Iran has ordered domestic airlines to take off half an hour after pre-dawn Muslim prayers, the website of country's civil aviation organisation quoted its chief as saying on Wednesday.

"According to a directive we issued to the domestic airlines, from now on the airlines will be authorized to take off at least 30 minutes after the morning Azan (the pre-dawn call to prayer)," civil aviation chief Hamid Reza Pahlevani said.

Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a rare temple and religious figurines dating back to the Judaean period nearly 3,000 years ago, Israel's Antiquities Authority said on Wednesday.

The discoveries were made at Tel Motza, outside Jerusalem, during archaeological work taking place ahead of new highway construction in the area.

Iran on Wednesday denied statements by a lawmaker that is it paying Russian women working as technicians at its sole nuclear power plant to adhere to the Islamic dress code, the Fars news agency reported.

"Based on the reports we got from our local office and the governor's office in Bushehr, hijab payment for Russian women is absolutely not true," Hassan Ghashghavi, deputy foreign minister in charge of consular affairs, was quoted as saying.

Russia's upper house of parliament was due Wednesday to vote for a bill barring Americans from adopting the country's children, in retaliation for a new piece of human rights legislation in the U.S.

The highly contentious bill has inflamed tensions between the two former Cold War rivals at a time when Washington needs Moscow's help to convince President Bashar Assad to quit power in Syria.

He may be acclaimed in the art world and coveted by thieves but Edvard Munch is starved of recognition in his native Norway, where squabbles have delayed a new museum worthy of his oeuvre.

Next year will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the expressionist master, who painted the now iconic "The Scream". But the anniversary is clouded by the city of Oslo's inability to provide a proper setting for the art gems the painter left in his will.

Iran is paying Russian women working as technicians at its sole nuclear power plant to adhere to the Islamic dress code, an Iranian lawmaker told the ISNA news agency on Tuesday.

Women in Iran, regardless of their nationality or religion, are required to cover their hair and much of the body. Those who do not abide by the rule -- known as hijab -- may face arrest or other punishment.

Pilgrims and locals celebrated Christmas Day on Tuesday in the ancient Bethlehem church built over the site where tradition holds Jesus was born, candles illuminating the sacred site and the joyous sound of prayer filling its overflowing halls.

Overcast skies and a cold wind didn't dampen the spirits of worshippers who came dressed in holiday finery and the traditional attire of foreign lands to mark the holy day in this biblical West Bank town. Bells pealed and long lines formed inside the fourth-century Church of the Nativity complex as Christian faithful waited eagerly to see the grotto that is Jesus' traditional birthplace.

The mausoleum for Russia's revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin must undergo major repair work after its foundation suffered water damage, the Kremlin said Monday.

The communist icon's body will also undergo preservation work, a move that adds fuel to a debate in Russia about whether his remains should be buried.

In a corner of Ireland, hope has replaced desperation as parishioners watch their own Christmas miracle unfold in front of their eyes.

St Mel's Cathedral in the small town of Longford is being restored to its former glory three years after it was destroyed by a fire on Christmas Day.

A Saudi Arabian liberal writer was arrested on Monday for making comments on his Twitter account that were allegedly insulting to Islam, family members said.

Turki Ahmed was arrested on orders of Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, who was tipped off by a religious organization, they said.