UK - There’s no reason to believe that eating gluten-free foods is better for you unless you have coeliac disease, an expert has claimed. However, gluten-free food has become a worldwide foodie trend, even among those who would do well to include gluten in their diets. Suzanne Mahady is a gastroenterologist, a clinical epidemiologist and a senior lecturer at Monash University in Australia. She strongly advises against avoiding gluten unless you have coeliac disease, as you could be putting your health at risk. “For people without coeliac disease, there’s no evidence to support claims a strict gluten-free diet is beneficial for health,” she writes for The Conversation. “It’s even possible the opposite is true, and the avoidance of dietary whole grains resulting in a low fibre intake may be detrimental.”

CENTRAL AMERICA - Islands escape major damage after one of the most powerful tremors ever to hit the region. A massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake has struck the Caribbean Sea, prompting a tsunami warning for nearby islands including the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. The tremor, one of the largest to hit the Caribbean in recorded history, struck on Tuesday night at about 9.51pm just over 25 miles from the coast of Great Swan Island, belonging to Honduras. The earthquake had a depth of 6.2 miles and rocked several Central American nations. Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands are still recovering from the devastating hurricane that struck in September last year. 

USA - CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Sunday vigorously defended President Donald Trump from the “pure fantasy” of damning assertions in a new book — including that Trump won’t read anything and is incapable of functioning in his job. In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Pompeo called Trump an “avid consumer” of information provided to him in his daily intelligence briefings.

USA - Legendary University of Georgia running back Herschel Walker made an appearance Monday on “Fox & Friends” to talk about his school’s upcoming national championship game against the University of Alabama and his friend President Donald Trump, who will be at the game. Walker said Trump has been “getting a raw deal” with people “forgetting” about respecting the office. “We voted for him to be president, and because of that, we have to respect him as our president,” Walker stated.

KOREA - Optimism is high as the much anticipated intra-Korean talks, the first in two years, kicked off Tuesday, with the head of the North Korean delegation hoping the “serious and sincere” negotiations will deliver “valuable” results.

UK - After months of reshuffle speculation, when the time came, Theresa May’s ministers couldn’t be budged — not the ones that truly matter at least. Far from asserting her authority, the cosmetic changes to the British prime minister’s top team she unveiled on Monday highlight her failure to make her own political weather.

USA - With three strong hurricanes, wildfires, hail, flooding, tornadoes and drought, the United States tallied a record high bill last year for weather disasters: $306 billion, according to a new government report released on Monday. The US had 16 disasters last year with damage exceeding a billion dollars, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said. That ties 2011 for the number of billion-dollar disasters, but the total cost blew past the previous record of $215 billion in 2005. Three of the five most expensive hurricanes in US history hit last year. Hurricane Harvey cost $125 billion, second only to 2005’s Katrina, while Maria cost $90 billion, ranking third, Noaa said. Irma was $50 billion, for the fifth most expensive hurricane. Western wildfires fanned by heat racked up $18 billion in damage, triple the previous US wildfire record, according to Noaa.

USA - After fighting the longest war in its history, the US stands at the brink of defeat in Afghanistan. How could this be possible? How could the world’s sole superpower have battled continuously for more than 16 years – deploying more than 100,000 troops at the conflict’s peak, sacrificing the lives of nearly 2,300 soldiers, spending more than $1 trillion (£740 billion) on its military operations, lavishing a record $100 billion more on “nation-building”, helping fund and train an army of 350,000 Afghan allies – and still not be able to pacify one of the world’s most impoverished nations?

HUNGARY - Hungary has refused to take in refugees because its population is not in favor of opening the borders, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview published Monday. “I can only speak for the Hungarian people, and they don’t want any migration,” Orbán said. “In my understanding, it’s not possible for the people to have a will on a fundamental issue and for the government not to comply with it.”

AFRICA - Heavy snow has covered the Sahara Desert in a freak winter weather storm. More than 15 inches (40cm) has blanketed sand dunes across the small town of Ain Sefra, Algeria. It is the second time snow has hit in nearly 40 years, with a dusting also recorded in December 2016. But this snowfall which hit yesterday, is much deeper than the fleeting shower little more than a year ago. Locals, who endure temperatures of 37C in summer, were stunned as dense snow settled on the town, known as ‘the gateway to the desert’. The cold snap comes as Europe and the United States froze in bitter temperatures. Winter Storm Grayson, battering the US east coast, has seen the sea freeze in Cape Cod, along with the Niagra Falls in stunning scenes.

GERMANY - Merkel starts grand coalition talks as poll show 52% want her off the ballot in a new election. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel tries to secure a fourth term at the helm of a new grand coalition, a poll has shown a majority would rather vote again. The results also suggest Merkel should not be on the ballot.

UK - Migrant gangsters offered police investigating “criminal behaviour on a commercial scale” bribes of up to £5,000 to stay away from their base of operations in Nottingham, telling officers it was a “Kurdish street”.

ISRAEL - The security cabinet has convened several times in recent days to discuss the situation and threats along Israel’s northern borders, according to a report on Sunday that described the meetings “extremely significant”. “Due to limitations imposed by the military censor, I can’t give the full information,” tweeted Channel 10 diplomatic correspondent Barak Ravid, “but after more than a decade of covering the security cabinet, I can judge that the discussions over the last few days about the northern front were extremely significant.” He added that the discussions were focused on the northern front, and among other issues dealt with the activities of Iran and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Syria and Lebanon…

UK –  British Prime Minister Theresa May has dismissed concerns about Donald Trump's mental fitness, saying the US president acts in what he sees as the best interests of his country.  A new book by journalist Michael Wolff quotes prominent Trump advisers as questioning the president's competence.  Asked in an interview whether she thought concerns about Trump's mental state were serious, May said: "No."  She said that "when I deal with President Trump what I see is somebody who is committed to ensuring that he is taking decisions in the best interests of the United States."  In the BBC interview broadcast Sunday, May reaffirmed that Trump would visit Britain. She did not give a date, or say whether it would be a full state visit or a lower-key working trip.

USA - A post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and US could be in danger if Donald Trump doesn’t get invited to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, according to the author of a controversial new book about the US president. Michael Wolff told the Mail on Sunday that Trump would resent any snub and the so-called special relationship could be damaged unless he “gets what he wants.”  Trump “doesn’t like being snubbed and wants to be the center of attention all the time,” Wolff said.