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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez claimed the PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok with a three-set win over Jarkko Nieminen in the final. The unseeded Spaniard, who defeated world number one Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, won  6-4 3-6 6-4  after converting his fourth match point. Garcia-Lopez, ranked 53 in the world, had only previously won at Kitzbuehel last year.

Schalke manager Felix Magath pointed the finger at his players for their fifth Bundesliga defeat of the season. The 2-1 loss at Nurnberg will also see Schalke drop to the bottom of the table if Stuttgart pick up a point against Eintracht Frankfurt today and Magath said the players have got to recognise their share of the blame. "I am absolutely unhappy with what my team showed today," he said. "There was no comparison with the way we played in the Champions League. In that game, we invested a lot, but today we just stood back.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is staying modest ahead of his favourite side's visit to Stamford Bridge. Arsenal will travel to Chelsea for the London derby wary of the man who has tormented them in past meetings. The Ivorian has a sensational record against the Gunners - having netted 12 times in 10 games against them. Looking ahead to the latest clash between the two heavyweights, Drogba told Chelsea's official website: "I can say that I am a bit lucky because I scored a few goals against them. "Every game is different. I remember some games when we played well against Arsenal, but this one will be a different one, I don't know how.

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar admitted his side did not deserve to win against Sunderland. United were held to a goalless draw in a tough encounter at the Stadium of Light and many might consider them lucky to have escaped defeat. Bolo Zenden hit the post as the home side attacked a weary United outfit and Van der Sar himself had to make some crucial saves in order to maintain a clean sheet. Speaking to MUTV after the game, the Dutchman said: "That's the way we expected Sunderland to play, because they knew we had games on Sunday and Wednesday.

Barcelona winger Pedro Leon has joined the list of admirers who just cannot stop gushing about Lionel Messi. Messi is widely considered to the best player in the world and has enjoyed the adulation of fans, pundits and fellow players for the past two years. Now, teammate Leon has added his voice to the chorus by telling the press:"He is the best player in the world, and he has no comparison with any other player. "Lionel Messi is irreplaceable, but we have won games when he hasn't been playing.

Fabio Capello has still to decide whether to reinstate Rio Ferdinand as captain even if he is fit for the Montenegro clash. But the Italian stressed the importance of players being fit "for a lot of games" - which could count against Ferdinand. Ferdinand has already lost the Manchester United captaincy to Nemanja Vidic after a series of setbacks have curtailed his appearances for the Red Devils. Now he must wait to find out whether Steven Gerrard will retain the armband for England after impressing and leading by example as Ferdinand's replacement in his absence.

Kolo Toure claims Manchester City need to defeat Newcastle on Sunday to send out a credible title challenge. The former Arsenal defender has been heartened by wins against Liverpool and Chelsea already this season. However, City, a side with Champions League expectations, have also had to settle for a home draw with Blackburn and lost at Sunderland. Toure is adamant there should be no slip-ups when Chris Hughton's newly-promoted side visit Eastlands.

Newcastle boss Chris Hughton does not envy Manchester City counterpart Roberto Mancini's breathtaking spending power. The two men will occupy the dug-outs at Eastlands on Sunday having shopped in very different markets this summer. Mancini's £26million swoop for midfielder James Milner alone dwarfed his Magpies counterpart's entire budget, and he had earlier invested similar funds in David Silva, Yaya Toure and Mario Balotelli in a spending spree which far exceeded £100million. By contrast, Hughton had little choice but to do his business at a more modest level in the wake of promotion back to the Barclays Premier League as he drafted in free agent Sol Campbell, James Perch, Dan Gosling, Cheik Tiote and Hatem Ben Arfa.

After a 2-0 win over Birmingham, Everton boss David Moyes saw his side move off the bottom of the Premier League. The Toffees registered their first league win of the campaign via a 2-0 success at Birmingham through a Roger Johnson own goal and a late header from Tim Cahill. It brought an end to City's 13-month unbeaten home record spanning 18 matches. Moyes said: "Birmingham have a great home record and for us to end it after more than 12 months was really great from our point of view.

After stealing a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp was over the moon. Redknapp admitted Rafael van der Vaart's £8million signing was looking more of a bargain by the minute after the Holland midfielder cemented his status as Tottenham's new talisman. Transfer-deadline-day capture Van der Vaart produced another virtuoso performance to ensure Spurs avoided a European hangover with a 2-1 Premier League victory over Aston Villa. The 27-year-old scored both his side's goals as they came from behind in the latest White Hart Lane thriller.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson pronounced himself content with the 0-0 draw at Sunderland. The Red Devils battled their way to a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light with keeper Edwin van der Sar making a vital save from Steed Malbranque and Bolo Zenden hitting a post as the Black Cats dominated before the break. Either side might have snatched victory at the death, but Ferguson was happy enough with a point on Wearside, their fourth successive Barclays Premier League draw on the road. He said: "Sunderland had the most chances in the game and I have to say we were fantastic defensively.

Manchester United drew blanks after being held to a goalless draw by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. The match was delayed for 20 minutes because of a burst pipe in the visitors' dressing room and it appeared to affect Sir Alex Ferguson's side more as when the match finally kicked off they began on the back foot. Steed Malbranque should have put the Black Cats ahead early on from eight yards out but failed to beat goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who saved low down.

Mark Webber has no intention of taking his foot off the gas to become the third Australian to win the Formula One title. With an 11-point lead over double champion Fernando Alonso, Webber could ease off slightly to minimise the risk of blowing his title hopes. But the Red Bull driver has no intention of taking his foot off the gas in his bid become the third Australian to win the world title after Jack Brabham and Alan Jones. With just four races to go Webber, who is 20 points ahead of McLaren's third placed Briton Lewis Hamilton, could be forgiven for playing the percentages to ensure he achieves his goal.

In the entire month of September, there were just two notable releases - Dabangg and We Are Family . Now let's look at the remainder of the year. October has as many as 20 films lined up while November and December have just about 5 each. There was a similar, if not a better, situation last year too when soon after the producers v/s multiplex stand off strike was through, there was a huge clutter of releases that had accumulated. There was in fact a time when as many as half a dozen films were releasing for weeks in succession. However, the worst scenario that hit Bollywood was when there were close to a dozen odd big films that had arrived one after another in the last quarter of 2009. Circa 2009 and Bollywood is facing similar crisis all over again. Though all producers whose films had flopped last year came with a standard excuse - 'We were hit first by IPL and then later by the standoff', one wonders what would be the excuse this time around if, God f

Anushka Sharma, who made her debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi , would be seen on the big screen yet again in Band Baaja Baaraat . This fun flick coming from the house of 'Yash Raj Films' releases all over on 10th December. However, call it sheer coincidence or a part of the plan but the fact remains that history would be repeating itself for the pretty girl. This is because Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi too had come around the same time when it released on 12th December 2008. Says a trade observer, "This should be one lucky coincidence for the makers and Anushka here. After all Anushka has been enjoying a good innings so far in Bollywood. Her first film was a blockbuster while Badmaash Company , which was again a YRF production and had released earlier this year, was also an average success. She would well be looking at making a hat trick with Band Baaja Baaraat ." While one looks forward to that happening, here is a hitch. While in Rab

Asian filmmakers find it increasingly tough to get shooting permission in England. And when British authorities hear about a brown-skinned community coming down to their country to make a film on terrorism and terror attacks, the Brits go into convulsive fits. Rensil D'Silva had to shift Kurbaan , his film on Islamic extremism, from London to Philadelphia. Now it's the makers of Tezz who have gotten their project into a budge because it's a film about a terror attack on board a speeding train between London and Glasgow. Having been denied work permits for a part of their crew the team now claims the film is not about terrorism at all! Priyadarshan grappled and solved the huge problem of getting work permits for 14 of his crew members in Tezz , the film about terrorists holding a speeding train between London and Glasgow to ransom. Apparently, the work permits were denied because of the terror theme. Skirting the terrorist issue Priyadarshan says,

Director Mohit Suri has been dating actress Udita Goswami for some years now. The couple has had its ups and downs. But the duo has been together long enough to be sure that they want to spend their life together. Mohit is all set to get married to Udita, but on one condition. His film on racism in Australia Crook It's Good To Be Bad becomes a success. Absurd reason for a long-standing relationship to be solemnized? Not in this practical day and age. Reasons Suri, "I need money to support the lifestyle Udita is used to. There's no point in getting married and then thinking of practical matters. So yes, Crook has to be a success. The day it's declared a hit, I'll propose to her. Then the ball is in her court." Apparently, Udita has been praying hard for the film to succeed. Strangely she was absent from the first screening of Crook on Wednesday night for friends and family. Explains Suri, "The screening was for the cast and c

Just a few weeks back, we had reported that Aakrosh was stuck in censor problems as there were approximately 30 cuts that were requested within the film. Director Priyadarshan and producer Kumar Mangat, who were livid with the imposition, approached the Revising Committee. Aakrosh which stars Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu and Paresh Rawal in lead roles is based on the fictitious town of Jhanjhargaon in North India, which starts with the disappearance of three college students who go to watch the Ramleela staged in their village. A few days later, they are reported to have been killed. Ajay Devgn and Akshaye Khanna play the two CBI officers from Delhi sent to the village to investigate the mysterious deaths. That's when they discover a thriving nexus between police and local politicians in caste-related murders. The latest on this, is that the film has been granted an 'A' certificate with just a measly five cuts by the Revising Committee, a dras

Reliance Big Entertainment (RBE), the flagship media and entertainment arm of India's Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group today announced a joint-venture with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's production company Playtone. RBE together with Playtone will create Electric City a multi-platform digital experience covering a multi-episode animated internet series, online social game and mobile application. Conceived and written by Tom Hanks, Electric City will offer a tantalizing view of the future of civilization, presented through the lens of provocative themes such as energy consumption, freedom of information, crime and punishment. Electric City is being specifically designed as a multi-platform, multi-screen unified digital experience. A Social Game, a mobile Game, web episodes and mobile episodes will be interlinked creating a unique digital experience. The storyline lends itself perfectly to a multi-player browser game application for social networking sites

The upcoming film Jhootha Hi Sahi , which is directed by Abbas Tyrewala and stars the Bollywood hunk John Abraham and Pakhi in the lead roles, has run into troubled waters. Apparently, the popular Hollywood production house, Warner Bros has demanded a screening of the film, claiming that the film in question is a rip-off of their television series 'Friends'. However, the producers of the film are finding this claim ridiculous. Sources close to the matter have pointed out stating that apparently the film's producer Madhu Mantena, got a call from the company's officials saying that the film is similar to 'Friends', but Mantena explained that the claim was untrue as the film had nothing to do with series 'Friends'. However, the company insisted and has now asked for a trial, failing which it will sue the producers.

Katrina Kaif's nose is giving her a lot of issues. Wondering why? Well here's the story. At the shoot of Yash Raj's yet untitled project at Pataudi palace in Haryana, Katrina was shooting a comic scene with her co-star Imran Khan which unfortunately led to some bloody developments. The scene being shot demanded Imran to have a gun in one hand and Katrina by his side. He was to move around and pull Katrina towards him with the other hand. An error in judgement led to Imran smashing the barrel of his gun into Kat's nose. It happened so quickly and in seconds Kat's nose was bleeding. Coincidentally, this was the same side of Kat's nose that was injured during the shoot of Ajab Prem Ki Ajab Kahani when Ranbir accidentally landed a blow on her face. Seeing the state of her nose everyone panicked, the shooting was cancelled and Katrina was escorted to her van. A doctor was called and she was administered first aid. The bleeding did stop bu

Last month while A R Rahman recorded the background music of Jhootha Hi Sahi at the world-famous Capitol Studios in Hollywood, LA (the Mecca for everything music) he had an unexpected visitor. It was none other than the dazzling Monica Mancini, the daughter of the legendary Pink Panther composer Henri Mancini. Double Grammy-nominee Monica Mancini, whose father Henri is to film scores what Rahman is to film music, wanted to meet the Slumdog Millionaire composer, apparently for collaboration in the near future. Monica's interest in Rahman's music extends beyond the academic. Like her legendary father, Rahman's background scores for films are as exemplary as his vocals. Monica apparently, wants to carry forward her father's legacy through a collaborative album with Rahman. While Rahman refrained from talking about his meeting with the Mancini heir (apparently Rahman is off the press until after the Commonwealth Games) the Jhootha Hi Sahi dire

Abhay Gulati and Aaliya Khan have known each other since they were four years old. Their friendship turned into love at the tender age of 15, when Abhay realises Aaliya is the girl for him. Aaliya's life is defined by her burning desire to become an actress and she is unmindful of what or who comes in her way. Abhay who is still unsure about what he wants to do finds himself competing with Aaliya's incessant plans and projects to fulfill her dreams. While their relationship blooms because of their personality differences, the baggage because of these differences also grows silently. Things come to a head when Aaliya decides to go to Australia to study and Abhay has to deal with the prospect of a long term relationship, secretly fearing that he will lose Aaliya forever. He takes a leap of faith and they decide to take this time off from each other to figure out what they want to do. The choices Abhay and Aaliya make from here on tests their relati

Tera Kya Hoga Johnny is a thrilling drama written and directed by Sudhir Mishra where emotions like greed, lust, love, betrayal, hope acquire a new meaning as Mumbai struggles to become Shanghai. It's the story of Parvez (Neil Nitin Mukesh) who wants to be a part of the India Shinning dream. His life is torn between his desperation to run away with love of his life Divya (Shahana Goswami) who is married to a corrupt encounter cop Chiple (Kay Kay Menon) and his commitment to his family. Parvez needs to get rich and real quick. The problem is that he has no clue how!! When Parvez decides to steal Chiple's unaccounted money stashed in a flat, it sets into motion a thrilling ride of emotions that engulfs not just his life but also of a coffee delivery boy Johnny (Sikander Agarwal). No other filmmaker in India has explored the psyches of people caught in extreme circumstances with dominating consistency of Sudhir Mishra. His films have brought to screen character