At least 29 migrants have died from hypothermia while traveling from North Africa to Italy aboard a smuggler's life raft in heavy seas, amid a surge of migrants making the dangerous sea crossing despite the harsh winter conditions.
	The victims were among 106 people packed aboard an inflatable life raft who were trying to cross the Mediterranean in rough seas and freezing temperatures, Italian coast guard Cmdr. Filippo Marini said yesterday. The migrants had summoned help late Sunday via satellite telephone while still off Libya's coast.
	Marini said a merchant ship in the area responded until the coast guard arrived from the southernmost Italian island of Lampedusa and took on board both the survivors and the victims in seas with waves as high as 9 meters, roughly the height of a three-story building.
	Rescuers found seven corpses on board the raft, while the rest of the victims, in very poor physical condition, died during the rescue and while being transported to land, Marini ...

Italy: 29 migrants die of hypothermia crossing Mediterranean

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A man had been arguing with his ex-wife over taxes and child support before he killed her, two of his children and a fourth person before fatally shooting himself, an investigator said.
	The shooting happened Saturday as neighbors were outside enjoying unusually warm weather. Cedric G. Prather Jr., 33, walked inside the suburban Atlanta home, fatally shooting his ex-wife, 33-year-old Latoya A. Andrews, and her boyfriend, 33-year-old Joseph Terry Brown, police said.
	Prather also fatally shot two of his children, including one of whom a neighbor said begged him not to pull the trigger.
	Prather left no note explaining his motive, Douglas County sheriff's Capt. Bruce Ferguson said.
	"I can't tell you why he did it," Ferguson said. "All I can do is to say he snapped or he had enough is what we've concluded in our investigation."
	Prather killed his 7-year-old daughter, London, and 9-year-old son, Jerimiah. He shot and wounded two other children, who are in critical condition: Andrews' ...

Police: US man who killed 4, self fought with ex over taxes

The top recruiter for the Islamic State group in Afghanistan was killed by a drone strike today along with at least four other militants, local officials said, marking the first such attack on the extremist group in a volatile country where it has a small but growing following.
	The deputy governor of the southern Helmand province identified the recruiter as Abdul Rauf, saying he and four comrades were killed when a drone-fired missile struck their car. Afghanistan's intelligence service put the death toll at six and said Afghan forces fired the missile.
	The attack would appear to deal a blow to the Islamic State group's efforts to develop a local affiliate to challenge the long-dominant Taliban.
	Last month Afghan tribal leaders and Western intelligence analysts told the Associated Press that Abdul Rauf was the top Islamic State recruiter in Helmand.
	They said he was a former Taliban commander who had defected to the Islamic State group, and that he had started raising IS-style ...

Afghan officials: Drone strike kills Islamic State recruiter

McDonald's says that a key global sales metric fell 1.8 per cent in January, continuing to be weighed down by struggles in Japan and China.
	The world's largest hamburger chain said that sales at locations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific region open at least 13 months dropped 12.6 per cent.
	McDonald's Corp. Said that its performance in the segment was hurt by broad-based consumer perception issues in Japan as well as the ongoing fallout from a food-safety scandal in
	China and shift in the timing of the Chinese New Year.
	The figure edged up 0.4 percent in the U.S. And climbed 0.5 percent in Europe.
	McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, announced last month that Steve Easterbrook will become its new president and CEO, succeeding the retiring Don Thompson.

McDonald's key global sales figure falls 1.8 pct in January

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi who gained international fame for her role in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has accepted a marriage proposal delivered by drone.
	Zhang, who turned 36 today, was celebrating her upcoming birthday on Saturday when a white drone flew toward her at the party.
	Her boyfriend Wang Feng, a Chinese rock singer and composer, retrieved an engagement ring from inside the drone and then got down on one knee and popped the question to Zhang, who was standing by a three-tier, pastel-colored birthday cake and dressed in a one-shoulder red gown.
	"Witnessed by all, we have experienced happiness and sorrow. I hope Ziyi can always have the happiest time. If we both are old, I can still take care of you," said Wang, according to Chinese media reports.
	Zhang welled up and said "I do," before the newly engaged couple kissed and embraced as the night sky lit up with fireworks, according to Chinese media reports.
	Zhang's manager, Ji Lingling, confirmed the engagement news in 

Crouching Tiger' actress Zhang Ziyi accepts drone proposal

Attacks in Baghdad killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens today, just days after the government lifted a nighttime curfew that had been in place in the Iraqi capital for over a decade.
	In the first attack, a suicide bomber set off an explosive vest in a busy Baghdad intersection crowded with rush-hour commuters early, killing at least 18 people.
	The bombing in Adan Square, located in a predominantly Shiite part of the capital, appeared to be the latest in a near-daily string of attacks by Sunni Islamic extremists targeting the country's Shiite majority.
	A police officer who provided the death toll said the attack also wounded 42 people.
	Hours later, a bomb ripped through a commercial area in the capital's northeastern suburb of Husseiniyah, killing four civilians and wounding nine, another police officer said.
	Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
	The attacks .

Suicide attack, bombing kill at least 22 in Iraq's capital

Japanese industrial designer Kenji Ekuan, whose works ranged from a bullet train to the red- capped Kikkoman soy sauce dispenser as familiar as the classic Coca-Cola bottle, has died aged 85, his company said.
	A former monk, Ekuan crafted a tabletop bottle for Kikkoman Corp in 1961, winning international popularity both for the handy, flask-shaped dispenser and of course for the salty brown condiment flavouring many Asian cuisines.
	He has said he wanted to design a small bottle because of his childhood memory of his mother pouring soy sauce from a big half-gallon bottle to a tabletop dispenser.
	Other of his renowned works include the Yamaha VMAS motorcycle, the Komachi bullet train connecting Tokyo and northern Japan, the Narita Express airport liner, as well as audio equipment and company logos.
	His designs originate from the sights of Hiroshima's devastation after the US atomic bombing of the city 70 years ago.
	He heard the voices of street cars, bicycles and other objects ...

Designer of bullet train, Kikkoman soy sauce bottle has died

Afghan officials say a senior Islamic State commander has been killed in a drone strike in the southern Helmand province.
	The deputy provincial governor says the commander, identified as Abdul Rauf, was killed along with four other militants when a drone-fired missile struck their car.
	Afghanistan's intelligence service issued a statement saying the suspected Islamic State commander was among six people killed in the strike, which it said was carried out by Afghan forces.
	The Islamic State group, which controls a third of Syria and Iraq, has a small but growing presence in parts of Afghanistan, officials and tribal sources told The Associated Press last month. They said a man known as Mullah Abdul Rauf was actively recruiting fighters for the group.

Afghan officials: IS commander killed in drone strike

Police in the southern French city of Marseille say gunmen have fired automatic weapons at the edge of a housing project the same day as the prime minister planned to visit the city. No injuries were immediately reported.
	The police official, who could not be named because she was not authorized to speak publicly about today's shooting, said riot police have blocked off the Castellane housing project in northern Marseille. The project is rife with drug gangs and violence.
	Samia Ghali, a senator from the region, told iTele that she spoke with the police director and was told that the gunmen were targeting police and also firing at random.
	French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was due in Marseille, France's second-largest city, to talk about security and education.

Official: Marseille gunmen open fire same day as PM visits

Police have closed entrances to the airport in the German city of Hamburg amid chaos caused by a strike.
	Security personnel and other staff are staging strikes Monday at airports in Hamburg, Hannover and Stuttgart to press their demands for pay increases of up to 2.50 euros (USD 2.86) an hour.
	German news agency dpa quoted Hamburg airport spokeswoman Stefanie Harder describing the situation at the airport as "catastrophic."
	About a quarter of all flights there have been canceled. Officials in Hannover and Stuttgart warned of long queues for security at those airports too.

Chaos at Hamburg airport as security staff go on strike

An explosion and fire rocked a chemical plant outside a separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine today. Rebels said it was hit by government shelling.
	No casualties or damage were immediately reported from the blast, which was so powerful that it was heard as far as downtown Donetsk.
	An armed conflict between Russia-backed separatists and government forces has killed more than 5,300 people and displaced more than a million.
	The rebel mouthpiece Donetsk News Agency said today that the chemical plant to the west of the city was hit by a Ukrainian artillery shell but the fire was put out and it posed no danger.
	The rebel stronghold of Donetsk lies in the middle of the Ukrainian industrial heartland, and explosions like this have long been feared.
	Heavy shelling around Donetsk overnight killed two people in the city, according to rebel official Eduard Basurin. In neighboring areas under government control, at least seven people were killed yesterday, according to Donetsk region ...

Chemical plant in eastern Ukraine catches fire

Sentencing is scheduled for a former Venezuelan judge in a major cocaine trafficking case linked to the government of former President Hugo Chavez.
	A hearing is set today in Miami federal court for Benny Palmeri-Bacchi, who pleaded guilty in November to charges of extortion, conspiracy to obstruct justice and money laundering conspiracy. Each charge carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
	Prosecutors say Palmeri-Bacchi conspired with a former Venezuelan Interpol director to help traffickers move Colombian cocaine through Venezuela. The Interpol director and a former Venezuelan military intelligence chief were also indicted but remain in Venezuela.
	Among the traffickers Palmeri-Bacchi admitted protecting was Jaime Alberto "Beto" Marin-Zamora, a top member of Colombia's North Valley Cartel. Marin-Zamora was extradited to the U.S. In 2010 and is serving a 16-year prison sentence.

Ex-Venezuelan judge to be sentenced in US drug case

Two buses collided in central Vietnam today, killing 10 people and injuring 11 others, an official said.
	Eight passengers and both of the vehicles' drivers were killed in the accident, which occurred early Monday morning in Binh Thuan province's Ham Minh village, said Le Vinh Chi, the village's chief.
	The passengers who were killed were in the smaller 24-seat bus, which was bound for the southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City, Chi said.
	The cause of the accident was under investigation. Nearly 9,000 people were killed in traffic accidents last year in Vietnam despite tougher measures by the government to curb fatalities, including stricter oversight of vehicle overloading and improvement of infrastructure.

2 buses collide in central Vietnam, killing 10 people

A suicide bomber set off an explosive-laden vest in a busy Baghdad square crowded with rush-hour commuters early today, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, officials said.
	The attack took place in Adan Square, in a predominantly Shiite part of the capital, and appeared to be the latest in a near-daily string of attacks carried out by Sunni Islamic extremists targeting the country's Shiite majority.
	A police officer provided the death toll and said 45 other people were wounded. A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.
	The attack came two days after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi lifted a midnight to 5 a.M. Curfew in the capital that had been in place in various forms since 2004, when Iraq was engulfed in violence following the US-led invasion the year before.
	The government has struggled to impose security following the 2011 withdrawal of US forces. Last summer the ..

Suicide attack kills at least 15 in Iraq's capital

Martin Guptill made a century to support a mediocre batting effort as New Zealand stumbled to 157-7 Monday in a rain-reduced Cricket World Cup warm-up match against Zimbabwe.
     New Zealand's innings at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval was finally halted by rain after 30.1 overs and the match was later abandoned.
     After Guptill, who made his century from 85 balls, Ross Taylor with 11 was the only other New Zealand batsman to reach double figures.
     Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura (2-21) and Tinashe Payangara (2-28) led an outstanding Zimbabwe bowling effort.
     Of New Zealand's leading batsmen, Brendon McCullum made 8 before being caught and bowled by Payangara.

New Zealand held to 157-7 by Zimbabwe in washed out warmup

Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Maliga has declared himself fit to play against New Zealand in the opening match of the Cricket World Cup on Saturday.
     An ankle injury prevented Maliga from playing in Sri Lanka's seven-match one-day series against New Zealand in the lead-up to the world tournament but he told reporters Sunday he is ready to return.
     Malinga is likely to play in Sri Lanka's World Cup warm-up matches against South Africa in Christchurch on Monday and Zimbabwe on Wednesday.
     Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said Malinga was "back to full fitness. He's doing everything 100 percent, he'll be 100 percent for the games."
     Maliga was less emphatic, saying "I'm getting used to the pain because I really want to play in this World Cup. If there's pain, it doesn't matter. I want to play. ... I'm not sure of the pace and how that's going, but I've got good rhythm and a good run up."
     Malinga has been described as the best death bowler in world cricket and his ...

Malinga says he will be fit for World Cup opener

Yemen will resume national talks over its future, the UN envoy to the country has said, just days after Shiite rebels dissolved parliament and formally took power.
	Those talks will include Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, whose Houthi rebels stormed into the capital, Sanaa, and elsewhere in September before besieging the president and seizing total control of the Arab world's poorest country on Friday, envoy Jamal Benomar said.
	"I am happy to announce to you that all political parties have agreed to return to the table of the dialogue," Benomar told journalists at a Sanaa hotel. "The United Nations is committed to take Yemen out of this crisis."
	Benomar did not elaborate.
	The Houthis are under mounting domestic and international pressure. Late Saturday, the party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Houthis' main ally, added its voice to the growing opposition to the takeover and called for a return to the dialogue moderated by Benomar.
	UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the .

UN envoy says Yemen national talks will resume amid crisis

The parents of a 26-year-old American who has been held hostage for more than a year by Islamic State extremists are clinging to hope that their daughter is alive, having yet to receive information confirming otherwise.
	Family friend Todd Geiler yesterday said that the parents of Kayla Jean Mueller, of Prescott, Arizona, are asking the nation and the world to pray for her return.
	The Islamic State group said Friday that Mueller died in a Jordanian airstrike. The government of Jordan dismissed the statement as propaganda.
	US officials say they have not seen any evidence to corroborate the report.
	Mueller is the only known remaining US hostage held by the Islamic State group. She was taken hostage in August 2013 while leaving a hospital in Syria.

Islamic State US hostage's family still hopeful she is alive

A quiet, suburban neighbourhood outside Atlanta was left reeling after a man shot six people killing four of them, including his ex-wife and several children - before ending the rampage by fatally turning the gun on himself, police said.
	The shooting happened today around 3 pm in a subdivision about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Atlanta, Douglas County Sheriff's Lt. Glenn Daniel said.
	Horrified neighbors called the police emergency dispatcher and then tried to help the severely wounded victims as best they could before rescuers arrived.
	The shooter, whose name was not immediately released, appeared to have targeted his ex-wife and her household, shooting victims inside and outside the house, Daniel said. Several children were gunned down as they fled on a street, neighbours said.
	Authorities did not release the names of the victims because they were still trying today to contact the next of kin. Investigators believe the gunman killed himself at the end of the shooting ...

Police: 5 dead, including gunman, in Georgia shooting

Heavy fighting flared up in Libya's second-largest city, Benghazi, as forces loyal to the internationally recognised elected government try to retake areas controlled by extremist militias.
	An official from the special forces loyal to the elected government said the ongoing operation in areas across the city started early today.
	The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to journalists, said the air force is backing up the ground troops and the fighting continues.
	"I hope it's the last battle but I don't think it will end today. The evil forces still have power but it's a matter of days," he said.
	He said two men in his unit had been killed in the operation. A medical official at al-Jalaa hospital, one of only two working hospitals in Benghazi, said at least 10 people had been killed and 23 wounded since yesterday.
	The toll is likely to be significantly higher. Witnesses said corpses could be seen on the streets of central Benghazi ...

Heavy fighting renews in Libya's second-largest city

Jordan has launched 56 airstrikes against Islamic State group weapons depots, training centers and military barracks since militants released a video of them burning a Jordanian pilot to death, Jordan's air force chief said today.
	Jordanian officials have said they would retaliate harshly for the slaying of the pilot, Lt Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who was set ablaze while trapped in a cage.
	Since Thursday, the Jordanian air force has attacked and destroyed 56 Islamic State targets, the air force chief, Gen Mansour al-Jabour, told reporters.
	This includes 19 targets on the first day, 18 on the second and 19 on the third, he said.
	"We achieved what we were looking for: revenge for Muath," the general said. "And this is not the end. This is the beginning."
	In recent days, Jordanian officials have delivered tough warnings to Islamic State, saying the retaliation campaign would not stop until the group has been destroyed.
	The US and several Arab allies, including Jordan, have been striking .

AP

AP

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