French President Emmanuel Macron said his country stood with Salman Rushdie Friday as the British author underwent surgery after being stabbed at a literary event in the United States.

Iranian ultra-conservative newspaper Kayhan on Saturday hailed the man who stabbed British author Salman Rushdie -- the target of a 1989 Iranian fatwa calling for his death.

Salman Rushdie, who spent years in hiding after an Iranian fatwa ordered his killing, was on a ventilator and could lose an eye following a stabbing attack at a literary event in New York state Friday.

The British author of "The Satanic Verses", which sparked fury among some Muslims who believed it was blasphemous, had to be airlifted to hospital for emergency surgery following the attack.

British Indian author Salman Rushdie is a master of magical realism who captured global attention as the target of a fatwa that forced him into hiding, and which now drives his fierce defense of freedom of speech.

British author Salman Rushdie, whose writings have made him the target of Iranian death threats, was attacked and stabbed in the neck at a literary event on Friday in western New York state.

Police said that a male suspect stormed the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer, with the writer suffering "an apparent stab wound to the neck."

An international LGBT gathering in Taiwan was cancelled Friday after global organizers demanded the self-ruling island's name be removed from the 2025 event -- a move slammed by the government.

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is returning ancient sculptures and other works of art that were illegally exported from Italy, the museum announced Thursday.

The Getty will return a nearly life-size group of Greek terra-cotta sculptures known as "Orpheus and the Sirens," believed to date from the fourth century B.C., according to the museum.

For most teenage girls in Afghanistan, it's been a year since they set foot in a classroom. With no sign the ruling Taliban will allow them back to school, some are trying to find ways to keep education from stalling for a generation of young women.

At a house in Kabul, dozens gathered on a recent day for classes in an informal school set up by Sodaba Nazhand. She and her sister teach English, science and math to girls who should be in secondary school.

Pope Francis has met with a fourth group of transgender people who found shelter at a Rome church, the Vatican newspaper reported Thursday.

L'Osservatore Romano said the encounter took place Wednesday on the sidelines of Francis' weekly general audience. The newspaper quoted Sister Genevieve Jeanningros and the Rev. Andrea Conocchia as saying the pope's welcome brought their guests hope.

Heavy rains lashing Yemen's capital of Sanaa, which dates back to ancient times, have in recent days collapsed 10 buildings in the Old City, the country's Houthi rebels said Wednesday.

At least 80 other buildings have been heavily damaged in the rains and are in need of urgent repairs, said the rebels, who have controlled Sanaa since the outbreak of Yemen's civil war more than eight years ago.