Madrid on Thursday changed the name of two streets that paid tribute to generals serving late dictator Francisco Franco, starting a process that will eventually see at least 49 roads in the Spanish capital renamed.

Palestinian author Ibrahim Nasrallah has landed the Arab world's top fiction prize for his novel "The Second War of the Dog", a dystopian tale of inhumanity.

Pope Francis marked his name day Monday by ordering thousands of ice creams for Rome's poorest, in the pontiff's latest gesture towards the most vulnerable.

Berlin-based star conductor Daniel Barenboim on Monday became the latest musician in Germany to return in protest his past Echo Music Awards in a row over anti-Semitic rap lyrics.

Tehran's heritage committee said Monday it has found a mummified body at the site of a former shah's tomb, raising a storm of interest over whether the long-lost corpse has been rediscovered.

A new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York seeks to recreate some of the grandeur of the Versailles royal palace in France.

Saudi sports authorities shut down a female fitness centre in Riyadh Friday over a contentious promotional video that appeared to show a woman in figure-hugging workout attire.

Hundreds of neo-Nazis were expected to congregate Friday, which marks Adolf Hitler's birthday, for a two-day festival in a small eastern German town where anti-fascist groups have vowed counter-protests.

Iran on Thursday arrested a senior official after a video posted online showed young boys and girls dancing in public in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, the judiciary said.

Saudi Arabia is to hold a private screening on Wednesday of the Hollywood blockbuster "Black Panther" to herald the launch of movie theaters in the kingdom that are expected to open to the public as early as next month.

Authorities are planning an invitation-only screening of the movie in a concert hall converted into a cinema complex in the capital, Riyadh. The screening, to be attended by both men and women, will be followed by a rush to build movie theaters in major cities.