Singapore on Thursday stuck to its economic growth projections of 1.0-3.0 percent for 2012 but warned there was a chance of a "disorderly sovereign debt default" in the eurozone that could hit exports.

Former Australia international defender Tony Popovic was on Thursday confirmed as the inaugural coach of the Australian A-League's new western Sydney team.

A Japanese bank has halted transactions by the Iranian government after a US court ordered a $2.6 billion asset freeze over the 1983 bombing of US barracks in Beirut, a bank spokesman said on Thursday.

World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi is poised for a sensational move to China, with Guangzhou Evergrande set to part ways with current manager Lee Jang-Soo, official Chinese media said on Thursday.

Better intelligence helped Australia seize a record amount of illicit drugs in the past year, a study showed on Thursday, with big busts from Malaysia and Pakistan boosting the haul.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) said on Thursday it had not banned firebrand Samoan Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, despite claims from the Pacific nation's coach that he was told to drop the player.

Australian police warned Thursday that paedophiles were using Internet live-streaming sites to order "bespoke" child sex crimes for real-time viewing, from countries including the Philippines.

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Kevin Garnett scored 27 points while Paul Pierce added 24 and Rajon Rondo had 23 as Boston cruised past Philadelphia 107-91 to grab the lead in their NBA playoff series.

Syrian forces were accused of summarily executing 15 civilians, as members of a UN team of observers were evacuated from a shelled town the day after a bomb blast hit their convoy.

Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic went on trial accused of carrying out a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing and Europe's worst massacre since World War II.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is "doomed," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday, urging the international community to increase pressure on his embattled regime.

Blind activist Chen Guangcheng said on Thursday China had agreed to issue him a passport within 15 days, allowing him to go to the United States, after a bitter row between Beijing and Washington.

South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold high-level talks in Seoul next week about developments in North Korea following its failed long-range rocket launch, according to a report.

New Jersey's David Clarkson scored two minutes and 31 seconds into the third period to give the Devils a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers to level their National Hockey League playoff series.

France's new government, under Socialist President Francois Hollande, gets down to work Thursday with the first order of business on their agenda being a pay cut for themselves.

Japan's economy grew by a faster-than-expected 1.0 percent in the latest quarter, figures showed on Thursday, as rising domestic demand and a boost in exports kept it on the recovery path.

Japanese newcomer Yu Darvish pitched another stellar Major League Baseball start for the Texas Rangers, striking out seven while allowing only one run in a 4-1 victory over Oakland.

The glittering Hong Kong International Art Fair opens on Thursday, featuring works by artists from Picasso to Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei and cementing the city's status as a global art hub.

After inconclusive elections and fruitless political horse-trading, debt-laden Greece will finally name a government Thursday, but only to hold the fort until fresh polls next month.

Slovakian Peter Sagan won his fourth consecutive stage of the Tour of California in fourth stage, leaving Australian Heinrich Haussler runner-up for the fourth day in a row.

Singapore warned Thursday that a "disorderly sovereign debt default" in the eurozone could not be ruled out as it stuck to its full-year growth forecast of 1.0 to 3.0 percent.

US rookie Josef Newgarden spun his car and tapped the pit lane wall after clocking the fastest Indianapolis 500 practice speed for the third time in five days.

Former playboy Michael Clarke was enjoying married life Thursday after the Australian Test captain tied the knot with a model in a secret ceremony, saying he was "the happiest guy in the world."

Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another will leave from the ninth gate in Saturday's 137th Preakness, two spots outside where Derby runner-up Bodemeister was drawn on Wednesday.

Veteran defender Rio Ferdinand was the highest-profile casualty as England manager Roy Hodgson unveiled his squad for the European Championships.

Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm says his side must beat Chelsea in Saturday's Champions League final if they want to be considered part of the club's "golden generation."

Mary Richardson Kennedy, the 52-year-old estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, has died, her family said Wednesday, in what local media called an apparent suicide at her home in suburban New York.

Colombia on Wednesday tightened security in the capital Bogota after a deadly blast that killed two people and injured a former minister, as investigators tried to find those responsible.

Japan's economy grew by 1.0 percent in the January to March quarter compared with the previous three months, according to the latest official data, as the world's third-largest economy mounts a slow recovery.

The US Senate unanimously rejected President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 budget Wednesday and shot down a series of Republican alternatives, assuring a prolonged election-year fiscal battle.

Rick Carlisle, coach of the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks, and Dan Gilbert, the club owner spurned by LeBron James, are among 10 people named on Wednesday to the NBA's new competition committee.

A US Army Apache helicopter accidentally dropped an inactive missile over central Texas, forcing dozens of homes to be evacuated, officials said Wednesday.

North Korea appears to be moving ahead with the building of a light-water reactor that could be used to support its nuclear weapons program, according to satellite images released Wednesday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron will on Thursday renew his call for eurozone leaders to take decisive action or face the break up of the single currency over the Greek debt crisis.

Facebook will go public hacker style with an all-night software bending bash to culminate with co-founder Mark Zuckerberg remotely ringing the Nasdaq opening bell on Friday, reports said.

Mary Kennedy, the 52-year-old estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, has been found dead at her home in Bedford, New York, US media reports said Wednesday.

Major League Baseball's 84th All-Star Game will be hosted in 2013 by the New York Mets at their three-year-old ballpark, $600 million Citi Field, commissioner Bud Selig announced on Wednesday.

A limbless Frenchman planning to make four challenging swims around the world finally got his epic journey under way Thursday after sorting out paperwork problems in Papua New Guinea.

Researchers on Thursday challenged a tenet of modern medicine that higher levels of "good" cholesterol automatically boost cardiovascular health.

The Phoenix Coyotes, already trailing two games to none in their National Hockey League semi-final series, were handed another blow on Wednesday when the NHL imposed a one-game ban on Martin Hanzal.

The original US Amateur trophy and a replica of an award given to Ben Hogan were among artefacts stolen from the US Golf Association Museum in an overnight burglary, the organization said Wednesday.

Crisis-hit Scottish giants Rangers' appeal against a £160,000 fine and 12-month transfer embargo imposed by the Scottish Football Association has been rejected by an Appellate Tribunal, the SFA confirmed on Wednesday.

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie was suspended for four games by Major League Baseball on Wednesday for a tirade against umpire Bill Miller in a home loss to Tampa Bay one night earlier.

Denver Nuggets forward Al Harrington, who battled through the first round of the NBA playoffs despite an injury, underwent successful right knee surgery on Wednesday, the team announced.

Former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, whose war crimes trial began on Wednesday, made a "throat-slitting" gesture at a widow of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre who was in the court, she told AFP.

Chuck Brown, the widely acknowledged "godfather" of the Go-Go funk music style that flourished in Washington in the 1980s, died Wednesday in hospital, his manager and family said. He was 75.

Lawyers for two-time US presidential candidate John Edwards rested their case Wednesday without calling him or his former mistress to testify over charges he illegally used campaign funds to hide their affair.

Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao denied Wednesday he is homophobic, after he was banned from an upmarket Los Angeles shopping complex for comments about gay marriage.

Retired NBA superstar Larry Bird was named the NBA Executive of the Year on Wednesday, becoming the first to complete a treble sweep of top awards for players, coaches and front office leaders.