The Anglican Church is in turmoil after its North American branch pushed ahead with ordaining the church's first openly lesbian bishop.

The decision to include caste in India's national census has triggered intense controversy about a painful, vexing subject.

Imagine a New Zealand school whose books had words blacked out or pages removed and large parts of the curriculum were simply not taught.

A US Baptist minister is sticking to his story that he unknowingly hired a male prostitute as a travel assistant.

The "Kuta cowboys" who offer friendship to tourists face an uncertain future, thanks to an uproar provoked by a warts-and-all documentary.

A teenager needed two rows of stitches and a steel plate to repair his shattered jaw after being beaten over the colour of his T-shirt.

Shakespearean tragedy has become high farce, after a Christian high school sacked a teacher for using a "morally defiling" King Lear text.

The first European ban on the wearing of the Islamic burqa in public is poised to come into force in Belgium.

Aussie anti-immigration campaigner Pauline Hanson has put her Queensland home on the market - but not for everyone.

The French government will enact a law next month to ban the burqa, or full-body veil.

North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams is facing fresh criticism over an Easter email to councillors, which began: "Two blokes got crucified this week..."