An independent commission set up by the French Catholic Church to look at allegations of sexual abuse by clerics begins its work on Monday by launching an appeal for witness statements.

A group of Japanese women Monday submitted a petition to the government to protest what they say is a de-facto requirement for female staff to wear high heels at work.

A senior member of parliament campaigning to be Israel's next justice minister said Monday that the country should be ruled by Jewish law, just like in biblical times.

High street makeup powerhouse Sephora has announced it will close all its U.S. stores, distribution centres and corporate office for employee training after a racial profiling incident involving Grammy-nominated singer SZA.

A massive cruise ship lost control as it docked in Venice on Sunday, crashing into the wharf and hitting a tourist boat after suffering an engine failure.

Pope Francis on Sunday asked the Roma people for "forgiveness" for discrimination committed by the Roman Catholic Church against them after meeting with members of the community in Romania.

Pope Francis on the  second day of a visit to Romania celebrated diversity at a mass Saturday attended by tens of thousands of people in a predominantly ethnic-Hungarian part of the Transylvania region seen as the highlight of his trip.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday renamed the country's airports to commemorate tsars and space pioneers as well as writer Anton Chekhov and operatic tenor Dmitri Hvorostovsky after an online poll that stirred up controversy.

Lebanon's Telecommunications Ministry has ordered the blocking of the popular dating application Grindr, used mainly by gay men and trans men, saying it facilitates meetings between bisexuals or people of the same sex.

Amnesty International called the decision "a deeply regressive step, and a blow" to the LGBT community in Lebanon.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to take up a case about abortions based on sex, race or potential disability of the fetus, after the high court sidestepped the issue.