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Philipp Lahm has decided to retire from international football in the wake of Germany's World Cup triumph, according to Bild . Lahm, 30, captained Germany to glory in Brazil -- playing every minute of every game as the Nationalmannschaft ended their 24-year wait for the trophy.  The victory against Argentina in the final was the Bayern Munich defender's 113th international cap; he made his debut against Croatia a decade ago in February 2004. Bild reports that Lahm has already informed his Germany teammates and coach Joachim Low of his decision. The World Cup was the ninth trophy that Lahm had lifted in just two years, having previously claimed the Bundesliga (twice), the DFB-Pokal (twice), the UEFA Super Cup, the German Supercup, the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup with Bayern since August 2012. Lahm was installed as Germany captain for the 2010 World Cup, when Michael Ballack missed out due to injury. He was originally only meant to wear the cap...

UEFA has announced their disciplinary rules where players on a yellow card will have their bookings voided following the quarterfinal stages of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. In a statement posted on UEFA’s official website, it read , “Following a recommendation by the UEFA Club Competitions Committee - in order to implement in UEFA club competitions a rule which is already in force in the UEFA European Football Championship - the Emergency Panel decided that, as of this season, all yellow cards from the beginning of the group stage will expire on completion of the quarter-finals. Bookings will therefore not be carried forward to the semi-finals. Last year, Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso was forced to miss the Champions League final after picking up his third yellow card in Real’s semi-final tie against Bayern Munich.  However, he will still be unavailable to play in Real Madrid’s UEFA Super Cup tie against Sevilla due to his ban for his celebration ...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. announced on Thursday an additional $22 million in humanitarian assistance to refugees and people displaced by the violence in South Sudan. With the latest funding, the U.S. is providing more than $456 million this fiscal year to those affected by the crisis in South Sudan, which was plunged into violence in December when President Salva Kiir accused former Vice-President Riek Machar of attempting a coup. Thousands have died and more than 1.3 million people have fled their homes since the conflict erupted. The additional money is to be spent by international and nongovernmental organizations to provide access to clean water, food, health care, household items, job training, gender-based violence prevention and programs for child protection. Since the outbreak of the current crisis, more than 400,000 refugees have fled from South Sudan, the world's newest nation, seeking refuge in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Sudan. Hundreds continue to flee each day and ...