An Afghan soldier tried to gun down a group of international troops in the country's east but was killed as NATO forces fired back, NATO said Thursday.

A NATO spokesman stated that the attack happened outside a "coordination center" for Afghan and international forces in Laghman province. German Lt. Col. Hagen Messer said no one in the center was killed in the incident.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says Arsenal is playing hardball on the sale of star striker Robin van Persie, but he remains hopeful of luring the Dutchman to Old Trafford.

Ferguson said Arsenal is negotiating with other clubs about van Persie, with a perceived preference of selling to a non-English club, but said "we just have to persevere, hopefully it will come our way."

Calling La Liga the top league in the world, Jose Mourinho predicts a more competitive season as Real Madrid defends its title and Barcelona tries to regain the crown.

Los Blancos set Spanish records with 100 points and 121 goals last season, winning by nine points and ending the Catalans' streak of three straight titles.

Allyson Felix finally won the Olympic gold medal she craved most, gliding home with her seemingly effortless stride to take the 200-meters title and break Veronica Campbell-Brown's stranglehold on the event.

Aries Merritt added to a super sprint night for the United States, dominating the 110-meter hurdles final ahead of compatriot Jason Richardson. Behind them, Cuba's Dayron Robles, the 2008 champion, was smashing a hurdle in frustration after he pulled up lame with a right hamstring injury halfway through the race. In the heats, China's Liu Xiang, the 2004 champion, also pulled out injured.

Sarah Attar became the first Saudi woman to compete in Olympic track and field, wearing a headscarf and finishing last in her 800-meter heat Wednesday.

Attar smiled broadly and waved at the crowd as her name was announced. Three minutes later, wearing a white headscarf, green long-sleeved shirt and black leggings despite the 19-degree Celsius (66-degree Fahrenheit) temperature, she drew a huge roar of approval from the crowd of about 80,000 as she strode down the home stretch.

For the past 30 years, Israeli Judaic scholar Menachem Cohen has been on a mission of biblical proportions: Correcting all known textual errors in Jewish scripture to produce a truly definitive edition of the Old Testament.

His edits, focusing primarily on grammatical blemishes and an intricate set of biblical symbols, mark the first major overhaul of the Hebrew Bible in nearly 500 years.

A big U.S. government study shows that in the past decade, the proportion of children who have high cholesterol has fallen.

The results are surprising, given that the childhood obesity rate didn't budge.

Some 2,400 people crossed into Turkey overnight to escape the escalating violence in Syria, Turkey’s government-run news agency reported on Wednesday.

The Anadolu Agency said that the crowd included 37 Syrian army officials two of whom were generals and two colonels.

With one gold down, the Russians are trying to discount all the talk about another sweep in synchronized swimming.

But it's not working. It's clear everyone else is playing for silver.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has given a replica of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar's sword to Venezuelan fencer Ruben Limardo for winning a gold medal at the London Olympics.

The 27-year-old fencer has received a hero's welcome in Venezuela since returning from winning the country's first gold medal in 44 years.