Chelsea beat Liverpool to reach Champions League semis

LIVERPOOL: Chelsea defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the quarter-finals first leg of the Champions League Football Cup here on Wednesday while Barcelona won the match against Bayern Munich 4-0. In the match played at Anfield, Liverpool succeeded in taking lead in only the sixth minute when Fernando Torres netted a goal. However, Branislav Ivanovic leveled the score by making goal for Chelsea in the 39th minute. In the second half, Chelsea dominated the game as Ivanovic scored another goal in the 62nd minute to get Chelsea the lead and just five minutes later Didier Drogba made a goal to strengthen the lead. Thus Chelsea in the end won the match 3-1. The second leg of the quarter-finals will be held on April 14. The match between hosts Barcelona and Bayern Munich was witnessed by a huge crowd of 97,000 spectators. All the four goals were scored in the first half as Messie made two goals while Etto and Henry scored one goal each.

AFC football: Pak-SL match ends in tie

COLOMBO: An important match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka football teams ended in tie in the qualifying round of AFC challenge football cup here on Wednesday. Two teams managed to score two goals each within the two halves of the match. Sri Lankan players shone brilliantly as they had managed to keep Pakistan team silent and succeeded to score one goal in the first half of the match. Pakistan retaliated befittingly in the second half taking one goal lead in the beginning minutes but Lank scored the final goal of the match in 88th minute of match leaving the scoreboard 2-2 and the match ended in tie. Sri Lanka qualified for the final round as they won two out of three matches while Pakistan could only win one match in the challenge cup. National football team will arrive home on April 10.

Balanced team selected to play Australia: Intikhab

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team coach Intikhab Alam said that a balanced team has been selected for the cricket series against Australia and Pakistan team would fight with great effort to get this series to its credit. Talking with media here on Wednesday, Intikhab Alam said that for preparations of the series to be held in the United Arab Emirates, a three-day training camp would be commenced at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore from Friday and the team would leave for Dubai in the morning of April 13. He said that he along with Aaqib Javed has reviewed the facilities and the wicket at the Dubai Sports City ground and he is much satisfied. Intikhab Alam said that Shoaib Akhtar has returned in the team after proving his fitness and his comeback is very good for the team. He said that a balanced team has been selected for the series against Australia and if the ICL players get clearance it would benefit Pakistan.

Spectators interest in IPL continues despite shifting to SA

CAPE TOWN: The interest of spectators in the Indian Premier League (IPL) continues despite its shifting to South Africa. Chairman IPL Lalit Modi has claimed that the tickets of the initial matches were sold out in just two hours. Talking with media here on Wednesday, Moddi said that he assures the spectators that they would get the opportunity to watch the best cricket in the IPL matches. He said that like the first edition of the IPL, great entertainment is being provided this time, too. Lalit Modi said that thousands of tickets were arranged for the IPL’s initial matches and all were sold out in just two hours which reflects how much enthusiasm of the spectators found in the IPL. Meanwhile, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab and renowned film actress Preity Zinta said that the same players who play against each other would play together and would remain together. Spectators would get much entertainment and she believes the IPL this time would be more interesting than earlier.

CPI during July-March CFS increased by 22.97 pc

KARACHI: Consumer price index (CPI) during July-March current fiscal year (CFS) increased by 22.97 percent, while in the same period last year it was 9.47 percent. Federal Bureau of Statistics released data said that the CPI rate increase in the country in March 2009 as compared to the March last year worked out to over 19.07 percent, while during July-March current fiscal year sensitive index rate increased by 27.64 percent and wholesale index by 23.07 percent. CPI in March as compared to February 2009 increased by 1.37 percent, sensitive index by 0.64 percent and wholesale index by 0.42 percent. Previous month, 16 items including onion, tomato, sugar, fruit, bakery items and chicken prices recorded increase, while the prices of 12 items decreased.

IDB weighs $500m sukuk

SARAJEVO: Islamic Development Bank (IDB) said it planned a $500 million Islamic bonds, or sukuk, issue to finance its 2009 financing program, the first sukuk issue this year in a tightening industry. "We are planning to go ahead with the issue in the next few months," the bank's Chairman Ahmed Mohammed Ali told media after inaugurating a business center. Ali said the new sukuk would help finance a 15 percent increase in the IDB's financing program for 2009. Globally, the value of sukuk issued in 2008 fell more than 56 percent to $14.9 billion from 2007. Most industry experts have held out little hope for a recovery in the sukuk market this year, as the global economy struggles to avoid a prolonged recession.