region.

Does publishing the photographs of those responsible for terror attacks help glorify them and play into the hands of groups like the Islamic State?

Pope Francis visited Poland's most revered monastery Thursday, home to an ancient Catholic icon believed to work miracles, ahead of a trip by tram to meet young pilgrims from the world over.

Celebrated Egyptian film director Mohamed Khan died in Cairo on Tuesday aged 73 after a prolific career making socially engaged films.