Millions of Hindu pilgrims took the plunge into sacred rivers at the world's largest religious gathering Monday, led by ash-smeared holy men and accompanied by religious chanting.

On the most auspicious day of the months-long Kumbh Mela festival, devotees rose at dawn in the northern city of Allahabad to immerse themselves at the confluence of three rivers -- the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati.

Saba was just 25 when she left her design job in New York to work on a project renovating an art gallery back in her hometown Tehran.

Within months, she won three more contracts to do up galleries and the lobby of an apartment complex.

Pope Francis has made dialogue with Islam a cornerstone of his papacy, which began in 2013, and visited several countries with large Muslim populations.

Vandalized, caught in the crossfire, burnt to the ground: Yemen's churches, once filled by small but diverse Christian communities, are now abandoned after years of devastating conflict.

Like millions of his compatriots, Filipino migrant Ray Erwin adores Pope Francis. This weekend, he is counting down the hours to a historic papal mass in Abu Dhabi.

Pope Francis' trip to the United Arab Emirates Sunday marks the first time a pontiff has ever visited the conservative Muslim Arabian Peninsula, where over 2.6 million Catholics reside.

African American writers have been ignored for too long by Hollywood but "things are going to change radically", declared the Oscar-winning filmmaker of "Moonlight", Barry Jenkins.

Pope Francis said he was looking to write a new page in the history of relations between religions with his visit to the United Arab Emirates from Sunday.

Italian convicts will be able to video chat with relatives via Skype up to six times a month, the justice ministry said Wednesday.

Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters were among dozens of figures from Britain's creative industries urging the BBC on Wednesday to oppose Israel hosting this year's Eurovision Song Contest.