Chelsea have won the Community Shield -- the traditional curtain-raiser to the start of the English Premier League season -- beating Manchester United 4-1 on penalties at Wembley after the teams drew 2-2 after 90 minutes. The London side scored all four of their spot-kicks, while veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs and French left-back Patrice Evra both missed their penalties for United. Earlier, the trophy, played for between the league champions and FA Cup winners of the previous season, looked to ...

Top seed Andy Roddick continued his fine form on return from injury as he moved into the semifinals of the Legg Mason Classic by beating fellow big-server Ivo Karlovic in Washington on Friday night. The American, who notched his 500th career win in the previous round, triumphed 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) against the 11th-seeded Croatian to set up a last-four clash with compatriot John Isner. The 26-year-old, playing in his first tournament since suffering a hip injury during his heartbreaking ...

Andy Roddick joined a select group with his 500th career win on the ATP Tour as he dispatched fellow American Sam Querrey in their third round match at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington. Roddick, returning to the circuit after losing an epic five-setter to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, is the 36th player in the Open era to reach the mark. He joins Federer (657), Carlos Moya (573) and Lleyton Hewitt (511) as active players who have reached ...

For a quarter of a century, Russia has been Europe's single biggest gas supplier, providing about a third of all the gas the European Union uses each year. But while the gas is cheap and plentiful, this arrangement has created an energy dependence that makes the E.U. vulnerable to Moscow's shifting moods. That was the case in January, when Russia tried to settle a payment dispute with Ukraine, its main transit country, by turning off the taps. In the ...

A disabled punk band has launched a campaign to fight for the rights of disabled people to be able to party late. "Heavy Load," describe themselves as an "anarcho-garage-punk" band and are made up of five musicians, one of whom has Downs Syndrome and two who have unspecified learning disabilities. Their campaign, "Stay Up Late," encourages carers to support disabled people who want to stay out past 10pm. Heavy Load's manager and bass guitarist, ...

There are a number of ways to measure the financial turbulence of the past year: the billions of dollars in public funds used to prop up banks; the cliff-drop in exports from any major economy; or the latest unemployment report. Another way to judge the financial volatility of the past year is the ranking of the most expensive cities for expatriate employees to live. The 10 most expensive cities for expatriates -- according to a cost of living survey released ...

On the eve of a two-day summit with U.S. President Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says both countries are "moderately optimistic" about "resetting" their relations. In an interview with Italian media RAI and Corriere della Sera, Medvedev said relations "have begun to revive" after a period of significant deterioration during the administration of President George W. Bush. The top issue on the agenda for the two leaders, Medvedev said, is working out a new treaty on limiting strategic offensive nuclear ...

Nigeria's state oil company rejected criticism from a leading human rights group Wednesday, calling an Amnesty International report "inaccurate." "We have issues with the report," said Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Amnesty said Tuesday that pollution and environmental impacts from the oil industry in the Niger Delta are creating a "human rights tragedy" in which local people suffer poor health and loss of livelihood. Governments and oil companies are failing to be accountable for the problems, ...

Former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has claimed that he was forced out of the English club because several players did not support him. The Brazilian was sacked in February after an unhappy eight-month spell in London and temporarily replaced by Russia coach Guus Hiddink. The 60-year-old, who is now in charge of Uzbekistan club Bunyodkor, singled out Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, Germany midfielder Michael Ballack and Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech as problem players. Cech has publicly criticized ...

Young challenger Andy Murray marched into the last 16 of Wimbledon on Saturday, while comparative veterans Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt issued reminders that they are far from spent forces. British third seed Murray trounced 30th-seeded Serb Viktor Troicki 6-2 6-3 6-4, needing just one hour and 36 minutes to maintain his hopes of reaching the final at SW19 for the first time. The 23-year-old Scot is on this form the most likely player to stand in the way of ...