Queen Rania responds to Charlie Hebdo's Alan Kurdi cartoon

The French satirical magazine's cartoon shows a man chasing a woman and says Alan would have grown up into a "groper in Germany".

It was widely accused of racism.

But Queen Rania posted a cartoon by Jordanian cartoonist Osama Hajjaj on social media showing Alan as a doctor.

''Alan could've been a doctor, a teacher, a loving parent," she wrote.

The Charlie Hebdo cartoon followed the revelation that gangs of migrants carried out organised sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year's Eve.

Alan's relatives in Canada said they were disgusted at Charlie Hebdo's cartoon.

However, some people have interpreted it as mocking the media for how quickly it switches from positive to negative stereotypes.

The magazine has put Alan Kurdi in a number of cartoons over recent months, including one that showed the boy's body washed up on the beach next to a McDonald's advertisement with the caption: "So close". 

The photograph of two-year-old Alan lying face down on a beach in Turkey caused an international outcry over the human cost of the migrant crisis.

Obama Proposes New Unemployment Insurance Plan

(WASHINGTON) — President Barack Obama on Saturday proposed changes to the U.S. unemployment insurance system that he says would offer more security to the jobless and encourage experienced workers to rejoin the workforce, even if it means taking a pay cut.

“We shouldn’t just be talking about unemployment; we should be talking about re-employment,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

The president’s proposal would require states to provide wage insurance to workers who lose their jobs and find new employment at lower pay. The insurance would replace half of the lost income, up to $10,000 over two years. It would be available to workers who were with their prior employer for three years and make less than $50,000 in their new job.

The proposal also would require states to make unemployment insurance available to many part-time and low-income workers, and it would mandate that states provide at least 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. Nine states fall short of the benchmark, the White House said.

The proposal comes as U.S. businesses, outside the manufacturing sector, are experiencing strong demand and adding employees. A recent government employment report showed that employers added a net 292,000 jobs in December as the unemployment rate held at 5 percent.

Obama has begun claiming some credit for this progress, hoping to push back against Republican presidential candidates he says are talking down the economy. But the White House also has acknowledged the many jobs added since the recovery are lower paying, and many Americans continue to see no wage growth.

Obama said Saturday he believed his proposal would provide some stability for workers willing to switch careers and begin working their way up the ladder in a new field.

Experienced workers on average see a pay cut of 10 percent when they lose their jobs. Workers with more than 20 years on the job see an average 25 percent pay cut, according to the White House.

Obama’s proposal will be included in the budget proposal he’s set to send to Congress next month.

China Eyes Taiwan's Pro-Independence Party Win

Tsai Ing-wen, of the Democratic Progressive Party, has secured roughly 60% of the vote.

During her acceptance speech, she said the result was an indication of how ingrained democracy has become on the island.

However, Tsai stressed she would not be provocative in relations with China - a nod to her previous pledge to maintain the status quo of de-facto independence for the island's population of 23 million people.

It brings the eight-year rule of the China-friendly Nationalist Party to an end. Its candidate, Eric Chu, has admitted defeat after attracting just 30% of support at the polls.

Eric Chu conceded defeat and said his party had 'failed' voters

Making a long bow in front of teary-eyed supporters, Mr Chu announced his resignation as party chairman, adding: "We failed. The Nationalist Party lost the elections. We didn't work hard enough."

The change in government is likely to complicate relationships between Taipei and Beijing even further, as the mainland has long claimed the island as its own territory.

China has even threatened to use force if Taiwan declared independence, and hundreds of missiles remain pointed in the direction of the island.

For now, it is expected that Beijing will adopt a "wait and see" approach to see how Tsai uses her new-found power - but if she is seen to deviate too far from China's plans for unification, an already struggling Taiwan could come under renewed economic pressure.

As it stands, Taiwan's export-reliant economy has already endured a massive slowdown and slipped into a recession last autumn. China is its biggest customer.

Voters claimed many locals cannot make enough money to afford a home, with one DPP supporter saying: "Taiwan's future is not in China. It's in the world."

Relations between the neighbours had warmed in recent times under the Nationalists, but departing Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou was constitutionally barred from another term after serving the maximum of eight years in office.

The shirt that comes with a 30-year guarantee

There is a growing trend within the fashion world for sustainable, ethical clothing. 

But British entrepreneur Tom Cridland has taken "slow fashion" to a new extreme - offering 30-year guarantees on his T-shirts and sweatshirts.

Four US prisoners freed in Iran

Iran announces that Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and three Iranian Americans have been freed from prison.

Turkey detains academics who denounced military operations against Kurds

Turkish police on Friday detained 15 academics who were among more than 1,000 scholars who signed a declaration denouncing military operations against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The move deepens concerns about freedom of expression under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule.

Prosecutors on Thursday launched an investigation into the academics on possible charges of insulting the state and engaging in "terrorist propaganda" on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. The move came after Erdogan severely criticized the signatories, including linguist Noam Chomsky, and called on the judiciary to act against the "treachery."

Erdogan said the scholars' declaration was biased against the state, used the same language used by "terrorists" and did not speak out against the rebel group's violence. On Thursday, Kurdish rebels detonated a car bomb at a police station in southeastern Turkey, then attacked it with rocket launchers and firearms. Six people were killed, including three children, authorities said.

Erdogan on Friday prayed at Istanbul's Blue Mosque and walked to the nearby site of a suicide bomb attack Tuesday, which has been blamed on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and killed 10 German tourists. He also renewed his attacks against the scholars.

"Just because they have titles such as professor, doctor in front of their names does not make them enlightened. These are dark people," Erdogan said. "They are villain[s] and vile because those who side with the villain are villain[s] themselves.

In the declaration, more than 1,000 academics from Turkey and abroad said they refused to be "a party to the crime" and called on the government to halt what they said was a "massacre."

The declaration was referring to military operations against Kurdish militants in neighborhoods and towns in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast where the government has imposed extended curfews. Those militants, who are linked to the PKK, have mounted barricades, dug trenches and set up explosives to keep authorities away. The operations have resulted in more than 100 civilian casualties and displaced thousands, human rights groups say.

The academics also called for the resumption of peace efforts with the rebels.

The 15 detained are lecturers at Kocaeli University in northwestern Turkey, Anadolu reported. The agency said a total of 21 academics at the university face arrest after prosecutors in Kocaeli province launched an investigation. Several other universities instigated probes into faculty members who also signed the declaration, according to Anadolu, in moves that could lead to dismissals. The Dogan news agency reported Thursday that Duzce University in northwestern Turkey fired a sociology lecturer for signing the declaration.

The United States expressed concern over the proceedings against the scholars, saying all citizens should be free to express controversial or unpopular views.

"Criticism of government does not equal treason," U.S. Ambassador John Bass said through the embassy's Twitter account. "Turkish democracy is strong enough and resilient enough to embrace free expression of uncomfortable ideas."

The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its western allies, has waged a more than 30-year separatist battle in southeastern Turkey. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.

Murder Charge Over Child Migrant Deaths

Ak Oskart - who also faces charges of smuggling refugees and causing a shipwreck - is being held in police custody on the Greek island of Samos.

He was arrested after Sky News cameras captured distressing footage of the ongoing human toll of migrants trying to cross into Europe.

Three children died after one boat capsized while crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands on Thursday night.

Rescuers dragged one toddler on board and desperately tried to massage his heart - but the child, aged two, died along with a girl aged four, and another two-year-old boy.

Oskart, who is believed to be Turkish and around 20-years-old, allegedly skippered the boat.

He is due to appear before prosecutors in Samos later this afternoon.

Oskart told Sky News he had been forced to pilot the boat.

Syrian survivors said he was driving the boat erratically before the tragedy, and admitted he had no experience.