Retired seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was in 'critical' condition with head injuries after an off-piste skiing accident in the French Alps resort of Meribel, his agent said on Sunday.

Professor Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao is the third scientist to be awarded the highest civilian award -- Bharat Ratna, a crowning glory of his inexorable list of outstanding achievements.

Google has acquired Flutter, a San Francisco-based company founded by two persons of Indian origin - Navneet Dalal and Mehul Nariyawala.

with rising costs and stricter visa rules, Indian students are now choosing destinations beyond the Big Four (USA, UK, Australia and Canada).

Bradley Wiggins was 120 km away from becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France after he outclassed the rest of the bunch in the penultimate stage, a 53.5-km time trial to Chartres on Saturday.

Girondins Bordeaux saw their lead at the top of Ligue 1 cut to three points after going down 4-2 at Stade Rennes on Saturday.

Togo's soccer team has decided to play in the African Nations Cup following a deadly attack on the squad, even though its government has withdrawn the side, French sports newspaper L'Equipe reported on Sunday.

Marouane Chamakh struck late to give Ligue 1 leaders Girondins Bordeaux a 1-0 win at Olympique Lyon on Sunday that put their title rivals eight points behind.

Olympique Lyon failed to capitalise on a Lisandro Lopez hat-trick and missed a chance to narrow the gap with Ligue 1 leaders Girondins Bordeaux when they slumped to a dramatic 4-3 defeat at Lille on Sunday.

Lowly Paris St Germain ended Auxerre's surprise Ligue 1 run by beating the leaders 1-0 at Parc des Princes on Saturday.

Monaco handed Paris St Germain their first defeat of the season in Ligue 1 when a couple of late goals earned them a 2-0 home victory on Sunday.

Yoan Gouffran netted in the first half to keep champions Girondins Bordeaux top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 home victory against bottom club Grenoble on Saturday.

Inter Milan went 10 points clear in Serie A, while French champions Olympique Lyon were knocked off the top of the Ligue 1 table by Olympique Marseille.

Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyon lost 2-0 to Lille at the Stade de France on Saturday and saw their advantage at the top cut to just one point.

Manchester United had English Premier League leaders Liverpool looking anxiously over their shoulders after a 3-0 drubbing of Chelsea on Sunday put the champions just five points off the pace with two games in hand. Barcelona left it late to win at Osasuna and go 12 points clear in Spain while David Beckham played almost all the match on his debut for AC Milan, a 2-2 draw at AS Roma.

Olympique Lyon wrapped up a record seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title with a convincing 3-1 win at AJ Auxerre.

e 23-man lists of the 32 teams for the 2006 football World Cup after the May 15 deadline to confirm squads ended on Monday.

The American lost his Tour de France leader's yellow jersey to Germany's Jens Voigt as the race reached its first halt at the end of the ninth stage.\n

New York, Madrid, Havana, Leipzig and London are already in the race.