The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday harshly criticized North Korea for the "systematic abduction" of foreigners, after a U.N. investigation found the country had snatched up to 200,000 foreign nationals.

But the 47-member rights body's resolution was slammed by North Korean ambassador Ri Hung Sik, who claimed it was a "political plot filled with frauds and distortions".

Philippine President Benigno Aquino called on lawmakers Friday to pass a bill endorsing a pact aimed at ending a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion, warning them they would otherwise start counting "body bags".

Aquino had wanted the bill, which would give autonomy to the majority Catholic nation's Muslim minority in the south, passed this month.

The U.S. military dropped 60,000 leaflets on the Islamic State group's de facto capital in Syria showing a grisly depiction of extremist recruits being fed into a meat grinder, the Pentagon said Thursday.

An F-15E fighter jet last week unloaded a canister containing the graphic leaflets on the northern city of Raqa, the latest in an effort by a U.S.-led coalition to undermine the IS extremists' own extensive propaganda and recruiting efforts.

Syrian President Bashar Assad is open to dialogue with the United States, the leader said in an interview with U.S. television network CBS Thursday.

Assad said such dialogue would need to be based on "mutual respect," but that so far there has been no contact from the Americans.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Thursday he was "cautiously optimistic" about improved relations with Pakistan, which he considers integral to peace efforts with the Taliban.

Ghani has made rapprochement with Pakistan a key policy since being elected as Afghanistan's second president since the U.S.-led toppling of the Pakistan-backed Taliban regime in 2001.

U.S. President Barack Obama talked about crime and policing while heaping praise on the creator of the cult television series "The Wire" Thursday.

Sitting side-by-side with former police reporter David Simon, Obama declared that the Baltimore-based series that focused on the drug trade was among his favorites.

A major blaze tore through a commercial and residential block in New York's East Village on Thursday following a building collapse and possible explosion, the fire department said.

At least two people in a critical condition were rushed to a hospital and more than 250 fire fighters were battling to control the raging flames at 125 Second Avenue, a spokesman told Agence France-Presse.

The top U.S. diplomat for Africa will travel to Nigeria to observe presidential elections, the State Department said Thursday, an unusual move for Washington that is closely monitoring the country's Islamist crisis.

Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield will lead an "official diplomatic observation mission" of the presidential and national assembly elections that take place Saturday, according to a statement.

The White House on Thursday voiced concern about "Iranian activities" in Yemen, where Huthi Shiite rebels have taken control of several cities and are assaulting the port of Aden.

Alistair Baskey, a National Security Council spokesman, said such actions, as well as "reports of Iranian flow of arms into Yemen," were "contributing to destabilizing the situation and contributing to the threat posed to the legitimate government."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani voiced hope Thursday for progress at crunch talks over Iran's nuclear drive, the Kremlin said. 

"Hope was expressed for success at the new round of talks in Lausanne," the Kremlin said in a statement after Rouhani called Putin to discuss the negotiations in Switzerland.