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Serena Williams' absence from the WTA Tour will continue after she announced her withdrawal from two tournaments. The world number one has still not fully recovered from surgery to her right foot, which she cut on broken glass at a restaurant shortly after retaining her Wimbledon title in July. The injury forced Williams to withdraw from the US Open and she has now announced she will not be playing at the Pan Pacific Open or the China Open, which are both Premier tournaments. The 28-year-old American said in a statement: "While I have continued to make progress in the recovery of my foot injury, unfortunately I am still not ready to compete at the upcoming Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and China Open in Beijing.

Martin Johnson insists England are the fittest they have been since he became manager of the side. The Rugby Football Union's elite department today demonstrated the Global Positioning System monitors which have been used by England players in training for the past year. The devices enable Johnson and his coaching team to measure an individual's heart-rate, distance travelled and speed and can even detect if they are suffering from illness or carrying an injury. Using the information, the week's training schedule is tailored to ensure players are not over or under exerted and that practice drills mimic the demands of rugby as much as possible.

Nigel De Jong hailed a strong defensive display as Manchester City claimed a 1-0 win over Chelsea. Carlos Tevez's second-half strike ended the Blues' 100% start to the Barclays Premier League season. "We knew that we had to win," De Jong said on Sky Sports 2. "We just have to work hard and continue this. "From the first minute we put the pressure on. "If you saw how we defended from the front to the back that's why we kept a clean sheet."

It was a terrible week for London sides, bar West Ham, as Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur all crashed to defeats. Manchester City ended Chelsea's 100% record in the Barclays Premier League this season with a 1-0 win over the table-toppers and champions at Eastlands. A largely uninspiring early kick-off was settled by City captain Carlos Tevez, who drove at the Chelsea defence before unleashing a 20-yard strike which beat Petr Cech just before the hour mark. The result brings to an end the leaders' five-match winning streak and draws Roberto Mancini's team level on points with Arsenal and Manchester United, who face Bolton on Sunday.

Sir Alex Ferguson sensed Michael Owen would give him a selection dilemma at some point this season - and he has not been disappointed. Owen has been forced to wait for his chance at Manchester United as Dimitar Berbatov took centre stage. But on his first start since the Community Shield at Scunthorpe on Wednesday, the legendary predator reminded Ferguson he is still a force to be reckoned with by grabbing a second-half brace. Now Owen is hoping to play some part against Bolton at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday, the start of a big week that also includes a Champions League trip to Valencia. "It does give me a problem," Ferguson told MUTV. "I have known it was going to be a problem since the start of the season, that is why I let Danny Welbeck go to Sunderland and Mame Biram Diouf to Blackburn on loan. "The form of Dimitar Berbatov has meant that other players have taken a back seat, which is unfortunate for them because they are good players."

Dimitar Berbatov has said the club record £30.75million price tag has, at times, weighed him down at Manchester United. After two mixed seasons at Old Trafford, which saw Berbatov show glimpses of the genius Sir Alex Ferguson referred to in his programme notes ahead of last weekend's encounter with Liverpool, too often the major assessment of the 29-year-old has been one of unfulfilled talent. Fans accused Berbatov of being too lazy and not contributing to the dynamism of a team that has been built around pace and energy. It certainly would not have come as any real surprise had Berbatov been unloaded in the summer, nor a lack of regret from the vast majority of United fans.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is refusing to get into a war of words with Real Madrid counterpart Jose Mourinho. Ahead oif this weekend's weekend fixtures in La Liga, Real's Portuguese 'Special One' has claimed some teams were making life easy for the Catalan club by fielding under strength sides. Mourinho hit out at Sporting Gijon earlier today for resting key players at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night, when they went down 1-0 to the Spanish champions, and claimed many teams will put out weakened sides against Barca this season. Guardiola, however, was his usual diplomatic self when asked about Mourinho's controversial opinions in his press conference before Saturday's league match at Athletic Bilbao. He twice refused to be drawn on Mourinho's provocative quotes, merely saying: "All teams deserve our respect."

Tottenham's Harry Redknapp says that the pressures of English football have turned Arsene Wenger into a "nutter" on the touchline. Wenger was found guilty of improper conduct and fined £8,000 by the Football Association for confronting fourth official Martin Atkinson after Arsenal's 1-1 draw against Sunderland last weekend. The Gunners boss was fuming at officials after they permitted play to exceed the allotted four minutes of added time, allowing Darren Bent to grab Sunderland's equaliser and bring Arsenal's four-match winning streak to a halt. The sight of a frustrated Wenger prodding officials on the touchline is in complete contrast to the cool, calm and reserved image which the Frenchman cast when he arrived in England from Japan to replace Bruce Rioch 14 years ago.

Simon Katich and Shane Watson exposed India's BP XI by hitting a century each and put Australia in a strong position at 319 for one. Australian batsmen put the BP XI bowling attack on a leather hunt all day long as they tasted just one success in the whole of 90 overs -- that of Watson (115), who fell to leg-spinner Piyush Chawla after facing 199 balls and hitting 16 boundaries. Katich had an individual score of 104 which he made from 178 balls and with the help of 15 fours. Captain  Ricky Ponting , who opted to bat after winning the toss, was on 42 while his deputy Michael Clarke was on 43 at the draw of stumps at the Sector 16 Stadium. Left-handed Katich was dropped twice, first by  Shikhar Dhawan  off Jaidev Unadkat while on 60 and by Ajinkaya Rahane off Pragyan Ojha two runs later. Watson  and Katich did not take much time to get accustomed to the pace and bounce of the wicket and were never troubled by the BP XI bowlers, except for left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. Only Ojha was

Pakistan cricket team manager Yawar Saeed admitted that issues related to Pakistan cricket are always blown out of proportion. Yawar Saeed admitted that the team has very few friends in the interational cricket community. Yawar, who returned home after a medical check-up in Dubai, also dismissed allegations of ball-tampering against fast bowler  Shoaib Akhtar . "There are people who are always trying to run down Pakistan cricket and our players, and blow things out of proportion, like it happened in England. No charge has been proved against our players, still they were deemed criminals and that is sad," Yawar said.

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has planned to pepper Virender Sehwag with some chin music to stop the whirlwind Indian. Aware that letting  Virender Sehwag  play his free-flowing game could be perilous for them in the upcoming Test series, Australian pacer  Mitchell Johnson  has vowed to stop the explosive Indian opener by peppering him with short-balls. The first Test of the two-match series will begin on October 1 in Mohali. The left-arm quick feels Sehwag is vulnerable to short-pitched bowling. When the Australians last played a Test series in India, Sehwag scored 351 runs at a strike rate of 82.39. "Sehwag is someone we can bowl a lot of short balls to. I don't think he's too confident with the short ball early. Last time when we were over here we came out and he was hitting good balls for four or six. You look up at the scoreboard and he's almost 50," Johnson said.

Fernando Alonso made it back-to-back poles after clinching top spot on the grid for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix. Ferrari went into the Italian Grand Prix a fortnight ago without a pole for 29 races, but have suddenly come alive in qualifying with Alonso outgunning Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who will start second, by 0.067 seconds. The second row of the grid at the Marina Bay street circuit will be an all-British, all-McLaren affair, with Lewis Hamilton edging out team-mate Jenson Button for third place. Crucially for those four drivers they are all ahead of championship leader Mark Webber in his Red Bull as the top five in the title fight are the top five on the grid for the race.

Lewis Hamilton has warned McLaren team-mate Jenson Button he is not going to let their friendship stand in his way. Contrary to popular belief at the start of the season, Hamilton and Button have developed a healthy working relationship over the year. It is in stark contrast to the acrimony witnessed on occasions this season at Red Bull between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. In that regard, Hamilton has no doubts the affinity that currently exists between himself and Button is more positive for their own title aspirations than for the feuding Red Bull duo.

Sebastian Vettel could chalk up his eighth pole position of the season after being fastest in the final practice. Vettel's lap, however, was almost 1.3 seconds slower than his best of Friday as the high humidity of 81% - nine per cent up compared to 24 hours earlier - again played its part. It ensured the track took its time to dry, despite temperatures at 28 degrees centigrade, following a customary afternoon downpour. That had occurred three hours prior to final practice commencing under the bright lights of the Marina Bay street circuit, offering a clear idea as to how long the track remains damp. Despite many dry areas, there were many others that were greasy due to the conditions, notably on the approach to turn four. That is where Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg were all forced to use the run-off area as they failed to turn in time under braking. But as yesterday, Red Bull's Vettel was again 0.6secs quicker than his rivals, on this occasion led by Ferrari'

Lewis Hamilton has slammed Singapore Grand Prix organisers for turning a chicane into the worst corner he has seen in Formula 1. Close friend Adrian Sutil felt the full force of the left-right-left turn 10 kink during Friday's second practice session at the Marina Bay street circuit. The chicane has been significantly modified for this year, with the first of the three kerbs moved in by a metre and the second by two metres, making it significantly narrower. It resulted in Sutil hitting the second kerb hard, sending the 27-year-old's Force India soaring a few feet off the ground before landing on his front-left wheel, immediately breaking the suspension. Asked about the track modifications, Hamilton said: "I think they have made it worse. "The chicane is the worst corner I have ever driven in Formula One. It's just ridiculous. "Last year it was small, but now it's even more dangerous. We saw one other car take off. "You approach that corner at 160mph

Sebastian Vettel believes the pressure is off now he is the outsider of Formula One's title-chasing quintet. Vettel heads into the final five races, starting with the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, 24 points adrift of Red Bull Racing team-mate Mark Webber. Sandwiched between the duo are Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, with no indication yet as to the destiny of the championship. The view of Vettel, however, is that he has made too many mistakes this season to be considered a serious contender, certainly in comparison to the wealth of the experience of the other four. To that end, Vettel is at ease with himself, which could work in his favour as he said: "It is natural people always look at the front. "But it doesn't change anything in my approach or our approach. It is pretty much the same as it has been all year. "I try to focus on myself, try to achieve my optimum. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but surely we will always tr

NVIDIA held their own event on Tuesday, and while there weren’t any announcements about a Tegra 2 tablet, there was a few things to take away from the conference. Namely, what NVIDIA has planned for the years to come. While everyone may be focusing on the usage of Tegra 2 right now in all sorts of things, even smartphones, NVIDIA is already hard at work on their next graphics processor, known as Kepler, which is set to land in the second half of 2011. NVIDIA plans on going into production later this year for the new graphics processor, and suggests that the design is progressing at a very rapid rate. He elaborates by saying that the company has hundreds of engineers working on Kepler. The chip is based on a 28nm process, and will deliver an estimated performance boost per watt three to four times better than that seen in NVIDIA’s Fermi line-up. But, NVIDIA’s looking further into the future, too. They also announced that the graphics processor after Kepler would be codenamed Maxwell,

As the third quarter trails to an end, earning results from companies are beginning to come in. Adobe has just reported their third quarter revenue earnings for this quarter, 2010, and they managed to post some record numbers. The company saw sales of $990.3 million for the third quarter, which is compared to the $697 million revenue recorded in 2009, which is a 42% jump from the previous year. Revenue also increased from $943.0 million in the second quarter of 2010. Adobe managed to keep up the good work in their net income as well. The company reported that their non-GAAP diluted earnings per share quarter were $0.54, versus the $.035 recorded in the third quarter of last year. Recorded non-GAAP net income was listed at $284.0 million this quarter, put against the $186.1 million from 2009. Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen made this comment about Adobe’s third quarter earnings for this year. “We remain bullish about Adobe’s long-term role in enabling the transformation of content and app

Last month, Logitech and Google showcased a commercial that was supposed to tell the world about the Logitech Revue set-top box, featuring Google TV. Unfortunately, that particular advertisement didn’t do that . Instead, it managed to terrify anyone who watched it, and probably gave the actress in the ad something she’ll never forget. But that’s not stopping the two companies from showcasing another video, with the TV-with-feet idea again. Fortunately, there’s no screaming this time around, but that doesn’t mean it’s not creepy. We’re not exactly sure why the TV has one eye and feet, but obviously that’s the only way you’d actually look at your TV anymore, right? (That’s what we assume Google is trying to get at, here.) And,they drive that point home when the TV starts tap dancing on the table, and the couple inside the house continues to ignore it. They’re watching their programs on their laptops, and forgetting about the TV. TV misses you . That’s the tag-line for the ads, and it’s

Violent video games aren’t new. And the fight against them has been robust, igniting every so often as a new game is released and gets brought to the forefront of media as an exceptionally violent or explicit title. Arguments vary, but the main gist is that video games shouldn’t be considered art, and ultimately there should be a way to ban the most heinous titles from getting into the hands of those who shouldn’t have them. In this case, a California law that blocks the sale of violent video games from minors is being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on November 2nd, and the video game industry is beginning to join forces to fight it, including Activision Blizzard. In the year 2005, California passed the aforementioned law, which banned the sale of “violent and inappropriate” video games to minors. Back then, the video game industry stepped in yet again, challenging the law, saying that it violated the First Amendment. The bill was subsequently blocked by a U.S. District Court in the

It hasn’t even been a month since Amazon publicly released the Kindle’s update to v3.0.1, but now it seems that the company is already in the preview stage for its next big update. The previous update brought with it a few stable fixes to help improvement, as well as on-device account creation. And, while it was listed as going Over the Air (OTA) “in the next few weeks,” that’s not stopping Amazon from moving on ahead with development. As for the updated software and what it brings to the latest generation Kindle device , Amazon says that it offers “Web browser and general performance improvements.” It’s not a laundry list of improvements or feature additions, but any kind of fix is a good one. All you need to do is drag and drop the file onto your Kindle, and then go through the steps to manually update your Kindle. After you wait a few minutes, your Kindle will be on a version number from the future, and you can show that off to all your friends.

AT&T’s exclusive hold on the iPhone is coming to an end soon, and iPhone owners all over the United States are asking one question, “Should I stay with AT&T?” Analysts have already been all over the subject, well before the exclusive deal ends, and the main consensus seems to be that a high number of customers will ditch AT&T, for whatever other carrier grabs Apple’s iPhone. But, that hasn’t fazed AT&T Chief Randall Stephenson, who says that 2 out of 3 iPhone owners are already loyal not to the iPhone, but to AT&T, and therefore he’s not worried about defectors. At the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in New York City, Stephenson clarified that while the iPhone was a major success, two thirds of iPhone purchases were previous AT&T customers. So, because they were already customers, they probably won’t switch to get the iPhone, a phone they probably already have, on a different carrier. Furthermore, he said that upgrades to the iPhone 4 hit a “record number

Apple’s updated 2010 Mac Pro line was a long time coming, but it certainly addressed would-be buyers’ key complaint: the choice of processors. Now offering everything from a single Intel Xeon through to a pair of six-core chips, the new Mac Pro range claims to be “the most powerful, most configurable Mac ever.” We’ve had a dual-processor quadcore Mac Pro on the SlashGear test bench for a couple of weeks; check out our full review after the cut. Our review unit slots into the middle of the updated Mac Pro range, with two of Intel’s 2.4GHz quadcore Xeon E5620 CPUs, 6GB of 1066MHz DDR3 memory and an ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB video card. With a 1TB 7,200rpm hard-drive it comes in at $3,499 – for $1,000 less you can have a single 2.8GHz Xeon quadcore and half the memory, while for $1,500 more there’s the dual 2.66GHz hexacore Xeon flagship. Still no Blu-ray – not even the option – so it’s a standard 18x SuperDrive, four PCI Express 2.0 slots, five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports. Ne

Battery life is a cruel mistress. Some of our favorite gadgets offer up a battery life that is respectable, and that we don’t necessarily have to worry about if we were to, you know, go outside. But others just don’t. And that’s why charging them while we’re on the go is essential for some people. That’s where solar power excels, as it gives us the ability to charge some of our gadgets by utilizing the power of the sun. And that’s one of the main points of the Ecoball project . Bringing some speakers with you on your picnic may not be the easiest thing in the world, but it’s definitely possible. These Ecoball satellite speakers one-up the competition by offering a built-in battery that can be recharged on the fly, thanks to the solar cells along the strap of the concept design. As you can see in the colorful image above, the power is absorbed through the strap, and then you’ll be able to use the speakers as you please. Simply pull the main ball apart, and you’ve got yourself two speake

Display technology is improving, and the customer is benefiting from it. LaCie has just unveiled a brand new 24-inch display meant for the professional market, and it’s packing enough pixels in there that the company says it will provide you with “lifelike clarity.” The 10-bit P-IPS LCD display is indeed packing quite the feature set, and it’s probably more than enough to make anyone out there in need of a display to show off all of their pictures and movies to take a second look. Of course, the monitor isn’t just for those who like to look at their photos, or edit them. LaCie wants a wide range of professional users, like web designers and illustrators, to take a look at their pixel-packing display. The 324i features a 10bit P-IPS LCD display, with a wide color gamut that reaches 102% NTSC and 98% Adobe RGB. Professional hardware monitor calibration is also included, making sure that you get the best picture, all the time. The display itself boasts a resolution of 1920 x 1200, and th

Word had it, late last week, that Sony would be updating their home video game console, the PlayStation 3 , to version 3.50 on September 21st, which would bring plenty of good features to the console. And, if you’re still upset that you aren’t in Japan and can’t get your hands on that ceramic white PS3, then maybe getting some 3D support for Blu-ray movies will be enough to tide you over, for now. The update went live earlier in the day, and should be available for console owners to download now. The v3.50 update brings not only 3D support for Blu-ray movies, but it also gives owners the ability to take advantage of Facebook integration. Video game developers can now incorporate social networking features into their games, giving players one more way to boast about their high scores to their friends. Also included in the update, is a Grief Reporting Function. It allows players to report bad behavior and harassment online, via the XMB. One obvious rule to the update, though: to take adv

Most people don’t look at the DJ ’s table while they’re at a party, but thanks to Spanish firm Mödek, that’s probably about to change. As long as these start getting bought up, of course. Moving past the design concept stage, the Finish CLUB Deluxe DJ table is available right now, but as attractive pieces of tech usually are, this table isn’t the one you’ll want to look at if you’re looking for a cheap option. The Finish CLUB Deluxe DJ table is actually the first in a set that Mödek plans on creating for their DJ Furniture collection. The table itself is of glossy origin, and features vinyl exclusive decorations. The table itself is created from wood and MDF, and provided with a high gloss lacquer finish. The top cover is the same hue, to make it look flush and clean. As for the wires, you’ll hide them within the table, running them through a connecting hole so you can plug in your equipment. While the standard options are probably enough to get a DJ excited, the optional features mak

I've often been asked, what makes a film different from another film bearing a similar storyline? My reply is, the execution of the subject makes all the difference. Recall DOOSRI DULHAN. Now recall CHORI CHORI CHUPKE CHUPKE. The issue - surrogate motherhood - isn't new, but if handled expertly, it would make for an interesting viewing. Sadly, LIFE EXPRESS fails and fails miserably. The serious issue has been tackled carelessly, callously and amateurishly and for this reason, it comes across as an exercise in boredom. In fact, the film falls flat at the screenplay level itself and since the direction [Anup Das] is equally unimaginative, even the talented actors in the cast fail to redeem the enterprise.  LIFE EXPRESS tells the story of an urban couple, Tanvi [Rituparna Sengupta] and Nikhil [Kiran Janjani], who have no time to spend with each other or start a family. It also tells the story of Mohan [Yashpal Sharma] and Gauri [Divya Dutta], who lead a poverty

Shruti and Bittoo are just out of Delhi University. A chance and inopportune meeting brings them together to reluctantly start a tumultuous entrepreneurial venture as Wedding Planners. Their business enters the ups and downs of the lavish world of the glamour and glitz of Delhi baaraats and weddings that will test their friendship over time. Be a part of the romance, fun and frolic of Band Baaja Baaraat releasing 10th December in cinemas worldwide. 

Only once in a blue moon is such a great criminal born who is fearless as well as shameless! Now is the blue moon and the great criminal is TEES MAAR KHAN. He steals cons and cheats all with such alarming audacity that even shame shies away from him! He and his gang comprising of Dollar, Soda and Burger have managed to keep the police, world over, on their toes. Then one fine day international antique smugglers, the Johri Brothers, assign Tees Maar Khan the BIGGEST CON JOB OF HIS LIFE! He must rob antiques worth 500 crore rupees from a heavily guarded MOVING TRAIN! Will Khan and his merry gang, with some unwitting support from his wannabe-actress girlfriend, Anya, and a greedy Bollywood superstar be able to pull off the greatest heist in history? 

Ajay Devgn: Gopal Gopal is a young man living in Goa with his mother Geeta and younger brother Laxman. He is an innocent Psycho who loves his mother a lot and fumes over petty issues. A little finicky about certain things, Gopal keeps trying different business skills with his brother Laxman and best friend Daboo, but they hardly succeed. Highly unsuccessful in all his ventures, Gopal cannot resist the sight of anyone's 'finger' and has broken a number of them in the past. Kareena Kapoor: Daboo Daboo is a young good looking tom boyish girl residing in Goa. She has a pet dog named 'Face book'. Gopal and Laxman are Daboo's Best friends. Daboo stays in Goa with her elder sister Chintu. She had lost her parents in her childhood. Innocent at heart, She loves accepting new challenges and beating the hell out of baddies. Daboo believes in living life to the fullest! Arshad Warsi: Madhav Madhav stays with his father Pritam and two brothers Lucky an

What if you had a secret hotline to the heart of the girl you love? If you could read her deepest thoughts, know her every emotion and manipulate her every choice. And all you had to do was lie a little; well, not that little. The kind of lie that, if she knew, would break her heart. What would you do? Would you give up your secret? Would you hang up the hotline? Or would you lie? Lie for love? 

When an opportunity to write a script for a movie comes to Ajay, an aspiring screen writer, he is thrilled, more by thought of finally being able to prove him to Jiya, the girl he loves, than the knowledge that this could very well be the beginning of a bright future in the world of celluloid. A robbery being the main theme of the plot, Ajay works hard at getting the script right. Jiya is elated when Ajay is arrested for a crime he didn't commit. Sharad, his friend who had helped him several times in the past, promises to bail him out as soon as possible. Jiya, who has been helping Ajay clear his name, makes a surprising discovery. The fact that she now knows the identity of the killer and the mastermind behind the plot does little to ease her mind. Film 27_13.20 Nakshatra is a romantic thriller that deals the complexities of life. It is a story that portrays different shades of colors that paint a bond of love between two co

Rama - The prince of Ayodhya, the eldest son of the mighty king Dasharath, is the epitome of heroism. Dark and handsome Rama is a great warrior, an exceptional archer as well as a man of honour and virtue who follows Dharma, the righteous path. He wins Sita, the beautiful princess of Mithila as his wife at a 'Swayamavar', a contest to choose the most heroic husband for her, by breaking the indestructible bow of Shiva. He gives up the throne and the kingdom of Ayodhya to honour his father's promise and goes into exile for fourteen years without any resentment. But when Ravan the demon king or Rakshash kidnaps Sita, Rama goes after him. He crosses the dense forests and the deep ocean with an army of Vaanars and battles the mighty army of Ravan. He defeats Ravan, rescues Sita and returns to Ayodhya, victorious. Calm, composed in adversity and steadfast in his beliefs, he is unwaveringly dedicated to goodness and compassion to