England

Italy will have one eye on the Confederations Cup this June when the Azzurri take on Brazil in a friendly Thursday, says Juventus and Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

New Zealand's economic growth reached a four-year high in 2012, the best since the country went through a recession that it has long struggled to shake off, official data showed Thursday.

British author James Herbert, best known for penning classic horror novel "The Rats", has died aged 69, his publisher said Wednesday.

Tiger Woods, who can overtake Rory McIlroy for World No. 1 by defending his title this week at Bay Hill, says he and ski star Lindsey Vonn went public as a couple to combat "stalker-azzi."

Sporting legend David Beckham raised the prospect of one last stop on his global football journey Wednesday, refusing to rule out playing in China after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ends.

A Saudi prince jailed for life in Britain for murdering his servant has been flown home to serve the rest of his sentence, the British government said Wednesday.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart reacted Tuesday to an inconsistent season with Premier League champions Manchester City by insisting he was his "strongest critic".

Troubled former England football star Paul Gascoigne said Wednesday he could not be certain if he would ever touch alcohol again after being taken to a hospital in the United States last month.

Outrageous costumes and hand-scrawled lyrics are among hundreds of items going on show in a major London retrospective tracing David Bowie's relentless self-reinventions over five decades.

Most European stock markets rebounded on Wednesday following two days of losses caused by Cyprus' bailout drama.

London shares closed lower on Wednesday as the government announced its intention to stick firmly to a barrage of austerity measures while unveiling the budget.

A picture dubbed the most reproduced fine art print in the world sold at auction in London on Wednesday for almost £1 million, a record for South African artist Vladimir Tretchikoff.

Luiz Felipe Scolari admitted Wednesday he is still undecided whether veteran pair Kaka and Ronaldinho can have a future together with the Brazilian national team.

Hong Kong is one of the world's worst cities for light pollution with night skies around 1,000 times brighter than globally accepted levels, researchers said Wednesday ahead of this year's Earth Hour event.

Corruption watchdog Transparency International called Wednesday on the powerful boss of a Malaysian state to step aside after a video purportedly linking him to abuse of power went viral online.

Britain will stick firmly to a barrage of austerity measures, George Osborne insisted Wednesday in a budget that also slashed economic growth forecasts, while offering plans to boost the weak economy as the eurozone crisis reignites.

At least 95,000 civil servants went on strike in Britain on Wednesday, closing courts and museum galleries in a dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions timed to coincide with the government's annual budget.

Ireland great Brian O'Driscoll was given a three-week ban on Wednesday for stamping on Italy's Simone Favaro during their Six Nations clash in Rome.

US 2014 Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson said Wednesday that he would reduce the number of captain's picks from four to three, allowing one more golfer to play his way onto the American side.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen will miss the last Test against New Zealand and the Indian Premier League due to a knee injury which may sideline him for up to eight weeks, officials said Wednesday.