One of Ireland's most prominent politicians announced he is gay on Sunday, becoming the first openly homosexual cabinet minister in Irish history four months before a referendum on same-sex marriage in the traditionally Catholic country. 

Seen as a potential contender to succeed Prime Minister Enda Kenny as leader of the ruling center-right Fine Gael party, Health Minister Leo Varadkar made the announcement in an interview on national broadcaster RTE.

British Prime Minister David Cameron defended the right to speech that gives offense to others' religious beliefs, in a rebuttal to Pope Francis who said there should be limits.

In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation, Cameron said the West must show that its values, like free speech, are stronger than those of Islamist extremists pursuing a "poisonous death cult narrative."

U.S. experts are scratching their heads after finding a more than 130-year-old Wild West rifle leaning against a Juniper tree in a remote area of a national park.

The Winchester Model 1873 firearm was found in Great Basin National Park in Nevada by a park employee, Eva Jensen, who happened to be working in the area with an archaeology team.

Europe must do more to better integrate its Muslim communities, and not "simply respond with a hammer," U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday in the wake of last week's terror attacks in France.

"Our biggest advantage, major, is that our Muslim populations -- they feel themselves to be Americans," Obama told a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron. 

Sotheby's on Friday won its legal battle with a man who claimed the auction house negligently led him to undersell a painting acquired by an expert who later declared it to be a Caravaggio.

Lancelot William Thwaytes sold the painting, known as "The Cardsharps", to the partner of renowned collector Denis Mahon at a London auction in 2006 for £42,000 ($63,700, 55,000 euros) after Sotheby's billed it as being the work of a "follower" of the Italian Renaissance master.

Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami has started offering opinions and advice on queries from fans in an online agony uncle column, kicking things off by revealing his fears over hate speech and his own failing eyesight.

The publicity-shy writer started the project Thursday at "Murakami-san no tokoro" or "Mr. Murakami's place" where he hoped for easy-going, fun exchanges with readers.

In the spirit of Charlie Hebdo, Palestinian cartoonist Ramzy Taweel is making his feelings about the French satirical weekly crystal clear -- his latest illustration equates the publication to toilet paper.

Palestinian political cartoonists, including Taweel, rushed to eulogies the staff of Charlie Hebdo killed by Islamic extremists in an attack on their offices in Paris last week, publishing images defending free speech, condemning violence and expressing solidarity with France.

When Suh Hyun-Woong showed his mother his first tattoo, she burst into tears.

"She couldn't understand why I would want to do that to myself," Suh laughed. "But now she's pretty much accepted it."

Director Peter Jackson said Wednesday he's putting his energy into helping launch a museum to commemorate World War I after finishing his "Hobbit" movie trilogy.

If he has any plans for future blockbusters, he's not saying.

Campaigning in the Greek elections took an unexpected turn on Wednesday when one deputy took aim at a school text book describing the removal of the famed Elgin Marbles from Athens in the 19th century.

The ancient Greek sculptures, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, were taken from Greece by British diplomat Lord Elgin in 1803.