Holi, widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, is a joyful annual celebration at the advent of spring with cultural and religious significance.

Typically observed in March in India, Nepal, other South Asian countries and across the diaspora, the festival celebrates love and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation — a time to embrace the positive and let go of negative energy.

Russia's financial watchdog said Friday it had added what it calls the "international LGBT movement" to its list of terrorists and extremists.

The implication of its listing was not immediately clear.

Purim is widely depicted as the most thoroughly joyful of Jewish holidays — highlighted by celebrations that include costumes, skits, noisemakers and varying degrees of rowdiness.

It celebrates the biblical story of how a plot to exterminate Jews in Persia was thwarted, and thus is embraced as an affirmation of Jewish survival throughout history. For many Jews, it will have extra significance this year during a war in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel in which Hamas killed 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage.

The restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following a tragic blaze in April 2019 is a story of dedication and recovery.

The iconic medieval monument immortalized in history, film and literature has been gradually rebuilt over the past five years, through challenges that have included delays during the pandemic and the loss of the project's leader.

A new Banksy mural drew crowds to a London street on Monday, even before the elusive graffiti artist confirmed that the work was his.

The artwork in the Finsbury Park neighborhood covers the wall of a four-story building and shows a small figure holding a pressure hose beside a large cherry tree. Green paint has been sprayed across the wall, replicating the absent leaves of the tree, which has been severely cropped.

The British government published a new official definition of "extremism" on Thursday, and said groups that get the label will be barred from receiving government funding.

The move is in response to a surge in reports of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate speech and what authorities call an increase in radicalization in Britain since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which triggered the war and Israel's invasion of Gaza.

One religious icon unites Cubans: The Virgin of Charity of Cobre.

Cuba's patron saint is venerated by observant Catholics and followers of Afro-Cuban Santeria traditions as well as Cubans in exile and back on the island. The wooden statue of the Virgin Mary is kept at the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre nestled in the shadow of the lush Sierra Maestra mountains. An identical replica is worshipped by Cuban-Americans at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami.

The "Youth Political Participation in Elections" project, implemented by Rashad Center for Cultural Governance within Adyan Foundation and in partnership with the United Nations Development Program, celebrated the conclusion of its activities with an exceptional closing ceremony and exhibition on Wednesday at the Beirut Metropolitan Hotel in Sin El Fil.

Lebanese youths from all over Lebanon were invited to join a virtual journey through a social media campaign and competition supported by several regional influencers. This event brought together young men and women, representatives from international non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and activists on this journey across Lebanese regions.

Adidas said Wednesday that it's donated or is planning to give away more than $150 million to groups fighting antisemitism and other forms of hate from the sales of Yeezy shoes last year after it severed ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

The German sportswear brand had 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of popular Yeezy sneakers piled up in warehouses after it broke off its partnership with Ye in October 2022 over his antisemitic and other offensive comments on social media and in interviews.

India has implemented a controversial citizenship law that has been widely criticized for excluding Muslims, a minority community whose concerns have heightened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government.

The rules for the law were announced Monday. It establishes a religious test for migrants from every major South Asian faith other than Islam. Critics argue that the law is further evidence that Modi's government is trying to reshape the country into a Hindu state and marginalize its 200 million Muslims.