Calais: Police fire teargas as refugees try to board trucks

A group of about a hundred refugees rushed to the motorway leading to the Eurotunnel on 21 January, in the hope of boarding trucks on their way to the United Kingdom, but were pushed back by police firing teargas at them. Thousands of refugees fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East have gathered in or near the northern coastal town of Calais over the past year, using it as a stop-over point before trying to enter Britain in the hope of a better life. Jan 21, 2016

China smog: Greenpeace reports some easing pollution levels in 2015

China may have found itself once again in the news for the choking smog which blanketed many of its cities over the past month, but pollution in the worlds number two economy actually eased in 2015, data compiled by Greenpeace shows. The data, which covers 367 cities, showed average PM2.5 levels dropping by 10 percent in 2015 compared with the previous year. However, even with the improvement, 80 percent of the cities in the survey still failed to meet national air quality standards. Jan 20, 2016

Florida: Tornadoes kill two and leave four injured

Two grandparents were killed and four children injured in Florida early on 18 January when severe storms gusted in from the Gulf of Mexico, spinning off at least two tornadoes, local officials and the National Weather Service said. Jan 18, 2016