North Korea: New UN sanctions an act of war
North Korea has described the latest UN sanctions imposed on the country as an "act of war".
A foreign ministry statement said the measures were tantamount to a total economic blockade, the official KCNA news agency reported.
It added that strengthening North Korea's deterrence was the only way to frustrate the US.
The UN Security Council imposed the new sanctions on Friday in response to Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests.
The US-drafted resolution - unanimously backed by all 15 Security Council members - includes measures to slash North Korea's petrol imports by up to 90%.
North Korea is already subject to a raft of sanctions from the US, the UN and the EU.
How Sea Shepherd lost battle against Japan’s whale hunters in Antarctic
The Southern Ocean was a sanctuary – but now Japan’s boats have military hardware and conservationists can no longer track them
A fleet of Japanese ships is currently hunting minke whales in the Southern Ocean. It is a politically incendiary practice: the waters around Antarctica were long ago declared a whale sanctuary, but the designation has not halted Japan’s whalers, who are continuing a tradition of catching whales “for scientific research” in the region.
In the past, conservation groups such as Sea Shepherd have mounted campaigns of harassment and successfully blocked Japan’s ships from killing whales. But not this year. Despite previous successes, Sea Shepherd says it can no longer frustrate Japan’s whalers because their boats now carry hardware supplied from military sources, making the fleet highly elusive and almost impossible to track. As a result the whalers are – for the first time – being given a free run to kill minke in the Southern Ocean.
Armed guards posted at Christmas church services in majority Muslim countries
Donald Trump's decision to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem heightens concerns over Christmas attacks in some regionsGul Yousafzai, Augustinus Beo Da Costa
Christmas church services and other celebrations are being held this weekend under the gaze of armed guards and security cameras in many countries after Islamic State gunmen attacked a Methodist church in Pakistan as a Sunday service began.
Majority-Muslim countries in Asia and the Middle East were particularly nervous after US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement he intends to relocate the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a decision that has outraged many Muslims.
In Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, police said they had stepped up security around churches and tourist sites, mindful of near-simultaneous attacks on churches there at Christmas in 2000 that killed about 20 people.
10 Chinese men sentenced to death in front of thousands of spectators
Ten men were sentenced to death in a stadium filled with thousands of spectators in Lufeng, a town in southeastern China on December 16. People were quick to denounce all aspects of this sinister spectacle: from the humiliation suffered by the prisoners, to the harshness of the punishment to the ineffectiveness of this kind of policy in the fight against drug trafficking.
The 12 accused men were brought to the stadium in a police vehicle with sirens blaring. Then, they were led, one-by-one, to a small stage to receive their sentences. Videos show the men standing on stage as their sentences were read aloud.
In another video shared on Chinese social media, the person filming lingers on one of the men who has just been sentenced. Several police officers force him into a pick-up. On several occasions, the man looks back towards the stage, where several people can be heard crying and shouting. Nearby, the other prisoners are also being forced into pick-up trucks.Rohingya: 500,000 unlikely to receive schooling in 2018
A humanitarian organisation has warned of a "lost generation" with more than 500,000 Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh unlikely to receive schooling in 2018.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said unless interventions are "urgently funded", the humanitarian needs of children will only increase.
"Education in emergencies is a life-saving and life-changing intervention - helping children recover and cope with the continuing adversity they face," said Sarah Smith, the IRC's senior director for education, on Friday.2020 Tokyo Olympics to use facial recognition for athletes, reporters
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will use facial recognition to enable the entry into venues of athletes, officials and journalists covering the events in a smooth and safe way, organizing committee insiders say.
The facial recognition will not target spectators, who will be asked to show their tickets and have their luggage checked as in previous Olympic Games, said the insiders who declined to be named.
The organizing committee will use ID cards with a face photo for the athletes and those involved with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, estimated to number around 300,000 to 400,000.
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