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If success was judged by the size of the queues at this week's E3 games expo, then Nintendo would win hands down. Fans waited in line for hours to have a go at the new Wii console and its unorthodox motion-sensing controller. Nintendo's Wii (pronounced "we") stole the show in Los Angeles, which is one of the key events of the games industry. It managed to overshadow Sony's much vaunted PlayStation 3 (PS3), even though this was the first time buffs were able to play games on the new system. A ...

Gretna's fairytale march to the Scottish Cup final ended with a cruel twist as Hearts snatched the trophy after a penalty shoot-out. Rudi Skacel tucked away a close-range strike six minutes before the break to give Hearts a deserved lead. Gretna roared back, equalising when Ryan McGuffie hit home the rebound after his penalty kick was saved. But Hearts, who had Paul Hartley sent off, triumphed when Derek Townsley and Gavin Skelton missed from the spot. Gretna have had things all their own w ...

(CNN) -- Convicted al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui had no idea they were coming when federal marshals showed up in the middle of the night to take him to the nation's highest-security federal prison to begin serving his life sentence Saturday. It was Friday night, shortly before midnight, when federal marshals showed up without notice at Moussaoui's holding cell in Alexandria, Virginia, said a U.S. Marshals Service official who requested anonymity because he is not a spokesman. " ...

Progressive Unionist Party leader David Ervine is expected to join the Ulster Unionist group at the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is understood an official approach was made to him on Friday, ahead of the assembly being recalled on Monday. The PUP executive has held talks and Mr Ervine will remain its leader. However, the calculated political move could mean the UUP receive an extra ministerial post, at the expense of Sinn Fein, if a government is formed. The PUP's chairperson, Dawn Purvis,  ...

Scientists are devising a way to monitor the progression of osteoarthritis - by listening to a patient's knee. A University of Central Lancashire team hope to harness a technique called acoustic emission, used by engineers to detect unsafe buildings and bridges. The aim is to develop a hand-held device for GPs to use to analyse the noises emitted by patients' knees. It could help assess whether arthritis is worsening or responding to therapy.  ...

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- An art show featuring work by an Arkansas death row inmate opened this weekend to kick off a series of events this month advocating the release of three convicted killers whose cause has been championed by celebrities. Damien Echols, 31, was one of three teenagers convicted in the 1993 bludgeoning deaths of three 8-year-old boys whose bodies were found in a ditch near their homes in West Memphis, Arkansas. The convicts became known as the "West Memphis Th ...

A Liverpool man has appeared before magistrates in connection with the death of a Tyneside grandmother. Pamela Phinn, 48, was knocked down and killed in Horsley Hill Road, South Shields. Her two grandchildren and the children's mother, 29, were also hurt. Paul Wales, of Gorst Street, Liverpool, is charged with causing death by dangerous driving and other offences. The 47-year-old was remanded in custody to appear before Newcastle Crown Court on 18 May. He is also charged with the robbery of  ...

Thousands of people have gathered at the Vatican in Rome to mark the 25th anniversary of the attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II. A statue of the Virgin of Fatima, who the Pope believed saved his life, was flown in from Portugal for a special Mass at St Peter's Basilica. John Paul was critically wounded when he was shot three times by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca on 13 May 1981. A simple marble slab now marks the spot of the shooting in St Peter's Square. Bejewelled crown The Pope wa ...