In Iran, free condoms and government-backed vasectomies are out, replaced by sermons praising larger families and discussions of even offering gold coins to the families of newborns.

Having successfully curbed birth rates for two decades, Iran now is promoting a baby boom to help make up for its graying population. But experts say it is difficult to encourage Iranians to have more children in a mismanaged economy hit by Western sanctions and 36 percent inflation.

Two archaeologists had a hunch that the Buddha's birthplace in southern Nepal held secrets that could transform how the world understood the emergence and spread of Buddhism.

Their pursuit would eventually see them excavate the sacred site of Lumbini as monks prayed nearby, leading to the stunning claim that the Buddha was born in the sixth century BC, two centuries earlier than thought.

An Indian judge has declared premarital sex "immoral" and against "every religion" and added that no educated woman should have sex believing that her partner will marry her.

Sessions court judge Virender Bhat made the comments while finding a 29-year-old Indian man not guilty of raping a woman just because he had promised beforehand to marry her.

Model yachts, rustic fishing boats and wooden rafts dangle above visitors as they step into the new Perez Art Museum Miami. The colorful display is both a playful nod to South Florida's maritime culture and a somber reference to the perilous journeys many make to get here. It is the perfect entry to a museum that channels the city around it: whimsical, vibrant, brimming with culture from across the Americas - and yes, a work in progress.

The museum, which opened in December, still lacks a permanent blockbuster, but its retrospective of Chinese master and political dissident Ai Weiwei, on display through mid-March, should temporarily satisfy. And the museum's eclectic and provocative collection, coupled with its bay front location, has quickly turned the PAMM - as locals already call it - into a must-see destination for tourists and natives.

Wojciech Kilar, a symphonic composer who gained fame writing film scores for "The Pianist" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula," was hailed as a glorious figure in Polish and European music at his funeral on Saturday.

Poland's First Lady Anna Komorowska and Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski joined musicians and hundreds of Kilar's fans during the ceremonies at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Katowice, the composer's hometown, during which his music was played.

Egypt's minister of antiquities says Japanese archaeologists have unearthed the tomb of an ancient beer brewer in the city of Luxor that is more than 3,000 years old.

Mohammed Ibrahim says Friday the tomb dates back to the Ramesside period and belongs to the chief "maker of beer for gods of the dead" who was also the head of a warehouse.

France is putting together a plan to allow divorces by mutual consent to proceed without a judge, simplifying a process that some critics say is already too easy.

Social Affairs Minister Dominique Bertinotti confirmed the plan on Friday, telling BFM-TV that "simplification is a good thing."

Authorities in Goa have decided to ban local people from entering the holiday state's casinos, which from March will only welcome tourists.

Goa's Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar announced the amendment to the state's gambling act, which will come into force on March 1, prohibiting locals from entering either onshore casinos or those on ships in Goan waters.

Former foes from World War I will come together in Sarajevo to mark the war's centenary in June, their rivalries long buried though the conflict is still a source of bitter division in the Balkans.

As schoolchildren are taught the world over, the assassination in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, and his wife by a 19-year-old Serbian nationalist, was the trigger for the Great War.

A stone bridge dating back to the Ming dynasty has been discovered after water levels plunged at China's largest freshwater lake, a Beijing newspaper reported Friday.

The remains of the 2,930-meter-long bridge, made entirely of granite and dating back nearly 400 years, appeared at Poyang lake in the central province of Jiangxi, the Beijing News reported.