The English Football Association has fined Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson 12,000 pounds ($18,900) for implying a referee's assistant was motivated by bias.

After a 1-1 draw at Tottenham last month, Ferguson was angry that linesman Simon Beck didn't award a penalty when United was leading 1-0.

Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew; British singer-songwriter James Blunt; and Israeli television psychic Uri Geller are among the latest to strike a deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. over phone hacking.

The three were among 17 hacking victims who settled Friday with News Corp. subsidiary News Group Newspapers over its campaign of illegal espionage, which set off a massive scandal when it was revealed in July 2011.

Greece has slashed its deficit targets for the next four years following its latest international debt relief deal.

A revised mid-term strategy paper submitted to Parliament foresees the budget deficit shrinking to €7.9 billion ($10.7 billion), or 4.3 percent of the country's annual gross domestic product this year.

Rafael Nadal's knee held up for a third straight day as he won a doubles match at the VTR Open on Thursday, and he will get twice the workout on Friday.

The Spaniard teamed with Juan Monaco to reach the doubles semifinals with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Guillaume Ruffin and Filippo Volandri; his third match in three days after being away from the game for seven months with an ailing left knee and a stomach virus.

Just when Tokyo was getting a boost in its bid to host the 2020 Olympics, an ugly scandal has surfaced within the Japanese sporting culture and threatened to undermine the nation's hosting hopes.

Tokyo bid officials were thrilled last month when a poll showed that public support for the bid had risen to 73 percent, given that low public support had derailed the 2016 bid.

The offices of the Beitar Jerusalem football team were set on fire early Friday in an apparent arson attack, police said, a day after four of the club's fans were charged with anti-Muslim chanting at a recent game.

The attack also followed an announcement by police that it would begin deploying undercover units and beefing up police presence at games to track down those fans involved in racist chants.

The Hong Kong-based owner of Birmingham City says it has been approached by a group that wants to buy the English Championship club.

Birmingham International Holdings Ltd. said in a brief statement Friday that its lawyers were in touch with the group, led by a sports management company, to clarify the offer.

No wonder they're endangered.

Galapagos tortoises at London's zoo lumbered around impassively as famous French pianist Richard Clayderman serenaded them with music from his latest album, "Romantique," on Thursday.

An Israeli woman has turned to Facebook to beat a parking ticket — and expose a Tel Aviv road crew.

Hila Ben Baruch says she parked her car legally near her Tel Aviv home only to find it gone and replaced with a handicapped parking sign. City Hall slapped her with more than $300 in fines. Making matters worse, she says a city representative accused her of lying when she called to complain.

A video posted online purportedly shows Syrian soldiers taking a break from the country's civil war by bopping around to American R&B star Usher's hit song "Yeah!"

The soldiers dressed in camouflage combat gear — some armed with automatic rifles or rocket-propelled grenades poking out of their flak jackets — form a conga line and shimmy past the camera grinning.