The highest-profile Catholic cleric to be caught up in a pedophile scandal in France went on trial on Monday charged with failing to report a priest who abused boy scouts in the 1980s and 90s.

Fifty years after Italy's Matera was a national embarrassment because of its extreme poverty, the city is rescuing its dignity, baroque palaces and cave churches to become a European Capital of Culture.

An Israeli woman walking near ancient ruins noticed a head sticking out of the ground, leading to the uncovering of two Roman-era busts, archaeologists said Sunday.

Richard Overton, a World War II veteran who was America's oldest man, has died at the age of 112.

A Chinese kindergarten teacher was on Friday jailed for 18 months for abusing children with needles, a Beijing court said, sparking criticism online that the sentence was too short.

Authorities in Cape Town have criticized a private security company that allegedly ordered black beachgoers to leave a fashionable South African beach over the Christmas holiday.

It has been a wretched year for Pope Francis, whose blind spot on clergy sex abuse conspired with events beyond his control to threaten his legacy and throw the Catholic hierarchy into a credibility crisis not seen in modern times.

The latest development — a high-profile verdict in a far-away country — cements the impression that Francis simply didn't "get it" when he first became pope in 2013 and began leading the church.

Britain and the US will hold memorial services on Friday to remember the 270 people killed when a US airliner exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie 30 years ago, in Britain's worst ever attack.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Los Angeles auxiliary bishop Alexander Salazar over his "inappropriate behaviour" with a minor, the Vatican said Wednesday.

Residents from both sides of Cyprus are coming together to restore their ancient heritage and mend ties away from politics even as peace talks remain stalled.