WASHINGTON (AFP) -- More than 300 top women in Hollywood -- from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence to Emma Thompson and Cate Blanchett -- unveiled an initiative Monday to tackle pervasive sexual harassment in workplaces, calling special attention to their “sisters” in less than glamorous blue-collar jobs.The initiative, dubbed Time’s Up, caps a year in which the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal touched off a deluge of allegations that brought down powerful men in entertainment, politi

Kim Jong-un on Monday gave the first indication that North Korea could participate in next month's Winter Olympics in the South, despite tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme."I sincerely hope the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be staged successfully," said Kim, the North Korean leader, in his new year's address to the nation."We are willing to take necessary measures including to dispatch our delegation."For this purpose, authorities of the North and South would be able to meet

SYDNEY -- Australia's largest city Sydney will welcome 2018 with a rainbow-themed fireworks spectacular marking new same-sex marriage rights Sunday, with heavy security for festivities that kick off a wave of celebrations around the world.The first major New Year's bash will see more than 1.5 million spectators pack the city's foreshore as tonnes of pyrotechnics light up the night sky. In this photo taken Friday, fireworks sit at the ready for Sydney's end-of-year fireworks show. (AFP via Yonhap

The crew of a Hong Kong-registered ship have been detained for questioning in South Korea since their tanker was impounded in November for transferring oil to a North Korean vessel and breaching UN sanctions, customs officials said Saturday.The Lighthouse Winmore, which was chartered by a Taiwanese company, was impounded by South Korean customs authorities at the port of Yeosu on November 24 following an inspection."Since then, inspectors have been coming on board and questioning the crew", a Ko

More than 40 people were killed and dozens wounded in a suicide blast targeting Shiites in Kabul Thursday, officials said, with chaotic scenes at the city's hospitals as anguished families sought loved ones.The Sunni Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for the gruesome assault on the pro-Iranian Tabayan cultural centre, the third deadly attack it has claimed in the Afghan capital this month. Up to 100 people had gathered at the centre to mark the 38th anniversary of the Soviet invasi

JERUSALEM -- Israel is to name a planned new railway station close to Judaism's hallowed Western Wall in annexed east Jerusalem after US President Donald Trump, the transport minister has said. Trump has been lauded by the Jewish state -- and sparked international condemnation -- by breaking with years of US policy to recognise the holy city as Israel's capital.In this file photo of Tuesday, June 9, 2009, Palestinian men work at a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maaleh Ad

BEIJING -- China has issued new rules increasing oversight of overseas acquisitions by its companies, as it seeks to reduce investment in assets ranging from golf courses and movie studios to football clubs.The rules are the latest attempt to stem the tidal wave of capital that has flown out of the country in recent years, a trend which regulators fear could threaten financial stability at home.(123rf)The country in August announced rules to restrict investment overseas in some previously encour

MOSCOW -- Russia has lost contact with Angola's first national telecoms satellite launched from the Baikonur space pad, a source in the space industry told AFP on Wednesday. The incident involving the Russian-made Angosat-1 is a new embarrassment for the country's once proud space industry after Russia in November lost contact with a weather satellite after it was launched from a new cosmodrome in the country's far east.This handout picture provided by Russia's Roscosmos space agency and taken e

It's the question every good little girl and boy asks on Christmas Eve: When is Santa coming? As it has done every year since 1955, a Canadian and American defense agency is tracking the jolly old man's path around the globe in his reindeer-powered sleigh.A 3-D, interactive website at www.noradsanta.org shows Santa on his delivery route, allowing users to click and learn more about the various cities along the way.The Santa tracker presented by the North American Aerospace Defense Command dates

The UN Security Council will vote Friday on a US-drafted resolution ramping up sanctions on North Korea by restricting oil supplies vital for Pyongyang‘s missile and nuclear programs.The United States presented the draft resolution Thursday following negotiations with China, Pyongyang’s ally, on new punitive measures in response to North Korea‘s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on November 28. (United Nations)It would be the third raft of sanctions imposed on North Korea this

A North Korean soldier defected to the South on Thursday across the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, Seoul's defence ministry said.The "low-ranking" soldier made his way across the central part of the land border, a ministry spokesman said.It came a month after a rare and dramatic defection by a soldier at Panmunjom, the truce village where opposing forces confront each other across a concrete dividing line.This file photo taken on November 27, 2017 shows North Korean soldiers star

PARIS (AFP) - With his suicide, Kim Jong-Hyun, lead singer of South Korean boyband SHINee, joins an ill-fated group of famous rock stars who passed away at 27 -- the so-called "27 Club".He was found on Monday in a hotel room in the South Korean capital Seoul in what police said was suicide.  (Yonhap)Rolling Stones founding member Brian Jones, guitarist Jimi Hendrix, singer Janis Joplin, The Doors singer Jim Morrison, Nirvana singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, and British soul singer Amy Winehouse

The chairman of Swiss banking giant UBS said in an interview published Sunday that he does not consider the soaring cryptocurrency bitcoin as money and called for regulators to intervene. AFP-YonhapBitcoin prices have surged this year  from less than $1,000 in January to $17,000 last week, after trading in the digital currency began on the Chicago Board Options Exchange — the first time it has appeared on a traditional platform.But in an interview with the NZZ am Sonntag weekly, UBS boss Axel We

At least two people have been killed following a strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake on Indonesia's main island of Java, an official said Saturday.(Yonhap)The quake struck at a depth of 91 kilometres (56 miles) just outside the coastal town of Cipatujah on Java island late Friday, the US Geological Survey said.The tremor was felt across the island including in the capital Jakarta, some 300 kilometres (190 miles) from the epicentre.A 62-year-old man in Ciamis and an 80-year-old woman in Pekalongan ci

North Korea must "earn its way back" to the negotiating table, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday, backing away from an earlier offer of unconditional talks to end the stand-off with Pyongyang.Tillerson told the UN Security Council that a "sustained cessation of North Korea's threatening behavior must occur before talks can begin," apparently after coming under pressure from President Donald Trump's White House to toughen his stance.U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (front) addr