MUMBAI: Four of European football?s teams, including three English sides ? defending champions Manchester United

, last year?s runners-up Chelsea, Arsenal and Spanish giants Barcelona ? will fight it out for a place in the UEFA Champions League final, as the race to become the best European club side heats up with the semi-finals being played this week.

All the live action from these crucial matches ? Barcelona taking on Chelsea on April 28 and Manchester United involved in an all-England battle against Arsenal on April 29, as well as the second leg on May 5 and 6 ? will be available exclusively on Ten Sports, the most watched sports channel in the Sub-continent.

The Barcelona-Chelsea match from Camp Nou will kick off at 11:30 pm IST on Tuesday, April 28, while Manchester United will be at home against Arsenal on Wednesday, with the live telecast starting again at 11:30 pm IST.

The aggregate winners after the home and away legs will advance to the final, scheduled at Rome?s Stadio Olimpico on May 27. That match will also be live and exclusive on Ten Sports.

United and Arsenal have one of the most absorbing rivalries in English football. United?s Sir Alex Ferguson and Aresenal?s Arsene Wenger are two of the longest-serving managers in Premier League, who have been trying to outwit one another for the past 13 seasons. Very little separates them in the European competition ? Wenger winning 14 and enjoying a slight edge over United?s 13 wins.

The form book would suggest another final for United, as they remain the only side yet to lose a game in this season?s Champions League. Arsenal are seeking only a second away victory in the 2008/09 tournament with their solitary win being a 5-2 success at Fenerbahce SK in October.

United reached the semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate victory against FC Porto, while Arsenal were 4-1 winners against Villarreal CF.

Barcelona, who crashed out of the Champions League the last two years to an English side, will be hoping for a change of fortune when they take on Chelsea. Coach Josep Guardiola will depend on his imperious strikers, who are already the leading scorers in the tournament with 29 goals, to find holes in Chelsea defence.

Barcelona have won 13 and lost just twice at home against Chelsea, but Guus Hiddink?s team will take heart from the draws they claimed on their last two visits to the Camp Nou.

Barcelona advanced to their third semi-final in four seasons with an impressive 5-1 aggregate quarter-final win against Bayern, while Chelsea emerged victorious from a thrilling quarter-final against Liverpool, winning 7-5 on aggregate.

MUMBAI: Alappuzha natives Vivekanandan and Sonia won the popular Malayalam music reality competition ‘Idea Star Singer 2008‘, conducted by Asianet in the male and female categories respectively.

Each of them has been awarded a flat priced at Rs. 1 crore sponsored by Confident Group. Rahul from Ernakulam bagged the second position in the contest, while Gayathri from Thiruvalla bagged the third position.

The mega finals took place on 25th April 25, 2009 Saturday at Chandrasekhar Nair Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. Legendary music director M.S. Viswanathan was the chief guest. Actors Meera Jasmine, Jagathy Sreekumar, Siddique, Sheela and singers M.G. Sreekumar were among the special guests.

MUMBAI: SAB, the family comedy entertainment channel has once again garnered high prime time GRP than Star One and Sahara One as per TAM data for week 16th.

As per the recent TAM report, SAB?s prime time GRP is 20 vis-?-vis 18 of Sahara One and 19 of Star One. The family comedy strategy has proved to be a winner for SAB and the ratings are clearly reflecting the popularity of its various shows ? Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah, FIR, Jugni Chali Jalandhar and Gunwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.

Mr. Anooj Kapoor, Business Head, SAB TV stated, - ?We have again achieved higher prime time GRP?s in comparison to our close competitors Sahara One and Star One. This clearly indicates that SAB is ensuring viewers a wholesome dose of refreshing comedy and light-hearted family based entertainment.?

SAB has been gradually but steadily increased its hold in the general entertainment genre. It has successfully managed to entice the entire family to watch television together with its new and innovative content.

MUMBAI: Biztech2.com, India‘s No 1 portal for Business IT decision makers from Web18, a Network18 Group company recently brought to its users its Virtual Tradeshow Platform, ‘The Biztech2.0 Enterprise Technology Show - A Virtual Experience‘. The tradeshow was an offering in social networks and rich media, combined to bring to the user an unprecedented level of Web-based interactivity at previously unseen levels.

With close to 3000 IT decision makers from across India logging on for the event, which took place from 22nd of April 2009 to the 25th, the tradeshow has become an instant hit with IT decision makers. Highlights of the event included high-profile keynote presentations and live webcasts from industry leaders and technology gurus.

Support for the event came from leading technology giants like Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, EMC, Aspect, Airtel, IBM, Tata Communications, Checkpoint & Novell.

Leveraging the latest, cutting-edge Web2.0 and video technologies, Biztech2.com‘s Enterprise Show offered everything and more that a physical show would provide with greater convenience as IT Leaders could choose to attend conference keynotes, visit pavilions, download exhibitor brochures in their virtual event bag, chat with other IT Leaders and the IT Community whenever and wherever they chose to. IT Leaders could also exchange business cards too.

Commenting on the initiative Surya Mantha, CEO, Web18, mentioned, "The Internet today has evolved to such an extent that we can actually leverage a platform of this sort. Today‘s CXOs are under grueling pressures, where even attending an industry event can become a problem. However, the virtual experience guarantees a highly comprehensive interaction environment, where IT buyers can come and be part of virtual social gathering and spend a good amount of time exploring their environment, interact with Industry experts and much more. Biztech2.0‘s (Web18‘s) entry into this space reaffirms our commitment to being a part of the ongoing evolution of communities online."

Although many software mega vendors have been using the ‘Second Life‘ Medium to host Web-based events, this platform goes even further. Built in association with 6Connex, a DesignReactor company, it is built to provide quick and light access to a user through a Web browser and a standard internet connection.

Ivor Soans, Managing Editor-Enterprise Technology, Network18, said, "We wanted this VirtualExperience Platform to redefine and revolutionise how Indian IT Leaders made use of conferences and trade expos and the huge success we have witnessed reaffirms our belief that this Internet-enabled medium is the future of IT Leader networking and knowledge-enhancement for better informed, smarter IT buying decisions."

The simple fact is that the changing face of the Internet has brought with it in the past many innovations. With technological capabilities increasing exponentially, Virtual Tradeshows are just the first step in creating a new level of social communication and awareness.

Being a resource on enterprise technology, and innovation, Biztech2.com‘s Virtual Tradeshow platform furthers its commitment to technological innovation, by helping IT buyers make Smarter and future-proof decisions.

Although the live event was successfully concluded on April 25, the platform will be open to viewers for the next 85 days, giving anyone who missed attending the event an opportunity to experience the rich content and features available on Biztech2.com‘s Virtual Tradeshow platform.

MUMBAI: The BBC?s India Election Train and its team of journalists depart Delhi today to embark on a three week journey across India. Reporting to the world, in 12 languages, across 14 BBC services, they will investigate the stories and personalities behind India?s forthcoming election.

Along the way, the BBC will investigate a variety of topics, with a key one being India?s response to the current economic crisis. Others include: entrepreneurial culture in the state of Gujarat; globalisation, India?s economic and security issues Mumbai; the IT industry, e-governance and marginalisation in Hyderabad; the influence of Maoist insurgents in Bhubaneshwar; India?s youth and their take on the modern world in Kolkata and the urban? rural divide, caste wars and organised crimes in politics in Patna and Allahabad.

The BBC train will travel from Delhi to Ahmedabad on the first leg of the trip, before moving on to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata (Calcutta), Patna and Allahabad, before returning to Delhi.

On board the train will be journalists working for BBC World Service English, BBC Hindi, BBC Urdu, BBC Tamil, BBC Bengali, BBC Chinese, BBC Vietnamese, BBC Burmese, BBC Somali, BBC Swahili, BBC World News, BBC Arabic television, BBC Persian TV and BBC.Com/news.

Mark Perrow, Assignment Editor, BBC World News, who is leading the project, says: ?The BBC?s India Election Train is an excellent way to get as close as we can to real people across India, and helps us pool our resources to create the best possible multimedia coverage of this vast election. Over the next three weeks, we?ll be visiting a diverse range of communities across the country, finding out what really matters to them.?

Mr Jilani came to the ICC headquarters in Dubai to express his disappointment at the decision and to pass on the concerns of the Pakistan people and their government at this difficult time for cricket in that country.

"We had a very fruitful and amicable meeting," said Mr Jilani.

"We did not agree on every point but I am confident the ICC is committed to making sure international cricket will flourish again in Pakistan. Mr Lorgat has explained the decision-making process to me and the reasons why that decision was taken.

"The ICC is a very important body and cricket cannot be revived in Pakistan without it so I am very happy that Mr Lorgat is determined to make sure the game survives and thrives in our country.

"Having spoken to Mr Lorgat I now know the ICC will not let Pakistan cricket fall back during this difficult time," he said.

"We want teams to return to play cricket in Pakistan as soon as possible and we are willing to assist the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to prepare for that time. Unfortunately, the security situation is not something we control and nor is it something that is the fault of the PCB.

"Our number-one priority is to deliver a safe, secure and successful event and the uncertainty created by events within Pakistan created a huge question mark over our ability to do that," said Mr Lorgat.