Djokovic reaches Thailand Open semis

Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga remained on course for a rematch after the top-seeded Serbian reached the semi-finals of the Thailand Open with a 6-4 7-5 victory over Robin Soderling of Sweden.

Djokovic's win over the sixth seed on Friday came just hours after Tsonga reached the semis on the opposite side of the draw with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Jurgen Melzer.

The results kept alive the possibility of a Djokovic-Tsonga final, which would be a rematch of January's Australian Open championship match.

Djokovic beat the Frenchman, seeded second here, in four sets in that showdown, claiming his first grand slam title.

Before the world number three entertains thoughts of a rematch with Tsonga, he must first get past third seed Tomas Berdych on Saturday in what will be their first meeting.

Czech Berdych progressed on Friday with a 7-6 (8/6) 6-3 win over France's Nicolas Mahut.

Tsonga's opponent in the last four will be fourth-seeded compatriot Gael Monfils, who claimed a 7-6 (8/6) 6-4 victory over German Philipp Petzschner.

The all-French semi-final will be the first ATP main-draw meeting between Tsonga and Monfils. The two have met once at the France F14 tournament in 2003, when Tsonga forged a 6-2 6-3 triumph.

Saina enters Chinese Masters Super Series semis

Saina Nehwal shocked world No 6 and third seed Lin Zhu of China to cruise into the semi-finals of the Chinese Masters Super Series at Changzhou in China on Friday.

Saina depended more on smashes to win points and quickly ran away with the first game 21-16.

The Chinese player fought back in the second game as the 18-year-old Indian could not continue the momentum. Lin went on to win the second game 21-23.

However, Saina wrapped up the match which lasted 56 minutes with a 21-18 win in the third set.

The 18-year-old national champion will face Hong-Kong's Mi Zhou in the semi-finals.

Saturday night thiever says sorry to victims

A thief in Germany, plagued by guilt after robbing a kiosk, went back days later to deliver a note of apology and pay compensation to the victims.

Police said the business in Kamen, near the western town of Unna, was broken into on Saturday night and looted of cigarettes and alcohol, suffering looses of about 4,300 euros.

Arriving for work on Thursday, staff were surprised to find an envelope stuffed with 400 euros ($590) and a note which read "sorry -- to make up for Saturday night!."

U.S., Pakistani troops exchange fire

U.S. and Pakistani ground forces exchanged fire across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on Thursday, the latest in a string of incidents that has ratcheted up diplomatic tension between the two allies.

No casualties or injuries were reported after Pakistani forces shot at two U.S. helicopters from a Pakistani border post. U.S. and Pakistani officials clashed over whether the American helicopters had entered Pakistan.

The incident follows a U.S. campaign of attacks on militant targets inside Pakistan, including a Sept. 3 U.S. commando raid on a village compound in South Waziristan. Islamabad has protested those strikes and warned it would defend itself.

"Just as we will not let Pakistan's territory be used by terrorists for attacks against our people and our neighbors, we cannot allow our territory and our sovereignty to be violated by our friends," Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said in New York on Thursday.

But in Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman insisted the helicopters had not entered Pakistan. He described the incident as "troubling" and called on Islamabad for an explanation.

"The flight path of the helicopters at no point took them over Pakistan," he said. "The Pakistanis have to provide us with a better understanding of why this took place."

According to Pakistan's military, its soldiers fired warning shots at two U.S. helicopters after they intruded into Pakistani airspace. The U.S. military said the helicopters were protecting a patrol about one mile (1.6 km) inside Afghanistan when Pakistani forces opened fire.

UNCERTAIN BORDER

"The (helicopters) did not return fire but the ground forces fired suppressive fire at that outpost. The Pakistani forces then returned that fire. The whole exchange lasted about five minutes," said an official with U.S. Central Command, which oversees American military operations in Afghanistan.

The U.S. forces were operating under NATO command.

Thursday's confrontation followed a dispute earlier this week over reports of a downed U.S. drone in Pakistan. Pakistani officials said a small unmanned American aircraft crashed in Pakistan, but U.S. officials denied it, saying a drone went down in Afghanistan and was recovered.

The rugged border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan is seen by Washington as critical to its fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Bush administration considers Pakistan an ally in counterterrorism but U.S. officials say Islamabad has not done enough against militants there.

The uncertain border also complicates efforts, making it difficult for forces to determine when they are in Afghanistan or Pakistan, both U.S. and Pakistani officials concede.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, after meeting Zardari on Thursday, said she believed he was strongly committed to fighting militants.

"We talked about how we might assist Pakistan in doing what it needs to do, but I think there is a very strong commitment. And after all, it is the same enemy," she said in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider in Islamabad, Sue Pleming in New York and Jonathon Burch in Kabul)

Aamir Khan’s take on Marathi brigade: Shun leaders who seek to divide

Any film, whether Hindi, Marathi or Telugu, has a right to be released anywhere in the country”

Actor Aamir Khan on Sunday plunged unexpectedly into the Marathi manoos controversy, dismissing it as a non-issue and advising fans to shut out those seeking to “divide us on the basis of language or culture”.

The actor-turned-director made his political stand known at a press conference meant to celebrate the selection of Taare Zameen Par (TZP) as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards.

Without taking names, he said, “We should be wary of any politician who wants to divide us on the basis of language or culture. If a politician does that, then he’s not for the country but for himself... We should support leaders who are positive thinkers, who can bring people together, promote peace and brotherhood.”

He called himself a Marathi but struck a nationalistic chord: “Any film, be it Hindi, Tamil or Telugu, has a right to be released anywhere in the country, even in Maharashtra. It’s one country and this is a non-issue... We should respect all the languages and cultures of our country.”

On his film, Khan unveiled a massive campaign strategy aimed at helping TZP achieve what Lagaan and Rang De Basanti could not. On the agenda are screenings for Academy members in Los Angeles and New York, besides roping in the services of an LA-based PR company to create a media buzz.

“Since I’m the producer-director, it’s my responsibility to create awareness. We’ll advertise the film and tell members how TZP has played an important role in creating childcare awareness in our country. I’m sure the film will leave a strong impact on members; it will at least make them cry,” he said.

Khan is hoping his previous experience with the Oscars will help: “Maybe some of the jury members will give TZP more attention if they recognise me from my earlier films,” he said.

Yet, for all the hype, Khan claims that the golden statuette is not high among his priorities. “I don’t need an Oscar to tell me that my film is good. I make films for the audience; if they like a film then that’s my award. It’s just that international forums provide a platform for filmmakers to address a larger audience,” he said.

Asked whether he has put behind him Lagaan’s loss to No Man’s Land, Khan said that in his eyes Lagaan didn’t lose. “After the ceremony, about 40 members came up to me and told me that they were disappointed that Lagaan didn’t win since they had voted for it. It’s just that all five films that year were great. Lagaan didn’t lose.”

As to why an Indian film has not won an Oscar till now, Khan delivered a parting shot: “That’s because the other films are better.” He’ll be hoping to change that this time around....

India to Reach for the Moon Next Month

Chandrayaan is all set to make history; taking India to the moon

If everything goes as planned, any of the days starting October 19th to 28th would be remembered as a red-letter day for us Indians. Our very first, homespun lunar probe, Chandrayaan is all set to make its first voyage to our nearest celestial body -- the Moon on these tentative dates -- depending on the weather conditions then. If the weather plays spoil sport, the mission will need to be postponed to December. In any case, a successful mission will no doubt put India in the elite club of counties who have been able to send missions to moon.

Chandrayaan is still undergoing tests and is yet to clear the vibration and acoustic tests, which it would be subjected to later this week. These tests will simulate the conditions that the probe will need to bear at the tine of launch. These include high-temperatures, vibrations during take off and not to mention, the tremendous noise that is expected of a typical rocket launch.

Chandrayaan will carry as many as 11 payloads -- five from India, three from the European Space Agency (ESA), one from the Bulgarian Space Agency (BSA) and two from NASA, making it a truly global initiative. The two-year mission will be invaluable as the Chandrayaan is programmed to orbit the Lunar surface and digitally map it. It will also send information on the traces of the composition of the lunar surface apart from looking for atomic minerals such as thorium and uranium. The probe is also equipped with high-resolution cameras which could help shed some light on the existence of water on the moon.

A modified (rather upgraded) PSLV launch vehicle will be used to transport the probe to the lunar orbit. Due to the modifications, the PSLV C-11 will have a lift-off weight of 316 tonnes, which is much higher than the "standard" 294-ton version. Additionally, the payload capacity too has been increased from 1600 kg to 1800 kg. The PSLV has been the most successful launch vehicle for ISRO till date. It also holds the record for sending as many as 10 satellites simultaneously during its last mission. This time round, it is all set to break its own record by carrying 11 different payloads.

Undoubtedly, the Indian space program has come a long way since its initial stages when the first rocket transporter happened to be a bicycle, which carried the 9 kilo rocket to the "launch pad"! That was back in 1963 when visionaries like Vikram Sarabhai and APJ Abdul Kalam laid the foundation of what has become one of the greatest success stories of India.

Batman: Arkham Asylum video game

Warner Bros. joins with Eidos and Rocksteady for new next-gen Batman release.

Following on from the phenomenal success of its recent Batman movie sequel The Dark Knight, media giant Warner Bros. has partnered with renowned videogame publisher Eidos Interactive (Tomb Raider) to produce Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Described as “a dark, action packed videogame adventure,” Batman: Arkham Asylum will take place completely within the iconic psychiatric hospital that was initially showcased during 2005’s Hollywood blockbuster Batman Begins.

Developed by Rocksteady Studios (Urban Chaos: Riot Response), the new Batman title will see players assuming the role of the caped crusader as he delivers The Joker to Arkham, only to be fall into a fiendish trap set by the super-villains housed inside.

Boasting an original script from the pen of Emmy Award-winning Batman writer Paul Dini (he also served as a writer on ABC’s hit show Lost), Batman: Arkham Asylum will include various notable DC Comics’ villains including The Joker, Killer Croc and many more -- all revisioned by the creative team at Wildstorm.

Set to deliver “stunning graphics” in a videogame adventure that will bring the comic book Batman’s universe to life, Eidos Interactive CEO Phil Rogers has promised that Batman: Arkham Asylum will emerge as “a true action adventure game experience worthy of gamers and fans.”

“Batman: Arkham Asylum offers players the chance to battle Gotham’s worst villains with Batman’s physical and psychological strength in a graphically distinct and story-driven game,” trumpeted Martin Tremblay, president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Further fluffing the pillow of pre-release expectation, Tremblay went on to say that Batman: Arkham Asylum will emerge with “a noticeably different feature set in an incredibly dark interactive environment.” No pressure on Eidos and Rocksteady then.

Tentatively scheduled to hit retail in 2009, the game will appear on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Games for Windows.

Intel unleashes new Xeon 7400 beasts

Continuing its onwards and upwards drive to produce ever-more powerful processing technology, market leader Intel Corporation has this week moved to extend its advantage in the high-end server arena with the launch of seven new Xeon 7400 Series microprocessors.

Built on 45 nanometer (nm) manufacturing techniques, Intel’s new line sports up to six processing cores per chip along with 16MB of shared cache memory, which the Santa Clara-based titan says makes the 7400 Series perfect for delivering increased application performance of up to 50 percent in databases, virtualised environments, enterprise resource planning and server consolidation.

According to Intel, platforms based on the Xeon 7400 Series will be able to scale up to 16 processor sockets to deliver servers with as many as 96 processing cores inside, which in turn offers “tremendous scalability” alongside ample computing threads, extensive memory resources and uncompromising reliability for data centers.

“With new features such as additional cores, large shared caches and advanced virtualization technologies, the Xeon 7400 series delivers record-breaking performance that will lead enterprises into the next wave of virtualization deployments,” trumpeted Tom Kilroy, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group.

Looking to further bolster the worth of its 7400 Series, Intel is keen to point out that the new Xeon line has already set new four-socket and eight-socket world records across key industry benchmarks for virtualisation, database, enterprise resource planning and e-commerce.

Based on Intel’s 45nm high-k process manufacturing, the Xeon 7400 Series will, if Intel is to be believed, provide a performance boost of up to 50 percent in certain environments, while also leveraging in up to 10 percent reduction in platform power for those more eco-conscious buyers.

The series offers up performance frequencies ranging as high as 2.66GHz and power levels down as low as 50 watts, while the six core model pushes less than 11 watts per core for a total of just 65 watts.

Intel’s 7400 Series is compatible with existing Xeon 7300 Series platforms and also the 7300 chipset (up to 256GB), allowing IT departments to quickly deploy the new processor into a stable platform infrastructure.

And what of the accompanying prices? Available for order in quantities of 1,000, prices across the series range from $856 USD through to a more wallet-testing $2,729 USD.

Ganguly best, but no place in Rest

Sourav Ganguly's omission from the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy match against Ranji Trophy champions Delhi could well signal the end of the left-hander's international career.

A poor outing with the bat in the three-Test series in Sri Lanka saw the selectors lose patience with the left-hander. However, question marks still remain over their decision to persist with Rahul Dravid VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar , who also did not live up to expectations.

Ganguly's axing could well signal the start of the process of the selectors trying to ease out the Fab Four from the Indian Test team.

Interestingly, Ganguly's run-aggregate since his comeback in December 2006, is the highest by any Indian batsman in Test matches during this period, whereas his run-aggregate in ODIs since his comeback is the fifth highest by any Indian batsman after Mahendra Singh Dhoni (1,884 runs in 58 matches @ 49.57), Tendulkar (1824 in 43 @ 46.76), Yuvraj Singh (1,763 in 55 @ 38.32) and Gautam Gambhir (1,578 in 44 @ 41.52).

Rajneesh Gupta presents a statistical analysis of the four senior batsmen:

Fab Four's Test record:

	Mts	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	SR	100	50
S Tendulkar	150	244	25	11877	248*	54.23	54.13	39	49
R Dravid	125	216	26	10246	270	53.92	41.93	25	52
S Ganguly	109	180	15	6888	239	41.74	51.36	15	34
VVS Laxman	96	158	21	6000	281	43.79	49.15	12	35

Fab Four's ODI record:

	Mts	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	SR	100	50
S Tendulkar	417	407	38	16361	186*	44.33	85.49	42	89
S Ganguly	311	300	23	11363	183	41.02	73.70	22	72
R Dravid	333	308	40	10585	153	39.49	71.22	12	81
VVS Laxman	86	83	7	2338	131	30.76	71.23	6	10

Fab Four's Test record since Ganguly's comeback in Dec 2006:

	Mts	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	SR	100	50
S Ganguly	21	40	3	1667	239	45.05	61.51	3	9
S Tendulkar	18	33	3	1408	154*	46.93	55.67	4	8
VVS Laxman	19	34	7	1302	112*	48.22	49.48	2	10
R Dravid	21	40	4	1197	129	33.25	39.75	2	6

Fab Four's ODI record since Ganguly's comeback in Dec 2006:

	Mts	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	SR	100	50
S Tendulkar	43	42	3	1824	117*	46.76	85.51	2	15
S Ganguly	30	28	2	1120	98	43.07	71.93	0	11
R Dravid	31	27	5	823	92*	37.40	82.05	0	8
VVS Laxman	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

King Roger is back

People doubted whether Roger Federer could get over the tough loss at Wimbledon and win a Grand Slam ever again. Bjorn Borg said he wouldn't be surprised if Federer took a long break from the game. John McEnroe thought it would be tough for the Swiss to match or surpass Pete Sampras's record haul of 14 majors.

As Federer stood there alone in all his glory, with his fifth US Open championship trophy, smiling endlessly, posing for the cameras, he not only proved them wrong; but also that when it comes to him the common malaises, emotional and physical pitfalls don't apply.

He was on the top of the game for four-and-a-half years. It's easy to lose focus, easier to get burnt out.

Borg argued Federer would feel the fatigue of the relentless race to stay atop. He could turn away from the competition, hang his racquet for a few months, enjoy the Swiss Alps. Twelve Grand Slams were enough to put him in the 'all-time greats' category.

Federer has already made it a 'lucky' 13 and promised he won't stop at it.

In the past few months, he suffered a scarring defeat and Roland Garros, surrendered his Wimbledon crown to an overpowering Rafael Nadal in an epic final, had his Olympic dream crushed by James Blake in the quarter-finals and lost his coveted number one ranking, a spot he owned for so long that the aura still refuses to go away.

Federer did not shrug and cave in.

After years of doing the routine at the US Open he had a purpose again. Not just history, but a reason to redeem his season and set him back on the Grand Slam track. As his third-round opponent, Radek Stepanek, said, "The hunger was back."

He came into the US Open a four-time defending champion but a decided underdog. The mountain of expectation was off him.

Nadal had pulverized opponents in his pursuit for the No 1 ranking and then the Olympic gold. He looked untouchable for a while at Flushing Meadows. Given his strong, almost manic, will to earn a Slam on hard courts, the Spaniard winning the US Open looked like a logical conclusion.

When the world started looking away, Federer again brought the spotlight firmly on himself.

The cool Swiss, who admitted he was ready to show more emotion on the court to push his game forward, was fired up. He was still not invincible at the Open, and had some tough battles laid out for him.

Russian Igor Andreev stretched him to five sets; a qualifier from Luxembourg, Gilles Muller -- also a left-hander -- showed Federer was fallible.

The errors still came from his racquet. But Federer displayed the tenacity that had been concealed in his smooth run before this. The same tenacity and a sense of pride that had seen him locked in an intriguing battle against Nadal in the Wimbledon final.

He did not mind playing hard against the baseline bullies; did not mind sweating it out.

When he freed himself of the inhibitions, let the cool demeanour of the champion slip, he endeared himself even more to the New York crowd. He was human and not afraid to show it. For an audience that thrived on the emotional quotient of a match, his class and charisma proved the perfect mix.

When the time came, Federer also played smart. Brute power wouldn't be enough against a tactically strong Andy Murray.

He saved the flamboyant serves, which had reeled 20 aces in the semi-final against Novak Djokovic for a later day. The Swiss, surprisingly, had only three aces to his name in the final against Murray. His pace was too much to handle for the first-time Slam finalist and Federer continued to move forward, daring Murray to make the moves.

For long, Federer was prided himself in being the one attacking player in a largely defensive field.

And when he stuck to his strengths he looked the master of the game once again. "I almost felt invincible there for a while," he admitted after winning the 13th Grand Slam.

After the US Open triumph, he also said following his disappointing run this season, all "sorts of people had come out of the closets" to offer him emotional help. "I am happy to put them to rest," an amused Federer concluded.

They will be back, soon; whenever he slips again. So will the doubters and the ghosts from his past, especially at the French Open and Wimbledon. The victory at the Open might blind them for a while and help him to carry on.

But for the great player that he is, they will be put to rest only once he is done. Then, we can reflect and realise what a privilege it has been.

WALL-E Review

Synopsis: What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? Academy Award®-winning writer-director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo”) and the inventive storytellers and technical geniuses at Pixar Animation Studios (“The Incredibles,” “Cars,”... What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off?

Academy Award®-winning writer-director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo”) and the inventive storytellers and technical geniuses at Pixar Animation Studios (“The Incredibles,” “Cars,” “Ratatouille”) transport moviegoers to a galaxy not so very far away for a new computer-animated cosmic comedy about a determined robot named WALL•E.

After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL•E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.

Joining WALL•E on his fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future, is a hilarious cast of characters including a pet cockroach, and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

Filled with surprises, action, humor and heart, WALL•E was written and directed by Andrew Stanton, produced by Jim Morris, co-produced by Lindsey Collins and features original and innovative sound design by Academy Award®-winner Ben Burtt (“Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”).

Major Transfers

Major transfers in English Premier League

Arsenal

French defender Mickael Silvestre from Manchester United; French midfielder Amaury Bischoff from Werder Bremen; French midfielder Samir Nasri from Marseille for a fee of €14.5m; Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey from Cardiff City; Mexican forward Carlos Vela (loan return) from Osasuna.

Aston Villa

Midfielder James Milner from Newcastle United for a fee of €12.5m; Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar from Glasgow Rangers for a fee of €10m; Defender Luke Young from Middlesbrough for a fee of €6.4m; Defender Nicky Shorey from Reading for a fee of €4.4m; American goalkeeper Brad Friedel from Blackburn Rovers for a fee of €2.5m; American goalkeeper Brad Guzan from CD Chivas for a fee of €1m; Midfielder Steve Sidwell from Chelsea for a fee of €6.2m; Defender Curtis Davies from West Brom for a fee of €10m.

Blackburn

Goalkeeper Mark Bunn from Northampton; Australian midfielder Vince Grella from Torino for a fee of €5.5m; Defender Danny Simpson on loan from Manchester United; Paraguayan forward Julio Santa Cruz from Cerro Porteno; Chilean midfielder Carlos Villanueva on loan from Audax Italiano; Chilean midfielder Carlos Villanueva from Audax Italiano for a fee of €1m; Forward Robbie Fowler on a free transfer from Cardiff City; Goalkeeper Paul Robinson from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of €4.4m.

Bolton

Polish forward Ebi Smolarek on loan from Racing Santander; Nigerian defender Daniel Shittu from Watford; Dutch forward Mustapha Riga from Levante; Swedish forward Johan Elmander from Toulouse for a fee of €12.6m; Midfielder Fabrice Muamba from Birmingham City for a fee of €6.5m.

Chelsea

Portuguese midfielder Deco from Barcelona for a fee of €10m; Portuguese midfielder Bosingwa from Porto for a fee of €20m.

Everton

Goalkeeper Carlo Nash from Wigan Athletic; Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini from Standard for a fee of €18.5m; French forward Louis Saha from Manchester United; Ecuadorian midfielder Segundo Castillo on loan from Red Star Belgrade; Danish defender Lars Jacobsen on a free transfer from Nurnberg; South African midfielder Steven Pienaar (permanent signing) from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €2.6m.

Fulham

Midfielder Julian Gray on loan from Coventry City; Nigerian midfielder Dickson Etuhu from Sunderland; Forward Andy Johnson from Everton for a fee of €13.2m; Forward Andy Johnson from Everton; Swedish defender Fredrik Stoor from Rosenborg; Swiss goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler on a free transfer from Xamax; Forward Bobby Zamora from West Ham United for a fee of €4.1m; Ghanaian defender John Paintsil from West Ham United for a fee of €3.8m; Iranian midfielder Andranik Teymourian on a free transfer from Bolton Wanderers; Hungarian forward Zoltan Gera from West Bromwich Albion; Goalkeeper David Stockdale from Darlington; Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer on a free transfer from Middlesbrough.

Hull City

Gabon forward Daniel Cousin from Glasgow Rangers; Jamaican forward Marlon King on loan from Wigan Athletic; Goalkeeper Mark Oxley from Rotherham United; Defender Anthony Gardner (permanent signing) from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of €3.1m; Hungarian midfielder Peter Halmosi from Plymouth; Goalkeeper Tony Warner on a free transfer from Fulham; French defender Bernard Mendy on a free transfer from Paris St. Germain; Dutch midfielder George Boateng from Middlesbrough for a fee of €1.3m; Brazilian midfielder Geovanni from Manchester City; Forward Craig Fagan (permanent signing) from Derby County.

Liverpool

Spanish midfielder Albert Riera from Espanyol; Hungarian goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi (permanent signing) from MTK Budapest; Brazilian forward Vitor Flora on a free transfer from Botafogo; Irish forward Robbie Keane from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of €25m; French forward David Ngog from Paris St. Germain for a fee of €1.5m; Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri from Palmeiras for a fee of €4.4m; Danish forward Nikola Saric from Herfolge; Italian defender Andrea Dossena from Udinese for a fee of €9m; Swiss defender Philipp Degen from Borussia Dortmund.

Manchester City

Brazilian forward Robinho from Real Madrid for a fee of €40m; Brazilian defender Glauber Berti from Nurnberg; Argentinean midfielder Zabaleta from Espanyol; Midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips from Chelsea; Belgian defender Vincent Kompany from Hamburger; Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim from Chelsea for a fee of €6.4m; Brazilian forward Jo from CSKA Moscow for a fee of €24m.

Manchester United

Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of €38m; Angolan forward Manucho (loan return) from Panathinaikos Athens.

Middlesbrough

Defender Justin Hoyte from Arsenal London for a fee of €3.8m; Dutch forward Marvin Emnes from Sparta Rotterdam for a fee of €4m; French forward Didier Digard from Paris St. Germain for a fee of €5m.

Newcastle

Uruguayan midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez on loan from Valencia; Spanish forward Xisco from Deportivo La Coruna for a fee of €7m; Argentinean defender Fabricio Coloccini from Deportivo La Coruna for a fee of €13m; Midfielder Danny Guthrie from Liverpool for a fee of €4.3m; Argentinean midfielder Jonas Gutierrez from Mallorca for a fee of €6.3m.

Portsmouth

Algerian defender Nadir Belhadj on loan from Lens; French defender Armand Traore on loan from Arsenal; Midfielder Jerome Thomas (permanent signing) from Charlton Athletic; Midfielder Jerome Thomas on loan from Charlton Athletic; French defender Younes Kaboul from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of €7.7m; Forward Peter Crouch from Liverpool for a fee of €13.8m; Israeli forward Ben Sahar on loan from Chelsea; Midfielder Glen Little on a free transfer from Reading.

Tottenham

Forward Fraizer Campbell on loan from Manchester United; Croatian defender Vedran Corluka from Manchester City for a fee of €10.5m; Spanish goalkeeper Cesar from Zaragoza; Forward David Bentley from Blackburn Rovers for a fee of €19m; Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes from PSV Eindhoven; Brazilian defender Giovani dos Santos from Barcelona for a fee of €6m; Croatian midfielder Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb for a fee of €21m.

West Brom

Swedish defender Jonas Olsson from Nijmegen for a fee of €1m; Dutch defender Ryan Donk on loan from AZ Alkmaar; Spanish midfielder Borja Valero from Mallorca for a fee of €6m; Ivory Coast defender Abdoulaye Meite from Bolton for a fee of €2.5m; Goalkeeper Scott Carson from Liverpool for a fee of €4.1m; Slovakian defender Marek Cech from Porto for a fee of €1.8m; Scottish forward Graham Dorrans from Livingston; Dutch defender Gianni Zuiverloon from Heerenveen for a fee of €4m; South Korean midfielder Do-Heon Kim from Seongnam Ilhwa.

West Ham

Czech goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk; Swiss midfielder Valon Behrami from Lazio for a fee of €6m.

Wigan

Midfielder Lee Cattermole from Middlesbrough for a fee of €4.5m; French midfielder Olivier Kapo from Birmingham City; Egyptian forward Amr Zaky on loan from Zamalek; Dutch midfielder Daniel De Ridder on a free transfer from Birmingham City.

Man. Utd. 2.9 : Manchester United have completed the signing of Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of English football's summer transfer window. The Bulgaria striker has signed a four-year contract with the English champions, with United paying an undisclosed fee, thought to be around €38m. Berbatov will wear the No. 9 shirt that was freed after United sold Louis Saha to Everton.

As part of the deal, 20-year-old United striker Fraizer Campbell will spend the rest of the campaign with Tottenham. Berbatov, who joined the Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006, scored 23 goals in 52 appearances last season. With the transfer window now closed, 27-year-old Berbatov was the only major addition to a squad that won last season's UEFA Champions League and Premier League.

Man. City 2.9 : Manchester City beat Chelsea to the signing of Brazil striker Robinho by agreeing to pay Real Madrid a British-record €40m transfer fee. On a remarkable day at Eastlands, City also confirmed that owner Thaksin Shinawatra had agreed to sell the club to the Abu Dhabi United Group. The takeover fee is believed to be worth up to €247m. Robinho has signed a four-year contract with Manchester City after the Spanish champions rejected Chelsea's initial €32m bid.

Robinho had repeatedly spoken of his desire to leave Real Madrid for Chelsea, but City, boosted by a windfall from an imminent takeover by a United Arab Emirates business group, made a huge offer for the 24-year-old. Spanish media reported that that City will pay Robinho €6m per season, about three times what he reportedly earned in Madrid. Robinho had spent the last three years with Real, making 101 Primera Division appearances and scoring 25 times.

Newcast. 2.9 : Valencia have signed Uruguayan international midfielder Ignacio "Nacho" Gonzalez from Danubio and immediately loaned the player to Newcastle United. So, Gonzalez, who has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the Spanish club, will spend the 2008/09 campaign in England's Premier League. Newcastle have also landed striker Xisco in a reported €7m transfer from Deportivo La Coruna. The 22-year-old has accepted a five-year contract with the Premiership club.

Tottenh. 31.8 : Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko from Spartak Moscow for a fee reported to be in the region of €17m. Further contract details for the 26-year-old have not been released. Pavlyuchenko should provide a significant boost to Tottenham, who have struggled in the opening weeks of the season following the sale of Robbie Keane to Liverpool and a lengthy impasse over Dimitar Berbatov's likely transfer to Manchester United. Pavlyuchenko scored 69 goals in 141 league games for Spartak.

Man. City 31.8 : Manchester City added two South American defenders to their squad, signing Pablo Zabaleta and Glauber Berti for undisclosed fees. Argentinian international Zabaleta, 23, who can also play in midfield, has agreed a five-year deal after spending three seasons at Spanish side Espanyol. Brazilian centre-back Glauber, 25, arrives from Greman club Nurnberg and has signed a one-year contract at City.

Ast. Villa 30.8 : Midfielder James Milner, 22, from Newcastle has returned to Aston Villa. He has signed a four-year deal for a reported €12.4 million. Milner made his Premier League debut for Leeds when he was 16. Leeds was relegated in 2004 and Milner joined Newcastle, but was sent to Aston Villa on loan for the 2005/06 season. "James has got a great spirit about him and I definitely think his best years are in front of him," Villa manager Martin O'Neill said. "It was disappointing two years ago not to sign him when we thought the deal was done and dusted but it is nice to have got it all sorted this time."

Everton 30.8 : Everton have signed French international striker Louis Saha from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee. the 30-year-old has agreed a two-year contract with the option of a further season, subject to a medical. Saha scored 42 goals in 124 appearances for United since joining from Fulham in 2003, but has struggled with injuries in the past two season. He has scored 106 goals in 278 appearances in English football.

Man. City 29.8 : Shaun Wright-Phillips has left Chelsea to rejoin Manchester City on a four-year contrcat. The 26-year-old England winger is looking for a fresh start after three faltering years at Stamford Bridge. After switching to the London club in 2005, Wright-Phillips struggled to command a place in the team, starting just 43 matches. Chelsea, who signed him for €30.5m, is thought to have recouped less than half that amount, although financial terms were not disclosed.

Everton 28.8 : Everton have secured the services of Ecuador defensive midfielder Segundo Castillo on a season-long loan from Red Star Belgrade. Everton hope they will receive international clearance for the 26-year-old to play on Saturday against Portsmouth. Castillo and Danish defender Lars Christian Jacobsen were the English Premier League club's only offseason signings.

Blackburn 28.8 : Blackburn Rovers have signed Australia midfielder Vince Grella from Torino on a five-year contract. The 28-year-old arrives at Ewood Park in a deal worth in the region of €5.5m. Grella made 28 Serie A appearances last season as the side staved off the threat of relegation. He joins Australia teammate Brett Emerton at Blackburn.

Portsm. 28.8 : Midfielder Niko Kranjcar will be out of action for at least two months after undergoing ankle surgery. The 24-year-old sustained a knock in Croatia's friendly with Slovenia last week and had an operation to repair a ruptured ankle ligament. Kranjcar will be unable to put any weight on the injured leg for three weeks before beginning rehabilitation work, ruling him out of a crucial period for club and country.