Tokyo stocks plunged more than three percent Friday afternoon, a day after suffering the worst one-day drop since Japan's March 2011 quake-tsunami disaster. The Nikkei index, which on Thursday tumbled 7.3 percent, was down 3.37 percent, or 488.64 points, at 13,995.34 at 0445 GMT. hih-mis/si/jms

Below is information on the current background air quality in some of North America's major cities based on data taken from http://www.airnow.gov recorded at 12:30 pm GMT on May 23. 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sees a looming free-trade deal with Switzerland as a touchstone for Beijing's growing ties with foreign nations, he told a Swiss newspaper on Thursday ahead of a landmark visit to Europe. Li was scheduled to arrive in Switzerland late on Thursday for trade-focused talks in what is the first stop on his debut visit to Europe since taking over in a once-in-a-decade power transfer in Beijing.

Switzerland, currently in the process of restituting assets to several former autocratic countries, is working on a new law aimed at simplifying the process of freezing and unblocking such funds, the government said Wednesday. The law under construction would regulate "the administrative confiscation and restitution of dictator assets," the government said in a statement. Bern presented its pre-law proposal to parliament for consultations on Wednesday, stressing it was the first such proposal of its kind in the world.