Officials at a hospital say an American health care worker who was exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone has not developed the virus.
	The patient arrived in Omaha on January 4 for treatment in the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medical Center. The hospital said in a news release Monday that the patient will remain in the unit throughout the virus's 21-day incubation period, which began before he or she arrived at the hospital.
	A discharge date was not released.
	The hospital says the patient doesn't want to be publicly identified but authorized the condition update.
	Nebraska Medical Center treated three people with Ebola last autumn. One died and two recovered. One of the survivors, Dr. Rick Sacra, said Monday that he's returning to Liberia, where he was infected.

US hospital: Health care worker hasn't developed Ebola

PTI Automatic

The guest list hasn't changed, but President Barack Obama faces a different type of crowd when he meets with congressional leaders today.
	Obama's meeting with House and Senate leaders is his first since the new, fully Republican-run Congress was seated last week.
	Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, long Obama's stronghold in the Senate, was demoted by the November elections to minority leader.
	GOP leader Mitch McConnell, a persistent thorn in Obama's side as minority leader, now has Reid's old job running the upper chamber.
	The three were to join House Speaker John Boehner and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi in the Oval Office to discuss opportunities for potential cooperation between Democrats and Republicans this year.
	Yet it was far from clear that the two parties would be able to overlook their open disagreements on most issues to focus on limited areas of common ground.
	Both parties exited the midterms last year speaking optimistically about working together on tax ...

Obama sits down with leaders of new GOP-run Congress

Health authorities in Mozambique say three more people have died from drinking contaminated beer, bringing the number of fatalities to 72.
	Provincial Health, Women and Social Welfare Director Paula Bernardo told Radio Mozambique today that the number of people hospitalized had decreased to 35, from 196.
	Police spokesman Zeferino Sande said in an interview with Radio Mozambique that the barrel in which the beer was brewed has disappeared and that their investigation has no leads yet.
	Officials on Sunday said they believed the beer was poisoned with crocodile bile at a funeral in the northeastern Tete province over the weekend.
	Johan Marais, a South African reptile expert, has refuted the claim, saying crocodile bile has not proven poisonous. Medical tests are yet to confirm the exact source of contamination.

Death toll rises to 72 from contaminated beer in Mozambique

Iran's state TV is reporting that police have confiscated seven tons of opium from drug smugglers in southern Iran in a single raid.
	Local police chief, Gen. Ahmad Ali Goudarzi, told state television on Tuesday that the opium had been concealed in a cement truck heading toward the capital Tehran.
	Iranian authorities often confiscate large quantities of narcotics, but yesterday's seizure is the biggest in months.
	Iran is the main route for drug smugglers to ship narcotics from the poppy fields of Afghanistan to Europe.
	Authorities confiscate hundreds of tons of narcotics - mostly opium every year. In 2013, over 806 square miles of poppies were planted across Afghanistan, up 36 per cent from the year before.

Iran police confiscate 7 tons of opium

The surviving staff of Charlie Hebdo is putting out an unprecedented 3 million copies of its upcoming issue.
	According to the newspaper Liberation, which loaned out office space to the satirical weekly whose staff was decimated at the beginning of three days of terror attacks last Wednesday, the run will come out tomorrow.
	Late yesterday, Liberation posted an image of the Charlie Hebdo's next cover. It featured a cartoon of a bearded man in a turban holding a sign: "Je Suis Charlie" -- "I Am Charlie."
	A total of 17 victims and all three gunmen died in three days of bloodshed.

Charlie Hebdo plans unprecedented 3 million run of new issue

An Afghan police official says one person died and three were wounded when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the capital, Kabul.
	Hashmat Stanikzai, the spokesman for the Kabul police chief, says a woman was among the wounded when the explosion happened early today.
	He says the victims were all civilians and their vehicle was destroyed in the blast. The Taliban have claimed responsibility.
	In other violence, deputy police chief Pacha Gul Bakhtyar says a policeman opened fire, killing two colleagues, including a district chief and a police unit commander, late on Monday. The attack happened in Nowzad district in southern Helmand province.
	The local government says in a statement that three other policemen were wounded. It says the attacker was shot and later died.

Afghan police: Roadside bomb kills civilian in Kabul

Health officials are reporting seven more cases of measles in an outbreak tied to visits to Disney theme parks in California last month.
	The new cases confirmed Monday by the California Department of Public Health brings the total to 26 people in four states.
	Officials say 22 of the cases are in California and two are in Utah, with one apiece in Colorado and Washington. Most of the patients visited Disneyland or Disney California Adventure between December 15 and December 20, but some may have contracted the illness from others who visited.
	The new cases include three reported Monday in Southern California, including two in San Bernardino County and one in Long Beach.
	Disney officials have said they are working with public health authorities to provide any necessary assistance.

26 measles cases reported with ties to Disney theme parks

Malaysia's top court today sentenced two police officers to death by hanging, after overturning their acquittal by a lower court over the killing of a Mongolian woman who had an affair with a friend of the prime minister.
	The verdict ended an eight-year saga surrounding the high-profile case that the opposition has repeatedly sought to link to Prime Minister Najib Razak.
	The officers were the only suspects found guilty of shooting Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006 and blowing up her body with military explosives. Opposition leaders have repeatedly said that Najib must have had a role in approving the killing, but the prime minister has denied any links.
	A High Court judge in 2009 sentenced the officers to be hanged, but the Court of Appeals acquitted them in 2013.
	Prosecutor Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah said a five-member Federal Court panel unanimously ruled today that the prosecution had proven its case and that the Court of Appeals was wrong in reversing the findings of the trial ...

Top Malaysia court sentences 2 to death for Mongolian murder

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife reached out to former staff and supporters in key states over the weekend, making contact just hours after shocking many by signalling interest in a third run for the White House.
	Romney, who ran unsuccessfully against President Barack Obama in 2012, told a private gathering of New York-area donors on Friday that he is again seriously exploring running for the White House. The next day, Romney began phoning former backers in Iowa and New Hampshire, the two states that kick off the drawn-out, state-by-state primary process for choosing a nominee.
	Romney was the overwhelming front-runner for the Republican nomination at the beginning of the 2012 campaign. This time, he would join a 2016 field expected to feature more than a dozen Republicans with legitimate White House potential, including several sitting governors and US senators.
	None threatens Romney's prospects more than former Florida Gov Jeb Bush, and early ...

Romney talking to supporters about 3rd White House bid

A small bus packed with secondary students on their way to class plunged off a seaside cliff on the island of St Vincent, killing at least five children. Authorities were searching for two others who were unaccounted for after the crash.
	The minibus was full, with about 19 people, including the driver, a conductor and another adult, at the time of the crash yesterday, Police Commissioner Michael Charles said. It struck a utility pole and went off the cliff, falling about 20 feet to the rocks on the northern Atlantic Ocean side of the small island.
	Coast Guard boats and police searched for the missing girls but it was a difficult effort amid heavy surf along the rocky coast.
	The cause of the accident is under investigation, Charles said.
	Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves called the crash a "tragedy of national proportions," and cancelled the annual budget speech he was scheduled to deliver yesterday to Parliament.
	"It was a terrible accident and I think everyone's heart is really ...

5 killed, 2 missing after school bus crash in St Vincent

Uganda's government has said it wants to try the Lord's Resistance Army rebel commander who recently surrendered to US forces for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
	Dominic Ongwen is in US custody in Central African Republic after surrendering there on Jan 6. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
	"Some of our partners want him tried by the ICC but we want him tried in Uganda because we have the capacity to try him," Uganda State Minister for Regional Cooperation Asuman Kiyingi said yesterday.
	Kiyingi said a decision would be made during consultations between the African Union, Uganda, US and United Nations. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the US is working with the African Union to determine the next steps for Ongwen.
	"We believe it's important he's held accountable and that we should work with the relevant institutions and states to determine the proper method," Harf told reporters. Last week, Uganda's Foreign Affairs ...

Uganda says it wants to try rebel leader who surrendered

After pushing for years to get testimony from a recalcitrant New York Times reporter in a CIA leak case, prosecutors were unsuccessful in a last-minute attempt to bar journalist James Risen from testifying at all.
	Federal prosecutors in Alexandria filed a motion yesterday saying that neither prosecutors nor the defense should be permitted to call Risen at the trial of ex-CIA man Jeffrey Sterling, whose jury trial begins today.
	But yesterday afternoon, the judge said a jury should be able to hear Risen's testimony after defense lawyers said it was important to their case.
	Prosecutors believe Sterling leaked details about a botched CIA operation in Iran to Risen. Risen has said he will never reveal his sources, so prosecutors argued that there's no point calling him.

CIA leak case about-face: Feds don't want reporter on stand

New York City has launched its municipal identification card program, the largest in the US, which will allow immigrants living in the country illegally to access key city services they were previously unable to obtain.
	The card, dubbed IDNYC, was approved last year and became available to New Yorkers yesterday. It is aimed at those who do not currently have an ID, including the elderly, homeless and an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the city who live in the US without legal documentation.
	Mayor Bill de Blasio called the card "a gateway to city services."
	"It is the key to opening a bank account or getting a library card, and the ticket to many of our city's finest cultural institutions," said the mayor. "More than that, this card represents who we are: New Yorkers who value equality, opportunity and diversity."
	Advocates believe having the photo-embedded cards may make immigrants otherwise lacking documentation feel more comfortable seeking help from law enforcement. They said ..

New York City launches municipal identification card program

A man seen throwing his 5-year-old daughter off a bridge has refused to answer questions as a judge appointed him a public defender.
	John Jonchuck had seemed reject a court-appointed attorney last week when he said he wanted to leave his fate "in the hands of God."
	Police say 5-year-old Phoebe Jonchuck was likely alive when her father sped past a police officer early Thursday morning, then pulled over to the side of the bridge. The officer could only watch from a distance as John Jonchuck pulled the girl from the back seat and dropped her to her death in the waters of Florida's Tampa Bay.
	Jonchuck's own divorce lawyer had warned authorities of his mental state about 12 hours earlier, calling the local sheriff's office for help. Florida's child protection hotline also was called with a plea for intervention. Deputies met with the father and daughter at a church but found no reason to take the girl away. Child protective investigators decided not to investigate.
	The director of ...

US father accused of dropping child over bridge in court

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for 2014, earning the title of world's best football player for a third time.
	He beat Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and four-time winner Lionel Messi in a vote of national team captains and coaches from FIFA's 209 member countries, plus selected journalists.
	Ronaldo retained football's highest individual honour after scoring 61 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal last year.
	His record tally of 17 in a Champions League season helped his club win an unprecedented 10th European Cup title.
	Ronaldo was more composed for this widely expected victory than during his tearful acceptance speech one year ago when ending Messi's four-year reign.
	In the women's award, Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler beat Marta of Brazil and United States forward Abby Wambach.

Cristiano Ronaldo wins FIFA Ballon d'Or award for 2014

President Barack Obama's UN ambassador says the administration wants to work with the Republican-led Congress to achieve several foreign policy objectives but won't compromise on a new Iran sanctions package.
	Samantha Power says new penalties on Tehran, as championed by Republican and some Democratic lawmakers, would "almost certainly end" nuclear talks between Iran and world powers.
	And she says the proposed legislation would weaken existing sanctions on Iran by undermining international cooperation.
	Power was speaking today at an event in Louisville, Kentucky, hosted by the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican.
	She sought to stress commonalities: fighting Ebola, confronting terrorists, ending Burma's dictatorship.
	She noted two areas of significant disagreement: Iran and Cuba.
	On these, she said undercutting Obama's engagement strategy could set back US foreign policy goals.

Obama wants to work with Congress but not on Iran sanctions

Afghan officials confirmed for the first time today that the extremist Islamic State group is active in the south, recruiting fighters, flying black flags and, according to some sources, even battling Taliban militants.
	The sources, including an Afghan general and a provincial governor, said a man identified as Mullah Abdul Rauf was actively recruiting fighters for the group, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq.
	Gen Mahmood Khan, the deputy commander of the army's 215 Corps, said that within the past week residents of a number of districts in the southern Helmand province have said Rauf's representatives are fanning out across the province to recruit people.
	"A number of tribal leaders, jihadi commanders and some ulema (religious council members) and other people have contacted me to tell me that Mullah Rauf had contacted them and invited them to join him," Khan said.
	But he said the Taliban, which is active across Helmand and controls some districts, have warned people ..

Afghan officials say IS operating in south

Qatar's top diplomat today dismissed as "just rumours" an Israeli claim that the tiny Gulf nation agreed to expel a leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, saying he is a "dear guest" of the energy-rich country.
	The Israeli Foreign Ministry last week issued a statement saying it welcomed Qatar's decision to expel Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mashaal to Turkey. It said the Qatari decision came after heavy diplomatic pressure from Israel.
	Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah denied there were any such plans.
	"These are just rumours that are targeted at changing Qatar's policies toward the Palestinian people. Khaled Meshaal is a dear guest in Qatar and he is in his country," he told reporters in response to a question during a news conference with his visiting Venezuelan counterpart, Delcy Rodriguez.
	Hamas officials in both Qatar and Gaza earlier rejected the claim that Mashaal planned to leave Qatar, a member of OPEC that will host the 2022 World ...

Qatar denies it plans to expel Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal

Germany's foreign minister is hosting his counterparts from Russia, Ukraine and France to try to calm the Ukrainian crisis and perhaps clear the way for a summit of the countries' leaders.
	The Berlin meeting today evening follows a flurry of diplomacy including a brief weekend encounter in Paris between the German, French and Ukrainian leaders.
	German Chancellor Angela Merkel also has spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and met the president of Kazakhstan, the possible host of a four-way summit on Ukraine.
	Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier are pushing for progress on implementing a much-violated peace deal that was drawn up in September. Berlin says a substantial narrowing of differences between Ukraine and Russia is needed for a summit to take place.
	The Kremlin also said today that prospects for the meeting depend on the outcome of the talks in Berlin.
	The two sides have remained wide apart on major conditions of a peace deal. Ukraine and the 

Foreign ministers gather in Berlin to seek Ukraine progress

Republican Senator Marco Rubio says he thinks the United States had too low a profile at a solidarity march in support of the French people after the terrorist attack against a Paris newspaper.
	Rubio, who's considering a run for the presidency, tells "CBS This Morning" he can understand why President Barack Obama didn't travel there yesterday.
	Rubio says the president must be accompanied by a large security detail and travel party, and said that could have proved distracting.
	But he also says, "I think, in hindsight, I would hope they would do it differently" next time.
	Secretary of State John Kerry plans to travel there Thursday. Asked about it as he departed India today, Kerry told reporters, "I really think that this is sort of quibbling a little bit.

Republican questions US low-profile at French march

A suicide car bomb killed 12 Shiite militiamen and Iraqi soldiers today in a town north of Baghdad, authorities said, sparking a battle between security forces and fighters with the extremist Islamic State group.
	The suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a gathering of soldiers and Shiite fighters in the town of Abasiyat, just south of Tikrit, 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
	Police and hospital officials said the attack killed 10 militiamen and two soldiers, while wounding 18 people.
	Clashes between Iraqi security forces and militants from the Islamic State group erupted immediately after the attack, police said, though the extremists did not immediately claim responsibility for the bombing.
	The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to journalists.
	Iraq sees near-daily bombings and other attacks mainly targeting the Shiite majority and security forces. Tikrit, held by the Islamic State group, and .

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