Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

The most unique connection between the modern ships of the Cunard line’s history and the ill-fated Lusitania is Queen Victoria’s second engineer, George Harrison.

A freed Al-Jazeera English reporter and his family have called on Egypt to release his two colleagues who remain behind bars, in a case widely condemned as a sham by human rights groups.

Group of 20 leaders have agreed to take measures that would boost their economies by a collective $2 trillion by 2018 as they battle patchy growth and the threat of a European recession.

Islamic State militants have beheaded another American hostage, Peter Kassig, issuing a video claiming the killing yesterday and warning the US they would kill other US citizens "on your streets."

Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned that Western sanctions against his country could backfire.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has sought to blunt an early challenge to his leadership by rebutting allegations that he presided over sweetheart corporate tax deals during almost 19 years as prime minister of Luxembourg.

Ireland is currently in the midst of water meters being installed in most households.

Kanye West is set to start recording with Lorde, according to the New York Post.

A prolific reader, Josephine started writing from her early school days and didn’t stop. She studied journalism and film at university, but did a postgraduate degree in education and taught English, but it didn’t suit her. So she turned back to writing.

A drunk passenger who caused a hijack scare on a Virgin Australia flight by trying to break into the cockpit has been arrested.

Governments would automatically share information on taxpayers’ offshore bank and brokerage accounts with foreign tax authorities, under a draft agreement published yesterday by the OECD.

Justin Bieber has been behaving like a bad boy to boost his career, R&B singer Brian McKnight has claimed.

Dust — A Novel

WHITE Rabbit, Red Rabbit is not your ordinary theatre production.

Would you go into a shop that wanted to charge you a 'just looking' fee?

¦ I suffer from mild asthma and have recently been prescribed an inhaler.

Falling at speeds of up to 220 mph, nearly 140 skydivers shattered the vertical skydiving world record as they flew heads down in a massive snowflake formation in northern Illinois.

Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb died last night of cancer at the age of 62.

Lady Gaga thinks she will "die of excitement" over her forthcoming tour.

A couple of Swedish newlyweds were struck by six natural disasters during their honeymoon.

A SIPTU bank account at the centre of a number of investigations was used to fund six trips to New York by a Department of Finance official who had a key role in industrial relations issues.

PAUL WARWICK could hardly be blamed if he was becoming increasingly frustrated at the fact that he is as far away as ever from claiming a first team place with Munster while remaining ineligible to represent Ireland at any level.

Tens of thousands of people crowded into Pamplona’s main square today to celebrate the launching of a rocket that each year marks the beginning of Spain’s most famous bull-running festival.

A new protein has been discovered in humans which could play an important role in diagnosing cancer, scientists said today.

Both engines of the British Airways jet that crash landed at Heathrow Airport were still running when it came down, investigators revealed today.

A nine-year-old boy has been signed up to Manchester United’s youth academy after his grandfather sent in a DVD of his footballing skills.

Two of the men arrested in connection with car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow had links to a hospital in Cambridge, it was reported today.

Kylie Minogue's comeback tour hit a bump yesterday when she was caught in a dramatic mid-air storm. The singer was jetting into Brisbane, Australia to perform the next leg of her Showgirls tour when her plane hit a violent storm.

A powerful earthquake shook Papua New Guinea today, the US Geological Survey said.

CHINA says it has learned the lessons of the Sars outbreak and pledged complete openness as it fights bird flu in its multi-billion domestic poultry flock.

TWO “bleeding and weeping” statues that drew thousands of the faithful to a Vietnamese church in Brisbane, Australia, are fakes, the Catholic Church says.

A car thief called police in a panic today when he discovered a baby in the back of a car he had taken.

A 15-year-old Irish sailor has made history by winning a bronze medal at the Laser Radial World Championships in Brisbane, Australia.

South Korea’s offer to compensate North Korea if it gives up its nuclear programmes was on the table today as six-country talks reconvened and the United States continued its push for a verifiable end to the North’s ambitions of becoming a nuclear power.

SOUTH AFRICA have been psyching themselves up for their World Cup clash with England next month by slamming into tackle bags fitted with England jerseys.

MAURICE GIBB will be best remembered for adding his unique vocals to the disco tracks on the soundtrack for the film Saturday Night Fever.

Commonwealth leaders were meeting in London today to consider suspending Zimbabwe from the organisation in the wake of the disputed presidential elections which returned Robert Mugabe to power.

Robert Long, who was found guilty today of murder and arson by a jury in Brisbane, Australia, made little attempt to conceal his growing hatred of backpackers in the weeks leading up to the fire at a crowded Australian hostel that killed 15 young travellers.

A 7,000lb science satellite will fall from the sky this week, and Nasa says a few pieces of metal could hit the Earth, although probably not in a populated area.

New Zealand has called for Zimbabwe to be suspended from the Commonwealth for its increasingly dictatorial and abusive regime.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Brisbane, Australia, next month has been postponed, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said today.

The much awaited match between the Lions and Australia has kicked off in Brisbane, Australia.