In Japan, where communal ties to local Buddhist temples are fading, families have in recent years been able to go online to find a Buddhist monk to perform funerals and other rituals.

But when Amazon Japan allowed a provider to offer "Obo-san bin," or "Mr. Monk Delivery," on its website, it shone a spotlight on the emerging trend and prompted a major Buddhist organization to criticize the Internet marketer of commercializing religion.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to protest in Rome's Circus Maximus arena Saturday against a civil unions bill for same-sex couples, a hot-potato issue for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government.

"As many people as possible must take part, remember this is the only weapon we have!" organizer Massimo Gandolfini said ahead of the "Family Day" rally, which begins in the capital's ancient Roman chariot racing stadium at 1100 GMT.

The landmark Paris Ritz hotel will reopen in June after major renovations, three months behind schedule because of a fire on its top floor earlier this month, a spokesman said Friday.

The 118-year-old hotel, storied as the lodging of choice of Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway,  has been closed since 2012 for top-to-toe refurbishment.

A campaign by a rightwing Israeli NGO branding artists linked to leftwing groups hostile "moles" was denounced Thursday by politicians across the political spectrum as "fascist" and "despicable."

Im Tirtzu put images of four prominent Israeli cultural figures on its Facebook page on Wednesday, alleging their support of various "fifth column" leftwing organizations.

Italy's Senate on Thursday began examining a civil union bill for same-sex couples, a topic which has profoundly divided the country and could prove toxic for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government.

The debate has spilled over onto the streets: tens of thousands of supporters demonstrated last weekend throughout the country, while opponents are planning a mass rally in the capital for Saturday.

The Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev on Wednesday presented a controversial bill to cut subsidies to cultural institutions deemed not to be "loyal" to the state.

The draft law would give Regev, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party, the power to decide whether particular film and theatrical productions meet criteria for awarding grants.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday he had not asked his Italian hosts to cover up classical nude statues in a Rome museum he visited with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

A smiling Rouhani told reporters he had "no contact on the subject" with Italian authorities.

A South Korean woman forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers more than 70 years ago heaped scorn on Wednesday on an agreement between Tokyo and Seoul aimed at settling the so-called comfort women issue.

The Japanese government must face its past and directly address those victimized by its soldiers, said 88-year-old Lee Ok-Sun, who said she was forcibly taken to China as a teenager to work in Japan's military-run brothels.

Indonesia has relocated more than 1,500 members of a controversial sect from their village "for their own safety", an official said Wednesday, but rights groups described their treatment as religious persecution.

Members of the mysterious Light of Nusantara Movement -- or Gafatar -- have been moved from a remote communal farm in Indonesia's half of Borneo island after a mob attack.

Glass cabinets filled with mundane but poignant objects including cologne bottles, dentures and postcards form the centerpiece of a London exhibition presented by Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk on Tuesday.

The unique collaboration between the 63-year-old author and the Somerset House gallery physically recreates his 2008 novel "The Museum of Innocence".