An assailant sprayed a Roman Catholic priest with flammable liquid and set him alight during mass in a church in Lithuania, police in the Baltic state said Friday.

Father Remigijus Kuprys, 46, managed to extinguish the flames with the help of worshippers, but suffered facial burns.

Lebanese director-actress Nadine Labaki proves all those who insist there are no strong female voices in the Arab world wrong with "Where Do We Go Now," a film that fairly shouts its feminist message from the rooftops.

Set in a remote village where the church and the mosque stand side by side, the film follows the wily antics of the women folk to keep the village's hotheaded men from starting a war of religion.

It's raining in New York, and everyone tries to get out of the rain. Not Manny. The 56-year old Dominican, unflappable, stands on a corner with his umbrella, warning people that on Saturday, May 21, the world will end.

All over New York, preachers armed with T-shirts, brochures, books and posters are preaching the end of the world. Using a complex numerical calculation from the Bible, there are even advertisements on the New York city subway warning of the "great earthquake" that accompanies the advent of Judgement Day.

A bizarre wave of exploding watermelons -- possibly due to farmers' abuse of a growth-boosting chemical -- has once again spotlighted safety fears plaguing China's poorly regulated food sector.

State media has said nearly 50 hectares (120 acres) of watermelon crops in the eastern city of Danyang have been ruined by the phenomenon this month after some growers doused them with the growth accelerator forchlorfenuron.

The president says he is ready to face excommunication from the Catholic Church for advocating free access to condoms. A boxing champion says he is the best example why birth control should never be allowed.

After simmering for months, a wide-ranging and acrimonious debate over government-funded access to contraceptives in the Philippines has entered the country's Congress.

Ming Ming, the world's oldest panda, has died of old age, Chinese state media reported Tuesday. She was 34.

Ming Ming was rescued in Pingwu country in the southwest province Sichuan in 1977 and had resided in Xiangjiang Wild Animal World, a safari park in southern Guangdong province since 1998, the Global Times reported.

Sydney is poised to get Australia's biggest brothel, including a wing with two king-sized beds and a pool table in each room for group bookings, a report said Tuesday.

A development application has been lodged for a Aus$12 million (US$12.7 million) extension to the Stiletto brothel, which proposes doubling its size to 40 working rooms and 21 waiting rooms, the Sydney Morning Herald said.

People living in a Singapore block of flats unknowingly consumed water tainted by the decomposing body of an Indonesian maid before police made the gruesome discovery, a report said Tuesday.

The Straits Times newspaper said some residents complained to authorities after they discovered the tap water on Monday was slightly yellowish and unnaturally foamy.

A German man scooped the title of world's best beard on Sunday after impressing competition hosts in Norway with his facial hair featuring a moose and a Norwegian flag.

Hairdresser Elmar Weisser, 47, beat 160 hopefuls from 15 countries to take first prize in the World Beard and Mustache Championship, held this year in Trondheim.

Marshall ordered an ice-cream but left in a huff before the waiter dished it up, Smile woofed down the chicken but showed no appetite for the wholesome carrots and apple left on his plate.

Arthur actually pooped right by the table.