Barcelona looked on course to take a precious lead into the second leg of this last 16 clash at the Nou Camp as they protected the first-half advantage given to them by David Villa.

The Catalans wasted chances to strengthen their position, with Lionel Messi an unlikely culprit, leaving the door open for the Gunners to keep their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals alive in spectacular fashion.

Robin van Persie equalised 12 minutes from time with a shot that somehow eluded Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes at his near post before substitute Andrey Arshavin sent Arsenal's fans into ecstasy with a crisp finish that gives them a slender lead to take to Spain.

The Premier League outfit were attempting to follow in the footsteps of arch-rivals Tottenham after their magnificent win against AC Milan in the San Siro on Tuesday - and they were not to be outdone as they made it a memorable 24 hours for north London in Champions League combat.


Barcelona were suddenly rocking and Wenger's team turned the tie on its head and, roared on by feverish backing on a thunderous night, scored the winner when Arshavin arrived on the end of Nasri's right-flank cross to steer a precise finish past Valdes.

Arshavin showed the other side of his game when a moment of defensive vulnerability almost let in Dani Alves in stoppage time - but Arsenal survived to keep their Champions League hopes alive.

Goals from Peter Lovenkrands and Leon Best helped Newcastle United to a 2-0 win at Birmingham City as they moved further away from the Premier League drop zone on Tuesday.
Lovenkrands was on hand at the near post to tuck away a Jonas Gutierrez cross after two minutes and Best headed in another centre from the Argentine five minutes after halftime to lift Newcastle to ninth in the table with 35 points.

Birmingham remained 14th on 30 points but have played one game fewer than Newcastle's 27.

The movie slated to release in July 2012 will be in 3D. It will no longer star Toby Maguire — who had earlier played the super hero thrice — as Spider-man. Instead Andrew Garfield, who was seen in the critically-acclaimed The Social Network, will essay the role.

“Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. Andrew has a rare combination of intelligence, wit and humanity. You will love him as Peter Parker,” director Marc Webb said.

The first look has Spider-Man sporting metal discs on his wrists. Wonder if that means that the super hero will now spin his web mechanically rather than the old-fashioned way where he used his wrists. Actor Rhys Ifans, who starred in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 last year, has been cast in a negative role. However, at present, there is no news about which villain’s role Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan will essay. The film that also stars Emma Stone will be produced by Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin.

The Indian economy would grow to $1.72 trillion in 2011-12, moving closer towards the $2 trillion mark, according to an assessment by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council.

The country's gross domestic product at the market and current prices was measured at $1.31 trillion in 2009-10 and is estimated to be $1.52 trillion in the current fiscal, the PMEAC said in its latest economic outlook.

Pegging the GDP growth at nine per cent, the economy would reach a level of $1.72 trillion in 2011-12, it said. If the nine per cent growth trend is maintained, India would become $two trillion economy in 2013-14 fiscal.

'Initially the ad-breaks were strictly adhered to: in between overs, during drinks-break and dismissal of a batsman. Then the ad time increased, and cricket became what you saw between ads,' says M P Anil Kumar.

When I told him that I do not watch IPL matches, the expression of disbelief on his face had to be seen to be believed. The bemused man was none other than the editor-in-chief of Rediff.com

I started playing cricket in my alma mater (Sainik School, Kazhakootam, Kerala), and wore the school colours for two years. I was so passionate about cricket that despite the crammed day in the National Defence Academy and the Air Force, I would somehow steal morsels of the telecast or radio commentary to keep track of every match India played.

I still remember slithering out of a two-layered sleeping bag in the sub-ten-degree small hours of Leh to be ready to watch the first ball bowled at 4:30 am in an ODI between India and New Zealand played at Launceston (Tasmania) in February 1986.

Many colleagues gave up me as loony when I spent a good part of two days watching Mudassar Nazar and Qasim Umar plod, plod and plod, in one of the most boring matches in Test history -- India vs Pakistan, second Test at Faisalabad, October 1984.

Two things lessened my interest in watching cricket on the telly. The first turn-off was the match-fixing expose.

The second is the ad-infested, viewer-unfriendly telecast of the matches (ah, those were the days when Doordarshan telecasted the matches without commercials).