Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war.

For centuries, Aleppo was Syria's economic and cultural powerhouse, attracting tourists from around the world to its celebrated heritage sites.

The head of al-Azhar, Egypt's top Sunni authority, said on Monday that the Western concept of modernity is not the "best example" for Muslim women to follow.

Police in the Saudi capital said on Monday they had arrested a woman for taking off her veil in public and posting pictures of her daring action on Twitter.

Therese is a Lebanese mother keen to meet her daughter's groom-to-be but she gets the shock of her life when she hears his Syrian accent.

Pope Francis is calling for a renewed culture of nonviolence to inform global politics today, saying military responses to conflicts only breed more violence.

Francis cited Mother Teresa, Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. as models of nonviolent peacemakers in his annual message for the Catholic Church's World Day of Peace, which is celebrated each Jan. 1.

An Iranian archaeologist has spent years in an almost single-handed quest across the country's hills and desert plains to uncover ancient rock art that could be among the oldest in the world.

Bob Dylan, winner of the Nobel prize for literature, said in a speech read Saturday on his behalf that he was "honored" to receive the award -- even as he failed to attend the ceremony.

A judge in Morocco on Friday acquitted two teenage girls on trial for alleged homosexuality after they were reportedly caught kissing, one of their three lawyers said.

Serbian chocolate bars offered to small children by Croatia's president have left a bad taste in the mouth between the two former foes, as relations sour to levels not seen since the 1990s war.

Israel's interior ministry has been ordered to grant citizenship to foreign-born same-sex spouses of Israelis under the same terms as traditional couples, the ministry's lawyer said Thursday.