The World Health Organization voiced concern on February 3 over the reported sexual transmission of the Zika virus in Texas amid worries that such infections could make battling it even tougher. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika.

A United Nations envoy halted his attempts to conduct Syrian peace talks on February 3 after the army, backed by Russian air strikes, advanced against rebel forces north of Aleppo, choking opposition supply lines from Turkey to the city.

President Barack Obama wants to boost US aid to Colombia to help remove landmines and implement the government's peace accord with a leftist rebel group, the White House said on February 2.

European Council President Donald Tusk set out a plan on February 2 for keeping Britain in the European Union to a mixed reception which underlined the challenges Prime Minister David Cameron faces convincing Britons they should stay in the bloc.

Canada is proceeding with plans to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees, but the country's background-vetting program is under scrutiny by a US congressional panel, with a hearing set for February 3, amid lawmaker concerns about US security.

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) told UN agencies on February 2 it plans to launch a satellite as early as next week, a move that could advance the country's long-range missile technology after its fourth nuclear test on January 6.

The United Nations announced the formal start of peace talks for Syria on February 1 and urged world powers to push for a ceasefire even as government forces, backed by Russian air strikes, launched their biggest offensive north of Aleppo in a year.

Nearly two dozen nations gather on February 2 to plot their fight against the Islamic State militant group in Syria and Iraq and how to choke off its rise in Libya.

France and Belgium vowed on February 1 to intensify cooperation in the fight against Islamist radicals, including a more rapid exchange of information on potential militants and efforts to prevent forgery of documents.

The World Health Organization has declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus to be an international public health emergency due to its link to thousands of suspected cases of birth defects in Brazil.