Harry, Meghan tie the knot

Prince Harry and his bride Meghan married on May 19 in a dazzling ceremony that blended ancient English ritual with African American culture, watched up close by royals and celebrities and from afar by a global TV audience of millions. Wearing a veil, diamond tiara and a sleek dress with a long train, Meghan was accompanied up the aisle at St George's Chapel in Windsor by Harry's father, Prince Charles, before she and Harry exchanged vows and were proclaimed husband and wife. The union of Harry, a former royal wild child and sixth-in-line to the British throne, and actress Meghan, a divorcee whose mother is African-American and father is white, brought a measure of modern glamour and diversity into the monarchy.

China air force lands bombers on South China Sea island

China's air force has landed bombers on islands and reefs in the South China Sea as part of a training exercise in the disputed region, it said in a statement. "A division of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) recently organized multiple bombers such as the H-6K to conduct take-off and landing training on islands and reefs in the South China Sea in order to improve our ability to 'reach all territory, conduct strikes at any time and strike in all directions'," it said in the statement issued on May 18. It said the pilot of the H-6K bomber conducted assault training on a designated sea target and then carried out take-offs and landings at an airport in the area, describing the exercise as preparation for "the West Pacific and the battle for the South China Sea".

RSF slams curbs on Pak paper Dawn

International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the disruption in distribution of Pakistan's oldest newspaper Dawn after it published an interview suggesting that Pakistani militants were behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The comments by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sparked a firestorm at home and in India. Sharif approached what is seen as a red line in the country by touching on criticism of Pakistan's armed forces, especially their alleged use of proxies in India. RSF said distribution of the country's leading English-language newspaper had been restricted in much of the country. "The interview, which reportedly displeased the Pakistani military, appeared in the 12 May issue and the blocking began on 15 May. According to RSF's information, distribution is being disrupted in most of Baluchistan province, in many cities in Sindh province and in all military cantonments," said a statement issued on May 18.

Deadly acid cloud rises over Hawaii as lava streams into ocean

Deadly white clouds of acid and fine shards of glass boiled into the sky over Hawaii on May 21 as lava from the Kilauea volcano flowed into the ocean, creating a new hazard from a more than two-week eruption. Hawaii's Civil Defense agency warned motorists, boaters and beachgoers to beware of toxic clouds of so-called "laze" - a combination of "lava" and "haze" - which formed as two streams of hot lava poured into sea water. The eruption has entered a more violent phase, in which large volumes of rich, orange molten rock, hotter and faster than older magma, are streaming out of fissures in the ground that have erupted around a small area of rural communities. Lava has destroyed at least 44 homes and other structures in the Leilani Estates and Laipuna Gardens area of the Puna district.