Washington's top tax official was fired on Wednesday as President Barack Obama sought to stem a rising tide of criticism in a scandal over the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny. By Kim Dixon and Matt Spetalnick.

A music video shot aboard the International Space Station went viral on Monday, turning an astronaut into an overnight music sensation with his zero-gravity version of David Bowie's hit "Space Oddity." By Irene Klotz.

The Associated Press on Monday said the U.S. government secretly seized telephone records of AP offices and reporters for a two-month period in 2012, describing the acts as a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into news-gathering operations. By David Ingram.

Manchester City sacked manager Roberto Mancini on Monday following his team's feeble defence of the Premier League title they won exactly one year ago. By Sonia Oxley.

Europe's debt crisis has shattered its citizens' faith in the European Union and increased distrust between core nations, although support for the euro currency remains solid, according to a widely watched study released on Monday. By Luke Baker.

Alex Ferguson's last home match in charge of Manchester United ended in a 2-1 Premier League victory over Swansea City as the Old Trafford crowd gave their long-serving manager a warm and emotional send-off on Sunday.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso rewrote the Formula One form book and cranked up the heat in the title battle by winning his home Spanish Grand Prix for the second time on Sunday. By Alan Baldwin.

After the huge protests that followed the 2009 election, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have hoped June polls would quietly install a loyal conservative president, but the surprise candidacies of two major independents may scupper that. By Marcus George.

Less than 24 hours before a British sailor died in an America's Cup boating accident on San Francisco Bay, billionaire Larry Ellison, the mastermind behind this year's competition for the world's oldest sporting trophy, was celebrating his sailing triumphs at a red-carpet gala. By Noel Randewich and Jonathan Weber.

World Health Organisation (WHO) officials said on Sunday it seemed likely a new coronavirus that has killed at least 18 people in the Middle East and Europe could be passed between humans, but only after prolonged contact. By Angus McDowall.

Alex Ferguson's influence at Manchester United will continue past his retirement after the Premier League champions followed his advice and appointed David Moyes as their next manager on Thursday. By Sonia Oxley.

South Africa's test captain Graeme Smith has left English county Surrey and returned to South Africa to have surgery on a chronic ankle problem that has put his participation in next month's ICC Champions Trophy in doubt.

Royal Dutch/Shell said on Wednesday it will go ahead with the world's deepest offshore oil and gas production project, pushing the boundaries of technology to produce from nearly 2 miles (3.2 km) down in the Gulf of Mexico. By Andrew Callus and Kristen Hays.

The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high for a fifth day on Wednesday in a broad rally that keeps surprising investors with its longevity and resilience. By Caroline Valetkevitch.

Large U.S. companies boosted their offshore earnings by 15 percent last year to a record $1.9 trillion, avoiding hefty tax bills by keeping the profits abroad, according to a new report. By Dena Aubin.

The attorney for Michael Jackson's estate on Wednesday described as "outrageous and pathetic" a fresh claim of child molestation against the dead pop star, made by one of his close friends.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye called on North Korea on Wednesday to end a "vicious circle" in which it raises and reduces tensions to win diplomatic rewards and buy time to build up its nuclear arms program. By Paul Eckert.

A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday questioned the reasoning behind a class-action lawsuit against Google Inc over its effort to digitize millions of books, suggesting that many authors could benefit from the project. By Bernard Vaughan.

A Milan appeals court upheld a four-year sentence for tax fraud against former prime minister and centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday, adding to the complications facing Italy's fragile coalition government.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson will retire at the end of the season after more than 26 years in charge, bringing to a close the most glittering managerial career in British soccer.

Russia and the United States have agreed to bury their differences over Syria and hold urgent international talks to find a settlement that can end the carnage of a civil war that is inflaming the entire Middle East. By Thomas Grove and Erika Solomon.

Investigators have confirmed that ammonium nitrate stored at a West, Texas, fertilizer plant detonated in the devastating explosion that left 14 people dead and about 200 injured last month, the Texas state fire marshal's office said.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Tuesday said the U.S. military had launched a "long overdue" effort to safeguard U.S. national security satellites and develop ways to counter the space capabilities of potential adversaries. By Andrea Shalal-Esa.

As three Cleveland women reunited with their families on Tuesday after vanishing for about a decade in their own neighborhood, police scoured the house they escaped from for clues on how they could be held captive for so long with no one noticing. By Kim Palmer and Daniel Trotta.

The Dow closed above 15,000 for the first time on Tuesday and the S&P 500 ended at another record high, extending the market's rally as more investors rushed to join the party and German industrial data beat expectations. By Caroline Valetkevitch.

Brazil's Roberto Azevedo has won the race to become the next head of the World Trade Organization, the first candidate from the BRICS club of emerging economies to take the job. By Tom Miles.

Malaysia's governing coalition extended its half-century rule despite its worst-ever performance in a general election, a result that exposes growing racial polarisation in the Southeast Asian nation and could undermine Prime Minister Najib Razak. By Stuart Grudgings and Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah.

The United States was not given any warning before air strikes in Syria against what Western and Israeli officials say were weapons headed for Hezbollah militants, a U.S. intelligence official said on Sunday. By Tabassum Zakaria and Deborah Charles.

Tens of thousands of National Rifle Association members gather in Houston this weekend for the first time since the U.S. Senate rejected a plan last month to expand background checks for gun buyers, but officials say attendees will not sit back to celebrate victory. By Corrie MacLaggan