This is what Minister of State for External Affairs Digvijay Singh told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.
Cool-headed Germany extended their Euro 2012 winning streak to reach the last eight with a solid 2-1 victory over Denmark on Sunday as two goals from an inspired Cristiano Ronaldo put Portugal through and sent the Dutch packing.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos took the brave call to bench Cristiano Ronaldo and was rewarded with an artful display from his side as they set up a last-eight clash with Morocco
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo believes the pressure is off his country as they prepare for a daunting group at Euro 2012.
Portugal winger Nani is struggling to shake off an injury to his right foot and may miss his country's opening Euro 2012 game against Germany, coach Paulo Bento said on Friday.
France, Portugal and Russia all moved closer to next year's World Cup finals with first leg playoff wins on Saturday, although none of them did enough to take victory for granted in the second legs next week.
India still awaits his extradition to face trial in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and other cases.
Portugal's Supreme Court has rejected a Central Bureau of Investigation appeal against a lower court decision which had held that rules have been breached on extradition of underworld don Abu Salem by slapping of new charges that attract death penalty.
Striker Adriano, who has been left out of Inter Milan's last two games for indiscipline, was named in Brazil's squad on Monday for this month's friendly against Portugal. World Player of the Year Kaka was also included by coach Dunga but Ronaldinho, who missed last month's World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Colombia, was again overlooked.
Saudi Arabia announced it would bid only minutes after soccer's global governing body called for Asia and Oceania bids on October 4.
Reuters TV footage showed people smashing shop ventures and fights with police. Some fires could also be seen on avenue de Friedland close to the Champs Elysees.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest forwards of all time but his latest struggles with Manchester United and Portugal have raised many questions about whether his brilliant career is nearing a bitter end.
Asked if the result could have been different if Ronaldo had played from the beginning of the game, Portuguese fan Filipa Ramires said "it wouldn't have mattered".
Brazil gave beleaguered coach Dunga some respite on Wednesday by thumping Portugal 6-2 in a friendly, helped by a hat-trick from striker Luis Fabiano. The five-times world champions had been held to 0-0 draws in their last three home games, against Argentina, Bolivia and Colombia, and had not scored in front of their own fans since last November.
The 15-nation UN Security Council had last week voted for Guterres by acclamation and forwarded his name to the General Assembly.
Cristiano Ronaldo, suffering with tendinosis around his left knee and an injury to his right thigh, trained with his Portugal team mates on Saturday for the first time since joining the World Cup squad 10 days ago.
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo will leave with immediate effect, the English Premier League team said on Tuesday, marking a bitter end to the Portugal captain's second spell at Old Trafford after he said he felt betrayed by the club.
Centre forward Eder, who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2016 final against France, was among 10 players from that squad omitted from Santos's list. Other unlucky players included midfielders Andre Gomes and Renato Sanches, forward Nani and defender Eliseu.
Mercurial forward Ricardo Quaresma scored twice and set up three more goals in a sparkling individual performance as Portugal demolished Estonia 7-0 in their final friendly before Euro 2016 on Wednesday. The charismatic but erratic forward, given a chance to stake his place in the team for France when he replaced Nani in the starting line-up, even upstaged Cristiano Ronaldo who scored twice before being taken off at halftime. Quaresma, whom critics say has failed to make the most of his talent in a career punctuated by tantrums, produced his full repertoire of tricks in one of the best international performances of his topsy-turvy career. The 32-year-old opened the floodgates with two moments of brilliance just before halftime. This first was a stunning "trivela", an outswinging cross hit with the outside of his right foot, to pick out Ronaldo who got in front of his marker and scored with a bullet header at the far post in the 36th minute.
Russia joined Sweden, Turkey and Portugal as the last four qualifiers for next year's European championship on Wednesday after England's hopes were shattered in a 3-2 defeat by Croatia at Wembley Stadium.
The top seeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair of Sania Mirza and Cara Black rallied from a set down to quell the challenge of Irina-Camelia Begu and Maria Irigoyen in the opening round of the WTA Portugal Open, in Oeiras, on Wednesday.
President of Portugal Anibal Antonio Cavaco Silva on Wednesday said India was now recognised as a success story, a place where "the future is being shaped".
Pride not pragmatism will be the watchword when soccer powerhouses Brazil and Portugal meet in a mouthwatering World Cup clash on Friday (1930 IST) to decide the winners of Group G. Although whoever tops the group could meet Spain in the second round, any suggestion that either side might connive to avoid the European champions has received short shrift.
A round-up of all the international friendlies played on Tuesday
Pride not pragmatism will be the watchword when soccer powerhouses Brazil and Portugal meet in a mouth-watering World Cup clash on Friday to decide the winners of Group G.
Jose Mourinho has said he was frustrated by what appeared to be Real Madrid's objections to his temporarily coaching the Portuguese national team for two Euro 2012 qualifiers next month
Manchester United bolstered their squad with a flurry of transfer deadline day signings, Manchester City and Liverpool also splashed out while ambitious Brighton & Hove Albion sealed an audacious loan deal for Barcelona's Ansu Fati on Friday.
Portugal have asked FIFA to cancel the yellow card Cristiano Ronaldo received in the World Cup game against the Ivory Coast, saying the forward merely tried to walk away after being tripped and insulted.
Striker Sunil Chhetri struck twice as the Indian national football team scored a narrow 3-2 victory over Portuguese second division side Sertanense FC in a practice match at Santarem, around 60kms from Lisbon.
In his fifth World Cup, Ronaldo will arrive captaining a team of standout players who are widely seen as among the world's best but who have arguably underachieved on the biggest stage.
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said on Tuesday his team's 2-0 win over his compatriots from Brazil meant more in terms of preparation for their next European qualifier than personal satisfaction.
Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba will decide if he has recovered sufficiently from a fractured elbow to play against Portugal in their World Cup Group G opener on Tuesday, said coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
France produced one of soccer's most famous comebacks on Tuesday to scrape into next year's World Cup finals via the playoffs while Portugal blazed through after Cristiano Ronaldo conjured up a sensational hat-trick.
Spain's 'Tiki Taka' passing was off-tempo at the Donbass Arena but the holders, unable to hurt Portugal in 120 minutes of stalemate, broke their hearts in a penalty shootout to reach the final of Euro 2012 on Wednesday.
Ducati's Enea Bastianini claimed his first race victory of the season when he won the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of Gresini's Alex Marquez on Sunday, while Jorge Martin failed to close the gap on championship leader Francesco Bagnaia.
Portugal's captain said he expects a difficult game because it will be one of the last chances for Iran to try to get through to the next round.
