Pakistan's smallest religious minority, the Kalash speak their own language and celebrate their gods through music, dance -- and alcohol, which they brew themselves in Chitral's plunging verdant valleys.

Here, the sexes mingle easily, marriage can be sealed with a dance, and women are free to move on to new loves -- it is a far cry from life in much of the rest of the country, where many adhere to a strict Islamic code forbidding such behaviour. 

It is the literary sensation of the year in France. A first novel by a dyslexic author that has had readers crying -- and laughing out loud -- on the Paris metro.

Thai authorities have banned a five-month-old French edition of Marie Claire magazine because of an article which police said defamed the kingdom's royal family.

Thailand's royal defamation laws are among the world's harshest and can land offenders decades behind bars.

Pope Francis on Friday opened doors for divorced and cohabiting Catholics but slammed one shut for gay believers in new Church guidelines on family life.

In his 260-page "apostolic exhortation", an update of Church teaching and practice likely to disappoint some Catholic modernizers, Francis strongly reiterates the Church's opposition to the legal recognition of gay relationships.

A new William Shakespeare First Folio, part of the original collection of 36 plays published in 1623, has been discovered on a Scottish island, the University of Oxford said Thursday.

Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University, authenticated the First Folio as genuine, making it one of the most valuable books in the world.

French lawmakers on Wednesday passed a controversial law that makes it illegal to pay for sex and imposes fines of up to 3,500 euros ($3,970) on prostitutes' clients.

An Iranian man has been sentenced to 74 lashes for killing a dog, the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency reported Wednesday, after an online video showed him hurling the animal repeatedly against his car.

Windsor Castle, a home of Queen Elizabeth II and one of Britain's most popular tourist attractions, is to get an extensive facelift to improve facilities for visitors.

Tourist areas at the medieval castle west of London will be redeveloped at an expected cost of £27 million ($38 million, 33 million euros), said the Royal Collection, which looks after the British monarchy's art.

The route taken by Hannibal over the Alps to invade Italy has been a matter of debate for 2,000 years, but scientists may now have the answer -- thanks to some ancient horse poo.

More than 15,000 horses and 37 elephants accompanied the 30,000-strong Carthaginian army in a march on the Roman Republic in 218 BC, which sparked years of bloody conflict.

The Vatican has set up a new office charged with promoting the use of the .Catholic domain name, in its latest move to upgrade its communications for the digital era.

With a staff of eight IT experts, the new office will seek to expand the use of the domain name by all Church and Church-affiliated bodies with the aim of assuring Internet users they are dealing with officially sanctioned sites.