KONNA, Mali/PARIS (Reuters) - French and Malian forces fighting Islamist rebels took control on Saturday of the rebel bastion of Gao, the biggest military success so far in an offensive against al Qaeda-allied insurgents occupying the country's north. The United States and Europe back the U.N.-mandated Mali operation as a counterstrike against the threat of radical Islamist jihadists using the West African state's inhospitable Sahara desert as a launching pad for international attacks. ...

Victoria Azarenka had the bulk of the crowd against her. The fireworks were fizzling out, and when she looked over the net she saw Li Na crashing to the court and almost knocking herself out.

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners rallied on Saturday at funerals for Sunni Muslims shot by troops in demonstrations against Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Troops on Friday shot dead five people in Falluja, in the Sunni-dominated western province of Anbar. Sunnis have taken to the streets since December to protest what they call mistreatment of their minority sect, heightening fears Iraq may return to the Shi'ite-Sunni bloodletting that killed tens of thousands in 2006-2007. ...

Senator Tom Harkin, a veteran Iowa Democrat and one of the most liberal senators, said on Saturday he will not seek re-election in 2014, putting at risk what was considered a safe Democratic seat. Harkin, 73, who has focused much of his nearly 40-year congressional career on farm policy, education and expanding rights for people with disabilities, is the third senator facing re-election next year who has announced his retirement, following Democrat Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia. "It's somebody else's turn. ...

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A fire swept through a two-story garment factory in Bangladesh's capital Saturday, killing at least seven female workers and injuring another five, police and fire officials said.

Lance Armstrong's lawyers say the cyclist will talk more about drug use in the sport, just likely not to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that led the effort to strip him of his Tour de France titles.

Thousands of people, many holding signs with names of gun violence victims and messages such as "Ban Assault Weapons Now," joined a rally for gun control on Saturday, marching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.

Activists from the hacker collective known as Anonymous assumed control over the homepage of a Department of Justice agency this morning.

The suspect, hands and feet shackled, fidgeted in his chair, chuckling at times as he confessed to a brutal killing.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A bloody riot erupted in a Venezuelan prison when National Guard troops clashed with armed inmates, and Venezuelan media reported that dozens were killed.

Angry relatives and residents rampaged through an Egyptian port city Saturday in rioting that killed at least 27 people after a judge sentenced nearly two dozen soccer fans to death for involvement in deadly violence after a game last year.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin will not seek re-election in 2014, the Iowa Democrat said Saturday.

Archaeologists have unearthed a trove of skulls in Mexico that may have once belonged to human sacrifice victims. The skulls, which date between A.D. 600 and 850, may also shatter existing notions about the ancient culture of the area.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — At least 12 people were killed in bombings around Afghanistan on Saturday, including 10 policemen who died when a suicide bomber driving a motorcycle blew himself up in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, officials said.