Saudi Arabia will hit hard those who seek to harm its young people, King Salman said on Tuesday after suicide bombers struck Islam's second-holiest site and two other targets.

The Afghan Taliban on Tuesday condemned a deadly suicide bombing at Islam's second holiest site in the Saudi city of Medina, describing it as "an act of enmity and hatred."

Tributes poured in on Tuesday for Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami, acclaimed as a "towering figure" in world cinema, following his death in France at the age of 76.

Justin Trudeau made history Sunday by marching with tens of thousands of people in Toronto's Gay Pride parade, becoming the country's first sitting prime minister to participate.

Thunderous applause greeted Trudeau as he paraded down a main Toronto artery, waving a Canadian maple-leaf flag bordered with a rainbow.

They speak little Arabic and don't have a real mosque, but Cuba's small Muslim community practices the faith and will quietly mark the end of Ramadan as best they can.

A Saudi-funded mosque in Nice opened its doors for the first time Saturday, after a 15-year tussle with the local town hall.

Retired pope Benedict XVI is to lift the lid in a new book on his troubled time at the head of the Catholic Church, publishers announced Friday.

Human Rights Watch on Friday hailed the UN's "historic" decision to create a new post tasked with fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Muslim pilgrims joining this year's hajj in Saudi Arabia will have to wear an electronic safety bracelet, newspapers reported Friday, after more than 2,000 died in a stampede last year.

The high-tech safety measure will help authorities provide care "and identify people", the Arab News and Saudi Gazette reported.

Authorities in Nigeria's commercial hub of Lagos have shut down dozens of churches, mosques and hotels in a bid cut noise pollution, officials said Thursday.

The sprawling city of some 20 million people is notorious for heavy traffic jams and the deafening noise of churches and mosques that use horns and loudspeakers to spread their message.