KIM JONG-UN RAMPS UP NUCLEAR THREAT

Raising his belligerent rhetoric again, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the national military to prepare its nuclear warheads "to be fired at any moment," Pyongyang's state-run news agency KCNA reported today. The comments were made as Kim supervised military exercises involving newly developed rocket launchers that were said to have South Korea within range, Reuters reports. Kim's statement came one day after the United Nations Security Council approved tougher sanctions against North Korea, aimed to undermine its ability to further develop its nuclear and ballistic missile program. KCNA referred to the unanimously adopted resolution as "unprecedented and gangster-like."

CHINA BLAMES U.S. FOR MILITARIZING SOUTH CHINA SEA

A spokesperson for China's National People's Congress accused the U.S. of raising tensions by its "militarization" of the South China Sea, China.org.cn reports. The comment comes in response to a similar accusation earlier this week by the U.S., which said China is militarizing a disputed area in the Spratly Islands. China warned the U.S. not to interfere in the dispute, stating there is no need to act as international judge, but the U.S. has already dispatched several ships and an aircraft carrier to the region, The Washington Post reports. The Chinese spokesman stated that most of the advanced aircraft and warships passing through the South China Sea belong to the United States. "Isn't it militarization?," she asked. "If the United States is really concerned about regional stability and peace, it should support negotiations between China and neighboring countries."

CHINESE TV CENSORS

Meanwhile, in China, passions are also running high, following the release of new rules and regulations for those producing television programs. Among the no-nos: homosexuals, one-night stands or anything "weird."

ON THIS DAY

Sherlock Holmes, Antonio Vivaldi and Chicago — they are all in today's 57-second shot of history!

EU TO ECONOMIC IMMIGRANTS: STAY AWAY

European Council President Donald Tusk has warned economic migrants not to come to Europe. "Do not come to Europe," he said. "Do not believe the smugglers. Do not risk your lives and your money. It is all for nothing." Tusk made the appeal yesterday to "all potential illegal economic migrants," and also asked Turkey — already hosting more than two million Syrian refugees — to help Europe by keeping them away, Le Mondereports.

GOP V. TRUMP

Donald Trump, frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, fended off attacks yesterday, both from his opponents at the latest televised debate — and from the 2012 party nominee. Mitt Romney condemned Trump as a "phony" and a "fraud" at a speech earlier on Thursday. Read and see more from CNN.

MY GRAND-PERE'S WORLD

OSCAR PISTORIUS "LAST DOOR"

Our Friday edition of a global newspaper front page is from South Africa.

WORLDCRUNCH-TO-GO

At 79, Frank Serpico, the former New York police whistleblower immortalized in 1973 by Al Pacino is still a rebel at heart, as cranky and idealistic as ever. Interviewing him in the unlikely cafeteria of an organic supermarket on the outskirts of Hudson, two hours north of Manhattan, Albertine Bourget writes for Le Temps: "He doesn't regret any of his whistleblowing, even if the NYPD ‘never forgave' him. ‘I can say I contributed to civil rights,' he says. ‘If you toss a stone in a pond, you get ripples. With a good stone, you get good ripples.'

From the depths of his countryside, where he bought a wooded plot of land when he still wore a uniform, he closely follows the world's travails. The controversies linked to police brutality, especially against young black people, enrage him. "... They're not trained and they're given a license to kill! If you tremble in the face of a mouse, how are you meant to do your police work correctly?'"

Read the full article: Serpico, Iconic Cop Whistleblower On Snowden And Ferguson

297,600 POUNDS

Photo: Nick Martin via Twitter

France's historical theme park Puy du Fou acquired Joan of Arc's ring for 297,600 pounds (about $420,400), French daily Le Figaro reports. The ring had been in English possession since Bishop Cauchon took it from her during her trial in 1431.