Thousands of Turkish women on Thursday thronged central Istanbul for a demonstration on International Women's Day to demand greater rights and denounce violence.

Novelist Charlotte Bronte died in 1855, poet Sylvia Plath in 1963 and photographer Diane Arbus in 1971.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday marked International Women's Day with a pledge to "name and shame" companies that pay women less than men for the same work.

Dressed in a baggy jumpsuit and a grey paisley veil, 24-year-old Dalia al-Moqadam is an understated pioneer in Yemen -- a rare female mechanic in a conservative Middle Eastern country at war.

India's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a woman who converted to Islam should be allowed to live with her Muslim husband in a case that sparked debate about inter-religious relationships and women's rights.

Spain marked International Women's Day Thursday with an unprecedented strike in defense of their rights that saw hundreds of trains canceled and countless protests scheduled throughout the day.

Poland's president on Thursday apologized to Jews chased out of the country 50 years ago during the communist regime's anti-Semitic campaign, as Warsaw faces criticism over its new Holocaust law.

U.S. actress Meghan Markle has been baptized by the leader of the Church of England ahead of her marriage to Prince Harry in May, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday. 

A pair of Indonesian Islamic universities are pushing female students to ditch niqab face veils -- with one threatening expulsion for non-compliance -- as concerns grow over rising fundamentalism in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation.

Working themselves into a trance, bare-chested men in eastern China lean into incandescent fountains of sparks to cleanse themselves of evil spirits and ensure a fortuitous new year.