Whats New?

French President Francois Hollande refuses to answer questions over his alleged affair with an actress, speaking only about “difficult moments”.
BBC News – Europe

Coronation Street star William Roache indecently assaulted a girl in the men’s toilet at a TV studio and then sent her a signed photo, a court hears.
BBC News – UK

Israel’s defence minister apologises for comments deemed “offensive” by the US about Secretary of State John Kerry’s Mid-East peace initiative.
BBC News – US & Canada

A car bomb kills at least 17 people in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, in the latest attack claimed by the Islamist rebel group Boko Haram.
BBC News – Africa

The companies at the forefront of the UK’s nascent shale gas industry are planning a “substantial” expansion in the number of drilling sites.
BBC News – Business

Israel holds the burial service for former PM Ariel Sharon, earlier lauded at a state memorial as an “indomitable” defender of his people.
BBC News – Middle East

A group of vigilantes clashes with a notorious drug cartel before seizing the town of Nueva Italia in western Mexico.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

French First Lady Valerie Trierweiler is admitted to hospital after media reports of an alleged affair involving her partner, Francois Hollande.
BBC News – Europe

Councils that back “fracking” will get to keep more money in tax revenue, PM David Cameron says, urging opponents to “get on board”.
BBC News – UK

A permit to kill an endangered black rhino in Namibia is sold at auction in the US state of Texas, despite protests and death threats.
BBC News – US & Canada

The days of looting and revenge attacks in Central African Republic are over, the interim leader declares, as banks and markets reopen.
BBC News – Africa

Car maker Jaguar Land Rover posts record sales for 2013 with nearly half a million cars sold worldwide.
BBC News – Business

Israelis are beginning a period of mourning for ex-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has died at 85 of heart failure after eight years in a coma.
BBC News – Middle East

Venezuela’s interior minister gives out his mobile phone number on live television and urges police officers to call him to report cases of corruption, amid public outcry after a former beauty queen’s murder.
BBC […]

At least 100,000 people march through the northern Spanish city of Bilbao after a rally in support of jailed Basque militants is banned.
BBC News – Europe

Charging tuition fees to students from the rest of the UK in an independent Scotland could break European law, pro-union academics claim.
BBC News – UK

The US is “very open” to a new relationship with Cuba, on condition of more political freedom on the communist-run island, a senior official says.
BBC News – US & Canada

The UN Security Council calls on President Salva Kiir to free political prisoners in the hope of bringing about a ceasefire in South Sudan with rebels led by his former vice-president.
BBC News – Africa

The US economy created only 74,000 jobs in December, less than forecast, with many Americans giving up looking for work, latest figures show.
BBC News – Business