Pregnant women who were exposed to high levels of air pollution were twice as likely to have a child with autism as women who lived in low pollution areas.
Men and their preference for younger female mates may have led to the phenomenon of menopause in women, according to a controversial study by Canadian researchers published this week.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse an angry crowd in a town on the outskirts of Paris where clashes erupted on Wednesday night after they questioned a woman wearing a full facial veil, which is banned in France.
Iran's presidential election is offering a flicker of hope to activists hoping to revive women's rights after they deteriorated during the eight years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency.
The Obama administration said Monday it would comply with a judge's order to allow women and girls of any age to purchase emergency contraception, ending its efforts to restrict the drug's availability.
El Salvador's Catholic Church accused activists Sunday of using the case of a woman who delivered a baby with cerebral malformation to "open the door" to legalized abortion.
More than 1,500 Romanian women in colourful skirts and high heels cycled through the country's main cities to promote urban biking as a "stylish and fun" way of transport.
Germany's "baby hatches", where women can safely leave their unwanted newborn, have come under fire as the government pushes a new law to guarantee a child the right to eventually know its mother's identity.
A Japanese politician who drew fire for calling "comfort women" a wartime necessity has been forced to apologise for suggesting US soldiers in Okinawa visit brothels to vent their violent frustrations.
A large majority of Japanese people disagree with a high-profile politician who said women forced to provide sex during World War II were a military necessity.
The maverick mayor of Osaka on Thursday offered to meet former "comfort women" to apologise for their suffering after causing an international storm when he said they served a "necessary" role in wartime.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's tough exterior cracked Wednesday as she choked back tears while introducing a bill into parliament on disability reforms.
Health activists, doctors and movie fans hailed glamorous Hollywood megastar Angelina Jolie on Tuesday for her decision to reveal that she had had her breasts removed to reduce her cancer risk.
Turkish Airlines has reversed a ban on air hostesses wearing brightly-coloured lipstick following accusations it was trying to Islamise the company under government influence.
The opening this month of the first life-sized Barbie Dreamhouse in Europe may be the fantasy of many a little girl, but Berlin feminists are mobilising against what they call a sexist icon.