The Brazilian government announced that some of the security robots bought to improve public safety during the 2014 World Cup will be ready for the Confederations Cup in June.

The company iRobot said the 30 robots would be delivered by the end of the year, along with spares and other support gear. The government confirmed Thursday that some will already be in action in the six cities hosting Confederations Cup matches.

Racist and homophobic abuse by players in England will carry a minimum five-match ban from next season.

The Football Association says the sanction will be the entry-level punishment for the least serious discriminatory offenses, with longer bans possible.

Mario Balotelli and AC Milan strike partner Stephan El Shaarawy headline Italy's squad for upcoming matches against San Marino and the Czech Republic, while Antonio Cassano remained left out.

The Azzurri will host San Marino in a friendly in Bologna on May 31 then visit the Czechs in Prague on June 7 for a World Cup qualifier.

David Beckham is retiring from soccer, ending a career in which he transcended the sport with forays into fashion and a marriage to a pop star that made him a global celebrity.

The 38-year-old former England captain, who recently won a league title in a fourth country with Paris Saint-Germain, said Thursday he will retire after the season.

A tiny new camera developed at a U.S. university is giving researchers a bug's eye view.

The camera is about the size of a small coin and mimics insects' bulging eyes. It features 180 micro-lenses, giving it a panoramic field of view and the ability to focus simultaneously on objects at different depths.

The new version of the world's most widely used psychiatric guide to mental disorders says grief soon after a loved one's death now can be considered major depression. Extreme childhood temper tantrums get a fancy name. And certain forgetful moments for the aging are called "mild neurocognitive disorder."

Those changes are just some of the reasons prominent critics say the American Psychiatric Association is out of control, turning common problems into mental illnesses in a trend they say will just make the "pop-a-pill" culture worse.

A deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS has apparently spread from patients to health care workers in eastern Saudi Arabia, health officials said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia told world health officials that two health care workers became ill this month after being exposed to patients with the virus. One is critically ill.

A suicide car bomb targeted a foreign military convoy in Kabul on Thursday, killing 15 people including five Americans in the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital for nearly a year, officials said.

The powerful explosion, which struck at 8:00 am (0330 GMT) in the Shah Shaheed southeastern residential district, also injured about 40 passers-by including many children going to school, officials said.

Google on Wednesday launched a subscription-based music service, allowing users of Android phones and tablets to listen to their favorite songs and artists for a monthly fee.

The streaming service, called All Access, is available in the U.S. for $9.99 per month after a 30-day free trial. It will be available in other countries later. For those who start the trial by June 30, the monthly fee is $7.99.

Ghanaian college students plan Wednesday to launch a model of a satellite the size of a Coke can 200 yards (meters) into the air.

Organizers hope that it will be the start of this West African country's space program.