A peck on the cheek? Yes, please! In France, everyone does it. It's a nationwide ritual, a salutation that connects friends and family, spanning all ages and physiques and unembarrassed by gender.

Much hangs on whether the Japanese Government sides with its future-focused Foreign Ministry or its inwards-looking pro-whaling fisheries agency, writes John Armstrong.

President Francois Hollande, reeling from calamitous results in local elections, fired his Prime Minister yesterday to try to give a fresh start to his failing presidency.

Australia's war on bikies has crossed the Nullarbor with the establishment of another federal strike team in Western Australia.

Not too much was expected when Australia went to the International Court of Justice seeking to end Japanese whale hunting in the Southern Ocean.

The nightclub dancer at the centre of the sex scandal that contributed to the downfall of Silvio Berlusconi is living a high-spending lifestyle.

The National Guards rolled in under the cover of darkness, firing tear gas and rubber bullets as they advanced with bulldozers and armoured vehicles.

French head of state Francois Hollande is under pressure to carry out a radical Cabinet reshuffle after the ruling Socialists were clobbered in the first electoral test.

New Zealand and Australia yesterday simultaneously lifted all travel sanctions on key members of the Fiji military and its regime.

The Sultan of Brunei, one of the world's wealthiest rulers, will this week oversee his country's transition to a system of Islamic law with punishments that include flogging.

Thousands of anti-govt protesters marched through Bangkok yesterday, reviving their whistle-blowing, traffic-blocking campaign to force the resignation of the PM.

After a rush of emergency meetings to frame its strategy, the West is now scrutinising the impact of a first volley of sanctions against Russia but doubts persist whether Europe will swiftly follow the United States in hiking up the pressure.

Russian forces have completed their takeover of the Ukrainian navy's assets in Crimea with the storming of the minesweeper Cherkessy.

Australia's federal Attorney-General George Brandis is serious when he says on his watch, "people do have a right to be bigots".

China has embarked on a process of financial liberalisation and the sheer numbers involved mean it will have profound implications across the region, writes Brian Fallow.

After three decades and amid a mix of anger, derision and praise, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has resurrected the titles of knight and dame.

On the edge of a Kabul neighbourhood an election poster of presidential candidate Abdul Rasoul Sayyaf is damaged, partly scraped away by someone trying to remove it.

David Cameron played a "nukes on the loose" war game with Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and other world leaders to see how they would cope with a terrorist nuclear attack, it has emerged.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott insists he's not bringing knights and dames back in the Australian honours system to lock Australia into the monarchy.

He was caught with his trousers down and stripped of credibility, but Craig Thomson remained defiant yesterday after being jailed for stealing union money to pay for sex with prostitutes.