Your wrap of the world stories that broke overnight.
1. In comments published by state media, Kim Jong Un has suggested North Korea has a hydrogen bomb, a type of weapon which can produce a more powerful blast than an atomic bomb. KCNA quotes him as saying: "[North Korea was] ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb." The claim has not been verified. Yonhap quoted Lee Chun Geun, of the Science and Technology Policy Institute in South Korea, as saying: "It's hard to regard North Korea as possessing an H-bomb. I think it seems to be developing it."
2. The Serial podcast has returned and its subject is Bowe Bergdahl, the US military 'deserter' and the longest-held US prisoner of war since Vietnam. Bergdahl, who spent five years as a Taliban captive after leaving his post in Afghanistan, is speaking publicly about the events for the first time. The first episode appeared today and focuses on his release and the fallout. Bergdahl says he likened himself to fictional spy Jason Bourne before his capture. "I had this fantastic idea that I was going to prove to the world that I was the real thing," he said, describing a plan to collect intelligence on the Taliban. Sarah Koenig's programme is dipping into an active political case - Bergdahl has been charged with desertion and misbehaviour. Serial last year drew millions of followers investigating a murder case.
3. The Vatican said in a document that Catholics should not try to convert Jews and should work with them to battle anti-Semitism. Reuters says it is the latest move on issues such as gay rights and re-marriage that the Vatican or Pope Francis have made to move away from entrenched traditions.
4. Turkish prosecutors are demanding 35-year jail terms for two alleged people-smugglers blamed for the death in September of Aylan Kurdi, the 3-year-old whose beached body symbolised the Syrian refugee crisis.
5. The hunt for terrorism suspects has shifted to Switzerland with Geneva on maximum alert. Guards at the European United Nations headquarters and other landmarks are carrying submachine guns and police are working with French counterparts to hunt four suspects, the Guardian reports. Local police received a tip off about an Isis (Islamic State) threat. Geneva daily Le Temps reported that a friend of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam was in a van with Belgian plates spotted by Geneva police on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the finance chief for Isis has been killed in air strikes, a US military spokesman said. Abu Salah and two other leaders were killed by the coalition in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks. The US also says Isis has looted up to US$1 billion from bank vaults in the two countries.
6. A hoard of 186 Viking coins, silver and jewellery, buried in about 870AD, has been discovered by James Mather, an amateur metal detectorist in Britain. The British Museum today announced the hoard, found in Watlington, Oxfordshire, and said it dates to when Anglo-Saxon kings began to fight back against Viking expansion across Britain.
7. A man has used a hoverboard to steal a crate of drinks at a London shop. Met police released CCTV footage of the man rolling into the Co-Op in Mitcham, grabbing the Lucozade, and then rolling out again.
8. AFP reports that a Russian store chain has apologised for selling chopping boards showing images of a family of monkeys - with US President Barack Obama's face on the smallest one. A spokeswoman for the Bakhetle supermarket chain said it had been unaware of the Obama image and had pulled the item. The US Embassy in Moscow had complained on Twitter after a picture of a board was posted on social media.
9. Michael Adebolajo, one of the two convicted killers of soldier Lee Rigby, is seeking compensation after losing two front teeth in a struggle with prison guards at Belmarsh jail two years ago. Media reports said the claim could be about 20,000 pounds. The Ministry of Justice said it would defend the case. Adebolajo is serving life for hacking Rigby to death in 2013.
10. Two cheetahs that were released at a South African military airbase have attacked an officer, causing minor injuries. The cheetahs, which are captive-bred, were freed last week with the aim of chasing small animals off the runway at Makhado near the border with Zimbabwe, AFP reports. The South African Air Force said male cheetahs have been used since the 1990s to control animals that stray on to runways. Warthogs, impala and antelopes can cause problems.
