Scores of women demonstrated against South Africa's "femicide epidemic" as the World Economic Forum on Africa kicks off in Cape Town on Wednesday, amid growing alarm over gender violence in the country.

Pope Francis arrives in Mozambique on Wednesday at the start of a three-nation tour of Indian Ocean African countries hard hit by poverty, conflict and natural disaster.

Atop a string of green mountains in Saudi Arabia, a monthlong festival drew a medley of yoga enthusiasts, extreme adventure seekers, tourists and traditional Saudi families — many wearing colorful flower crowns native to the region as the kingdom looks for ways to revamp its image and build up tourism.

The al-Soudah festival, which ran throughout the month of August, gave visitors a chance to experience a unique region in Saudi Arabia and take part in outdoor sports like hiking, mountain biking, paragliding, horseback riding, zip lining and bungee jumping. Thousands also attended concerts by Middle Eastern superstars.

Indoor courts are central to life in tens of thousands of towns and cities across basketball-mad Philippines, hosting everything from funerals and beauty pageants to "circumcision season."

Red Star Belgrade fans stirred controversy by parking an army tank outside their stadium ahead of Tuesday's Champions League play-off second leg against Swiss side Young Boys.

With burger patties sizzling over a hot grill, a Saudi eatery did the unthinkable as a muezzin's call to prayer sent Muslim worshippers scrambling to lower their shutters: it stayed open.

Sudan's Christians suffered decades of persecution under the regime of Islamist general Omar al-Bashir. Now they hope his downfall will give the religious freedom they have long prayed for.

Greece has asked France to loan a Parthenon marble frieze fragment displayed at Paris's Louvre Museum to mark its 200th independence anniversary in 2021, an official said Saturday.

"There has been a proposal by the Greek side and it is been evaluated in a positive manner," a government source told AFP.

The Women's Rugby World Cup in 2017 will be the last to bear that title with World Rugby announcing on Wednesday they are adopting a policy of gender neutrality for their tournaments.

French workers on Monday resumed efforts to secure the cathedral of Notre-Dame following the devastating April fire, after a three-week pause due to the risk of lead contamination.