Borussia Dortmund has signed Colombian striker Adrian Ramos from Bundesliga rival Hertha Berlin for next season.

Dortmund said the 28-year-old Ramos, who scored 32 goals and set up 18 more in 89 league appearances for Hertha, has agreed a four-year deal effective July 1.

There was the Mario Balotelli-inspired 2-1 win over Germany in the 2012 European Championship semifinals. And long stretches of dominance over Spain in last year's Confederations Cup semifinals — even though Spain eventually won in a penalty shootout.

More than any others, those two matches epitomize the transformation that four-time winner Italy has undergone since its embarrassing first-round elimination from the 2010 World Cup as defending champion.

Never before has England traveled to a World Cup better prepared — for the post-tournament inquest.

The search for answers to England's long-standing struggles began while the team coached by Roy Hodgson was still qualifying for its fifth straight World Cup.

Diego Forlan recorded a television commercial recently wearing a T-shirt that read: "We're not the favorites, nor will we be a surprise. We are the team that no one wants to draw."

That sums up Uruguay, the small South American country that finished fourth at the 2010 World Cup.

When hiring Alberto Zaccheroni, the Japan Football Association was convinced the Italian coach's calm demeanor and European know-how was the perfect combination to take the national team to the next level at the World Cup.

Under coach Takeshi Okada, Japan advanced beyond most expectations in 2010 with wins over Cameroon and Denmark before losing on penalties to Paraguay in the knockout stage. Japan also reached the second stage when it co-hosted the World Cup in 2002.

British-American physicist Stuart Parkin has won the 1 million-euro ($1.3 million) Millennium Technology Prize for discoveries leading to a thousand-fold increase in digital data storage on magnetic disks.

His discoveries enabled cloud services and the online distribution of social networks, music and film.

In a north London hospital, scientists are growing noses, ears and blood vessels in a bold attempt to make body parts in the laboratory.

It's far from the only lab in the world that is pursuing the futuristic idea of growing organs for transplant. But the London work was showcased Tuesday as Mayor Boris Johnson announced a plan to attract more labs to do cutting-edge health and science research in the area.

Oscar Pistorius testified at his murder trial on Wednesday that girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp died in his arms after he shot her in his home last year.

The double-amputee runner was testifying for a third day, returning to the witness stand after weeping and wailing a day earlier while describing the moments he said he realized he had fatally shot his girlfriend by mistake. He said he thought an intruder was in the house.

Greek unions have launched an anti-austerity general strike that has halted train and island ferry services while disrupting state hospitals and other public services.

Wednesday's 24-hour strike is also causing public transport disruptions in Athens, where unionists are planning two separate protest marches to Parliament.

Growing up, Demba Ba dreamed about scoring big goals for Paris Saint-Germain. With the team he supported as a child on the verge of reaching the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 19 years, Ba instead scored the goal that knocked them out.

Now it is Chelsea joining European football's elite in the last four for the seventh time in 11 years.