WORLD NEWS ALERT

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Opposition leader Juan Guaidó says his team has held talks with the army about regime change. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2SeYuxi

At least eight people have died in the deep freeze, which has paralysed transport services. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2FYNLkW

European settlement of the Americas killed so many people, it disturbed Earth's climate. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2RsVJ75

The number of people who logged into the site at least once a month rose 9% last year. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Uu7wUu

The New England Patriots quarterback was labelled a "known cheater" during a Pittsburgh broadcast. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2GbzBvV

In an interview, the White House press secretary says Donald Trump had divine support. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Bm9a3B

Hundreds of princes and billionaires were held and more than $100bn recouped by the state since 2017. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2S0hQGQ

France's interior minister says "the fanatic committed suicide" after killing one and injuring five. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2B96bLC

Senator Rand Paul was awarded more than $580,000 (£441,000) in damages after his neighbour attacked. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2UopeIW

A 14th employee at Canada's embassy in Havana falls ill, and the country cuts staff there by half. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2sWTxuQ

The data comes as several global firms warn China's slowing economy will hit their bottom line. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2UvE5l2

Nantes pay tribute to missing former striker Emiliano Sala during their 1-1 draw with Saint Etienne. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2SbuBxT

The BBC has gained rare access to Athlan village, the site of a major US attack on al-Qaeda in Yemen. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2UqHYHO

The deep freeze gripping much of the US has been blamed on a polar vortex. Here's what that means. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Sex5LW

Stars support Empire actor Jussie Smollet, the victim of a suspected hate crime in Chicago. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2CRvIJi

The fears of six athletes who claimed asylum in Australia after the 2018 Invictus Games. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2S8Sgz1

Six women tell the BBC they were raped by security forces as part of a government crackdown. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2CRqD3G

Kennedy Agyapong tells the BBC he regrets journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale’s death, but has a clear conscious. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2sVKNEY

Two Saudis who sought asylum in the UK explain why they risked everything. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2SdhEnb

The actor and superfan was "overcome with emotion" when Streisand replied to his childhood letter. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2MGAb66

The Lord of the Rings director will use unseen footage of the tense sessions for their final album. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2SdIgEx

Social media outcry puts controversial construction on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast under scrutiny. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Uxh9C1

Japan is in the grip of an elderly crime wave. Poverty and loneliness are two of the possible causes. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2sUSv2f

A US state could become one of the first places in the world to allow corpses to become fertile soil. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2S04WbU

In most places, a crocodile would send people scurrying in fear. But not in this part of India. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Sbqv8X

The international community is split over who it recognises as the country's current president. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2BbqOqp

The story of Nastya Rybka, who was questioned in a Thai jail by the FBI about the Trump-Russia inquiry. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2HHJ9kz

Imagine onions - tonnes of them, rotting in a customs queue. It's a Dutch farmer's Brexit nightmare. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DLoiZL

By KATHERINE SCHULTEN from NYT The Learning Network https://nyti.ms/2G91nt3

Jay-Z has agreed to privately arbitrate a trademark and contract dispute with clothing company Iconix Brand Group Inc, his lawyers said on Wednesday, after enough African-American arbitrators became eligible to handle the case. from Reuters: Entertainment News https://reut.rs/2Gc9Hbf

Chicago police said on Wednesday they would soon release images of "persons of interest" in the assault of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett in which two men yelled racial and homophobic slurs and wrapped a rope around his neck. from Reuters: Entertainment News https://reut.rs/2BbTxvf

From Princess Margaret's 21st birthday gown to Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence's red carpet dress, Christian Dior outfits that have made headlines go on show in a London exhibition dedicated to the French fashion house. from Reuters: Entertainment News https://reut.rs/2MEKYO5

A Utah man has sued Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow for $3.1 million, claiming she slammed into him on a ski slope in 2016, breaking four of his ribs and knocking him unconscious before skiing off. from Reuters: Entertainment News https://reut.rs/2sVubNH

Meghan, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, visited London's National Theatre as the venue's new royal patron on Wednesday, watching a line-run of a Shakespeare play and meeting aspiring performers. from Reuters: Entertainment News https://reut.rs/2UujgXa

Fresh on the heels of Paris's glittery fashion week, all eyes are trained on New York where designers are gearing up to present their latest looks for fall and winter 2019, starting next week. from Reuters: Entertainment News https://reut.rs/2DJdIlQ

As Tel Aviv gears up to host the Eurovision Song Contest, pro-Palestinian activists are urging performers to pull out of this year's competition - while the 2018 Israeli winner said she didn't believe in boycotts. from Reuters: Entertainment News https://reut.rs/2RVKZ6a

"Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson is making a movie about The Beatles with previously unseen studio footage, the band's website said on Wednesday - 50 years to the day after the Fab Four performed live together for the final time. from Reuters: Entertainment News https://reut.rs/2FXLaaC

A state-funded Russian film that lionizes a Soviet World War Two tank and its crew has become the second highest grossing home-grown production since the collapse of the Soviet Union, part of a Kremlin-backed drive to instill patriotism in young people. from Reuters: Entertainment News https://reut.rs/2SgLQhd

Peter Obi, vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has explained why he invested $30million of Anambra State funds in a company owned by his family. He stated this in response to a question by Kadaria Ahmed, host of ‘The Candidates’, a presidential town hall co-production between Daria Media and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), with support from the MacArthur Foundation, held in Abuja on Wednesday. He claimed that the company belonged to his parents, and he had no dealings in it after he became a public officer. His words: “I brought International Breweries into Nigeria and as a Governor of a state, they built a greenfield facility in the state and they came to me and said ‘as our partner, we want you to own 15 per cent of this company’, and I said to them ‘No, right now, I am the Governor of a state. I know the future of this brewery, and I want the state to own 10 per cent and since I’m no longer involved in the company, they can own five p