Moroccan gold medal track prospect Mariem Alaoui Selsouli has been thrown out of the Olympic Games after failing a drugs test for the second time in her career.

A heatwave across southern Europe has seriously damaged corn crops in a region that accounts for nearly a fifth of the world's production, triggering warnings that British shoppers could face soaring bills and the economy may be hit by inflationary pressures.

Mr Netanyahu went out of his way to link the attack with Tehran's nuclear ambitions

Israel today signalled it would not rush into any open conflict with Iran or its Lebanese guerrilla ally Hezbollah despite blaming them for a deadly attack on its citizens in Bulgaria.

Attack leaves seven dead in Bulgaria - and is latest in series targeting Israelis abroad, says Netanyahu

A bus carrying young Israeli tourists in a Bulgarian resort exploded today, killing three people and wounding at least 20, police said.

An investigation has been launched after Olympics tickets allocated to sponsors were sold to the public for a 20 per cent mark-up. According to the BBC, tickets issued to three of the biggest sponsors have been sold on in breach of International Olympic Committee rules.

Torrential rains dropped nearly a foot of water on a Black Sea region in southern Russia overnight, setting off intense flooding that killed at least 78 people and forced some in the largely rural area to take refuge in trees and on roofs, officials said today.

The president of Turkish giants Galatasaray is prepared to foot the bill to rescue striker Dimitar Berbatov from his spot on the bench at Manchester United.

The women's top seed Maria Sharapova dropped a set for the first time at this year's Wimbledon before punishing Tsvetana Pironkova's impudence by winning the third set to love. The match had been suspended on Wednesday night because of bad light, which Sharapova felt was to blame for her inconsistent performance.

The seemingly unstoppable spread of Italy's most powerful organised crime group has now seen it establish outposts in the UK and Ireland, according to anti-mafia judges.

"Dig it out of the basement, out of the discard and onto the record player," sings Jesca Hoop on "Dig This Record", one of several delightful curiosities on The House That Jack Built.

A man who died saving a five-year-old girl who was being swept out to sea has been recognised for his heroism.