A mayor in Japan announced her maternity leave - and got the whole country talking
Although there is statutory maternity and paternity leave - which guarantees time off and partial income compensation - not everyone takes it.
Women can get six weeks before their due date and eight weeks after giving birth. Fathers get up to four weeks of flexible paid leave within eight weeks of a child's birth.
Both parents are also entitled to childcare leave until the child turns one, during which eligible employees receive 67% of their wages for the first 180 days and 50% thereafter. Since April 2
Ebola treatments trial begins in the Democratic Republic of Congo
A trial of potential treatments for the strain of virus behind the current deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has begun, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced.
The first patient has been enrolled in the DRC, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday.
More than 1,400 cases and 438 deaths have been confirmed in the DRC alone, according to the WHO.
There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus strain of the disease,
Former Olympian indicted for allegedly vandalising Washington Reflecting Pool
A former US Olympian has been charged with vandalising the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after authorities say he was seen reaching into the water after renovations to the pool.
President Donald Trump blamed vandals for the peeling of newly applied coating on the bottom of the attraction in Washington, DC.
David "Davey" Hearn, 67, a three-time Olympic canoeist, previously told the BBC he did not do anything wrong, but was detained by the pool's edge as he was finishing a long bike ride.
US Attorney
Killers of British couple in South Africa sentenced to life
Three people have been sentenced to life in prison by a South African court for the kidnapping, robbing and murder of a British couple in February 2018.
Rachel Saunders, 64, and her husband Rodney, 73, were kidnapped while in the Ngoye Forest, 150km (93 miles) north of the port city of Durban.
The British botanists had been collecting indigenous plants and seeds, before their bodies were found days later in a river.
Saffydeen Aslam del Vecchio, 46
Bomb blast at Damascus cafe kills six, Syrian state media say
A bomb blast at a crowded cafe in central Damascus has killed at least six people and injured 22 others, Syrian state media say.
The interior ministry said an explosive device was planted inside the cafe, which is located only 100m (330ft) from the Palace of Justice, a major government building in the capital's Hejaz district.
There was no immediate claim from any group for the attack.
It was the deadliest bombing in Damascus since a suicide attack on a church in June
Vatican excommunicates hundreds of thousands of splinter sect followers
The SSPX was founded in 1970 in opposition to the modernising reforms made by the Roman Catholic Church in the 1960s, at what was known as the Second Vatican Council. The Society is thought to number around 600,000 worshippers globally.
In response to the Vatican's decree, Rita Reid, an SSPX worshipper from Jersey in the Channel Islands, said: "It actually makes me feel quite strong.
"Before the consecrations yesterday I said to my husband,
Residents of Ethiopian town forced to kill hundreds of their own dogs after rabies deaths
Residents of an Ethiopian town have been forced to kill hundreds of their own dogs after three children died from rabies.
Powerful community groups in the central town of Hossana told residents they would be fined and arrested if their dogs were not killed, even if the animals had been vaccinated for rabies, residents told the BBC.
The community groups issued the orders after three children died from dog bites and 80 other people were hospitalised, local mayor Samuel Shigute said.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that after the order was imposed, some
Cheers and applause as security guard rescued from rubble
A man has been rescued alive after being trapped for eight days in the rubble of a building that collapsed after twin earthquakes in Venezuela.
Emergency workers managed to free Hernán Gil more than 100 hours after they had first located him under 140 tonnes of rubble.
Almost 2,300 people are confirmed to have died in the quakes which hit Venezuela on 24 June, and tens of thousands are still missing.
Hundreds of rescuers had been working against the clock to free Gil since he
Venezuela quake survivor pulled out alive after eight days
Hundreds of rescuers had been working against the clock to free Gil since he was found on Saturday.
Teams from Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and the United States helped to free him.
Parts of the access ducts rescuers built to reach him collapsed several times, highlighting the dangers the work poses to the rescuers as well as Gil.
Overnight, the search teams were finally able to establish visual contact with Gil.
In footage recorded by a small camera inserted into the rubble where Gil was
South Africa and Ghana in diplomatic row over alleged killing of migrant
A diplomatic row has erupted between South Africa and Ghana, over claims that a Ghanaian man was killed during anti-migrant protests, which South African officials deny.
Ghana's Foreign Affairs ministry said it had received with "profound shock" reports that Bashiru Isak, 40, had been shot dead on Tuesday in Cape Town's Khayelitsha's township. It said it had sent a formal protest note and filed a complaint with the police.
South Africa's justice minister responded by expressing concern "that Ghanaian