Wimbledon’s famed grass courts were at the centre of a safety row on Wednesday after Victoria Azarenka, Steve Darcis, the conqueror of Rafael Nadal, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were among seven players forced out with injury.

Seven-time champion Roger Federer has been told by Wimbledon officials that his orange-soled tennis shoes contravene the tournament’s strict all-white dress code.

In landmark rulings for gay rights, the US Supreme Court struck down a law denying federal benefits to homosexual couples and cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California.

Qatar’s state minister for internal affairs is tipped to succeed powerful Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani as prime minister in an expected cabinet reshuffle by the new emir, sources said Wednesday.

Riots in China’s ethnically divided Xinjiang region on Wednesday left 27 people dead, according to state media which said police opened fire on “knife-wielding mobs”.

The Emir of gas-rich Qatar, a major actor on the world diplomatic stage and key backer of Arab Spring uprisings, on Tuesday stepped down in favour of his 33-year-old son Sheikh Tamim.

Seven surgeons told Lleyton Hewitt his tennis career was finished if he had an operation on his troublesome toe but the gritty Australian is merrily defying them by battling on and making himself a force to be reckoned with once again.

Carlo Ancelotti has been appointed as the new coach of Real Madrid on a three-year deal, the club confirmed on Tuesday.

Rafael Nadal came under pressure on Tuesday to turn his back on Wimbledon if he wants to extend his career and preserve his reputation as one of the sport’s greatest and most-feared competitors.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has apologised to Singapore and Malaysia after they were cloaked in thick haze from raging forest fires on Sumatra Island.