A set of ink-brush paintings by Chinese artist Qi Baishi has sold for $144 million, breaking all records for Chinese paintings, a Beijing auction house said Monday.

Niaz Ali is a deeply religious man: He prays five times a day and visits the mosque as frequently as possible. But he also loves to smoke hashish -- lots of it.

Pope Francis celebrated his 81st birthday Sunday with a hero cake and a message urging the world -- and children in particular -- to join in the holiday mood and be joyful.

The body of Italy's controversial king Victor Emmanuel III returned to Italy on Sunday, amid a row over where the monarch who abetted dictator Benito Mussolini should be buried.

Australia's first gay weddings took place Saturday, ushering in a new era after the country's marriage equality law came into effect this month.

The United States on Friday returned to Lebanese officials three relics stolen during Lebanon's civil war, including a statue once exhibited at New York's premier museum, officials said.

The ancient artifacts included a bull's head, which was recovered this summer from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it had been on loan.

The 14th Dalai Lama announced a new iPhone app which will allow devotees to watch live video of his teachings to his 16.6 million Twitter followers on Thursday.

The art is striking -- a miniature three-masted ship in cardboard, with bits of T-shirt for the sails and threads from a prayer cap for ropes. A picture of a huge mosque at water's edge. A shadowy and faceless Statue of Liberty.

A court in Cairo on Tuesday sentenced an Egyptian pop singer to two years in prison for "inciting debauchery" over a racy music video clip, a judicial source said.

India has slapped a nationwide ban on television ads for condoms during prime time hours, citing rules prohibiting "vulgar" content and concerns over children viewing salacious material.