US Attorney General Eric Holder urges senators to require background checks on all gun buyers in the US and to enact other gun control measures.

French President Francois Hollande says his country will begin withdrawing troops from Mali in April, a month later than originally planned.

A lion kills a worker who was in its cage at a private big cat sanctuary near Fresno, California, officials say.

A crystal found in a shipwreck could be similar to a sunstone - a navigational aid said to have been used by Viking mariners, scientists believe.

A New York man suspected of a hit-and-run accident that killed two expectant parents on their way to hospital is arrested in Pennsylvania.

Media giant Time Warner says it will spin off its Time Inc magazine unit into an independent, publicly traded company by the end of the year.

A conservative US senator delays the nomination of a new CIA chief over questions about the possible use of drones against Americans.

A jury is set to hear closing arguments in the case of a New York City policeman's alleged plot to kill his wife and cannibalise women.