Girondins Bordeaux reached the French League Cup final with a 3-0 away thrashing of Paris St Germain on Wednesday.

Three major undersea cables -- the Sea Me We 4, Sea Me We3, and FLAG -- were cut, considerably slowing down India's internet and voice traffic. The extent of the damage is still being assessed.

Mexico's Pachuca fought back from two goals down to stun Egyptian side Al Ahly 4-2 after extra time at the Club World Cup on Saturday. Argentine forward Christian Gimenez scored twice in a remarkable turnaround after Pachuca had trailed 2-0 at halftime as the Mexicans set up a semi-final with Ecuador's LDU.

Raymond Domenech will remain France coach until 2010, French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said on Wednesday. Domenech was told in July he would stay in charge if he got results after France's group stage elimination from Euro 2008.

Indian fertiliser companies are planning to invest around $5 billion (Rs 21,000 crore -- Rs 210 billion) in overseas joint ventures over the next three years. These companies are in negotiations for 19 such ventures, said government officials. These joint ventures are aimed at sourcing nitrogenous, phosphatic fertilisers and other raw materials.

Newly crowned European champions Spain have climbed to the top of latest world rankings published by world soccer's governing body FIFA on Wednesday. It is the first time since the introduction of the rankings in 1992 that Spain, who were rated fourth last month, have been listed as the world's best team.

A government programme aimed at empowering people run by the north-east Indian state of Nagaland has won the coveted United Nations Award for Public Service from Asia and the Pacific region for 'fostering participation in policy making through innovative mechanism'.

Chief Executive S Ramadorai said, "We have hedged for about $1.5 billion. I believe one has to run the business on fundamentals and not on currency fluctuations." He also said it was very difficult to predict the rupee movement as in the last one-and-a-half months, the currency has begun to depreciate against the dollar.

Russia squad penpix for Euro 2008.

Austria squad penpix for Euro 2008.

Ramesh Tendulkar, a Marathi novelist, named his son after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman.

"We are ready with our money but it's so difficult to get a business visa to India,'' said Dr Abdul Rahman A Al Rabiah, managing director of Alrabiah, a consulting and engineering services company. Quoting instances, Rehman said, "Business leaders who have five-year multi-entry visa into the UK and Europe are merely given a three-month visa for India.''

Cairn India, which is developing the oilfields in Rajasthan discovered by its parent Cairn Energy in 2004, has started preliminary work on the pipeline to bring the oil to market, its chief executive said on Monday.

Cairn India, the oil company 69 per cent owned by FTSE 100 listed Cairn Energy, is raising $625m from a private placement of shares to two investors, one of them Petronas, Malaysia's national oil company. The money will be used to invest in Cairn India, including the development of its large Rajasthan oil fields, for which cost estimates have been rising.

Holders Egypt are hoping their South American playing style will bring them success in the African Nations Cup final against Cameroon tomorrow. Most of Egypt's squad are home-based players but their free-flowing passing game has been lethal and they are confident of beating Cameroon again after winning in the 1998 final.

Salomon Kalou scored a double as Ivory Coast cruised into the semi-finals of the African Nations Cup with a 5-0 demolition of Guinea.

Mali striker Frederic Kanoute won the 2007 African Footballer of the Year award on Friday.

Tunisia and Angola played out a goalless stalemate in Tamale to qualify for the African Nations Cup quarter-finals.

The Cameroon striker scored twice to help his side beat Sudan 3-0 and reach the African Nations Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. Eto'o's first goal, a 27th-minute penalty, made him the highest scorer in the tournament's history with 15 goals.

Two impressive long-range shots in the final minutes gave Tunisia and South Africa draws in their opening African Nations Cup Group D games.

Defending champions Egypt beat Cameroon 4-2 while Zambia had a one-sided 3-0 triumph over Sudan in Group C's opening encounters of the African Nations Cup.

Ashok Mago, chairman of the Dallas-based US-India Forum and a community leader, has been nominated for the "Apostle of International Understanding" by the Unity International Foundation for his "exceptional role in bring India closer to the US".

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti promised to restore Europe's honour by beating Boca Juniors in Sunday's Club World Cup final.

India beat Belgium 3-1 to register their second victory in as many matches and move into the second round of the Youth Volleyball World Championship in Mexico.

An iPod music player designed in California, assembled in China and delivered at the doorstep of an Indian living in New Haven exemplifies succinctly the process of globalisation which began centuries ago, says a book.

India, a nation of over one billion people, consumes just 2,500 tonnes of olive oil per year. This dismal fact has now woken up International Olive Council.

Sweden, Singapore and Finland follow, while the United States loses ground in networked readiness, falling 6 places to 7th position.

India is the world's leading offshore services location according to the Global Services Location Index, the latest annual survey by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

UEFA Cup holders Sevilla underlined their class with a 2-0 victory over Steau Bucharest.

Currently, the non-permanent members serve for two years and are not eligible for re-election immediately after finishing their term.

Forget about going to a movie hall, or buying a VCD to see your favourite Bollywood blockbuster. You can now do so sitting in the comfort of your home by downloading them to the PC or your television set through the net.

The ex-ace investment banker talks about his game plan for making Thomas Cook a one-stop shop for travellers.

The proposal will help India, one of the most cost-effective location for pharmaceutical production, to increase its growing generic exports multifold in a hassle-free regulatory environment.

India, which is the world's largest user of anti-dumping measures, also tops the list of countries that have taken the maximum number of safeguard actions such as restricting imports of a product to protect the domestic industry.

Amnesty International has also launched a campaign to highlight the cases of prisoners of conscience, imprisoned for the expression of their peaceful views online in countries like China, Vietnam and Iran.

'There is no doubt that the US would like all their friends to agree with them. We are not in the habit of doing that,' says former diplomat Arundhati Ghose.

India, 28 others demand end to Israeli military action