North Korea 'halts missile and nuclear tests', says Kim Jong-un
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says he has suspended all missile tests and will shut down a nuclear test site.
"From 21 April, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles," the country's state news agency said.
Mr Kim said further tests were unnecessary because Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities had been "verified".
The surprise announcement comes as North Korea prepares for historic talks with South Korea and the US.
Mr Kim is due to meet his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in next week for the first inter-Korean summit in over a decade, and US President Donald Trump by June.
No joke: have China's censors gone too far with ban on humour app?
End of Neihan Duanzi, which united strangers around funny memes, has driven users underground where they openly question controls over society
There is a not-so-secret club in China. Members find each other in traffic by honking their horn – one long honk, followed by two short ones. Others identify each other by completing nonsensical couplets: “The son of heaven covers the tiger” – to which the correct response is “chicken stew with mushrooms”.
They call themselves duanyou after the app Neihan Duanzi, or “implied jokes”, where until recently some 30 million users could watch short videos, comedy sketches and follow dirty jokes and memes. Fans also organise offline meet-ups. At one gathering in Hunan province earlier this month, a group posed in a parking lot with little red flags and a sign describing themselves as the “duanyou coalition”.
US human rights report calls China, Russia, Iran and North Korea 'forces of instability'
The US global human rights report covers some 200 countries and territories. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea were top of the list in violating human rights.
The United States singled out China, Russia, Iran and North Korea for human rights abuses, labeling their governments as "forces of instability" in an annual human rights report released on Friday.
Commenting on the State Department global human rights report for 2017, acting Secretary of State John Sullivan also criticized the governments of Syria, Turkey, Myanmar and Venezuela for human rights abuses.
The State Department report is considered the most comprehensive account of the global human rights situation, covering some 200 countries and territories.
Crisis in Madagascar as price of vanilla nears that of gold
Vanilla is one of the world’s most popular seasonings and an important ingredient in products ranging from perfume to ice-cream; but it is no longer the staple it was around the world. Madagascar, the world's main producer, is facing a crisis.
The great chefs are now turning their backs on vanilla. Famed French chef Gilles Marchal, whose restaurant is in Montmartre, Paris, declared with regret that he now works much less with the black and bean-shaped pod.
The reason being that the price is now equivalent to that of gold per kilo, and is eight times the price it was just a few years ago. The price per kilo has jumped from $50 (€42) in 2012-2013 to $400 (€340) in 2016-17, according to a 2017 Cyclope report (the bible of commodities traded internationally).
China trash ban is a global recycling wake up call
Beijing has last year banned the imports of 24 varieties of solid waste, including types of plastic and unsorted paper. On Friday, it extended the ban to dozens more types of recyclable materials, including steel waste, used auto parts and old ships.
The ban has terrible consequences for some places. A town in Australia has been sending recyclable waste to a landfill because it can no longer afford to recycle it.
In the UK, hoards of low-grade plastic have been hanging around in storage, eventually heading for incineration.
Anger in Iran as 'morality police' scuffle video goes viral
Clip of young woman being beaten by officers during argument over headscarf seen as reflection of recurrent struggle.
by Saeed Jalili
The so-called morality police here are facing a wave of criticism after a video showing female officers violently scuffling with a young woman whose hijab was loose went viral and prompted public outrage.
Government officials and legislators in Iran have denounced the behaviour of the officers shown in the clip, which has been making the rounds on social media since early Thursday and has been viewed millions of times.
In the video, believed to be recorded on a mobile phone, a young woman and her friends can be seen arguing with some male and female police officers in a park, apparently over the woman's hijab (a headscarf worn by many Muslim women who feel it is part of their religion).
Rally in Tokyo calls for end to sex crimes against young women
Female college students joined senior government officials and police officers in marching along a bustling Tokyo street on Friday to call for an end to sex crimes targeting young women.
About 140 people, including members of a civic group helping victimized women, walked along Shibuya Center Street, a popular hangout for young people, as April is designated by the government as the month for campaigning against forced performance in adult videos and crimes linked to the so-called JK business. The business employs girls wearing high school uniforms.
Seiko Noda, the minister for women's empowerment, said during a rally that the eradication of women's sexual exploitation is a task for the whole of society. "I'm calling (for the cooperation) of the nation," she said.
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