Agence France-Presse

Denmark is putting the final touches on its preparations for the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December, mounting a huge police deployment for the biggest event ever organised in the country.

The spread of HIV in Washington has reached severe epidemic proportions with African-Americans bearing the brunt of the rates of infection.

Robots have carved a space for themselves in everyday life in Japan: some work as cooks or even receptionists... An exhibition in Tokyo, showcases the latest technologies. Duration:1:58

The outgoing head of the UN's atomic watchdog has expressed "disappointment" over Iran and said efforts to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear drive had reached a dead end.

Japan's latest robots don't save the world -- they cook snacks, play with your kids, model clothes, and search for disaster victims. The International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo is showing off the latest whirring and buzzing inventions from at home and ...

The United Nations says climate talks in Copenhagen next month must deliver a credible result. UN Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner spoke to AFP about the challenges and hopes for the upcoming summit.

Barack Obama spared Wednesday the life of Courage the turkey, who would have ended up on the First Family's dinner table for Thanksgiving if the US president had had his way.

The Dead Sea may soon shrink to a lifeless pond as Middle East political strife blocks vital measures needed to halt the decay of the world's lowest and saltiest body of water. Environmentalists will plead for help at the Copenhagen summit on climate ...

Prosecutors demanded a 40-year jail term Wednesday for Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch, as he expressed "excruciating remorse" for the deaths of 15,000 Cambodians at his brutal torture centre. .

Undergoing a sex-change procedure has just got harder in Thailand. The aim is to stop people making a hastily-made, irreversible decision. But many see the new law as unnecessary. .

A green roof on top of a primary school in Sheffield has become the first in Britain to be made a protected haven for wildlife. The roof teaches children not only about nature -- but also about the benefits to the wider environment. .

Hundreds of thousands of animals have been slaughtered in Nepal. The two-day Gadhimai festival honours the Hindu goddess of power and takes place once every five years. .

The world's biggest annual religious pilgrimage has begun with 2.5 million Muslims massing at the holy city of Mecca for the hajj.

A floating hospital for the poor is sailing the Amazon, taking much-needed health services to populations who are still very isolated from the rest of the vast country.

President Barack Obama vowed Tuesday to "finish the job" in Afghanistan and promised to unveil a decision soon on sending tens of thousands more US troops to battle Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

AIDS has now killed 25 million people around the world but the number of new infections is slowing sharply, the UN said in its annual report on the crisis. Almost 60 million people have been infected by the HIV virus since it was first recorded but ...

In spite of the South African government’s promises to tackle crime, police in rural areas remain overstretched and under-resourced. In the Eastern Cape, one of the country’s poorest provinces, violence against women is particularly widespread, ...

The presence of green algae on the coast of Brittany is more than an eyesore -- gasses given off by the algae are harmful, and have already claimed the life of a horse. The problem is thought to be caused by nitrates in the sea, the byproducts of ...

The Islamic hajj pilgrimage this year peaks from November 25 to 29, coinciding with the height of a global alert over swine flu. Of the 6,000 Muslim faithful in Jordan preparing their journey, few have been vaccinated against the strain.