Last month was the second warmest January on record globally, behind 2007, with temperatures 0.77 Celsius above the average for the 20th century, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
	Meteorologists calculated that the United States in January was 1.6 Celsius warmer than normal, making it the 24th warmest January since 1880, even though there were record snowfalls in parts of the US northeast.
	China had its warmest January since that nation started keeping records in 1961 with last month 1.9 degrees Celsius warmer than normal.
	Some areas in southern Siberia and far eastern Russia were more than 5 degrees Celsius warmer than normal for January.
	Parts of Norway were 5 to 7 degrees Celsius warmer than normal, while Eastern Austria was 3.8 degrees Celsius warmer than normal.
	Northern Australia, eastern Canada, and parts of the southern and eastern United States were cooler than normal, but not too much cooler.

January was second warmest on record globally

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A British teenager who rapidly became radicalized after converting to Islam was convicted today of planning to behead a soldier.
	A jury at London's Central Criminal Court found 19-year-old Brusthom Ziamani guilty of preparing an act of terrorism.
	The London-born teenager was raised by Jehovah's Witness parents but converted to Islam early in 2014 and became influenced by the radical group al-Muhajiroun.
	Prosecutors said Ziamani was inspired by the two Islamic extremists who murdered soldier Lee Rigby in a London street in 2013.
	They said he researched the location of army cadet bases in London and told his girlfriend he planned to "kill soldiers" before he was arrested in August with a 12-inch (30-centimeter) knife and a hammer in his backpack.
	Ziamani said he had only made the remarks to fit in with his extremist friends. His lawyer, Naeem Mian, said the teenager should not be convicted for having "undoubtedly repulsive views."
	A jury deliberated for a day and a half before ...

British teen convicted of terrorist plan to behead soldier

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today that he will invite faith leaders from all over the world to the United Nations in the coming months as a first step in a UN action plan to prevent violent extremism.
	The UN chief said in a speech at the White House summit on violent extremism in Washington that the UN plan will be presented to the 193-member General Assembly later this year.
	Ban said the aim of the meeting of faith leaders is "to promote mutual understanding and reconciliation."
	"We will utilise the platform of the United Nations to send a powerful message of tolerance, solidarity and reconciliation," he said.
	The secretary-general said he is convening the meeting of faith leaders with the General Assembly president and the UN Alliance of Civilisations, which was launched in 2005 to promote understanding across cultures and religions and help counter the forces that fuel polarisation and extremism.
	UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the faith leaders meeting will ...

UN chief to gather faith leaders in fight against extremism

Israel's prime minister says he knows the details of the deal being forged with Iran over its nuclear program and asked "what is there to hide" after the US said it was withholding some information on the talks.
	Benjamin Netanyahu spoke today, a day after the Obama administration said it is keeping some specifics from Israel because it fears the close US ally has leaked sensitive information to try to scuttle the talks and will continue to do so.
	Netanyahu said it is a "bad agreement," and asked: "If anyone thinks otherwise what is there to hide here?"
	His remarks come amid an uproar over his upcoming speech on Iran before the US Congress, which has angered the White House because it was arranged without the administration's knowledge.

Israel's Netanyahu: 'What is there to hide' in Iran deal

Iraqi officials say attacks targeting public places and security forces have killed 10 people around Baghdad.
	Police officials say a bomb went off tonight near a cafe just south of the capital, killing three people and wounding 11 others.
	Police say a bomb blast on a commercial street in Baghdad's western Ghazaliyah neighborhood killed two people and wounded eight others. Another bomb struck an army patrol in the western suburb of Abu Ghraib, killing two soldiers and one civilian.
	Two mortar shells struck a farmhouse south of Baghdad, killing a farmer and his wife.
	Medical officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Attacks kill 10 people in and around Baghdad

Germany quickly rejected a conciliatory bailout proposal by Greece today, dampening hopes that emergency talks might break a deadlock threatening the country with default and an exit from the euro.
	The Greek government asked to extend its rescue loan agreement by six months, in order to give all sides more time to hash out a more permanent deal. That goes much of the way toward satisfying an ultimatum from the 19-country eurozone.
	It held back, however, on offering to continue in full a series of budget cuts and reforms that the eurozone has required since 2010 in exchange for loans, but that Greece blames for devastating its economy.
	Germany was quick to say the plan was not good enough. German finance ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said it "is not a substantial proposal for a solution."
	He said it amounts to a request "for bridge financing without fulfilling the demands of the (bailout) program," namely the budget measures. It does not, he added, correspond to what the ...

Germany rejects Greek olive branch on eve of bailout talks

The UN nuclear agency reported deadlock today in its probe of allegations that Iran worked on atomic arms an assessment that further dims hopes that Tehran and six world powers could negotiate a full nuclear deal by their June deadline.
	The US and five other powers insist that Tehran must fully cooperate with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency's probe for any nuclear agreement that grants Iran total sanctions relief.
	"Iran has not provided any explanations" on the suspicions, according to a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press.
	The agency also said that Iran is honoring commitments to put temporary restraints on its atomic activities as it negotiates on the long-term nuclear deal.
	Iran agreed a year ago to work with the IAEA. But like previous probes, the investigation quickly stalled over Tehran's insistence that it never wanted or worked on such weapons and any evidence to the contrary is fabricated.
	Diplomats have told the AP that Washington is willing 

UN: Probe of alleged Iranian nuke weapons program stalled

The head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response today hailed Liberia's success in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus, but warned against complacency now that the number of cases has dropped.
	"What I've seen is that the level of awareness is very strong, but the biggest risk we have is a certain degree of fatigue," Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on his second visit to the West African nation.
	Ebola has killed more than 3,800 people in Liberia and nearly 9,200 across Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone since the first Ebola deaths in rural Guinea in December 2013. All three countries have weak health systems that were ill-prepared for such an epidemic.
	Significant gains have been made against Ebola, and now only a small number of cases remain in Liberia. Students returned to schools Monday after a six-month closure, though health officials warned that a single case could trigger a whole new cluster of infections.
	Ould Cheikh Ahmed said as one or two cases ...

UN Ebola chief hails successes, warns of fatigue

Ten people have been injured in southern Mexico following an attack on the offices of the Coca-Cola company in the state capital of Chilpancingo.
	The government of the southern state of Guerrero says protesters threw gasoline bombs, one of which burned a state police officer.
	Three other policemen were injured late yesterday, as were two reporters and four protesters.
	The protesters had attacked the Coke offices "to damage the facilities," and took two of the company's employees hostage.
	Coca-Cola delivery trucks have been hijacked and merchandise stolen by demonstrators protesting the September 26 disappearance of 43 teachers-college students.
	Local media reported the company had filed a complaint about the thefts resulting in the arrest of some protesters, but Coca-Cola's Mexico bottler did not immediately comment.

Coca-Cola offices in southern Mexico attacked, 10 injured

Wal-Mart Stores Inc is spending USD 1 billion to make changes to how it pays and trains hourly US workers as the embattled retailer tries to reshape the image that its stores offer dead-end jobs.
	As part of its biggest investment in worker training and pay ever, Wal-Mart told The Associated Press that within the next six months it will give raises to about 500,000 workers, or nearly 40 per cent of its 1.3 million employees.
	Wal-Mart follows other retailers that have boosted hourly pay recently, but because it's the largest private employer in the US, the impact of its move will be more closely watched.
	In addition to raises, Wal-Mart said it plans to make changes to how workers are scheduled and add training programs for sales staff so that employees can more easily map out their future at the company.
	"We are trying to create a meritocracy where you can start somewhere and end up just as high as your hard work and your capacity will enable you to go," CEO Doug McMillon told the ..

Wal-Mart to give nearly 40 pct of US workers pay raises

Rebels in Syria have captured 32 soldiers and pro-government gunmen near the northern city of Aleppo, where fighting is raging as the two sides try to grab new territory ahead of a possible truce, activists said today.
	The fighting comes as UN envoy Staffan de Mistura is trying to broker a truce for war-ravaged Aleppo, Syria's largest city.
	On Tuesday he said in New York that Syrian President Bashar Assad has expressed willingness to suspend bombing of Aleppo for six weeks.
	The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Aleppo-based activist Ahmad Hamed said the troops were seized in the village of Ratyan after it was retaken by the rebels on Wednesday. More than 170 fighters have been killed from both sides in the clashes, according to the Observatory.
	An amateur video posted online showed some 28 men in military uniforms sitting on the floor inside a room. The men, who included at least two wounded, were then asked to stand up and leave the room one by one under the ..

Rebels capture 32 Syrian troops and allied gunmen in Aleppo

There may be more fruit, vegetables and healthy options available than ever before, but the world is mostly hungry for junk food, according to a study of eating habits in nearly 190 countries.
	International researchers combed through more than 320 self-reported diet surveys from 1990 to 2010 and looked at how often people said they ate 17 common foods, drinks and nutrients including healthy choices like fruits, vegetables and fish and unhealthier alternatives like salt, processed meat and sugary drinks.
	Experts found that even though people are eating more healthy foods including whole grains and fish, there has been an even bigger jump in the amount of junk food eaten.
	The study was paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Britain's Medical Research Council and was published online today in the journal, Lancet Global Health, as part of an obesity series.
	Older adults ate better than younger adults and women ate healthier than men.
	Some of the best nutritional ...

Healthy? No thanks: Diets of people worldwide are worsening

Rebel fighters, many of them Cossacks, roamed the streets of Debaltseve today, a day after Ukrainian forces began withdrawing from the besieged town. The mood was celebratory, with fighters laughing, hugging each other and posing for photos.
	Associated Press journalists drove today around half of the town that has been a focal point for weeks of fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine, finding all its neighborhoods under the control of rebel fighters.
	Nikolai Kozitsyn, a Russian Cossack leader and prominent warlord in separatist eastern Ukraine, drove around in a Humvee-like vehicle that had been captured from Ukrainian troops. Other rebels were seen waving separatist flags.
	All around lay the wrecked remains of Ukrainian armored vehicles. A government encampment near a crossroads lay deserted and rebel fighters searched through its bunkers and abandoned tents, looking to salvage equipment and clothing left behind.
	Two fighters inspected a tank left behind by Ukrainians that they ...

Debaltseve under rebel control, Cossack fighters celebrate

Morocco has announced the arrest of three men suspected of seeking to join the extremist Islamic State group's Libyan branch.
	The statement today by the Interior Ministry said the men were arrested in the coastal city of Casablanca and Oujda, which is on the Algerian border. All three came from the town of Sidi Bennour.
	The statement described Libya as a "magnet" for extremists in the region. A number of extremist groups in Libya have recently pledged allegiance to the Syria-based Islamic State group and are battling local militias.
	More than a thousand Moroccans have left to join extremist groups, usually fighting in Syria.
	The Moroccan statement said those arrested had links with three others arrested on Dec. 31, also from Sidi Bennour and seeking to go fight in Libya.

Morocco arrests 3 seeking to join Islamic State in Libya

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon says Russia poses a "real and present danger" to European security and that tensions between Moscow and NATO are "warming up."
	Fallon said yesterday that NATO must be prepared for Russian President Vladimir Putin to threaten former Soviet bloc countries including Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia.
	The comments made to reporters during a trip to Sierra Leone were among the harshest made by senior British officials in recent months.
	The Ministry of Defence today said that Royal Air Force jets had escorted Russian bombers away from British airspace after they approached Wednesday. There has been an increase in Russian probing of British defenses recently.

UK defence chief says Russia poses threat to Baltics

A potentially deadly "superbug" resistant to antibiotics infected seven patients, including two who died, and nearly 200 others were exposed at a California hospital through contaminated medical instruments, UCLA has reported.
	A total of 179 patients at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center were exposed to CRE during endoscopic procedures between October and January, University of California, Los Angeles spokeswoman Dale Tate said yesterday.
	The bacteria may have been a "contributing factor" in the deaths of two patients, a university statement said.
	Similar outbreaks of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) have been reported around the nation. They are difficult to treat because some varieties are resistant to most known antibiotics.
	By one estimate, CRE can contribute to death in up to half of seriously infected patients, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
	The bacteria can cause infections of the bladder or lungs, leading to coughing, ...

UCLA says more than 100 may have encountered 'superbug'

Japanese stocks climbed to their highest level in nearly 15 years today as strong trade data and hopes for a compromise over Greece's debt boosted sentiment. Most regional markets were closed for lunar new year holidays.
	The Nikkei 225 stock index gained 0.5 per cent to 18,289.20, falling back from an intraday peak of 18,322.50 that was the benchmark's highest level since May 2000.
	The rally was driven by strong buying of exporters and shipping lines after the government reported the trade deficit plunged nearly 60 per cent on a 17 per cent year-on-year jump in exports in January.
	Shipping line Mitsui OSK rose 09 per cent; electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp gained 2.7 per cent and machinery maker Fanuc Corp rose 0.7 per cent.
	Growing expectations for a last-minute deal between Greece and its European creditors also helped boost shares.
	Greece's creditors have said the country has until tomorrow to request an extension to the 240 billion euro bailout that has kept ...

Japan shares at 14-yr high; Asia holiday for lunar new year

The goal set by the presidents of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea of reducing the number of new cases of the deadly disease to zero by April 15 can be reached but only if local communities stop unsafe burials and healing practices that involve human contact, the UN Ebola chief has said.
	Dr David Nabarro told the UN General Assembly yesterday that there are now 10 times fewer people diagnosed with Ebola each week than there were last September. But he said preventing the final 10 per cent of infections about 120 to 130 new cases per week is probably going to be hardest because it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
	The three presidents vowed to end Ebola in 60 days at a summit in Guinea on Sunday.
	Nearly 9,200 people have died since the first Ebola deaths in rural Guinea in December 2013. The disease, which can be contracted only from the body fluids of an infected victim, has ravaged Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
	Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who heads the UN Ebola mission 

UN Ebola chief says community action key to ending Ebola

With a racist song ringing in his ears, a black man trying to board a subway train in Paris stands back after twice being pushed away by a group of Chelsea soccer fans.
	It happened yesterday at Richelieu Drouout metro station, a short time before Chelsea played Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
	Today, the Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation into racially-motivated violence on public transport.
	In a video of the incident posted online by the Guardian newspaper, the man dressed in a long overcoat and with a bag hanging from his left shoulder tries to board the train and is pushed away.
	He then pushes back and says in French "Can I get on or what?" before again being shoved away.
	A black woman walked away from the chanters moments later.
	The carriage, mixed with Parisian commuters and English football fans making their way to the game, is packed. But there is enough standing space for one more person, as is evident when the man steps inside before being ...

Group of soccer fans prevent black man from boarding train

A physicist whose career was highlighted by research that helped capture moving images of the first moon walk has died. Ernest Sternglass was 91. Cornell University says Sternglass died Thursday of heart failure in Ithaca, New York.
	Sternglass corresponded early in his career with Albert Einstein, who encouraged him to pursue applied physics over theoretical research.
	Cornell says Sternglass' research helped lead to a sensitive television camera tube that captured low-light lunar action during the 1969 moon landing. He also performed pioneering work in digital X-rays.
	He worked on medical imaging for many years at the Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
	Sternglass fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Cornell, as well as his doctorate.

Physicist whose work helped world see 1st moon walk dies

A plaza in this Arizona town will light up with candles today in memory of a hometown woman taken hostage by Islamic State militants.
	Kayla Mueller's death was confirmed earlier this month by her family and the US government. The Islamic State group claimed she died in a Jordanian airstrike, but the Pentagon rejected that, saying it doesn't know how she was killed.
	Local churches and community groups organised the candlelight memorial to reflect on Mueller's life and work as an international aid worker.
	It will feature a song Mueller's mother used to sing to her as a child, "He Who Began a Good Work in You," and the choir from Tri-City Prep College High School, where Mueller graduated in 2007.
	Mueller's friends will be accepting canned food and money to support the needy.
	From Prescott, Mueller helped raise awareness of HIV and AIDS, and volunteered for the overnight shift at a women's shelter.
	She protested genocide in Darfur while she attended Northern Arizona University in ...

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