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PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande has signed into law a bill allowing same-sex marriage, making France the 14th country to legalise gay weddings. France's official journal announced on Saturday that the bill had become law after the Constitutional Council gave the go-ahead on Friday. The bill, a campaign pledge by the Socialist president, has been hotly contested in France where allowing gay marriage is one of the biggest social reforms since abolition of the death penalty in 1981. ...

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired three short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's Defence Ministry said, but the purpose of the launches was unknown. Launches by the North of short-term missiles are not uncommon, but the ministry would not speculate whether these latest launches were part of a test or training exercise. "North Korea fired short-range guided missiles twice in the morning and once in the afternoon off its east coast," an official at the South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman's office said by telephone. ...

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc said on Saturday that rockfalls were hampering rescue efforts after a tunnel collapse four days ago at its giant Indonesian copper mine, with hopes fading of finding alive any of the 23 still missing. Freeport closed the world's second largest copper mine on Wednesday, a day after a tunnel fell in on 38 workers undergoing training. Five are known to have died. Several of the 10 rescued are still in hospital. The Grasberg mine in West Papua is in one of the most remote regions of the Indonesian archipelago. ...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tata Sons Ltd, the promoter of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd , cancelled a share auction it had launched in the telecommunications carrier on Friday after most bids were below a floor price set by the company. Tata Sons had planned to sell 51.6 million shares or a 2.7 percent stake in the phone company and increase the public holding to 25 percent in line with rules issued by the stock market regulator. ...

TOKYO (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 jolted northeastern Japan on Saturday, but no tsunami warning was issued, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Tokyo Electric Power Co's two nuclear plants in Fukushima reported no new irregularities after the quake, Kyodo news agency said. Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi prefecture further north also detected no irregularities, operator Tohoku Electric Power Co said. In Miyagi prefecture, where the shaking was the strongest, there were no information on injuries, Kyodo added. ...

(Reuters) - Cricket Australia is to investigate an extraordinary Twitter outburst by opening batsmen David Warner that attacked two senior Australian cricket journalists. The 26-year-old Warner criticised News Limited journalists Robert Craddock and Malcolm Conn in an expletive-filled tirade, which has created headlines in Australia. "Cricket Australia is aware of comments made on David Warner's Twitter account overnight," Cricket Australia said in a statement on Saturday. "Cricket Australia is attempting to contact Warner and will continue to investigate the matter. ...

By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - Europe's top trade official for the first time late on Friday officially cited Chinese mobile telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE Corp for violating anti-dumping and anti-subsidy guidelines. European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said he was prepared to launch a formal investigation into anti-competitive behavior by these Chinese companies in order to protect a "strategic" sector of Europe's economy. ...

By Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As online titans compete to deliver instant maps to smartphones, the Library of Congress in Washington is focusing attention on an antique "cosmology" printed in 1507 that serves as America's birth certificate. The black-and-white map created by Martin Waldseemuller, a French cleric, was the first time the name America had appeared on any map. Waldseemuller was prescient enough to show the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean at a time when no one else in Europe thought they were there. ...

By Michelle McLoughlin FAIRFIELD, Connecticut (Reuters) - A commuter train traveling eastbound from New York City derailed near the Connecticut suburb of Fairfield during the evening rush hour on Friday and collided with a westbound commuter train, injuring up to 60 people, three critically, officials said. The collision of the two Metro North trains forced Amtrak to shut down service indefinitely between New York and Boston, the national railroad said. Three people were critically injured and 60 people were transported to area hospitals, police said. ...

REUTERS - Ever wondered what went through author J.K. Rowling's mind when she wrote the first "Harry Potter" novel? Fans of books about the boy wizard will have a chance to bid on a unique first edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," annotated by the author, at a charity auction this month, the English PEN organization said on Friday. The book contains Rowling's handwritten thoughts and commentary about the book and the film adaptation, as well as 22 hand-drawn illustrations including one of a sleeping baby Harry and another of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. ...

By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday trimmed his funding request for the war in Afghanistan and other overseas operations by 10 percent, reflecting his plans to wind down the U.S. presence in that country. The president asked for $79.4 billion to fund so-called overseas contingency operations in fiscal 2014, which begins October 1, down from his original $88.5 billion request, a White House aide said. Obama made the request in a letter to Congress. The U.S. ...

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela on Friday released an opposition activist who had been jailed on accusations of inciting violence in the wake of President Nicolas Maduro's narrow election victory in April. Retired General Antonio Rivero, who government critics described as the first political prisoner of Maduro's government, told a local television station he had been released after nearly three weeks in jail. "Right now I'm just going to focus on my health," Rivero, who had been on hunger strike during part of his detention, told the Globovision station. ...

REUTERS - Former U.S. Open champion and television broadcaster Ken Venturi, a 14-times winner on the PGA Tour, died on Friday at the age of 82 following various health complications. Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame just 11 days ago, Venturi had been in hospital for the last two months for a spinal infection, pneumonia and an intestinal infection, the PGA Tour said in a statement. Venturi's son, Matt, said his father had died in a hospital in Rancho Mirage, California, where he had been living for several years. The highlight of Venturi's playing career came in the 1964 U.S. ...

Chennai, May 18 (IANS) Telugu actor Venu Thottempudi, popular for playing the lead in comedy films for over a decade, says that there is a high risk of being typecast in the film industry if one continues to do similar roles often.

Panaji, May 18 (IANS) Ecologist Madhav Gadgil has picked holes in former ISRO head K. Kasturirangan's high-level working group (HLWG) report on the environmentally sensitive Western Ghats, saying it endorses "exploitation" of the region's natural resources.

New York, May 18 (IANS/CMC) Three-time Olympic gold medallist and four-time World champion Veronica Campbell-Brown will lead about three dozen Caribbean athletes in the Adidas Grand Prix here next week.

London, May 18 (IANS) Singer George Michael was airlifted to a hospital after he was pulled out from a wreckage of a 70,000 pounds-worth Range Rover. He suffered head injuries in the car crash.

Madrid, May 18 (IANS) Atletico Madrid ended a 14-year wait by defeating neighbours Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Copa del Rey football knockout competition.

Shanghai, May 18 (IANS) American hurdler Aries Merritt, who won his first Olympic gold in London and set a world record in the men's 110m hurdles last year, has geared up for the 2013 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League Shanghai leg.

New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Elections have become the biggest source of corruption in India, former chief election commissioner (CEC) S.Y. Quraishi has said, while stressing for the need for poll reforms.

Toronto, May 18 (IANS) A criminal investigation has been sought against an Indo-Canadian member of legislative assembly (MLA) of the ruling Progressive Conservatives party in the Canadian province of Alberta in a case of ethics violation.

Panaji, May 18 (IANS) Prison authorities Saturday ordered a probe into a clash between inmates that left three under-trials injured in a Goa jail late Friday.

Los Angeles, May 18 (IANS) JLS band member Aston Merrygold is said to be in talks with rapper Chris Brown for a collaboration on his debut solo album.

Moscow, May 18 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Hours after winning the World Boxing Association (WBA) cruiserweight title, Guillermo Jones was hit by a scandal when a former champion accused him of doping to give himself unnatural stamina in the knockout win over Denis Lebedev.

Los Angeles, May 18 (IANS) Actress Gwyneth Paltrow chose to eat healthier food after her late father was diagnosed with cancer 15 years ago.

Los Angeles, May 18 (IANS) Singer-songwriter Beyonce Knowles is reportedly pregnant with her second child with rapper husband Jay-Z.