President Emmanuel Macron's promise to enshrine the fight against climate change in the French constitution via a referendum appeared moribund on Tuesday after the upper house watered down the ambitious wording of a government-sponsored bill. 

France’s prime minister is proposing tougher and faster punishment for people who attack the police, as the government pays a national tribute to the latest police officer killed in the line of duty. 

Iran on Tuesday opened registration for candidates hoping to succeed President Hassan Rouhani, who will step down following the June 18 elections after serving the maximum two consecutive terms allowed. The five-day registration period at the inter...

Saint Peter's Square in Rome was packed with 20,000 faithful hoping to catch a glimpse of John Paul II on that fateful May afternoon 40 years ago. Suddenly as his open white Fiat "Popemobile" eased through the crowd, the pontiff collapsed -- shot a...

Japanese, US and French troops kicked off their first-ever joint military drill Tuesday in southwestern Japan, as concerns rise over China's growing assertiveness in the region. An Australian naval ship is also taking part in the week-long air, lan...

Spanish football legend Andres Iniesta celebrated his 37th birthday on Tuesday by signing a contract extension that will keep him at J-League side Vissel Kobe for two more years. The former Barcelona midfield maestro joined Kobe in 2018 in a deal w...

Fears were growing in London on Monday for the fate of an infant whale that was rescued from the banks of the River Thames, only to swim upstream instead of out to sea. The young minke whale, measuring three to four metres (10-13 feet), was first s...

Rising stars Arlo Parks and Olivia Rodrigo are among the artists performing to 4,000 guests at Tuesday's Brit Awards, where soul singer Celeste and hit machine Dua Lipa are both tipped to win big. The ceremony is the biggest night in British pop mu...

Claudine Kamwanya's twins are barely two but have the ethereal look of the very old. Wizened features and saucer-like eyes peer from their tiny emaciated faces. "How can I satisfy their hunger?" Kamwanya, who has two other children and is pregnan...

When US President Joe Biden pledged last month to cut his country's carbon emissions in half by 2030, Japan and Canada quickly followed suit. But many green groups and scientists say that this is still not good enough. Biden's initiative may have w...

Israel unleashed new air strikes on Gaza early Tuesday, hitting the high-rise home of a Hamas field commander and two border tunnels dug by militants, as Hamas and other armed groups fired dozens of rockets toward Israel. The latest escalation comes...

Renewable energy grew at its fastest rate in two decades, driven primarily by gains in China and wind power, the International Energy Agency said in a report Tuesday. Around 280 gigawatts (GW) of electricity production capacity was added last year,...

Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka admitted she was "not really sure" the coronavirus-hit Tokyo Olympics should go ahead as doubts grew about the Games just weeks before the opening ceremony. The four-time tennis Grand Slam winner joined fellow Japanes...

Australian basketball star Liz Cambage on Tuesday withdrew a threat to boycott the Tokyo Olympics over "whitewashed" team photoshoots, but vowed to remain outspoken on social justice issues. The 29-year-old, a two-time Olympian who is preparing for...

A Covid-19 variant spreading in India, which is facing an explosive outbreak, appears to be more contagious and has been classified as being "of concern", the World Health Organization said Monday.