Artists visit virtual Second Life for real-world cash

It's 9 a.m. when Cylindrian Rutabaga takes the microphone at a familiar bar.

An avatar named Cylindrian Rutabaga earns tips at a 9 a.m. show in a virtual bar.

The funny-named musician with crinkled red hair, a white blouse and flowing skirt picks up her custom-made guitar and looks across the audience with a blank stare.

Her fans already are rocking out: Some breakdance on the bar's tile floor. Others flail about with the vigor of '70s disco dancers. One man with a towering afro and 3-D glasses looks like he's swimming the backstroke to some nonexistent beat.

The randomness of the scene doesn't seem to faze Cylindrian.

She isn't shocked even when hordes of other fans -- including one man who wears a kilt and is followed by a small herd of sheep -- start teleporting into the room.

After all, Cylindrian lives in the online community of Second Life. Here, anything goes. Watch Cylindrian perform in Second Life »

With the recording industry in near-shambles and the recession taking a hit on art of all kinds, some musicians, visual artists and fashion designers have turned to another virtual frontier -- Second Life -- to sell CDs, earn tips, move paintings and grow international followings.

The realm of Second Life -- available free online -- allows users to create avatar versions of themselves. These virtual personas mingle about in a three-dimensional, pixilated world not entirely unlike our own: Second Lifers own digital real estate, go to virtual jobs and attend virtual concerts and art shows.

They also spend money.

Second Life avatars purchase goods and services with a currency called Linden Dollars, or L$. They sometimes pay to attend concerts and often tip the performers in the virtual venues. Others buy clothing and hairdos for their online personas.

Linden Dollars can be converted into most of the world's currencies in the same way a foreign traveler might change dollars to Euros. The going rate is about 260 L$ for $1 U.S., according to the Second Life Web site.

Most of the Second Life world is organized on a grid, kind of like a real-world map. Avatars can enter x, y and z coordinates to "teleport" to a particular island or city. They can also fly and walk between locations, or search for places when they don't have coordinates.

More than 1 million people have signed up to use the program since it was created in 1999 by a San Francisco, California, company called Linden Lab.

As life in the real world gets tougher, more artists are turning to Second Life to supplement their incomes, said Mike Lawson, a 41-year-old who fronts as a drawling blues singer, Von Johin, in Second Life.

"You've got professional musicians from all genres coming into Second Life now and playing," he said. "The Internet is a great equalizer. You have people who have never played in front of anybody in their life getting a shot."

Linden Lab does not track the number of artists or concerts in Second Life, but there are likely thousands of musicians working in the simulated world, said John Lester, a developer at the company.

There also are about 600 visual art galleries in Second Life, and that number is increasing, according to the woman behind Bettina Tizzy, an avatar that blogs about the Second Life arts scene (Tizzy did not want her real name used for fear her real-life business clients would be alarmed she has a Second Life persona).

'People actually know your music'

Some avatars look nothing like their owners, but Cylindrian the computer creation looks somewhat similar to real-world folk musician Grace Buford, who controls the virtual-world singer from a cramped home office in suburban Atlanta.

Both Cylindrian and Grace have red hair. Both are 5 feet 3 inches tall. Both wear flowing, hippie-esque clothes that wouldn't look out of place at a Medieval festival. The noticeable difference between avatar and creator is that Buford wears glasses and Cylindrian doesn't.

"I wanted people to feel like they're having an interaction with the real me -- because they are," Buford said.

Buford, a 37-year-old single mother of two, wore fuzzy blue slippers and glasses as she belted out heartfelt melodies to a real-world audience of two reporters.

Normally she would be in her house alone after dropping off her 11-year-old son at school.

She sits with a guitar on her lap and a microphone and keyboard in front of her. A slender silver laptop on a table to her right shows her avatar performing to the dance-happy crowd in the Second Life venue.

About 70,000 people are logged in and wandering around the computer-based universe this recent morning. A few dozen have teleported themselves into Mandel 'BRATs & BREW,' a bar on a tropical island and artist community called Artropolis.

Cylindrian starts her hourlong set with an original song called "Mattie's Runaway Train."

Her avatar holds a guitar and her mouth opens and closes from time to time, but Cylindrian's movements don't quite mimic Buford's. When Buford stops playing, Cylindrian usually continues strumming silently. It's a setup that Buford admits is a bit awkward, but she says Second Lifers still get the point.

Buford streams the audio from her at-home performance straight into the virtual bar scene, where the audience hears it on about a 20-second delay. Followers send her text messages in Second Life while she plays, requesting songs, typing along with the lyrics and commenting on the show. iReport.com: Share stories from Second Life

"As an artist, it's so great that people actually know your music," she said between songs, her avatar still in autopilot, pounding silently on a piano. "They'll type in the lyrics as I'm singing. It's almost like they're singing along ... It's like, 'Oh, I'm a superstar for just a moment.' It's so cool!"

'Intimate conversation with the listener'

In some sense, Buford prefers this virtual interaction to real world concerts, which she also plays.

That's partly because, in Second Life, the audience can't drown you out with chatter.

"I can go into a club or a venue in the real world and people aren't listening. They're talking, laughing, carrying on. And as an artist, we're all a little bit narcissistic. We've created this work and we want to share it and have an intimate connection," she said. "On stage, you kind of think, 'What's the point of me being here?' In Second Life ... you're having that intimate conversation with the listener."

She also finds the virtual world less threatening.

Buford used to play open-mic shows frequently. But she felt threatened by drunk fans after one performance. In Second Life, she still gets real-time interaction with fans, and it's also less risky, she said.

Cylindrian was among the first musicians to start playing Second Life. Buford joined the virtual world in 2006 specifically to use it as a platform for her music. Her audience now extends into Australia and Europe, which never would have been possible without Second Life, she said. The evening after the 9 a.m. show, she was scheduled to play a concert with an artist from Wales.

Cylindrian plays Second Life shows several times per week, often at strange hours that let her catch audiences in other time zones. One of the weekly shows typically is scheduled for 11 p.m., which is "prime time" on the West Coast of the United States, she said.

She typically reserves her mellower songs for that performance because her duplex neighbor doesn't particularly appreciate late-night jams. For that reason, Buford said she's thinking about soundproofing the bare-walled office where she normally plays.

$10,000 per year helps feed family

Second Life so far has provided Buford with a supplement to her main sources of income, which include teaching music lessons and playing live shows in the real world. Both have taken a hit because of the recession, she said, which makes the $10,000 or so she earns in Second Life each year all the more important. (That amount includes CD sales to Second Life fans and CDs sold through the site).

"Because of the economy in the real world, I'm losing a lot of students," she said, "so performing in Second Life helps me keep food on the table."

She added: "Being a single mom and finding a way to support my family -- this has been a tremendous experience." iReport.com: Making virtual moolah

Most of the money comes in tips. During her recent hourlong performance, Buford made about $18 (L$ 4,680). Not a bad hourly rate, she said, but low for her typical Second Life gig.

Cylindrian has a booking agent in Second Life -- an avatar that wears a micro-miniskirt and boots that climb up to mid-thigh. In the real world, though, Buford has to arrange her own gigs.

Other musicians have made careers for themselves in Second Life.

Lawson, the blues singer, signed a record deal with Reality Entertainment last summer after his avatar was scouted in a Second Life concert. At first, the Nashville singer said it seemed too bizarre to be true.

"If you're a cartoon bluesman and some cartoon walks up to you and says, 'Hey, I'm from a record label and I want to give you a deal,' what's your first reaction gonna be? 'Yeah right, thanks buddy. Have a good night.' Who know who's behind an avatar walkin' up to ya, right? I actually blew off the label four or five times just thinking someone was screwin' with me," he said.

An album is set to be released under his avatar's name in a few months, he said. He barely has time to play real shows anymore because his Second Life schedule is so full.

He doesn't think Second Life will suck all real-world musicians in, though.

"The live concert experience is never going to change," he said.

Real connections

What Buford loves most about Second Life is what she also likes about the real world: its people. She says she has met many friends in Second Life. They hang out in both the real and virtual worlds.

Her latest mission is to merge the two. At real-world concerts, she has started setting up projection screens that let the audience see the parallel concert as it streams into Second Life.

Her marketing reinforces this duality. Buford has handouts showing the real her sitting back-to-back with her avatar. "Grace Buford is...Cylindrian Rutabaga in Second Life," the fliers say. Such a simple statement is necessary because some of her fans are just now figuring out she exists in both worlds.

Buford ends her recent morning concert with a cover of "Coin Operated Boy," a staccato piano song by The Dresden Dolls:

Coin operated boy
Sitting on the shelf he is just a toy
But I turn him on and he comes to life
Automatic joy

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South African leader says he is innocent

South Africa's ruling party president Jacob Zuma declared his innocence Tuesday after a court formally dropped corruption charges against him.

Jacob Zuma, president of the ANC, pictured at a rally in East London, South Africa, last month.

"My conscience is clear I have not committed any crime against the state or the people of South Africa," Zuma said. "I had no difficulty in responding to charges against me because they were baseless. Now I have been vindicated."

Zuma, the leader of the African National Congress, had been charged with more than 700 counts of corruption and fraud.

The charges, which were linked to a multibillion dollar arms deal in the country, were dropped after eight years of investigations. Watch more about Zuma's corruption case »

Prosecutors Monday announced they were withdrawing their case against Zuma because of a lack of evidence. A judge endorsed prosecutors' recommendation Tuesday.

"I sought recourse from the courts because I felt my rights were being violated," Zuma said.

Zuma, who was named one of Time's Most Influential People in 2008, is favored to win the country's next presidential elections scheduled for April 22.

Afghanistan 'rape' law puts women's rights front and center

"In Afghanistan, the sacrifice in the political game is women and children," female Afghan parliamentarian Fawzia Koofi said.

Critics say they fear that Afghanistan's new Shiite law will set the nation backward.

Koofi says that is exactly what happened when the Afghan parliament recently passed a bill intended to give the minority Shia community their own identity. But critics say the latest draft strips Shia women of rights as simple as leaving the house without permission from a male relative and as extreme as allowing a man to have sexual intercourse with his wife even when she says, "No."

These critics wonder how what amounts to rape in marriage could be passed by parliament and signed into law by President Hamid Karzai.

Amid blistering criticism from the West, Karzai addressed the law over the weekend, saying that key elements of the bill were misinterpreted by Western news organizations. Watch Karzai react to controversial law »

"We understand the concerns of our allies and the international community. Those concerns may be due to an inappropriate, not-so-good translation of the law, or misinterpretation," Karzai told reporters in Kabul.

He added that the Minister of Justice will study the "Shia state law," line by line, to make sure it follows the nation's constitution, which requires equal rights to both sexes.

"If there is anything that is of concern to us, then we will definitely take action in consultation with our [religious clerics] and send it back to the parliament. You be assured of that. This is something that we're also serious about and should not allow," he said.

However, Karzai did not address the most controversial part of the bill, dealing with rape of a wife. Watch a report on the law »

The Shia state law was debated by 249 members of the lower house, including 68 women, some of whom voted for the bill. It was then sent to the upper house. Even some lawmakers are baffled at the manner in which it passed.

"Most members of the parliament did not know what they were going to vote for," Koofi said. "Even some of my friends, MPs sitting with me, voted in favor without knowing what happened."

U.S. President Obama called the law "abhorrent" and said his administration has made it clear to the Karzai government that it objects to the law. Human rights groups and the international community have condemned the law and say it could undermine efforts to support basic human rights in the war-torn nation.

"We very much hope that the draft piece of legislation is to be withdrawn," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a NATO summit on Afghanistan over the weekend. "It is unacceptable if such a law were to be passed in Afghanistan and become a part of Afghan legislation."

According to lawmakers who opposed the bill, conservative legislators are pushing back any progress made for women's rights in Afghanistan after the brutal oppression under the Taliban regime.

From 1996 to 2001, under the Sunni fundamentalist government of the Taliban, women were not allowed to leave their homes without being escorted by a male relative, and girls were not allowed to go to school.

When women did leave their homes, they were required to wear a blue burqa, which covered their bodies from head to toe. The only opening was a small net that provided an eyehole for the women to see through.

Women remember those days with despair.

One female teacher, who asked not to be named, said that during the Taliban regime, she was stopped at the market by the Taliban and beaten with a whip. Her crime: She wore a shawl covering her body instead of a burqa. She says she was too poor to purchase a real burqa.

After that beating, she was stuck in her home for months until someone was able to give her a used burqa. But even then, she didn't know how to function wearing the suffocating fabric.

"I remember stepping out of a taxi with my son, and my foot was caught inside the burqa, making me fall out of the taxi onto mud. And everyone started laughing. It was humiliating," she said.

Women in Afghanistan can still be seen wearing burqas. But Koofi says advances have been made for women's rights in recent years. In some cases, it's as simple as putting on makeup and walking down city streets.

But she fears that the rights of women and children could slowly be eroded, the "victims of political games," as she puts it. "I mean, they don't have a gun to fight [with], they cannot create a mess," Koofi said.

That's a sentiment echoed by rights groups. "The reported new law on women's rights could be about to seriously undermine women's rights for millions of Afghanistan women," Amnesty International said in a statement.

The new law was intended to give the minority Shia community its own identity within the predominantly Sunni country. Shias have been practicing their form of Islam for centuries in Afghanistan, but they agree that there needs to be a governing Islamic law for Shias alone, one recognized by the central government.

Koofi welcomes international support in fighting the new law, telling CNN that international investments in Afghanistan should go beyond financial donations.

"I don't ask that the international community come and make laws for us, but they have to make the government of Afghanistan accountable for their commitment to women and children ... and basically the human rights situation in this country," she said.

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Thailand braced for huge protest

Anti-government demonstrators say they will gather in the thousands in the capital city Wednesday in a bid to force Thailand's prime minister from office.

"Red Shirt" protesters stage a demonstration on Tuesday.

The massive demonstration is the culmination of a movement that has intensified in recent weeks to destabilize the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

On Tuesday, the "Red Shirt" protesters -- named for the color of their shirts -- attacked Abhisit's motorcade as it was struck in traffic. He escaped unharmed.

Abhisit was leaving a Cabinet meeting in the beach resort city of Pattaya when the protesters pelted plastic water bottles and sticks at the car, a government official said.

The prime minister's security detail shielded him and moved him to another vehicle. Television footage showed protesters unsuccessfully trying to grab the driver of the second car. They also smashed the second vehicle's rear window.

The Red Shirt protesters have declared Wednesday their D-Day, claiming they will draw up to 300,000 people from the eastern and northern part of the country.

Those two regions are a stronghold of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, to whom the Red Shirts owe their allegiance.

Thaksin was deposed from power in a coup in 2006, but still wields considerable clout. A party loyal to him, the People Power Party, assumed office in 2007 elections.

Those opposed to Thaksin took to the streets, dressed in yellow shirts and earning the moniker, the "Yellow Shirts."

They staged sit-ins for more than two months last year -- occupying the headquarters of the government and blockading Bangkok's major international airport.

The demonstrations ended December 2 when a court ruled the People Power Party was guilty of electoral fraud.

The move paved the way for Abhisit to assume the prime ministership.

Now, the tables are turned -- with Thaksin supporters demonstrating.

They maintain Abhisit's government was not democratically elected. They want him to leave office and schedule new elections.

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Former Peruvian president found guilty of rights abuses

A three-judge panel of the Peruvian Supreme Court found former President Alberto Fujimori guilty Tuesday on charges involving human rights violations, including murder and kidnapping, and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori speaks before the court in Lima earlier this month.

During the three-hour hearing that ended a 15-month trial, the 70-year-old former leader, wearing a dark suit and tie and sitting ramrod straight, wrote frequently in a notebook and occasionally sipped from a glass of water. He showed no emotion as the verdict was announced.

Fujimori, whose parents were Japanese immigrants, had faced a possible 30 years in prison.

Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch, expressed satisfaction with the sentence, calling it "perfectly proportional to the grave deeds that are imputed to him."

"This is an historic case," he told CNN en Español about the democratically elected former president's conviction on rights violations in his own country. The case is "without precedent in the world, not just in Latin America," he said.

"After years of evading justice, Fujimori is finally being held to account for some of his crimes," said Maria McFarland, senior Americas researcher at Human Rights Watch, who was in the courtroom for the announcement. "With this ruling, and its exemplary performance during the trial, the Peruvian court has shown the world that even former heads of state cannot expect to get away with serious crimes."

Judge Cesar San Martin told the courtroom that Fujimori was responsible for the actions of the Colina unit, blamed for killing dozens of people as the government sought to halt the Shining Path rebel group.

Fujimori said he would appeal.

Outside the courtroom, Fujimori's 33-year-old daughter, Keiko, herself running as a candidate in the 2011 presidential election, said the ruling was full of "hate and vengeance."

"We're going into the streets to demonstrate our open support for the best president this country has ever had, to the president who saved Peru from terrorism," she told reporters.

But a group of relatives of the dead expressed satisfaction with the sentence.

"For the first time, they have respected the right of families to the truth and justice," said one woman. "For the first time, they dignify the memory of the families ... I hope that this history of impunity not be allowed to recur."

Also outside the courtroom, pro- and anti-Fujimori activists scuffled, but there were no reports of serious injuries.

Javier Zuniga, a special adviser to the secretary general for Amnesty International, was in the courtroom as the verdict was read.

"We have been with the families celebrating," he said several hours later. He praised the prosecutors, saying, "They showed that what happened in the organization could not have happened if there had not been high-level planning, a state machinery to kill, organized by the president himself."

And he predicted that the case will be studied in law schools around the world.

Fujimori, who is already serving a six-year sentence on separate charges involving abuse of power, led Peru from 1990 to 2000, at the height of the country's war with the radical Maoist Shining Path guerrillas and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. He was convicted of authorizing killings and kidnappings by paramilitary death squads in 1991 and 1992 during what is often referred to as Peru's "dirty war."

"I had to govern from hell, not a palace, but from a hell that those who accuse me did not live like I had to live," Fujimori recently told the court.

"I only expect that those who sentence me consider for a moment that hell and not pretend to civilize from a distance."

Fujimori's pro-business policies were credited with helping steer the country away from financial disaster in the early 1990s, and he remains popular among many of his countrymen.

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15 years later, Rwanda remembers the massacre

Crowds gathered in somber reflection near the Rwandan capital of Kigali on Tuesday, marking the 15th anniversary of the start of a 100-day genocidal massacre in Rwanda in which an estimated 800,000 people were brutally killed.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, right, meets with former South Africa President Nelson Mandela in March.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame addressed thousands during an emotional candle lighting ceremony, criticizing the international community for not doing more to prevent the bloody wave of violence.

"I remind those experts that they need to go back to school," Kagame told reporters. "These children you saw here -- you think they are standing there because they are exploiting everybody's guilt?

Sparked by the assassination of then-Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, extremist militias made up of ethnic Hutus slaughtered ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus across Rwanda after Belgian peacekeepers left the country.

During a ceremony at the United Nations, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reflected on what he described as a "horrifying scene and experience."

"Today is a day to open our eyes to this suffering and honor the memory of those killed in Rwanda 15 years ago," he said. "But beyond reminding us of the horror, that silence should spur us to action."

In a White House statement, President Barack Obama called for a period of reflection.

"As we mourn their senseless passing, we must also acknowledge the courageous men and women who survived the genocide and have since demonstrated remarkable strength and generosity in forgiving those who committed these heinous acts," Obama said.

Among them was a former Kigali hotel owner named Paul Rusesabagina.

Fifteen years ago, he sheltered 1,200 Tutsis and moderate Hutus as machete-wielding gangs cut down hundreds of thousands outside his hotel walls.

"I did all I could during that time," Rusesabagina told CNN in a 2006 interview.

"We knew there were intentions between Hutus and Tutsis," he said. "But we never believed that people can be so cruel -- can be so wild."

Rusesabagina's efforts were later highlighted in the 2004 Hollywood film "Hotel Rwanda," starring Don Cheadle, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Rusesabagina, and Nic Nolte.

The genocide ended when Tutsi-led militias backing Kagame ousted the Hutu government supporting the massacre.

Candlelight vigils across Rwanda are expected throughout the week in commemoration.

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India denied by rain in NZ but win series

India clinched their first series win in New Zealand since 1968 on Tuesday when the third Test ended in a draw after the final day in Wellington was hit by bad weather.

Rahul Dravid, second right, is congratulated after breaking the record for most catches in Test cricket.

Predicted downpours appeared the hosts only hope of avoiding another defeat after they had been set a stratospheric target of 617 runs for victory.

Rain finally came to the rescue 30 minutes after lunch with New Zealand 281 for eight, still 336 runs short. Play was finally called off two hours 20 minutes later with 57.3 overs remaining.

Ross Taylor was again top scorer for New Zealand with 107 following on from his first innings of 42 while Harbhajan Singh led the way with four wickets for the tourists.

Zaheer Khan also finished with a seven-wicket match haul after taking five in the first innings while Sachin Tendulkar took two for 26 runs in his six-over spell on the final day.

Taylor and James Franklin (49) resumed in windy, overcast conditions when play began half-an-hour early following Monday's early finish.

The pair added a further 59 runs to the overnight score of 167 for four before Taylor was bowled by off-spinner Harbhajan shortly after completing his fourth Test century.

Brendon McCullum went shortly afterwards, caught by Rahul Dravid who lifted his world record to 184 victims.

By lunch the hosts had reached 254 for seven while Tim Southee lasted 13 balls before being given out caught behind by Dhoni off Harbhajan before rain ruined India's efforts.

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Spectacular Adebayor earns Arsenal draw

Emmanuel Adebayor grabbed a critical away goal as Arsenal came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Villarreal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at El Madrigal.

Togo striker Adebayor snatched Arsenal a vital away goal with a spectacular scissor-kick in Spain.

The Togo striker made it three in two games, and five in this European campaign, with a stunning scissor-kick after 66 minutes to cancel out an equally impressive opener from home captain Marcos Senna.

"I'm really pleased with how I played - I don't even know how I scored, but the most important thing is that the ball went in the back of the net" Adebayor told PA Sport.

"The most important thing is to play and do something good here and I think we have done that quite well.

"It was quite difficult for us because we played against a team that play good football, but we enjoyed it.

"Even though the second leg is going to be tough we are playing at home so we will do everything to go through."

Arsene Wenger's side lost both goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and centre-back William Gallas to injury during the first half, but rallied to secure what could prove to be a decisive result to defend at Emirates Stadium next Wednesday.

The last time Arsenal played at the intimidating Spanish ground was three seasons ago when a dramatic late penalty save from Jens Lehmann guided them through to the Champions climax.

While that journey ultimately ended in defeat to Barcelona, there is growing belief Rome in 2009 could just prove the coming of age for Wenger's young Gunners.

Villarreal have never lost at home in the Champions League and kept holders United to a goalless draw earlier this season.

Gael Clichy had already cleared off the line when the hosts took the lead in stunning fashion after 10 minutes.

The ball was worked down the right before being passed inside to Senna. The skipper took aim and drilled a wonderful 25-yard strike past Almunia into the top corner.

Arsenal were forced into a change after 27 minutes when Almunia, who sustained an ankle injury in the early goal-line scramble, was replaced by Lukasz Fabianski.

The young Pole was immediately called into action, first saving low to his left from Senna and then producing a good reaction block at the near post to deny Joan Capdevila.

In stoppage time, Arsenal were awarded a free-kick in a central position after Adebayor went down in between two defenders.

Fabregas took his shot early, rolling the ball into the net, but the quick effort was ruled out by Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo and the Arsenal captain was shown a yellow card.

The second half continued to be frustrating for the Premier League side, until, out of nothing, Adebayor struck his superb equalizer.

There seemed little danger when Fabregas, who set up both Adebayor's goals against Manchester City on Saturday, lofted a high ball into the Villarreal penalty area.

Surrounded by three markers and with his back to goal, Adebayor collected the ball on his chest before dispatching a brilliant scissor-kick into the far corner.


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Holders United denied win by proud Porto

Holders Manchester United must beat Portuguese champions Porto in their own backyard if they are to reach the Champions League semifinals after a compelling 2-2 first leg draw at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Rodriguez fires Porto into a shock early lead at Old Trafford where they held United to a 2-2 first leg draw.

Carlos Tevez had looked to have secured United a crucial victory four minutes from time after being sent on as a substitute.

But the Premier League leaders had reckoned without Porto's magnificent fighting spirit that saw Mariano snatch a dramatic equaliser after 89 minutes.

Earlier Wayne Rooney capitalised on a shocking blunder to bring United level after Porto produced an early warning of their intentions.

United were trailing to Cristian Rodriguez's fourth-minute opener -- and lucky not to be further adrift -- when Bruno Alves turned a pass back towards goalkeeper Helton without looking.

Alves was unaware Rooney had ghosted behind him, and the United forward gleefully intercepted before calmly chipping home from 10 yards.

England marksman Rooney then set up Tevez with a flick of the foot for the Argentine to fire home from close range.

It turned out to be an ultimately frustrating night for United and their fans and manager Alex Ferguson hit out at his side's poor defending while admitting the result was "about right."

"First half they were the better side but second half we improved and got more possession," the Scot told ITV1. "But getting the (second) goal the way they did -- we should really have defended that. It was a bad goal to lose.

"It's been a hard two days for them (after playing Aston Villa on Sunday), but they were lacking in concentration."

Ferguson -- who revealed centre-half Jonny Evans had limped out with a groin injury -- added: "You get a 2-1 lead with four or five minutes left, you really should see it out.

"We've got a game on Saturday (at Sunderland), there's still a lot going for us, but it's a difficult game now in Porto, no question of that."

Porto had clearly decided that attack was the best form of defense, and Lisandro had already seen a viciously swerving shot turned over by Edwin van der Sar when Rodriguez capitalised on two woeful pieces of United play to open the scoring.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who had another match to forget, gave the ball away first.

Jonny Evans was given a second chance but his fluffed clearance went straight to Rodriguez who side-stepped the Northern Ireland defender before curling the ball low to Van der Sar's right.

Rooney's predatory instincts gave United renewed hope, but Porto continued to break at speed and Van der Sar made another very good save to again deny Lisandro.

Hulk had a convincing penalty claim against Carlos Tevez ignored before the substitute struck with four minutes left to apparently hand United an undeserved victory.

Porto's good work was not in vain as in the final minute Lucho's cross from the right found substitute Mariano in acres of space at the far post and he took his time before stabbing home.


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Lalu backs out on remarks against Varun after FIR

Lalu Prasad got into quick damage control mode to avoid any trouble from EC for his remarks on Varun Gandhi.

An FIR was filed against Lalu Prasad for allegedly trying to create communal disturbances, as the RJD supremo went on a damage control mode following his provocative remarks that he would have crushed Varun Gandhi under a "roller" saying he meant to suggest "roller of law".

Facing the heat a day after his aggressive posturing against Varun, the former Bihar chief minister went on the defensive telling an election meeting in Garwah in Jharkand,

"What I meant was crushing him under the roller of law had I been the home minister." Lalu later told newsmen," I said that it doesn't matter how powerful a person maybe if someone indulges in opportunistic and communal politics then he will be bulldozed legally and politically. He will not be spared as far as I am concerned."

"Had I been country's home minister, I would have crushed Varun Gandhi under the roller and destroyed him without caring for the consequences for his hate speech against Muslims," Lalu thundered at an election meeting at the minority dominated constituency in Bihar.

Kishanganj District Magistrate Ferak Ahmed said, "The FIR was lodged under Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) of IPC and Section 125 of Representation of People's Act with Kishanganj Town police station."

"I have watched the CD of Lalu Prasad's speech. He has tried to create communal disturbance and divide the society by his speech," Ahmed said, adding, "the CD was being forwarded to the Election Commission."

In Delhi, the Election Commission said it will look into the video footage of Lalu's rally where he made the remarks against Varun.

"The state CEO has been asked to send the CD which is on the way," Deputy Election Commissioner R Balakrishnan said. Lok Janshakti party chief Ramvilas Paswan and Lalu's ally came out in defence of the RJD chief saying, "I think Lalu meant that he would have taken strong action against Varun Gandhi for his hate speech against the minority community and for fomenting communal passion," Paswan was talking to reporters while releasing his party's election manifesto.

When told that an FIR had been lodged against Prasad for his remarks at Kishanganj yesterday, Paswan said "anybody can file an FIR ... It is for the EC and the court to take a decision.”

"While the BJP is playing the Hindu card over the Varun Gandhi issue, BSP chief Mayawati is trying to appease Muslims by getting him arrested and invoking NSA against him," Paswan said, adding Lalu's remarks were political and nothing much be read between the lines.

Link by Indiaexpress

Threw a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram

A journalist threw a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram at a press conference on Tuesday, protesting against the minister's reply on his question on CBI's clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 Sikh riots case.

The shoe did not hit the minister and the journalist, a senior reporter with Dainik Jagran, was taken into custody.

The press conference was being held at the Congress headquarters where Chidambaram was presenting his party's report card on terrorism. The journalist asked the minister whether letting Tytler off the hook ahead of the elections was not politically motivated.

To which Chidambaram replied that CBI had only presented a report to the court and it was up to the court to either accept or reject it. The journalist wanted to ask another question but Chidambaram said he did not want to get into an argument and refused to take further questions.

The journalist then threw his shoe at the minister, saying 'I protest'.

It is the first of its kind incident in India but throwing shoes at political leaders has become a high-profile form of protest. The trend was started by an Iraqi journalist who had thrown shoes at former US President George Bush at a press conference in Baghdad last year.

Thereafter, the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was meted a similar treatment while delivering a speech at Cambridge University. The Israeli ambassador to Sweden was also hit by a shoe when he was addressing an audience in Stockholm University.

Jarnail Singh released

Journalist Jarnail Singh who hurled a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram at a press conference was released by police after brief detention.

Station House Officer of Tughlaq Road Police station Anil Kumar Yadav told reporters that the scribe has been freed for the time being.

"No case has been registered against him. He has regretted about his action," the official said, adding that the journalist was questioned for his action and then he was released.

After being freed, the Sikh journalist of a Hindi daily, who has caused a flutter in the political circle, said the issue that he raised was an appropriate issue and the victims should get justice.

"May be my way of protest was wrong," said the scribe who later left with his journalist friends and Sikh supporters.

Meanwhile, Sunita Tiwari, who claimed to be his lawyer and had come to meet him at the police station, alleged that she was not allowed to talk to her client.

link by Indiaexpress

Hasina, Khaleda face off

Opposition creating unrest; unhappy with success of govt

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday accused the opposition parties of attempts to plunge the country into chaos.

Frustrated by their election debacle, she said in parliament, the BNP-led opposition is making 'incendiary' remarks about the BDR bloodbath to 'create unrest'.

Speaking on the thanksgiving motion on the president's speech, Hasina said she wants to know if new schemes are being hatched to destabilise her government.

She urged the opposition to wait till the next election for people to decide who should be in power. “Please cooperate with us. Don't do anything that might tarnish the country's image.”

She also said she wants to patch things up with her archrival and work together in the interests of democracy.

Refuting Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia's allegations with regard to the government's handling of BDR crisis, she said, “Perhaps, she is unhappy that the situation did not lead to a civil war and overthrow of the grand alliance government.”

The prime minister asked where “she [Khaleda] went in a car with tinted windows shortly after the mutiny broke out at Pilkhana”.

She said she wonders if the vicious killings of the army officers were a reprisal for the armed forces' role in ensuring a free and fair conduct of the December 29 election.

"They (armed forces) worked neutrally and tirelessly to create an atmosphere conducive to holding a credible and peaceful election. It was them who prepared a new voter roll weeding out over one crore ghost voters.”

About government measures to end the Pilkhana mutiny, she said, “I took each and every step in consultation with chiefs of the three forces, and my colleagues in the cabinet and party.”

Mentioning the BDR carnage, Hasina observed that only those who patronise war criminals and the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman can commit such atrocities.

She warned the opposition leader against making statements that might influence the investigation.

Citing the caretaker government's ban on her return from abroad, the premier said former adviser Major Gen (retd) MA Matin called her and asked not to fly back home.

"When I enquired why, he said they were doing a great job, they are trying to send Khaleda into exile. I protested the move and eventually got back home defying the government restrictions.”

She said the BNP chief would have been forced to go abroad, had she [Hasina] not returned to the country braving all odds.

At that point, Speaker Abdul Hamid said it seems to him that the two leaders in fact helped each other indirectly.

In over one-hour-long speech on the concluding day of the current parliament session, Hasina described the previous AL-led government's success in different sectors.

She said she considers presidency an institution and so she is in favour of thanking the president (Iajuddin Ahmed) for his address to the ninth parliament.

Govt failed to handle BDR massacre; CG rulers should be tried

Staff Correspondent
Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia yesterday in parliament asked the government not to behave in ways which push the opposition to take 'tough decisions'.

Saying that the Awami League-led government failed to tackle the BDR massacre in Pilkhana, Khaleda raised questions on whether Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should continue to hold the portfolio of the defence ministry.

Taking part in the discussion on a thanks-giving motion on former president Iajuddin Ahmed's speech, Khaleda demanded trial of the members of Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker government for their 'misdeeds' in the last two years.

Strongly criticising Fakhruddin government, Khaleda said 'engaging the forces of BDR in controlling commodity prices was a mockery, which resulted in the recent mayhem in the border security force headquarters'.

Appearing in the JS after a long break, the opposition leader said, "With a limited number of lawmakers, we are trying to make parliament functional and uphold multiparty democracy, therefore we are continuing to extend our cooperation to the government."

"I don't know how much longer we will be able to keep continuing our efforts, as the treasury bench lawmakers are hurling epithets in foul languages at the opposition lawmakers," Khaleda said during her one-hour and forty minutes speech.

"It's not possible for any decent person to perform his or her duties, if the situation continues to remain the same," the BNP chief said adding, "It seems they [treasury bench] want an opposition free House."

"I urge the government, so we are not forced to take any tough decision," added the leader of the opposition.

The opposition leader said Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker government presided over a 'barbaric rule for two years, besmirched politicians, and labelled them as bad persons'.

"The caretaker government which had no public mandate should be tried for giving the country a bad name," Khaleda said.

Without mentioning anyone's name, the opposition leader said 'it is clear who is linked with the BDR mutineers'.

Khaleda Zia blasted Army chief General Moeen U Ahmed 'for not taking any initiative to save his officers in the BDR headquarters during the massacre'.

The BNP chief said the December 29, 2008 general election pushed the country into a deeper crisis, as the desire of the public turned into disappointments within three months of the election.

The opposition chief said the armed forces were not behind 'the evil deeds and the injustices committed during the immediate past caretaker government', whom the BNP chief blamed for 'destroying the country'.

"The border security force BDR was engaged in businesses and shopping in a bid to control prices of essentials," Khaleda said.

"Recently we observed with pain the long-term serious bad effect that mockery had on the force," Khaleda said.

The BNP chief harshly criticised former president Iajuddin Ahmed, accusing him of violating the country's constitution by postponing the January 22, 2007 election, and by appointing Fakhruddin Ahmed as the chief of the immediate past caretaker government.

She also accused Iajuddin, who was appointed as the president by the last BNP-led government, of not keeping his presidential oath.

"He should have resigned, if he had failed to perform his duty," Khaleda said.

Khaleda urged the House not to pass any thanks giving motion on the former president's speech.

Link by daily star