China's Shenzhou-9 spacecraft returns to Earth

A Chinese space capsule carrying three crew members has returned to Earth following a 13-day mission.                  Images of the capsule landing in Inner Mongolia at 10:05 local time (02:05 GMT) were shown live on television. The astronauts, including China's first woman in space, carried out a successful manual docking with the Tiangong-1 laboratory module. The mission is a key step towards China's goal of building a space station by 2020....

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Timbuktu shrines damaged by Mali Ansar Dine Islamists

Timbuktu, sometimes called the city of 333 saints, is famous for its distinctive architecture   Islamist fighters in Mali have damaged the shrines of Muslim saints in the city of Timbuktu, witnesses say. The fighters, from the Ansar Dine group, which controls much of northern Mali, attacked the mausoleum of Sidi Mahmoud, one of 16 shrines in the city. Last week, the UN cultural organisation Unesco put Timbuktu on its list of endangered world heritage sites, fearing damage following...

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Ministers to order Libor bank rate review

David Cameron said he would not be pushed into making a snap decision about whether to order a full inquiry into the banking industry An independent review of the workings of the Libor inter-bank lending rate has been announced by the government in the wake of the Barclays fine. Barclays was fined £290m ($450m) for attempting to manipulate the Libor, and other banks are being investigated. Barclays boss Bob Diamond has been summoned to appear before the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday. Labour...

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Washington DC region swelters after storm cuts power

The storms formed in the Midwest and then moved east to the mid-Atlantic states   Some two million people are without power after violent storms hit the region around the US capital, Washington DC.The storms swept from the Midwest states to the region around Washington, packing winds of up to 80mph (130 km/h). The power outages left many sweltering without air conditioning amid a record-breaking heatwave. At least five deaths have been linked to the storm. The storm is locally referred...

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Top of the drops: Rain makes umbrella play music

The hackers had to use a watering can to tune the music-playing umbrella   Gene Kelly is not the only one singing in the rain - German hardware hackers have come up with an umbrella that makes music when it is wet.Berlin-based Alice Zappe and Julia Lager fitted 12 touch-sensitive sensors to the inner canopy of a brolly. The sensors were connected to a simple circuit board that spotted when each sensor was struck by a raindrop. It plays a different beep for each sensor to generate a...

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Flaming Lips set Guinness World Record for live shows

Frontman Wayne Coyne called the record 'an absurd joy' US rockers The Flaming Lips have set a Guinness World Record for the most live shows in different cities in 24 hours.The band performed eight times across the Mississippi Delta, as part of MTV's O Music Awards. Beginning in Memphis, Tennessee, they finished up at the House of Blues in New Orleans, Louisiana, with 20 minutes to spare before the deadline. The previous record was held by Jay-Z, who played seven shows from Atlanta...

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Stolen Dali drawing posted back to New York from Europe

Cartel des Don Juan Tenorio was painted in 1949   A Salvador Dali drawing that was stolen last week from a New York gallery has been returned - from Europe, by post.Security footage showed a man take the 11in by 14in (28cm by 35cm) drawing off the wall at a new gallery and place it in a shopping bag. The Venus Over Manhattan gallery said it received an email days ago saying that Cartel de Don Juan Tenirio was "on its way back to you already". The drawing was sent from Europe...

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Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes to divorce

It will be Tom Cruise's third divorce Hollywood A-listers Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are divorcing, bringing an end to a five-year marriage.The office of celebrity divorce lawyer Jonathan Wolfe confirmed the divorce. "This is a personal and private matter," he said in a statement. They have a six-year-old daughter, Suri, and Cruise, 49, has two children from his marriage to Nicole Kidman. Cruise married Holmes, 33, his third wife, in an Italian castle in November 2006. A spokesman for...

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Apple patent case: Samsung Galaxy Nexus banned in US

Samsung's Galaxy Nexus launched in the US in April   A judge in California has blocked US sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphones while the court decides on the firm's patent dispute with Apple.US District Judge Lucy Koh said Apple "has shown a likelihood of establishing both infringement and validity". Earlier this week, she barred sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the US until the case was resolved. However, she said that Apple would have to post bonds of...

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Brotherhood's Mursi sworn in as Egyptian president

Supporters cheered President Mursi as his car passed through Cairo   Mohammed Mursi has been sworn in as Egypt's first civilian, democratically elected president at a historic ceremony in Cairo.Hours after the ceremony, he was saluted by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, leader of the military council which is handing over power. Mr Mursi has promised to restore the parliament dissolved by the military. In a speech at Cairo University, the Muslim Brotherhood politician said the army must...

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