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Trump appointee Carl Higbie resigns over comments// bbc world news
A government official appointed by US President Donald Trump has resigned after racist and sexist comments he made were uncovered.

Carl Higbie was the external affairs chief at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) agency, which runs volunteer groups.

Mr Higbie made the comments on an internet radio show he presented before joining the Trump administration.

On Friday, Mr Higbie said on Twitter that he was sorry for the comments.

CNN posted recordings of Mr Higbie making comments of a racist, sexist and homophobic nature on the talk radio show, Sound of Freedom, in 2013 and 2014.

"I just don't like Muslim people because their ideology sucks," he said, saying that if this made him racist then "fine if that's the definition of it". He also made obscene comments about Muslim people.

On another occasion he said black people had "lax" morals and black women thought "breeding [was] a form of government employment". Another time he said that by recognising same-sex marriages, Rhode Island state was "breaking the morals" of the US.

Announcing his resignation on Friday, Mr Higbie apologised for the comments, saying they did not reflect what he stood for.

32 reported missing following ship collision off the coast of Shanghai// world news
he Panama-registered tanker "Sanchi" is seen ablaze after a collision with a Hong Kong-registered freighter off China's eastern coast Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018. The oil tanker collided with a bulk freighter and caught fire off China's eastern coast, leaving its entire crew of 32 missing, most of them Iranians, authorities said. (Korea Coast Guard via AP)


More than 32 people are reported missing after an oil tanker and a cargo ship collided off China's eastern coast.

The Panama-registered "Sanchi" oil tanker, carrying 136,000 tons of Iranian oil worth $60 million, caught fire following the collision, according to BBC News.

The Sanchi crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis are missing from the tanker.

Meanwhile, the crew of the Hong Kong-registered freighter was rescued, according to China's Ministry of Transport.

Deadly US cold snap expected to worsen// world news
A deadly cold snap that has left the US shivering in record-breaking temperatures for the New Year is expected to worsen in the coming days.

Several deaths have been blamed on the deep freeze, which is forecast to heap more snow on the East Coast this week, the National Weather Service said.

Forty US states were under official winter alerts for bitter cold or snow on Tuesday morning.

Tourists visiting Niagara Falls have posted photos of the waters freezing.

The cold was expected to ease temporarily on Wednesday before the frigid temperatures return on Thursday.

14 Meet the housemates with a 68// world news
What made you want to do a homeshare?
Florence: I wanted to do it because I was very lonely. When you retire from work you stop using your brain, you're not as active as you used to be and you're bored to tears. You are used to leading an active life and suddenly there is nothing.

My husband had died. My children had married and gone away. In a way it was quite frightening because you don't know if you're going to fall, is something going to happen to you? Suddenly you're a bit worried about even walking up to the local shops. So it's very important to have somebody to talk to instead of sitting here looking at four walls and thinking 'what am I going to do now'.

Alexandra: On a completely practical level it's been important to me as a way I can come to London and do my studies otherwise it would have been very difficult. The other things that I've got out of it that I wasn't necessarily expecting is I have a new friend and somewhere that's a really homely environment. Somewhere I can feel safe and not isolated in a really big city.

George Weah elected Liberian president// world news
Former football star George Weah has been elected as Liberia's president.

With nearly all ballots from Tuesday's run-off vote counted, Mr Weah is well ahead of opponent Joseph Boakai with more than 60% of the vote.

As news of Mr Weah's victory emerged, his supporters began celebrating in the capital Monrovia.

He will succeed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president, in Liberia's first democratic handover in decades.

"My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation," Mr Weah wrote on Twitter after the results were announced.

"I measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today. Change is on."

Mr Boakai has conceded victory and phoned Mr Weah to congratulate him.

Who is George Weah?
Mr Weah, who was raised in a slum in Liberia's capital Monrovia, starred at top-flight European football clubs Paris St-Germain (PSG) and AC Milan, before ending his career in England with brief stays at Chelsea and Manchester City.

He is the only African footballer to have won both Fifa World Player of the Year and the prestigious Ballon D'Or.