Two headers by Marouane Chamakh led champions Girondins Bordeaux to a 3-2 win at Sochaux in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Chelsea's Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba has signed a new three-year contract, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
Olympique Lyon coach Claude Puel is under no illusions that his side face a monumental task to reclaim a Ligue 1 title they owned for seven successive seasons without their two most influential players.
Diego Maradona disregarded the vast experience of Inter Milan midfielder Esteban Cambiasso and 136-cap record holder Javier Zanetti when he named his 30-man provisional World Cup squad on Tuesday.
The UEFA Cup final will be contested by German and Ukrainian teams after Werder Bremen and Hamburg SV along with Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk set up domestic semi-final showdowns. The semi-final first legs take place on April 30 with the return matches on May 5. The final is in Istanbul on May 20.
Hamburg SV and Werder Bremen stayed on course for an all-German UEFA Cup semi-final clash with 3-1 victories over Manchester City and Udinese respectively in their quarter-final, first legs on Thursday. Shakhtar Donetsk beat visitors Olympique Marseille 2-0 while Dynamo Kiev drew at Paris St Germain in a lacklustre goalless affair leaving open the possibility of a Ukrainian semi-final if the French clubs fail to put in improved performances.
At least 19 people were killed in a stadium crush during a World Cup qualifier between Ivory Coast and Malawi in Abidjan on Sunday. A rush by spectators led to the collapse of a wall, medical officials said. Police then fired tear gas to clear the crowd, causing a stampede which also left many people seriously injured.
Hamburg SV will play Manchester City in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals and could meet Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen in the last four. Shakhtar Donetsk will play Olympique Marseille and Dynamo Kiev face Paris St Germain with the winners lined up to meet in the semis after the draw was made by UEFA on Friday.
UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg were knocked out at the last-16 stage by Udinese on Thursday while Hamburg SV stunned Galatasaray to deny the Istanbul side the chance of a May final in their home city.
Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyon lost 2-0 to Lille at the Stade de France on Saturday and saw their advantage at the top cut to just one point.
Five-times European champions Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat at Lille after a late goal by forward Eden Hazard while Juventus beat underdogs Fulham 3-1 in Europa League last 16 first leg matches on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic defeated fourth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5 6-3 on Saturday to win the Dubai Championships.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overpowered world number three Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6 to book his place in the Marseille Open final on Saturday. World number 12 Tsonga, who has now won his last four matches against Djokovic since losing to the Serb in the Australian Open final in 2008, will face Michael Llodra in an all-French final after the Parisian beat compatriot Gilles Simon 7-6, 6-2 in the other semi-final.
Local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overpowered world number three Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6 to book his place in the Marseille Open final on Saturday. World number 12 Tsonga, who has now won his last four matches against Djokovic since losing to the Serb in the Australian Open final in 2008, will face either Gilles Simon or Michael Llodra in an all-French final on Sunday.
Local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia when he downed Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 at the Marseille Open on Friday. World number three Djokovic breezed into the last four with a 6-3, 6-3 win over unheralded German Mischa Zverev.
Top seed Novak Djokovic overcame tenacious Czech Jan Hernych 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Marseille Open on Thursday.
World number three Novak Djokovic celebrated his return to action with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over France's Jeremy Chardy in the first round of the Marseille Open on Wednesday.
Fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko overcame an early fright to beat France's Florent Serra 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 on Tuesday in an error-strewn first-round battle at the Dubai Championships.
World number one Rafael Nadal chalked up his 11th victory in a row on Saturday, defeating unwell Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final of the World Indoor Tournament. The Spaniard next plays Britain's Andy Murray, who destroyed Croatian Mario Ancic 6-1, 6-2.
David Beckham will equal Bobby Moore's outfield record of 108 England caps if he plays in the friendly with Spain, one of a number of mouthwatering international clashes this week.
David Ngog saved Liverpool the blushes as they beat Unirea Urziceni of Romania 1-0 to register their first win at the Europa League campaign on Thursday.
Chelsea completed a clean sweep for English teams in the Champions League group stage after beating Cluj 2-1 on Tuesday to join holders Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool in the last 16 of the competition.
Bobby Zamora and Bjorn Helge Riise twice combined to set Fulham on their way to a 3-2 win at snowy Basel on Wednesday, sealing the London club's berth in the final 32 of the Europa League. Hertha Berlin, in last place in the Bundesliga, scraped through thanks to a 1-0 win at home to Group D winners Sporting and Panathinaikos of Greece secured second place in Group F when Djibril Cisse scored two in a 3-0 win over Dinamo Bucharest.
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will be out of action for up to three weeks with a hamstring strain, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
Cypriot underdogs Anorthosis Famagusta will reach the Champions League last 16 later on Wednesday if they beat Werder Bremen at home and Group B leaders Inter Milan defeat Panathinaikos. The competition newcomers can seal their shock progression with a game in hand and will be confident after holding the Germans to a 0-0 draw in Bremen in their first group game.
Group C leaders Barcelona should make it four wins from four matches against pointless Basel on Tuesday in the Champions League, while holders Manchester United can book their last 16 place with victory at Celtic.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez and goalkeeper Pepe Reina are expecting a hot reception when they return to their home town to play Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Striker Didier Drogba has pledged his future to Chelsea and would sign a new contract if the club offered him one, he was quoted as saying in the media. The 30-year-old Drogba also said he would be back in action for Chelsea within three weeks after a knee injury.
UEFA have ordered Spanish league club Atletico Madrid to play their next two Champions League matches away from home following crowd trouble earlier this month against Marseille.
Didier Drogba scored twice on his return from a three-match European suspension as Chelsea drew 2-2 at Atletico Madrid to seal their place in the knock-out round of the Champions League on Tuesday. They were joined in the last 16 by Manchester United, Porto and Girondins Bordeaux, although four-time European champions Bayern Munich are on the brink of elimination after losing at home to the French champions.
India's trade with China will touch the 100-billion dollar mark in the next five years, coming close to bilateral trade target with the European Union by 2013.
UEFA president Michel Platini warned that English clubs were in danger of losing their identity because of the influx of foreign owners.
Manuel Pellegrini's future as Real Madrid coach was called into question on Wednesday after the big-spending side's 4-0 thrashing at third-tier Alcorcon in the first leg of their King's Cup tie.
Frenchman Fabrice Santoro won his first ATP event in five years when he beat compatriot Nicolas Mahut in the final.
Olympique Marseille and Paris St Germain supporters clashed on Sunday after their Ligue 1 game was postponed and the whole PSG team quarantined when three players were diagnosed with H1N1 flu.
The agreement for cooperation in space technology was signed between Astrium and Antrix -- commercial arm of the ISRO -- entailes utilisation of the PSLV launch services. It enables Astrium to offer attractive solutions in international markets for in-orbit delivery of its earth observation satellites, using the PSLV launch services from Antrix/ISRO.
The Champions League's two most successful teams resembled a pair of punch-drunk prize-fighters as AC Milan spoiled a big night for Raul by pulling off a surprise 3-2 victory at the Bernabeu Wednesday. While nine-times winners Real and seven-times champions Milan were trading novice mistakes, including the howler that let in Raul to equal Gerd Mueller's European goalscoring record, the other tournament heavyweights were looking coolly efficient.
It takes a lot to make Liverpool fans boo their own manager but when Rafa Benitez replaced Yossi Benayoun with Andriy Voronin in Tuesday's Champions League defeat by Olympique Lyon the jeers told their own story.
The crucial civil nuclear cooperation will be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his 10-day visit to the United States and France, which begins on Monday.The prime minister will attend the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he would pitch for collective and multilateral approaches to deal with global challenges like food and energy crises and terrorism.
Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari gets his first crack at Manchester United on Sunday when his table-topping side host the Premier League champions. The Brazilian has enjoyed an impressive start at Stamford Bridge since taking over from Avram Grant and will relish locking horns with one of Britain's greatest managers.