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North Korea says it has successfully carried out its fifth nuclear test, in continued defiance of UN resolutions.

A 5.3 magnitude tremor had earlier been detected near its nuclear test site.

South Korea believes it is the North’s biggest-ever test, raising fears it has made significant nuclear advances. South Korean President Park Geun-hye called it an act of «self-destruction» showing the «maniacal recklessness» of leader Kim Jong-un. The US warned of «serious consequences».

China’s foreign ministry said Beijing was resolutely opposed to the test and urged North Korea to avoid further action that would worsen the situation.

North Korea is banned by the UN from any tests of nuclear or missile technology and has been hit by five sets of UN sanctions since its first test in 2006. The North said the latest test had been of a «nuclear warhead that has been standardised to be able to be mounted on strategic ballistic rockets».

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Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested he and the US are ready to drive so-called Islamic State (IS) from its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.

Mr Erdogan said US President Barack Obama floated the idea of joint action against the militants when they met at the G20 summit in China. He said Turkey would have «no problem» with such action.

Last month Turkey launched an operation inside Syria, targeting both IS and Kurdish rebels.

The US State Department would not confirm the details of Mr Erdogan’s statement, but an official said it was important that «local forces» were involved in the fight to deliver «a lasting defeat» to IS. «The actions that Turkey is currently taking along its border with Syria, with US support, is having the important effect of isolating Raqqa,» the official said. «That is a critical step in our ultimate objective to liberate Raqqa from Isil (IS) control.»

Turkish-backed militia have driven IS from the border town of Jarablus, but Turkey has also been concerned with checking the advance of Kurdish forces whom it regards as terrorists. The offensive continues, and Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said Turkish forces might push deeper into Syria after securing a stretch of land along the border.

Mr Canikli also said 110 Islamic State and Kurdish militia fighters had been killed since the operation began. Russia, which is allied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said it was «deeply concerned» by the Turkish advance.

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The Pentagon says a Russian fighter plane flew within about 10ft (3m) of one of its reconnaissance aircraft operating over the Black Sea.

US officials described the intercept by the SU-27 jet on Wednesday as «dangerous and unprofessional». Russia’s defence ministry said the US plane had been approaching Russian territory and the SU-27 pilots had adhered to international rules. Russia is currently carrying out military exercises in the Black Sea.

Pentagon spokesman Capt Jeff Davis said the US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft had been conducting routine operations in international airspace when the Russian fighter made the unsafe manoeuvre. «These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions, and could result in a miscalculation or accident,» he said.

A US defence official quoted by AFP news agency said the Russian plane had flown within 30ft of the P-8A before closing to just 10ft. However, the Russian defence ministry said fighters intercepted the US plane because it was heading towards Russian territory with its transponder signal — which helps others identify it — switched off. «After the Russian fighters got close to the spy planes for visual confirmation and to determine their wing numbers, the American aircraft changed course sharply and flew away,» a statement said. «The Russia pilots acted in strict accordance with international rules for flights.»

Relations between Russia and the West have been strained since the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014.

In April, the US complained that Russian jets had confronted one of its reconnaissance planes over the Baltic Sea in an «unsafe and unprofessional manner». In that incident, Russia also said that the US plane had turned off its transponder signal.

Construction of a UK-funded wall near Calais’ so-called Jungle migrant camp will begin very soon, a minister says.

Dubbed the «Great Wall of Calais» by some media, the 4m (13ft) wall will run for 1km (0.6 miles) along both sides of the main road to Calais port. Home Office minister Robert Goodwill said security was being «stepped up» as migrants continue to try to board vehicles heading to Britain. But a lorry drivers’ group called the wall a «poor use» of public money.

Work is expected to start this month, with the wall due to be finished by the end of the year.

The government refused to confirm the cost of the wall, but reports suggest a £1.9m price tag — to be paid for out of £17m announced by David Cameron earlier this year. Speaking to the Home Affairs Committee of MPs on Tuesday, Mr Goodwill said: «The security that we are putting in at the port is being stepped up with better equipment. «We are going to start building this big new wall very soon. We’ve done the fence; now we are doing a wall.» But Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, called the plan a «poor use of taxpayers’ money». He said funding for a wall «would be much better spent on increasing security along the approach roads».

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Paris police have arrested a man on the terrorism watch list after his car was found near the Notre Dame Cathedral with seven gas cylinders inside.

The Peugeot 607 was found with its hazard warning lights flashing and without number plates, police said. One of the canisters, on the front passenger seat, was empty, and there were no detonating devices inside.

In November, 130 people died in Paris in a series of terror attacks carried out by so-called Islamic State (IS).

An associate of the car’s owner, also known to police, was also arrested, French news agency AFP reported. Some French media reports said several people had been arrested. Documents with writing in Arabic were also found in the car, police said. Officers speculated that the hazard lights may have been turned on to attract attention. «We think he may have been trying to carry out a test-run,» one police official told AFP.

The car was found on the Quai de Montebello, just metres from the cathedral, along a stretch of the Seine riverside. A state of emergency has been in place in France since the attacks in Paris. At least 84 people were killed when a lorry was driven into a crowd in the southern city of Nice in July. The driver, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, was believed to have been inspired by IS.

Notre Dame is among Paris’ top tourist destinations, attracting approximately 13 million visitors per year.