IBT Staff Reporter

Nikola Zigic sent Birmingham City to the semi-finals of the Carling Cup with a winner six minutes from time against arch-rivals Aston Villa provoking ugly scenes at the St Andrew's stadium, while Ipswich beat West Brom to grab the last semi-final spot.

The mounting pressure of US government forced Amazon to oust Wikileaks website from its servers. Web users across the world, yet again, called for a boycott of Amazon.

Azim Premji, India’s third richest man and chairman of Wipro, India’s third largest software services company, will transfer 213 million equity shares, or about 8.6 percent of his stake, valued at 88.46 billion rupees ($2 billion), to a private trust controlled by him.

PepsiCo Inc. announced an agreement to acquire 66 percent of Russia's dairy and fruit juice company Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods for $3.8 billion to boost its base in key markets in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Upon completion of the deal, PepsiCo will be around twice the size of its nearest food and beverage competitor in Russia.

US diplomatic cables leaked by whistle-blower site Wikileaks suggest that even as Russians are eagerly awaiting the dates of elections in 2012, the outcome is almost decided. American officials believe that Vladimir Putin, the current Prime minister would continue to influence the course of the country's politics no matter what role he plays in it.

Economic growth in the euro zone slowed down in the third quarter, according to the first estimate by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Ang Lee finalizes Indian cast for 'Life of Pi' and casts Tabu to play Pi's mother the movie.

Michael Douglas is preparing to shoot a new film soon after finishing his cancer treatment

Eva Longoria and Tony Parker were spotted on a lunch date together spurring rumours of reconciliation

The Stanford Law School and the Graduate School of Business have come together to drive the energy revolution forward through the establishment of the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance - an interdisciplinary center to study and advance the development and deployment of clean energy technologies through innovative policy and finance.

Subaru of America, Inc. on Wednesday reported that its US auto sales went up 22 percent in November 2010, led by strong growth across major models.

Satoshi Kanawaza, an LSE psychologist, used evolutionary psychology theories to explain politically incorrect truths about human nature.

Brewer and pubs group Marston’s Plc said it has made a strong start to the new financial year even as it reported a rise in profits for the 52 weeks ended Oct. 2.

Europe's biggest tour operator TUI Travel reported a full-year pretax loss, blaming weaker trading in the UK, mainly due to increased winter losses resulting from capacity-led volume reductions. However, underlying pretax profit rose 4 percent on good turnaround progress.

U.S. securities regulators are in preliminary talks with several banks to resolve probes involving sales of complex mortgage bond deals that led to the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

American Honda Motor Co on Wednesday reported that its US auto sales data rose 16.1 percent, led by by strong sales of cars and sports utility vehicles alike.

Hyundai Motor America on Wednesday reported that its US auto sales soared 45 percent, led by strong gains from its Sonata, Tucson and Genesis models.

Kia Motors America on Wednesday reported that its US auto sales soared 48.2 percent, led by strong sales of Sorento models and recently introduced vehicles - the Soul, Forte and Forte Koup, and the Sorento, Sportage and all-new Optima.

Volkswagen of America Inc. on Wednesday reported that its US auto sales rose 24 percent on strong sales of its Jetta family of cars and wagons.

Chrysler Group LLC on Wednesday reported that its US auto sales surged 17 percent over last year, as demand for pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles gained momentum.

Riding on strong sales across its various families of cars, Mercedes-Benz USA on Wednesday reported a 13.3 percent Year on Year (YoY) rise in November sales.

BMW Group on Wednesday said its US auto sales shot up 27.1 percent over last year driven by strong demand for all-wheel-drive vehicles, the X5 and X6 in particular, and the 5 Series with AWD.

Nissan Motors on Wednesday said its US auto sales in November rose 26.8 percent over last year, led by sales of its various lines of cars and sports utility vehicles, such as Versa and Rogue model.

Toyota Motors on Wednesday said its US auto sales in November dropped by 3 percent over last year, making it the only major automobile maker to report a sales drop for the month.

Ford Motors on Wednesday said its US auto sales in November rose 24.3 percent from a year earlier, led by big increase in sales of trucks and small cars.

General Motors on Wednesday said its US auto sales in November rose 11.4 percent over last year led by a balanced contributions from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac cars, crossovers and trucks.

Japan's Nikkei share average hit a five-month high and the euro stayed within sight of overnight highs on Thursday ahead of a European Central Bank meeting that investors speculate could yield new measures to contain the euro zone's fiscal crisis.

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has boosted its tax practice by appointing London-based Colin Hargreaves as its new global head of tax.

While the company is not confirming details, a media report says their new endeavor will be an open platform with an attached retail store.