What You Need To Know Today

Dolphins escape from Taiji facility in Japan

A pod of dolphins has escaped from a recreational facility in the Japanese town of Taiji, known for its annual controversial hunts.

Staffers from the DolphinBase centre discovered nets dividing the pools from the ocean had been slashed, allowing four dolphins to get out.

An official blog said the dolphins had "stayed close to their pen" and that three returned on their own accord.

Mosul Dam could collapse at any minute 'killing 1.5 million people'

Huge Saddam Hussein-era dam near Isis territory is unstable, experts warn, with even a partial breach capable of causing flooding as far away as Baghdad 

Park, Choi deny all charges

President Park Geun-hye’s lawyers denied all the charges against her during the second hearing of her impeachment trial Thursday, taking issue with the political neutrality of the ongoing investigation into the scandal involving Park and questioning the validity of evidence. 

At a separate trial also held Thursday, key figures accused of being involved in Park’s alleged corruption -- including the president’s longtime friend Choi Soon-sil -- also denied the core allegations against them. 

Dangerous games

As the sanctioned reclusive state marches undeterred toward possession of nuclear-capable missiles, calls for armed intervention gain prominence

With heavily sanctioned North Korea marching undeterred toward possession of nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), calls for serious consideration of military intervention are gaining rare prominence.

Stranded and sick, refugees endure harsh Serbian winter

Europe's border closures have left thousands of refugees in the Balkans.

Belgrade, Serbia - Patches of ice dot a grassless yard where a group of refugees and migrants heat a barrel of water on a camp fire to bathe and hand wash their clothes on a dimming afternoon in early January.