China's State Council of Information has released its 10th annual report on China's progress with human rights. While the report was quick to commend progress in environmental and social policy, many bloggers were quick to point out how much further China still needs to go.

Slovenia's long-term foreign currency rating has been cut by the Fitch ratings agency to triple-B and could dip further because of the nation's shaky banking sector. That means Slovenia could be the next eurozone nation to ask for a bailout. The Slovenian government is pressing ahead with an overhaul of the ailing banks in a bid to avoid that.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe keeps driving his neighbors wild. Less than a month after upsetting China and South Korea for reawakening painful memories of World War II, his latest tribute to the military has turned into an international blunder.

A horrifying surveillance tape shows a 14-month-old girl slowly roll in her stroller off a Philadelphia train platform and onto the tracks. An emergency call stopped any trains from entering the station. The toddler survived with a facial laceration, and "didn't hit the third rail, thank you, God," said a dispatcher.

German activists are going bonkers over the opening of a Barbie Dreamhouse in Berlin. Little girls can bake cupcakes, dance around a giant (wedding?) ring and try on stilettos all in a blazingly pink atmosphere in the tiny theme park. A mass of mostly women has taken to the streets to protest the Dreamhouse.

Nigeria has launched a major military offensive against Islamist strongholds in the northeast. The push follows mounting violence against government and other targets by Boko Haram militants who want an Islamic state. The president has declared a state of emergency across three northeastern border regions, where 2,000 people have died.

Dozens were killed and a million people evacuated from their homes as Cyclone Mahasen roared into the southern coast of Bangladesh. Mud and straw huts were flattened by heavy winds, and entire villages were inundated with floods. But Mahasen, which weakened to a tropical storm as it hit landfall, did far less damage than expected.

In another disaster for an Asian country making apparel cheaply for the West, at least two people were killed when the roof of a shoe factory in Cambodia collapsed on workers. The factory outside Phnom Penh produced shoes for the Japanese brand Asics.

In a move that could change sea-based warfare forever -- and remove the need for American drone bases overseas -- the US Navy has successfully launched an unmanned attack aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Landing the X-47B on a carrier will be the next step.

At least six people were killed and hundreds more made homeless after a swarm of tornadoes -- including a mile-wide monster -- ripped through communities in north Texas. Storm chasers managed to capture two of the deadly funnels on camera.

As melting ice opens up previously inaccessible areas of the Arctic, powers including China and Russia have started jostling for the region's resources. In Iceland, desire to cash in on the changes is mixed with fear of looming environmental disaster, Al Jazeera finds.

With no hope of return in sight, Palestinians marked the 65th anniversary of the Nakba -- "Catastrophe" -- when hundreds of thousands of them were forced from their homes in the 1948 war that established Israel. Reuters speaks to an 83-year-man who has lived in a West Bank refugee camp since he was 17.

The acting commissioner at the Internal Revenue Service has stepped down after he was ordered to resign following the controversy over the agency's targeting of conservative political groups, President Obama announced, calling the "misconduct inexcusable."

Belize residents are furious after a construction company bulldozed much of a Mayan temple to obtain crushed rock for a road building project. The temple in the Nohmul complex, one of the largest Mayan sites in the country, dates back 2,300 years. The government is investigating. "It's deplorable," said one archaeologist.

The European economy continues to struggle. The number of UK residents without jobs was up by 15,000 at 2.52 million between January and March, compared with the previous three months. Pay growth also sank to its lowest level in four years. Figures from France reveal that the nation is suffering its second recession in four years.

After simmering for days, Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano has erupted in steam and dust, covering nearby towns in the central state of Puebla with ash. No injuries have been reported. Government officials have upped the alert level and are preparing emergency shelters for what they expect could be a major explosion in coming days.

This extremely graphic video apparently showing a rebel cutting out and biting the heart of a dead Syrian soldier has shaken potential allies already concerned about backing the rebels.The fighter has been identified as a commander with the prominent group Farouq Brigades. The Syrian Opposition Coalition has condemned the "horrific" act.

Hong Kong's new giant rubber duckie tourist attraction has suddenly deflated, letting the air out of excitement over the floating 54-foot-tall art exhibit in Victoria Harbor by Dutch conceptual artist Florentijn Hofman. Officials said the duck would be back on its webbed feet in no time, but some fans are crying fowl.

Prince Harry is trying so hard to wipe out Americans' image of him cavorting nude in a Vegas hotel that he's being all concerned and friendly on an East Coast tour, from listening to Hurricane Sandy victims to taking in baseball tips to going on the stump in Manhattan with British Prime Minister David Cameron to promote the UK for tourism.

Human rights activists are reeling after the mayor of Osaka said some 20,000 sex slaves from Korea and China were part of a "necessary system" to calm stressed-out Japanese soldiers in World War II. A Chinese official said the nation is "shocked" by the statement supporting victimization that "challenges the conscience of mankind."