A Nepalese official says the government has banned the sale and transport of chicken and all poultry products in the capital city to prevent the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus.

Agriculture Ministry spokesman Prabhakar Pathak said Thursday that the virus has been detected in several poultry farms in Katmandu and surrounding areas.

If Twitter is the chirping chatterbox of the Internet, trolls are its dark underground denizens.

The collision of the two is driving a debate in Britain about the scale of online hatred and the limits of Internet free speech.

Portugal's navy is honoring Hawaii surfer Garrett McNamara for what it took to ride the tallest wave ever.

The navy awarded the big-wave surfer its Medalha Naval de Vasco da Gama in a ceremony this week in Lisbon.

A second half strike by Kris Commons gave Celtic a 1-0 victory over Elfsborg, while Fenerbahce needed an injury-time penalty to draw 1-1 in its first leg match at Salzburg in the third round of Champions League qualifying on Wednesday.

After a balanced first half, Celtic had more possession in the second and made the breakthrough when Commons headed home a cross from Emilio Izaguirre in the 76th minute.

After a near six-year absence, former world No. 1 Martina Hingis is ready for a comeback to the WTA Tour.

But Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, insists her return will only be in doubles and not singles.

Three-time Olympian Stacy Sykora has decided to formally retire from the U.S. national volleyball team, two years after she sustained a serious brain injury in a bus accident while playing in Brazil.

Sykora has played on a limited basis since the injury, which impacted her vision.

Major League Soccer plans to add four new teams by the 2020 season.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced the league's plans during halftime of its annual All-Star game Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday he was confident Washington would reach an agreement with Kabul that would allow American troops to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014.

"We're making progress, we're working on it. I am personally confident that we will have an agreement," Kerry told reporters after talks with the Pakistani government in Islamabad.

he U.S. House of Representatives has approved tough new sanctions on Iran's oil sector and other industries.

The Obama administration fears the measures could undercut the Islamic republic's incoming, more moderate president ahead of new nuclear negotiations. No date has been set for such talks, which would include other world powers Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

Uruguay's unprecedented plan to create a legal marijuana market won its critical first step Wednesday in the lower house of Congress.

All 50 members of the ruling Broad Front coalition approved the proposal just before midnight Wednesday in a party line vote, keeping a narrow majority of the 96 lawmakers present after more than 13 hours of passionate debate.