The abdication of Japan's Emperor Akihito next year will be quite literally the end of an era, the Heisei era of his rule, and behind closed doors, talks on the next era have begun.

Japan is the only country in the world still using Chinese-style imperial calendars. It might be 2018 in much of the world, but in Japan it is Heisei 30, or 30 years into Akihito's reign.

Pope Francis has declined to comment on a claim that he ignored sexual abuse allegations against a senior clergyman amid speculation conservative elements in the Catholic hierarchy are using the issue to mount a "putsch" to remove the liberal pontiff.

Egypt's highest Sunni Muslim authority has said there can be no justification for sexual harassment, in a country where many people often blame women themselves for the widespread problems they face. 

In a statement Al-Azhar blasted all forms of harassment as "a forbidden act and deviant behaviour" and said "the one who carries it out is a sinner".

Donning a helmet inside a pearl silver sports sedan, Rana Almimoni skids and drifts around a Riyadh park, engine roaring, tyres screeching and clouds of dust billowing from the back.

Far-right mob violence targeting immigrants in the German city of Chemnitz has again cast an ugly spotlight on the country' ex-communist east as a hotbed of xenophobia.

Extremist hooligans have vented their anger at foreigners, hunting some in the streets, since a German man was stabbed to death in the early hours of Sunday, allegedly by an Iraqi and a Syrian who were arrested Monday.

China appears poised to scrap its two-child policy, with a state-run newspaper Monday citing a draft civil code that would overhaul decades of controversial family-planning rules.

The Vatican on Monday rolled back on Pope Francis' recommendation that parents seek psychiatric help for children who show homosexual tendencies.

Global superstars Lady Gaga, Ryan Gosling and Vanessa Redgrave descend on Venice this week as the annual film festival kicks off Wednesday to controversy over the inclusion of Netflix productions and there being just one female director in competition.

Some 21 features will be locking horns for the prized Golden Lion, which will be awarded on September 8 at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Venice Lido, the iconic setting for Luchino Visconti's masterpiece "Death in Venice".

Pope Francis in Ireland  Sunday "begged for God's forgiveness" for the child sexual abuse scandal rocking the church but faced accusations by a former Vatican official that he had personally ignored allegations against senior clergy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday stressed the importance of media freedom amid a widening scandal over police who obstructed a TV crew at a far-right rally against her.