Former world champions France and Uruguay battled their way to a goalless stalemate in a dour match dominated by defences in Group A of the World Cup on Friday.

Lacklustre France failed to turn their superior possession into chances and could ultimately pay a heavy price as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Uruguay in an uninspired World Cup Group A clash on Friday.

Barcelona restored their two-point lead at the top of La Liga when Lionel Messi finished a slick move to fire the champions to a hard-fought 2-1 home win over Malaga on Saturday.

A controversial Radamel Falcao effort gave Porto a 2-1 win over Arsenal in their Champions League last-16 first leg but the English side will take heart from Sol Campbell's away goal on his return to the tournament after four years.

Value innovation can help improve efficiency across the organisation and deliver better results, says Richard Lee.

35-year-old marathon winner Henry Wanyoike shares with us his experiences of taking on the world with no eyesight and the importance of teamwork.

Shillong's Lajong FC defeated Dempo Sports Club of Goa 2-1 while VIVA Kerala and JCT played a goalless draw in the 31st Federation Cup football tournament in Guwahati on Thursday.

Chelsea took a five-point lead at the top of the English Premier League after beating champions Manchester United 1-0 in Sunday's show piece match. In Spain, Barcelona retained their one-point lead over Real Madrid.

Champions Barcelona turned on the style to hammer Atletico Madrid 5-2 and consolidate their position at the top of the Spanish Primera Liga on Saturday. The visitors, who were thumped 6-1 in the same fixture last season, have yet to win a game in the new campaign but came out with an ambitious attacking lineup.

After a spate of freak accidents related to eminent sportsmen in recent weeks, rediff.com takes a look at some most famous sufferers.

The AWACS is set to redefine battlefield surveillance, and will totally revolutionise the way IAF operates.

The title race in Europe's top leagues remained tense at the weekend with Inter Milan losing at Napoli and Liverpool keeping the pressure on Manchester United. VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich both lost in Germany and Barcelona were held at Valencia but Olympique Marseille went five points clear.

The English Premier League title race was thrown wide open with leaders Manchester United losing a second successive match and Liverpool thumping Aston Villa 5-0 to close the gap at the top to one point. Barcelona maintained their six-point lead in Spain, while a double from Zlatan Ibrahimovic ensured Inter Milan stayed seven points clear in Serie A.

Primera Liga top scorer Samuel Eto'o netted twice as Barcelona beat Sporting Gijon 3-1 at the Nou Camp on Sunday to restore their 12-point advantage at the top of the table.

Corruption is an endemic part of the system, so why should Satyam be subject to higher ethical standards by auditors, bankers, etc. than some other company?

Luis Fabiano scored twice for Sevilla as the 2007 King's Cup winners eased into the quarter-finals with a 3-0 victory at Deportivo Coruna in their second leg tie on Wednesday.

Billions of dollars, pounds and euros may have been lost in the global financial crisis, but most of Europe's leading soccer clubs are still poised to spend big when the winter transfer window opens on New Year's Day. Manchester City have been linked with more than 50 players in the build-up to January 1 including Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi of Barcelona, Kolo Toure of Arsenal and Roque Santa Cruz of Blackburn Rovers.

There were mixed fortunes for league leaders around Europe over the weekend with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Liverpool winning but Olympique Lyon and Hoffenheim going down to defeats.

The relegation zone merry-go-round continued when Wigan Athletic beat Everton 1-0 to climb out of the bottom three on Monday. Henri Camara shot in from close range after being set up by Antonio Valencia in the 51st minute before Tim Cahill wasted a glorious late chance to earn Everton a point.

Samuel Eto'o helped Barcelona stay top of the Primera Liga by scoring four first-half goals as the leaders crushed Valladolid 6-0 at the Nou Camp. The striker took his league tally for the season to 13 and matched Gonzalo Higuain's earlier heroics for Real Madrid when the Argentine striker scored all four goals as they came back with 10 men to beat promoted Malaga 4-3 at the Bernabeu.

Atletico Madrid grabbed the unlikeliest of points when they came back with ten men to draw 4-4 at Villarreal in the Primera Liga on Sunday. Barcelona tore apart Almeria 5-0 with another irresistible first-half display at the Nou Camp to go top of the Primera Liga on Saturday.

Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid grabbed last-gasp 2-1 victories after a rash of red cards and crowd trouble in the La Liga.

Mardy Fish handed the French 32nd seed a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 drubbing in the fourth round of the US Open.

Netherlands qualified for the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 with a 4-1 win over France which left the hopes of the World Cup runners-up hanging by a thread on Friday.

Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath, who arrived in Washington had critical bilateral discussions with senior administration and Congressional leaders on issues related to WTO and bilateral issues.

France squad penpix for Euro 2008.

Maria Sharapova's French Open hopes were shredded by a familiar foe on Monday, while Roger Federer plunged a dagger into French hearts.

Bafetimbi Gomis celebrated his first cap with two goals to earn France a 2-0 win over Ecuador in a Euro 2008 warmup on Tuesday.

Gustavo Kuerten's French Open career came to an emotional end when he lost 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round.

Real Madrid fought back after a sending off and going a goal down to snatch a dramatic 2-1 victory at Osasuna and win their 31st Spanish league title on Sunday. With three matches left to play, Real have an unassailable 10-point lead over Villarreal at the top of the table.

Manchester United scored a 1-0 win over Barcelona in the second leg semi-final on Tuesday to set up an all-English Champions League final against either Liverpool or Chelsea in Moscow next month. Scholes sent a swerving shot high and wide of goalkeeper Victor Valdes in the 14th minute to give United a 1-0 aggregate victory.

France striker Thierry Henry has pulled out of Wednesday's friendly international against England in Paris.

What seems certain is the growing influence of major Asian countries on the structures and processes of international relations in Asia. At the same time, we cannot overlook the influence of external actors on the continent. Asian security in the 21st century will thus be shaped by the interactions between major Asian powers and influential external actors such as European Union, Russia and the United States.

An interview with Rafiq Dossani, author, academic and entrepreneur.

India's dream run came to a halt when they went down to top-seeded Egypt 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the 21st India Cements World Men's Team Squash Championship in Chennai on Tuesday.

France coach Raymond Domenech omitted striker David Trezeguet from his 24-man squad for this month's Euro 2008 Group B qualifier in Ukraine. Trezeguet, who has scored 10 goals in 11 Serie A matches for Juventus this season, has not featured for France since a 1-0 home defeat by Scotland in a Euro qualifier in September.

The way forward is management innovation: new ways of mobilising talent, allocating resources and building strategies.

The Williams sisters also recorded contrasting wins to advance at the US Open.

Ronaldinho said on Friday he was determined to avoid the mistakes of last season and make this one his best at Barcelona.

Ronaldinho scored twice as Barcelona wrapped up their Scottish pre-season tour with a convincing 3-1 win over Hearts before a record 57,857 home crowd on Saturday.