A Chinese human rights activist died on Friday after falling critically ill in detention after police denied her medical treatment for months, her brother said.
Syria's civil war has forced more than nine million people from their homes, creating the world's largest displaced population, the UN said on Friday, describing the continuing conflict as "unconscionable".
Nigeria, under fire internationally for banning gay marriage and alleged abuses while tackling Islamist insurgents, received its first visit from the United Nations human rights commissioner.
Pope Francis celebrates one year in office on Thursday swaddled in a blanket of approval world leaders would die for and most of his predecessors could only dream of.
Farmers in the Philippines will soon reap a harvest after using emergency seed supplies to grow crops following a devastating typhoon that struck during planting season.
Europe is headed for scorching summers with temperatures well over 40 degrees Celsius (104 deg Fahrenheit) and droughts in the south within the next 40 years, climate scientists said Friday.
A year after being chosen Pope Francis is very popular with American Catholics though his handling of the pedophile priests' scandal left many underwhelmed, a new study found.
The sightseer of 4014 may have to pay a virtual visit to the Tower of London or Statue of Liberty, said a climate study Wednesday that warned of dramatic ocean encroachment on heritage sites.
The United States suspended military cooperation with Russia due to its military intervention in Ukraine, as Secretary of State John Kerry prepared to visit Kiev Tuesday amid a deepening crisis.
North Korea fired short-range Scud missiles off its east coast for the second time in a week, drawing condemnation from Washington and Seoul as the allies held joint military exercises.
A Sri Lankan family has stumbled upon the remains of at least nine bodies buried in the garden of their home, police said Saturday, the latest mass grave to be discovered in the country's former war zone.
The UN Security Council on Friday held a brief "private meeting" followed by consultations to discuss concerns about rapidly changing events in Ukraine.
US and British scientific academies said there was a clear consensus that climate change is real and will have serious disruptive effects on the planet.
US Secretary of State John Kerry warned royalty, corporate kings and environmental warriors that governments won't save the seas without "significant impetus" from every sphere of society.
North Korea on Friday "categorically" rejected a UN report on its human rights record, accusing it of being a "sheer fabrication" invented by the United States and its allies.
Moscow accused Washington of prolonging the Syrian conflict by supporting the opposition ahead of a UN Security Council vote Saturday that threatens to further deepen big power divisions.
Brainwashed from birth, under constant surveillance, cowed by the all-embracing state and facing the spectre of disappearing forever in its vast network of camps if they step out of line.