A pastor of a state-sanctioned church in China has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, his lawyer and an overseas rights group said Friday, accusing authorities of "fabricated charges.”

Zhang Shaojie was detained with about 20 other members of the Nanle County Christian Church in the central Henan province last November.

Christians and Hindus who fled from a military offensive against insurgents in tribal northwest Pakistan say the Taliban treated them with relative tolerance, contrary to the militants' brutal reputation.

Some 2,000 people from the country's often embattled religious minorities have fled an army operation that began in mid-June in the North Waziristan tribal district for the nearby town of Bannu, where many have taken refuge in Christian schools.

Bolivian lawmakers have approved child workers as young as 10 years old, under a new law that lays out specific conditions for employing children. 

Congress passed the measure by consensus on Wednesday, requiring employers to follow certain criteria to ensure the physical and mental health of employed children, and to prevent child exploitation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for more patriotic education for his country's youth in order to protect them from foreign influences in what he views as a global ideological battle.

"There is a tough battle in the world for hearts and minds, for ideological and informational influence," Putin said at a government meeting on Thursday, cautioning against "artificial conflicts" stirred by foreign states, including among different ethnicities.

The Vatican has formally recognized the International Association of Exorcists, giving its blessing to a group of 250 priests in 30 countries who claim to save the possessed from Satan.

The association's practice of exorcism is now recognized under canon law, the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano newspaper reported Thursday.

The traditional Gallic "pot" -- a convivial office drinks party -- may be a thing of the past after the French government on Thursday allowed employers to ban wine from the workplace.

The government had so far exempted wine and cider from the list of alcoholic drinks that employers could ban in offices.

Colorado's Democratic governor and its Republican top lawyer asked a U.S. court Wednesday to issue an injunction declaring their state's gay marriage ban unconstitutional.

But Gov. John Hickenlooper and Attorney General John Suthers want the court to delay implementation of the ruling until the U.S. Supreme Court decides the issue.

Prince William and his wife Catherine have been given a glamorous make-over at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London, with the prince's hair altered to reflect his thinning thatch.

The couple were installed at the attraction two years ago to mark their first wedding anniversary, clothed in the outfits they wore to announce their engagement.

A minister in India's resort state of Goa has drawn ridicule by saying women in bikinis should be banned from beaches and girls in short dresses should not visit pubs.

Sudin Dhavalikar, the state's public works department minister, told reporters on Tuesday that bikini wearing "can attract problems like molestations" which police find out about too late to deal with.

China has banned civil servants, students and teachers in its mainly Muslim Xinjiang region from taking part in Ramadan fasting, government websites said, prompting condemnation from an exile group on Wednesday.

China's ruling Communist party is officially atheist, and for years has restricted fasting in Xinjiang, home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority.