Arsene Wenger admits he is delighted Arsenal have proved the critics wrong after his team secured their place in the Champions League with a 1-0 win at Newcastle. More »Wenger salutes players as Arsenal defy critics
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers paid tribute to Jamie Carragher after the veteran defender bowed out with an emotional farewell in his side's 1-0 win over QPR at Anfield. More »Liverpool manager pays tribute to retiring Carragher
Robin van Persie said Manchester United were already looking to the future after Alex Ferguson closed the book on his 26-and-a-half-year managerial tenure with an incredible 5-5 draw at West Bromwich Albion. More »Man United look forward after Ferguson says goodbye
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Peter Graff AMMAN/LONDON (Reuters) - The world's diplomats will make a major new push in the coming days for negotiations to end Syria's civil war, but their chances of achieving a peace deal look as remote as ever. President Bashar al-Assad poured scorn on new plans for peace talks announced unexpectedly by the United States and Russia two weeks ago and planned for Geneva in early June. ... More »Outlook dim as Syria diplomacy gathers force
Probation staff who start their own John Lewis-style mutuals will be offered support to bid for contracts under the Government's rehabilitation reforms, Nick Clegg will announce. More »Help offered to probation mutuals
David Cameron has written to the leaders of Britain's offshore tax havens stressing the need to "get our own houses in order" as he pushes for international action to tackle avoidance schemes. More »Cameron calls for tax transparency
Proposed anti-social behaviour laws are open to abuse of power and could be used by councils to create new crimes ranging from spitting to homelessness, a think-tank has warned. More »New laws 'open to abuse of power'
House sellers' asking prices have soared to a new high, in further signs of confidence returning to the market, a property website has reported. More »House asking prices reach new high
Households are facing a continued squeeze on their spending power after a leading forecaster warned that high inflation was here to stay. More »High inflation is 'here to stay'
British Prime Minister David Cameron addresses the Global Investment Conference in London on May 9, 2013. Cameron on Monday wrote to leaders of oversees tax havens, urging them to help the country's efforts ... More »Britain's Cameron makes personal plea to tax havens
By Paul Eckert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will walk a fine line between fostering a U.S. ally in China's backyard and trying to defend human rights when the president of Myanmar becomes the first head of his country to visit the White House in 47 years on Monday. Rights groups and some U.S. lawmakers fear Obama has moved too quickly since forging a dramatic breakthrough in relations in 2011 after half a century of military rule in Myanmar, also known as Burma. U.S. ... More »Obama walks a fine line with Myanmar president's landmark visit
By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain called upon its overseas territories to "get their house in order" over the sharing of tax information on Monday as the UK looks to lead a global fight against tax evasion ahead of a meeting of the world's wealthiest states. Britain is using its presidency of the Group of Eight (G8) leading economies, which holds its annual summit on June 17-18, to push for a global clampdown on complex arrangements used to disguise wealth and minimise tax payments. ... More »PM urges more action on tax from UK territories
Scientists say they have formed the most complete picture yet of how the body controls the production of proteins needed to stay healthy. More »Tiny genetic code strands observed
Andrea Leadsom writes about 'Families that care', the latest report from the Centre for the Modern Family, established by Scottish Widows. More »Andrea Leadsom MP: Caring responsibilities are affecting family life
(Reuters) - Arsenal beat North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to England's fourth Champions League spot, their 1-0 victory over Newcastle on the final day of the Premier League season enough to ensure their place in Europe's showpiece competition. In Serie A, AC Milan scored twice in last six minutes to snatch a place in the Champions League qualifying round while Porto clinched their 27th Portuguese Premier League title. ... More »European roundup-Arsenal, Milan qualify for Champions League
RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - - Militants killed at least 10 Iraqi policemen in a series of attacks on checkpoints in the West of the country on Sunday, police and local officials said. Sectarian tensions in Iraq have been amplified by the conflict in neighbouring Syria, where mostly Sunni rebels are fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad who is backed by Shi'ite Iran. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Iraqi attacks, but Sunni militant groups have previously targeted security forces in a campaign to destabilize the Baghdad government, which they reject as illegitimate. ... More »Militants kill 10 Iraq policemen in checkpoint attacks
Two people are believed to be trapped beneath the rubble of a house in Nottinghamshire after a gas explosion. More »Two Feared Trapped After House Explosion
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Lebanese Hezbollah militants attacked a Syrian rebel-held town alongside Syrian troops on Sunday and Israel threatened more attacks on Syria to rein the militia in, highlighting the risks of a wider regional conflict if planned peace talks fail. Activists said it was the fiercest fighting in Syria's two year-old civil war involving Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran which they said appeared to be helping President Bashar al-Assad secure a vital corridor in case Syria fragments. ... More »Hezbollah steps up Syria battle, Israel threatens more strikes
(Reuters) - AC Milan scored twice in the last six minutes, the first a hugely controversial Mario Balotelli penalty, to beat relegated Siena 2-1 in Serie A on Sunday and snatch the Champions League playoff spot. Furious Siena, who went ahead in the 25th minute through Claudio Terzi, also had Christian Terlizzi harshly sent off in the 70th minute, almost immediately after Milan captain Massimo Ambrosini had been dismissed. ... More »Drama, controversy as Milan snatch Champions League spot
Venezuela on Sunday made a rare diplomatic overture to the United States, suggesting it could be time for better ties. More »Venezuela in rare diplomatic overture to US
By Sonia Oxley (Reuters) - Alex Ferguson bowed out of management on Sunday with a smile, a wave and a bucketful of goals in his 1,500th Manchester United game but without the victory he had so wanted. The 71-year-old Scot entered retirement having watched his Premier League champions draw 5-5 at West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the season having led 5-2 with 11 minutes to go. Before the game he had spoken of his desire to go out on a high after more than 26 years in the job but he was not really referring to the type of score. ... More »United's Ferguson bows out on a high of sorts
By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - Film stars come to Cannes to promote themselves and their projects - so where better to launch a wry documentary bemoaning the seeming dominance of celebrity pulling-power over content? With parties, pitching and paparazzi already in overdrive at the world's premier movie market, director James Toback on Sunday showed "Seduced and Abandoned", the story of how he and actor Alec Baldwin talked to directors, investors and studio heads at Cannes last year to seek funding for a film with no A-list star. ... More »Cannes - where celebrity sells and celebrities sell
MADRID (Reuters) - Champions Barcelona moved a step closer to matching Real Madrid's La Liga record of 100 points with a 2-1 win over Real Valladolid, that was the prelude to a title party at the Nou Camp on Sunday. Tito Vilanova's side wrapped up their fourth league crown in five years last weekend, but still have the chance to equal the mark set by Jose Mourinho's victorious side last season. A 21st-minute strike from Pedro and an own-goal from Valladolid's Marc Valiente before halftime sealed a drab victory in unseasonably chilly and wet conditions in a two-thirds full stadium. ... More »Barca close in on 100-point mark with Valladolid win
By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - Carlo Ancelotti informed Paris St Germain officials on Sunday that he wants to leave at the end of the season after leading the club to their first French league title in 19 years. "I have asked the club to leave and I am waiting for their answer because I am under contract," Ancelotti said at the Ligue 1 awards ceremony after being named coach of the season along with St Etienne's Christophe Galtier. PSG sporting director Leonardo, however, told sports daily L'Equipe earlier on Sunday: "Carlo asked to leave for Real Madrid but we want him to stay. ... More »Ancelotti wants to leave Paris St Germain
PARIS (Reuters) - Paris St Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was named Ligue 1's player of the season on Sunday. The Sweden striker scored 29 goals, the highest total since Jean-Pierre Papin netted 30 in 1989-90, and beat team mates Thiago Silva and Blaise Matuidi as well as St Etienne's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a vote by Ligue 1 players and coaches. Bastia midfielder Florian Thauvin was voted the top prospect with St Etienne's Christophe Galtier and PSG's Carlo Ancelotti tied for coach of the season. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Josh Reich) More »Ibrahimovic named Ligue 1 player of the season