Gayle smashes fastest century in history

  West Indies opener Chris Gayle has set a new record for the fastest century in the history of professional cricket, playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League (IPL) today Tuesday. Gayle smashed…

Canada train ‘al-Qaeda plot’ suspects challenge case

  Two suspects in an alleged al-Qaeda-backed plot to derail a Canadian passenger train have challenged the case against them.   In a Montreal court, Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, said the case against him was based only on "appearances".   A lawyer for…

French parliament approves new Same-sex marriage law

  France has become the 14th country to approve a law allowing gay marriage.   The bill, which also legalises adoption by same-sex couples, was passed by 321 votes to 225 in the French parliament.   The decision follows a divisive public debate with…

FBI faces Tamerlan Tsarnaev questions in Boston Marathon bombing

  US security officials are to face questions in Congress over whether they mishandled information about Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.   They will brief the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed hearing, after some US lawmakers…

US drops case against ricin letter suspect Paul Curtis

  US authorities have dropped the charges against a Mississippi man accused of sending letters poisoned with ricin to President Barack Obama and a senator.   Paul Curtis was freed on Tuesday after prosecutors revealed the investigation had uncovered…

Australia police arrest hacker group LulzSec ‘leader’

  Australian police say they have arrested a "self-proclaimed leader" of the hacking group LulzSec.   The 24-year-old from New South Wales is accused of attacking and defacing a government website earlier this month, a police statement said.…

Millionaire president-elect ‘to put Paraguay first’

Paraguay's President-elect Horacio Cartes, a wealthy businessman, has said he would "never put personal interests before the country's". Mr Cartes, one of Paraguay's richest men, told reporters there wouldn't be conflict of interest as he governed…

Woodstock icon Richie Havens dies at 72

Richie Havens, the folk singer who opened the legendary 1969 Woodstock rock festival, has died of a heart attack at 72. He died at his home in Jersey City, New Jersey, his agent, Roots Agency, told Reuters. Born in Brooklyn, New York, the musician…

China manufacturing activity growth slows in April

Growth in China's manufacturing sector slowed in April, a survey by HSBC showed, adding to concerns about the country's economic recovery. The preliminary reading of HSBC's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 50.5, from 51.6 in March. A reading…

Boston Marathon bombing: Mystery remains

No mention has been made of any possible motive for the Boston Marathon bombing in the charges filed against surviving suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Federal prosecutors charged him in hospital with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious…