How should Facebook decide what's art and what's pornography? The question comes to a head in a French court case Thursday with the social network accused of censoring a 19th-century painting of a woman's genitals.

Iran's chief prosecutor has played down recent protests by women removing their headscarves in public, saying they were "trivial" and "childish" moves possibly incited by foreigners.

Hundreds of thousands of Hindus across Malaysia celebrated the annual Thaipusam festival on Wednesday, with many piercing their skin with hooks and skewers to show devotion to the deity Murugan.

Greece said on Tuesday it wanted Macedonia to adopt an "untranslatable" name in order to settle a long-running dispute between the two countries.

Greece considers the name "Macedonia" to be part of its own cultural heritage -- it is also the name of a Greek province considered to be the center of the ancient empire of Alexander the Great.

U.S. Senate Democrats blocked a controversial measure Monday that would ban and criminalize abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, scuttling a longtime priority of conservatives in Congress.

When Abdul Karim al-Kafarnah went to check the rainwater gushing down a hole in his garden he was in for quite a shock -- hidden steps led him down to an ancient grave complex.

Threading beads onto a fishing line to make a sparkling ornament, Lamia Rahim is one of dozens of Iraqi women displaced by violence who have turned to handicrafts to support their families.

In the provocative Lebanese film "The Insult," a minor conflict over a gutter between two ordinary men in Beirut spirals and escalates to the level of national significance with the stability of the country hanging in the balance.

The film, from director Ziad Doueiri ("West Beirut," ''The Attack"), on Tuesday became Lebanon's first foreign language Oscar contender. It's also, somewhat fittingly, caused a fair amount of controversy internationally, being banned in countries like Jordan.

Ambassador of the European Union to Lebanon Christina Lassen on Wednesday opened the 24th edition of the European Film Festival 24 at Cinema Metropolis Empire Sofil, in the presence of Minister of Culture Ghattas Khoury and of political and diplomatic figures, as well as culture, media and social personalities.

“It is the 24th time we host this festival here in Lebanon which we – in all modesty – think has become an essential part of the cultural calendar here,” Lassen said in a speech.

Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev has welcomed the failure of her country's controversial candidate for the Oscars to win a nomination, having called the film "Foxtrot" an insult to the military.