A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle penetrated a camp in northern Mali, killing at least 60 people and wounding 115 soldiers and former fighters who are trying to stabilise the region. The attack marked a significant setback for peace efforts.
	Suspicion quickly fell on the Islamic extremist groups operating in the area which oppose the 2015 peace agreement that brought the parties together. A Mauritanian news agency that frequently receives communications from extremist groups, Alakhbar, said a group linked to al-Qaida's North Africa branch, al-Mourabitoun, had claimed responsibility.
	The morning blast on yesterday hit the Joint Operational Mechanism base in the city of Gao, home to Malian soldiers and hundreds of former fighters who signed the peace agreement with the government. Witnesses said the car breached the camp as hundreds of fighters were gathering for a meeting.
	The office of Mali's president late yesterday put the provisional death toll at 60, with 115 ...

Death toll in Mali suicide blast rises to at least 60

PTI Automatic

The widow of the Orlando nightclub gunman has pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding and abetting her husband's support of the Islamic State group and hindering the investigation of the attack that killed 49 people and injured 53 others.
	Noor Salman, 30, entered her plea in an Oakland, California, courtroom on yesterday, two days after she was taken into custody at the home she shared with her mother in suburban San Francisco.
	Her arrest came after she was interviewed numerous times by FBI agents investigating the June 12 attack in Florida.
	Federal prosecutor Roger Handberg said in court Tuesday that Salman knew about the plan by her husband Omar Mateen to attack the gay nightclub and then lied to investigators after it was over. Mateen was killed at the scene by authorities.
	Handberg declined further comment on the indictment outside court, and no further details of the charges have been disclosed.
	Salman will return to court on February 1 to argue for her release pending trial 

Orlando gunman's widow pleads not guilty to aiding husband

Gorillas, monkeys, lemurs and other primates are in danger of becoming extinct, and scientists say it's our fault that our closest living relatives are in trouble, a new international study warns.
	About 60 percent of the more than 500 primate species are "now threatened with extinction" and 3 out of 4 primate species have shrinking populations, according to a study published in today's journal Science Advances .
	While scientists had tracked dwindling numbers of individuals and groups of primates in forests around the world, this is the first big-picture look. The result was "a bigger wake-up call" than previously thought, said researcher Paul Garber of the University of Illinois.
	"The outlook is not very good," said Garber, who recently returned from the jungles of Brazil studying marmosets. The decline has been blamed on human activities including hunting, mining and oil drilling. Logging, ranching and farming have also destroyed precious habitat in Africa, Asia and South ...

World's primates facing extinction crisis, new report says

Guatemalan prosecutors say they've detained the brother and are questioning the son of President Jimmy Morales in a case of alleged corruption.
	A UN anti-corruption commission says they are suspected of submitting about USD 20,000 worth of false receipts in an alleged tax fraud.
	The president's brother, Samuel, told reporters at the courthouse today that he is cooperating with the investigation and said he is innocent.
	Attorney General Thelma Aldana says she also sought a warrant for the president's son Jose Manuel Morales Marroquin, but he appeared voluntarily for questioning.
	Guatemalan prosecutors backed by the UN commission have brought a string of anti-corruption cases, most notably against former President Otto Perez Molina.

Prosecutors question Guatemalan president's brother, son

The US economy grew a bit faster at the end of last year, spurred by healthier sales for manufacturers and steady hiring that is slowly pushing up wages.
	The Federal Reserve says its survey of economic conditions around the country found that growth was modest or moderate in 10 of its 12 districts. That is an improvement from seven in the previous report. Growth was slight in the Cleveland district and largely unchanged in New York.
	Fed officials will study the survey, known as the "Beige Book," in preparation for their next meeting Jan. 31- Feb. 1. They will consider whether to raise short-term interest rates at that meeting, though few economists expect them to move so soon after their increase last month, which was the first in a year.

Federal Reserve sees growth pickup at end of last year

A 15-year-old student opened fire with a gun at a private school in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey today, hitting a teacher and two other students in the head before killing himself. Another student suffered lesser injuries in the shootings, which were captured on a chilling video posted to social media.
	Nuevo Leon state Gov. Jaime Rodriguez said the shooter died at a hospital and that the other three victims with head wounds were "fighting between life and death." The boy wounded in the arm was out of danger.
	A video, apparently from the school's surveillance camera, shows a female teacher handing out materials and students seated at their desks when a boy opens fire with a pistol from a sitting position, hitting a boy sitting in front of him, who immediately slumps to the ground.
	He next shoots the teacher, who was looking in another direction, and she falls to the ground. The boy rises from his seat and walks around, firing shots at his classmates, before turning the gun 

Mexico youth shoots teacher, classmates, then kills himself

Police say a five-year-old Chicago girl is in serious condition after she shot herself in the abdomen with a handgun that she found in her mother's purse.
	Chicago police said today that the girl's mother, 22-year-old Larrinita Starks, has been charged with child endangerment.
	The shooting happened last night in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the city's West Side. Police say the girl got the gun from her mother's purse in a bedroom.
	Starks is due in court March 16. She does not have a listed phone number and could not immediately be reached for comment.
	Police say the injured girl is in serious condition. Her grandmother, Oretha Miller, says the child is stable and recovering.

Chicago mom charged after 5-year-old daughter shoots herself

Donald Trump's choice to head the US Environmental Protection Agency told senators today that climate change is real, breaking with both the president-elect and his own past statements.
	Pressed by Democrats during his Senate confirmation hearing, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said he disagreed with Trump's past statements that global warming is a hoax created by the Chinese to harm the economic competitiveness of the United States.
"I do not believe climate change is a hoax," said Pruitt, a Republican.
	Though his academic degrees are in political science and law, Pruitt has previously cast doubt on the extensive body of scientific evidence showing that the planet is warming and man-made carbon emissions are to blame. In a 2016 opinion article, Pruitt suggested that the debate over global warming "is far from settled" and claimed "scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind."
	Pruitt's comments ...

In break with Trump, EPA pick says climate change isn't hoax

A military commander with West Africa's regional bloc says its forces will "take action" at midnight unless a solution is found to Gambia's political crisis before then.
	Speaking on Senegalese radio station RFM, Seydou Maiga Mboro declared that "all the troops are already in place" awaiting the deadline for President Yahya Jammeh to step down. Witnesses in Senegal have reported seeing troops making their way toward Gambia's borders.
	Jammeh has refused to cede power after 22 years at the helm despite losing the December 1 election to Adama Barrow. The president-elect has vowed to go ahead with his inauguration anyway tomorrow, and ECOWAS, the regional bloc, has vowed to use military force if necessary to remove him.
	Jammeh seized power of Gambia in a 1994 coup.

West African bloc vows Gambia intervention at midnight

A 15-year-old student opened fire with a gun at a private school in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey today, seriously wounding himself, a teacher and three other students, state officials said.
	Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Aldo Fasci said four of the injured, including the shooter himself, had bullet wounds to the head and were in extremely serious condition.
	Fasci said a school video showed the male middle-school student first shot the 24-year-old teacher, then shot a 14-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy in the head, and a 15-year-old classmate in the arm. He then pointed the gun at classmates before shooting himself in the head.
	"This had never happened" in the state before, Fasci said. He said the boy had been suffering from depression, but that the motive was under investigation.
	The spokesman attributed it to "the situation that is happening everywhere. The children have access to the internet. This has happened in other countries." The website of the American .

Gunfire erupts at Mexican private school, 5 wounded

Four strong earthquakes on today shook the same region of central Italy that suffered deadly temblors last year, sending quake-rattled residents into panic and further isolating towns that have been buried under more than a meter (3 feet) of snow for days.
	Premier Paolo Gentiloni said it appeared no one was killed, but that it was a "difficult day" for Italy. The first tremor, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3, hit Montereale at about 10:25 a.M. (0925 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey. A second quake with a magnitude of 5.7 hit the same area about 50 minutes later, and 10 minutes later a third was measured at magnitude 5.3. Several hours later another 5.1-magnitude quake shook the same area.
	Throughout the day, seismologists registered more than 100 aftershocks.
	Several towns and hamlets in the quake zone had already sounded the alarm in recent days that they were without electricity and were isolated from highways due to the unusually heavy snowfall that has blanketed .

4 quakes shake Italy, isolating towns blanketed under snow

Turkey's parliament today embarked on a second round of deliberations on a contentious package of constitutional amendments that would give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office executive powers.
	Legislators are set to vote separately on 18 proposed amendments before holding a final vote on the whole package by the end of the week.
	Debate on the draft amendments that would turn Turkey's parliamentary system into a presidential system has been tense and last week resulted in brawls between ruling and opposition party lawmakers.
	The ruling party, founded by Erdogan, argues that a strong presidency is needed to strengthen Turkey as it confronts multiple terrorism threats. Critics say the changes will concentrate too many powers in the hands of Erdogan, who is accused of authoritarian tendencies, and erode checks and balances on his rule.
	Erdogan has long pushed for a presidential system saying a strong head of state will thrust Turkey toward its goal of becoming a world power by ...

Turkish parliament resumes voting on Erdogan's powers

JPMorgan Chase is settling charges that independent brokers working for the bank discriminated against minorities seeking home mortgages.
	A federal suit filed today in Manhattan accused JPMorgan Chase & Co. Of charging black and Hispanic borrowers higher interest rates and fees for mortgages from 2006 to at least 2009. The lawsuit alleges that discrimination cost at least 53,000 minorities borrowers tens of millions in higher interest payments and fees.
	The New York bank denied wrongdoing, but says it's agreed to settle the claims for USD 55 million.

JPMorgan settles mortgage discrimination lawsuit

A South Korean court is considering whether to approve the arrest of Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, one of the country's wealthiest business leaders, on charges of bribery and other offenses.
	Lee, the only son of Samsung's chairman, did not speak to a crowd of reporters when he arrived and left the Seoul Central District Court today. After a four-hour hearing he was taken to a detention center near Seoul to await the court's decision.
	If Lee's arrest is approved, prosecutors can detain him for up to 21 days before formally charging him, court spokesman Shin Jae-hwan said. He said the judge will announce a decision on the arrest warrant early tomorrow morning, though the exact timing was unclear.
	Samsung is South Korea's biggest family-controlled conglomerate, or chaebol, with businesses encompassing consumer electronics, shipbuilding and life insurance. Samsung Electronics, the group's crown jewel, is the world's biggest maker of smartphones and computer memory ...

Seoul court considers arrest of Samsung de facto head

Turkish police rounded up 27 people linked to the suspected gunman in Istanbul's New Year's Eve nightclub attack and the justice minister said today that the capture of the suspect will lead to a better understanding of the Islamic State group's operations in Turkey.
	The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Abdulkadir Masharipov, was caught late Monday in a police operation in Istanbul. Authorities identified him as an Uzbek national who trained in Afghanistan and staged the attack for the IS. IS claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 39 people. Turkish authorities say the suspect has confessed.
	Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told the state-run Anadolu Agency that the arrest would reveal "important information" on IS' modes of operation and increase the government's ability to thwart attacks. He said there was no doubt the attack was the work of IS.
	Anadolu said Turkish anti-terrorism squads had raided seven addresses in simultaneous operations in the northwestern city of ..

Turkey rounds up 27 with links to suspected nightclub gunman

Global warming is going to steal away some of those postcard-perfect weather days in the future, according to a first-of-its-kind projection of nice weather.
	On average, Earth will have 10 fewer days of mild and mostly dry weather by the end of the century, the researchers estimate. Some places will get more days perfect for picnics or outdoor weddings, while other places will lose a lot. Rio de Janeiro, Miami and much of Africa are big losers, while Europe and Seattle will gain nicer weather.
	"It's the type of weather where you can go outside and do something fun," said study lead author Karin van der Wiel, a meteorology researcher at Princeton University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . "It's not too cold. It's not too hot. It's not too humid."
	For the past three decades, the world has averaged 74 mild days a year. But by 2035 that will shrink to 70 and then 64 by the last two decades of the century, according to the study, published Wednesday in the ...

Study finds global warming could steal postcard-perfect days

The first direct freight train service from China to London has arrived.
	The 18-day trip saw dozens of containers packed mainly with clothes transported from the city of Yiwu in eastern China to Barking in east London, via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and western Europe.
	The train entered Britain from France through the Channel Tunnel, completing a 7,456-mile (11,999 km) journey. The service is faster than sending goods by sea. Weekly trains will initially be run to assess demand.
	China Railway already has freight services to European destinations including Madrid and Hamburg. They are part of efforts to revive the fabled Silk Road trading routes to the West.

New Silk Road? 1st China-London freight train arrives

The speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament said today Moscow is willing to open discussions about rescinding the ban on Americans adopting Russian children.
	The ban was imposed in 2012, prompted by a U.S. Law sanctioning some Russians identified as human-rights violators.
	Russia was a popular country for prospective adoptive parents who could not find suitable children in the United States. More than 1,000 adoption attempts were estimated to be in progress when the ban took effect.
	Russians had long bristled at the implication the country could not care properly for its children, and complained about children who died after being adopted.
	"We are ready for dialogue," upper house speaker Valentina Matvienko said today, saying the ban could end if the U.S. guarantees the welfare of Russian adoptees.
	A day earlier, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia must pay damages and legal costs to Americans who were barred from adopting Russian children. Russia has three 

Official: Russia could end ban on US adoptions

Gambia headed toward a showdown between longtime President Yahya Jammeh and the opposition president-elect who insists he will take office, as troops from neighboring Senegal were seen moving toward the borders today to step up pressure for the incumbent to leave.
	As the crisis deepened, hundreds of beach-going tourists were evacuated from Gambia, a popular winter destination in West Africa for visitors especially from Britain, the former colonial power. The streets of the capital, Banjul, were largely empty by late afternoon today. There was very little military presence seen, said residents.
	The tiny West African nation facing a potential regional military intervention is completely surrounded by Senegal and the ocean. Late today, witnesses reported seeing Senegalese soldiers in both the Kaolack region of Senegal to the north of Gambia, and in the southern Senegalese region of Casamance.
	Witnesses spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals as ...

Senegalese troops move toward Gambia borders amid crisis

Rachael Heyhoe Flint, who became a figurehead for women's cricket after captaining England to World Cup glory, has died. She was 77.
	Heyhoe Flint's death was announced today by the Marylebone Cricket Club.
	During an international career lasting almost 20 years, Heyhoe Flint represented England 45 times in tests and one-day internationals. She won the 1973 World Cup
	"She was the first global superstar in the women's game and her overall contribution to MCC, cricket and sport in general was immense," MCC President Matthew Fleming said.
	Heyhoe Flint was one of the MCC's first female members and was the first woman elected on to the club's full committee in 2004. The MCC are the guardians of the laws of cricket.
	"She wasn't just a pioneer for women's cricket," British sports minister Tracey Crouch wrote on Twitter. "She was a trailblazer for women in sport.

Heyhoe Flint, 1st global star of women's cricket, dies at 77

Canada is getting its own reality show politician. "Shark Tank" cast member Kevin O'Leary announced today he is running for the leadership of Canada's opposition Conservative Party.
	O'Leary is a businessman and television commentator who has drawn comparisons to US President-elect Donald Trump. He said the party needs a candidate who can beat Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and bring jobs back to Canada.
	"Shark Tank" is an American reality show in which entrepreneurs try to convince a cast of tycoons to invest in their ideas. Mark Burnett, who created "The Apprentice" with Trump, also produced "Shark Tank."
	O'Leary is best known in Canada as a former bombastic judge on CBC's "Dragons' Den," a Canadian equivalent of "Shark Tank."
	O'Leary said he can handle Trump better than Trudeau can. "We need a leader that can actually deal with Trump and we need a leader of the Conservative Party that can beat Trudeau," O'Leary told CTV television.
	O'Leary declined to hold a news ...

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