You Can Get A Watch

Mexican singer Sergio Vega has been shot dead only hours after he had denied reports he had been murdered.

The 40-year-old singer, known as El Shaka, told a website he had increased security measures after a number of Mexican musicians were killed.

Musicians performing narcocorridos, songs celebrating the lives of drug barons, often become the targets of rival drug gangs.

Gunmen opened fire on Mr Vega on his way to a concert in Sinaloa state.

Mexican media reported Mr Vega was driving his red Cadillac on Saturday night when a truck started following him.

Shortly afterwards, shots were fired at the car, injuring Mr Vega and making him lose control of the vehicle and crashing it, his passenger told El Debate newspaper.
Deadly rumours

The gunmen then "finished Mr Vega off" with shots to the head and chest, El Debate reported the passenger as saying.

Police confirmed they found spent bullet shells next to the driver's door.

The BBC's Julian Miglierini in Mexico City said rumours had been circulating among fans of the Grupero genre of music that Mr Vega had been killed.

Only hours before the shooting, he told the entertainment website La Oreja that reports of his murder had been mistaken.

"It's happened to me for years now, someone tells a radio station or a newspaper I've been killed, or suffered an accident," Mr Vega said.

"And then I have to call my dear mum, who has heart trouble, to reassure her," he explained.

He told the site that musicians performing Grupero music were worried, but that he had entrusted himself to God.

Mr Vega said he had increased his security measures after the killing in 2007 of Sergio Gomez, the singer of Grupero band K-Paz de la Sierra.

Mr Gomez was kidnapped after a concert in Michoacan, at which Mr Vega had also performed. He was found strangled days later.

At least seven Grupero musicians have been killed over the past three years.

Police have blamed drug gangs for the killings.

They say musicians who celebrate the lives of drug barons in their lyrics often become targets for rival drug gangs.

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Driver from: www.news.bbc.co.uk

AS summer begins, Americans are buying up sunscreen, confident that applying it diligently will protect them from the rays that can lead to skin cancer, sunburn and wrinkles.

But depending on the product, they may be wrong. The SPF, or sun protection factor, tells people how effective a sunscreen is at blocking ultraviolet B rays, the kind that cause five-alarm sunburns. But there is no similar gauge for ultraviolet A rays, which tans skin but also can cause cancer and wrinkles. More often than not, product labels are of little help in this department.

There is good news and bad news on the ultraviolet A front. On the plus side, the Food and Drug Administration is considering a set of guidelines for sunscreen that would set up a four-star system for effectiveness against UVA rays. The rules would also ban the use of misleading terms like “sunblock” and “all-day protection” from labels.

The bad news: These rules were proposed three years ago, and the agency has yet to take action. Critics of the F.D.A. have accused it of foot-dragging because of pressure from sunscreen manufacturers.

In the absence of new rules, consumers are left with sunscreen regulations that date back to the Carter administration — 1978 — when the science of sun protection was far more primitive. The status quo leaves Americans with less-effective sunscreens than Europeans, doctors and scientists say.

“In the States, we are selling an obsolete generation of sun protection,” said Lionel De Benetti, the president of Clarins Laboratoires, a French cosmetics company. In its European sunscreens, Clarins uses superior ingredients that are not approved for use in the United States, he said, adding, “It’s a bit upsetting.”

To get state-of-the-art sun protection, some consumers seek out sunscreens from Europe that use UVA filters that are not yet approved by the F.D.A. Yu-Chi Lyra Kuo, a graduate student at Princeton University, took the trouble to do research online and now uses European products.

“The sunscreens in North America tend to be very effective at blocking UVB rays, but not UVA rays,” she said.

She had a colleague bring her back a Mustela spray from France that uses Tinosorb M, an ingredient that protects against a broad range of UVA rays but is not approved for use in American sunscreens. To replenish her supply, Ms. Kuo plans to order from Tubotica.com. “Frankly, the shipping rates are high from Europe,” she said. “I find it very inconvenient to order online.”

But she added, “I also covet the European ratings. I find a lot of American sunscreen brands are not exactly directly misleading in their labels, but they have labels that can be misconstrued.”

The F.D.A. is considering whether to approve Tinosorb M and other ingredients, but that process is separate from the consideration of the 2007 proposal. Adoption of the latter, the agency says, may be just around the corner. “We are targeting publication of the final rule in October,” said Shelly Burgess, an F.D.A. spokeswoman. If so, compliant products will be available at the earliest in the summer of 2012.

The F.D.A. has a history of blowing such deadlines. It attributes delays to three factors, the first of which is the amount of scientific homework on its plate. “We have to investigate and evaluate new research and development beginning in the ’70s all the way to today,” said Matthew R. Holman, deputy director of the division of the F.D.A. that regulates over-the-counter sunscreens.

Second, he said, the F.D.A. has received more than 3,000 comments on the proposals — from citizens, advocacy groups and corporate America — and each one must be investigated. “We weigh the information carefully,” Dr. Holman said.

And third, he said, there are more than 10 tests that gauge the efficacy of sun products against UVA rays, and research on the subject “has been evolving since we began this process.”

The elected officials and consumer watchdogs who have been holding the F.D.A.’s feet to the fire are far from satisfied with these explanations. They say there is enough scientific information for the F.D.A. to adopt new rules.

In 2007, at least four senators sent written requests to the F.D.A. asking for comprehensive sunscreen labels. Several class-action lawsuits have been filed against sunscreen manufacturers over false advertising.

In May, the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy group, released its fourth annual report on sunscreens, concluding that only 8 percent of the 500 products it reviewed were “safe and effective.” Many products exaggerated their sun protection powers, the group said.

The rules sitting in limbo at the F.D.A. would cap the maximum SPF that a product could claim at “50+.” The rules would most likely also set up a four-star system — one star for the lowest protection and four for the highest — to rate products on their effectiveness against UVA rays.

Jamaican police say they have arrested suspected drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke on the outskirts of Kingston.

He was detained at a roadblock on Tuesday accompanied by Rev Al Miller, a preacher who said Mr Coke was going to the US embassy to hand himself in.

The government wants to extradite him to face US drug and gun trafficking charges. His case has shed light on the links between politicians and gangs.

Attempts to capture him in May led to clashes in which scores of people died.

The 41-year-old is accused of being the leader of the notorious Shower Posse, which US authorities say operates an international drug and gun smuggling network. It has also been blamed for numerous murders.

Mr Coke faces life in prison if convicted on charges filed against him in New York.

He insists he is a legitimate businessman and enjoys the support of many impoverished Kingston residents who see him as a benefactor.

'Secure facility'
Following his arrest at 1600 (2100 GMT) on Tuesday, Mr Coke was taken to a nearby police station, where crowds quickly gathered as news spread. A military helicopter was later used to move him to an undisclosed location.

Jamaican Police Commissioner Owen Ellington said in a statement that Mr Coke had been arrested by policemen "acting on intelligence" at a vehicle checkpoint along the Mandela Highway.

"Coke is being held now in a secure facility, and the security forces are taking every step possible to ensure his safety and well-being while he is in our custody," he added, declining to give his exact location.

"The legal proceedings will commence immediately, once we are able to settle on the issue of legal representation and reach an agreement with the director of public prosecutions on where the hearings will be held, a court date will be set, and we anticipate that we can achieve that within 48 hours."

Mr Ellington said he was uncertain whether Mr Coke would be charged in Jamaica in connection with the deaths of two policemen and a soldier last month.

The commissioner said the security threat level for the police had been raised to the level that it was during last month's clashes in the capital, and that they had been alerted to the possibility of attacks.

"I would like to appeal to the families, friends and sympathisers of Christopher Coke to remain calm and to allow the law to take its course," he added.

"We would also like to reassure the country that we will continue our efforts to defeat organised crime and to restore law and order in this country while, at the same time, turning around the crime and security situation."

Mr Ellington added that police wanted to question Rev Miller, who was allowed to leave the police checkpoint after Mr Coke was arrested.

Rev Miller, who reportedly facilitated the surrender of Mr Coke's brother Leighton earlier this month, said Mr Coke had been on his way to the US embassy to hand himself in because he did not trust the police not to harm him.

"He also wanted to waive his right to an extradition hearing so that he could go to the US for a trial," he told reporters.

Mr Ellington said that he had spoken with his senior officers and "asked each individually if they were party to any discussion or agreement for the bypassing of the legal processes for Coke to be turned over to US Marshals".

"Each officer responded in the negative. I would like to have Mr Miller in so we can have discussions with him and we would advise him to have his attorney accompany him," he added.

The pursuit of Mr Coke has shed light on the links between politicians and gang leaders in Jamaica.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding is said to have relied on Mr Coke to turn out the vote at election time in the Tivoli Gardens district he represents in parliament, and which the Shower Posse controls.

When Mr Coke was first indicted in the US last August, Mr Golding initially fought the extradition, arguing that it was based on flawed evidence.

But after months of delays and amid growing local and international criticism, he agreed to extradite Mr Coke and signed an arrest warrant in May.

However, gunmen loyal to him in Tivoli Gardens barricaded the streets there and mounted attacks against the police.

A state of emergency was declared and more than 70 people were killed in four days of gun battles, during which Mr Coke was able to escape. The security forces have since been accused of using excessive force.

 

 

Driver from: news.bbc.co.uk

FINDING a decent place to sleep in New York City has never been easy. Traditionally, you either had to spend a ton of money (the Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons for $35,000 a night, anyone?) or scrimp and hope for the best (warning: a recent search for “bed bugs” on TripAdvisor found 877 mentions for city hotels).

What is a budget- and style-conscious traveler to do?

Go for the new middle. In a city that still boasts one of the nation’s highest room rates ($238 on average in Manhattan, according to Smith Travel, which tracks the industry), hotels aiming for the midrange are reaching new heights.

The trend began about three years ago, with a trickle of boutiquey places like the Pod, the Ace and the Jane — which offered a patina of style without the premium prices. It has accelerated in recent months, with a raft of new hotels promising cool design, nods to local flavor and wallet-friendly rates of about $200 to $250.

Call them budget boutiques. But instead of coming from daring young hoteliers, many are being rolled out by chains like InterContinental and Wyndham in a bid to attract a hipper clientele.

“There’s a huge wave of consumer demand, especially with the younger Gen Y or millennials, for properties that have some level of style to them,” said Sean Hennessey, founder of Lodging Advisors, a hospitality consultant firm.

In May, I slept in six of these new hotels. Despite their novelty, some were already victims of their own clichés. Rooftop bars, rainfall showers and iPhone docks were everywhere. Still, rooms were large by the city’s pint-size standards, service was sharp, and for the moment, they offer some of the best values around. 

DISTRIKT HOTEL

WHY BOOK? On an exhaust-choked block next to the Port Authority bus station, three new cookie-cutter hotels are stacked together like cereal boxes in a configuration that hotel bloggers have started calling a “tri-pack.” Distrikt, next door, is different: it has a simulacrum of soul. This is impressive, not only because of its unseemly location — within shouting distance of a homeless shelter and a parole office — but also a kitschy design conceit: every floor takes its cue from a New York City neighborhood.

ROOM My standard room was on the 28th floor: Central Park. Don’t expect a wax statue of Frederick Law Olmsted. The only nods to the famous park were photo collages that hung in the room and hallways. Needless to say, the actual park wasn’t visible from the window, though tantalizing glimpses of the Hudson River were. The room itself was a beige rectangle furnished with the type of inoffensive contemporary furniture one might find in a West Elm catalog. The glass shower was spacious, and the matted gray carpeting was fun to dig your toes into — like newly mowed grass.

VIBE Blame the sketchy neighbors, but parts of the hotel feel as though they’re under lockdown. Key cards are needed to operate the elevators, and the marble-and-steel lobby is a tad cold, despite a 12-foot vertical garden. An adjacent lounge, called Collage, looks like a modern airport bistro. It serves breakfast by day (a continental spread of sweaty pastries), and drinks and bar food by night. On a recent Friday evening, it was empty. “This is New York City,” said the young bartender. “Who wants to stay inside their hotel?”

MINTS An organic fudge brownie awaits you in the room, along with a personalized welcome letter — nice touches for a hotel of this class. There’s no fitness center, but free passes are available to the nearby Mid City Gym. You can check your e-mail on one of three large Mac screens in the lobby, but be prepared to wait.

342 West 40th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues; (888) 444-5610; distrikthotel.com; free Wi-Fi; breakfast for $14.95; 155 rooms from $209.

EVENTI

WHY BOOK? Straddling the higher end is the Eventi, a 292-room hotel that opened last month in northern Chelsea. Operated by Kimpton — a San Francisco-based chain that helped pioneer the budget boutique niche — it offers doses of luxury that are unusual at this price range. There’s clever design, 24-hour room service, a large terrace, a sunny gym, a spa that offers something called spirulina body wraps, and even dog and cat massages.

 

 

driver from: www.nytimes.com

This years Halloween calls for a vampire tribute, cause lets face it, vamps are seriously hotter than ever! We find our vampire inspiration in the classic movies, like the all time favourite Dracula by Bram Stoker (love Gary Oldman) or Interview with the Vampire with Brad Pitt, Tom Cuise and Antonio Banderas as blood suckers of highest ranking, may we say yum! Today's dream boat vampire hunks you'll find in Stephanie Meyers Twilight Saga, Robert Pattinson sure is something for the eye, as is Stephen Mayer of the True Blood series.
What is it about these vampires that make men and women expose throat? Dark and mysterious, incredibly handsome and dandy, true gentlemen, tender but rough and absolutely lethal, you never know what to expect but will for sure be dazzled. For this years' Halloween dress-up vampire might be a safe card to play, though you might not be the only one wearing fangs at the party.

Driver from: looklet.com

England's World Cup hopes hang in the balance as they were held to a disappointing draw by Algeria after a wretched display in Cape Town.

Fabio Capello's side now need to beat Slovenia on Wednesday to ensure qualification to the knockout stages.

England felt the full force of the fury of the thousands of fans who flooded Cape Town in the vain hope of seeing a performance that improved on their first draw against the United States in Rustenburg.

Instead, they were rewarded with a performance that was the worst of Capello's reign, with Algeria fully deserving the point they celebrated with such elation at the final whistle.

England looked jaded and lacking inspiration, with Algeria goalkeeper Rais M'Bolhi barely troubled apart from one sharp first-half save from Frank Lampard.

And another major worry for Capello was the desperately poor showing from the player who carries so much of England's World Cup hopes, Wayne Rooney. The Manchester United star has rarely looked so out of sorts for club or country, even struggling to keep the ball under control and wasting possession on a consistent basis.

Rooney also appeared to be struggling with a knock in the closing stages, inflicting more anxiety on Capello as he endured a nightmare on his 64th birthday.

The 24-year-old Rooney was also captured on camera responding angrily to the reaction of the England supporters as he left the field, saying "Nice to see your own fans booing you."

But Rooney could hardly have expected them to deliver resounding applause after being subjected to such torture from their team for 90 minutes.

England will be grateful to at least still have the opportunity to progress into the knockout stage, but after the thrilling meeting between Slovenia and the United States illuminated Group C only hours earlier, Capello's players succeeded only in throwing a wet blanket over this encounter.

If they do not improve against Slovenia, and there is ample room on this grim evidence, then England will be making a premature departure from the World Cup.

And as if life was not difficult enough Capello will also be forced into yet another change at the back with centre-back Jamie Carragher - in the side after injuries ruled out Rio Ferdinand and Ledley King - picking up a booking which will keep him out of Wednesday's crucial game.

As expected, Capello recalled David James in goal and dropped Robert Green, excluded after his error against the United States in England's opening game and a nervous performance in training on the eve of this meeting with Algeria.

The return of Gareth Barry was designed to give England shape and a midfield foundation - but the first half ranked with the worst served up during Capello's tenure.

Algeria, for long periods, were more comfortable in possession than England, who looked heavy-legged and lacking any spark or inspiration.

It took 29 minutes for England to test Algeria keeper Bolhi, when he fell low to clutch Steven Gerrard's shot, and he was to distinguish himself further three minutes later when he denied Frank Lampard from close range.

Capello was reduced to a frustrated, gesticulating figure in his technical area and his businesslike march to the dressing room at the interval was surely a signal that some brutal truths were about to aimed in the direction of his players.

England's efforts after the break showed no marked improvement, and Capello waited until just after the hour before he could no longer resist the temptation to make a change, sending on Shaun Wright-Phillips for the disappointing Aaron Lennon.

And with 16 minutes left and England lacking ideas, Capello removed Emile Heskey - by no means England's worst performer in this dismal show - and giving Jermain Defoe the opportunity to make an impact.

It was to no avail, and the angry reaction of England's fans at the final whistle delivered the telling verdict on this shambolic showing.

Driver from:news.bbc.co.uk/sport/

OSH, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan, an obscure country with a coveted location in Central Asia, is in serious danger of fragmenting. The crisis here, ebbing for now after days of ethnic violence and military atrocities, could have ramifications all the way to Washington.

The provisional Kyrgyz government has lost control of large areas in the southern part of the country because of its failure to quell attacks that have killed at least several hundred ethnic Uzbeks, and possibly many more. As many as 400,000 have fled their homes. Barricading themselves in their cities and neighborhoods, Uzbeks have essentially set up autonomous zones and are refusing to recognize the authorities in the capital.

Despite the threat of a breakup of the country, the government seems unable to respond in any meaningful way. The provision of humanitarian aid has been slow. On Friday, the interim president flew to the affected regions for the first time since the violence began on the night of June 10. She has not responded to numerous credible reports that elements of the military carried out horrific assaults on ethnic Uzbeks. The reports indicate that the government, which took office in April after rioting ousted the Kyrgyz president, does not have the full allegiance of the military.

“They fear the generals,” a prominent Kyrgyz human rights lawyer, Nurbek Toktakunov, said Thursday. “Sooner or later, these issues are going to have to be tackled.”

This reluctance is especially striking because the government has charged that the deposed president, Kurmanbek S. Bakiyev, incited the violence as a way to return to office. But it has yet to explain how Mr. Bakiyev exercised that power or whether senior military officers remain loyal to him, allowing him to use troops to incite ethnic warfare.

American officials are keeping a close eye on the conflict, not least because the United States has an important military base on the outskirts of the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, that supplies the expanding NATO mission in Afghanistan. An American official in Washington confirmed that the Kyrgyz government was having “trouble exercising command over the security forces.”

Already, the new government has given mixed signals about whether it will renew the lease on the American base — and its weakness has added fresh uncertainty over a strategic competition between the United States and Russia. Russia also has military facilities in Kyrgyzstan and in recent years has vied with the United States to win the favor of the Kyrgyz.

While it is still early, the tensions here could lead to the kind of ethnic standoff that has repeatedly arisen across the former Soviet Union. These clashes — in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and elsewhere — are often referred to as frozen conflicts because they have not been resolved over many years. They entangle the major powers, as in the case of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia over the renegade enclave of South Ossetia, which soured relations between Russia and the West, particularly the United States.

The government had been hoping to solidify its standing by holding a referendum on a new constitution on June 27, but the ethnic violence has thrown those plans into doubt. Ethnic Uzbeks, who make up about 15 percent of the population, will not take part in the voting unless international peacekeepers arrive in Kyrgyzstan, an unlikely prospect.

If the referendum is canceled, then the government may be further adrift.

Senior officials in Bishkek defended the government’s performance, saying that they were facing towering obstacles in trying to steer the country, including a depressed economy and meddling by Mr. Bakiyev, who is in exile in Belarus.

The interim president, Roza Otunbayeva, traveled to the south on Friday. She had not been able to visit because of security concerns. The government said that she planned to meet with local leaders to ease the tensions.

Farid Niyazov, a government spokesman, said Thursday that Ms. Otunbayeva, who is an ethnic Kyrgyz, believed that it was improper to make overtures to either Kyrgyz or Uzbeks based solely on their ethnicity.

“The government is offering its condolences to all and its commitment to maintain peace and security,” he said. “We do not name ethnic groups. To do so could provide the impulse for another explosion.”

 

 

Driver from:www.nytimes.com

In some ways, the World Cup crossed most of its ideological divides at Ellis Park Stadium when Brazil, the No. 1 soccer nation of the last 50 years, played North Korea, whose team has played at this level only twice in that span.

Brazil, whose stars are the best and the wealthiest globetrotters in the sport, was facing soccer nobodies from a secretive land that rarely allows its citizens to travel abroad.0

It was the No. 1 team in the rankings of the world governing body, FIFA, against No. 105.

But the Koreans made nonsense of this rating. What pride they exhibited. And how they made Brazil sweat to close out a 2-1 victory Tuesday in a stadium that once represented a divide in South Africa.

Ellis Park used to be a stronghold of the white Afrikaans game, rugby union. South Africa has moved on. So should everyone, away from the notion that the isolation of half of the Korean Peninsula makes its citizens and players somehow inferior.

Journalists were tersely reminded this week by the North Korean coach, Kim Jong-hun, that his country must be called the Democratic Republic of Korea. FIFA lists the team as the People’s Republic. To much of the world, it is simply North Korea.

Such labels are obsolete when men are at play under the international laws of the game.

South Korea is at this World Cup, too, and performing well. Yet the two Koreas remain separated by a narrow military zone, and their relations are sour.

Under such circumstances, how can a FIFA ranking of 105 mean anything in relation to North Korea’s ability to play? If it seldom competes against the outside world, it cannot gain points to climb the ladder.

But this week was a breakthrough of sorts. Koreans in the North were allowed to watch on television South Korea’s 2-0 victory over Greece.

This is a far cry from 1988, when the Seoul Olympics took the world’s athletes to the South, but Pyongyang staged an alternative event at its own vast stadium. And then again in 2002, when South Korea and Japan co-hosted soccer’s World Cup and anyone was free to view it — except in North Korea.

At both of those events, the ultimate sadness was that while millions of South Koreans thronged the streets to celebrate being at the center of world attention, their kinfolk in the North were left out. The man who built up South Korea’s soccer association, Chung Mong-joon, has risen to be a vice president of FIFA. His father fled communism, went south and founded Hyundai. Father and son were responsible, separately, for bringing the Olympics and then the World Cup to South Korea.

So the difference between people from the same land is an imposed one. Soccer is one of the few things that can bridge the differences. There have even been exhibition matches between the northern and southern teams, always, of course, in South Korea and always heavily guarded.

If this week achieves anything, it might be that people are less condescending toward athletes isolated by politics and ideology.

If the North Korean camp is cut off from outside eyes, in contrast to Brazilians holding open training sessions to generate local support for the team, that cannot be the fault of the players. There are, inevitably, rumors that the guards are there more to keep the North’s players inside the camp than to keep outsiders out.

But the exception — the approachable member of North Korea’s squad — is its striker, Jong Tae-se. Born in Japan, in an enclave where former Korean workers became part of the Japanese community, Jong enjoys the affluence and fame of a world-class soccer player, and the privilege of being allowed to come and go through Pyongyang more or less as he pleases.

On Tuesday, two faces of Jong were displayed. As the anthem of North Korea played solemnly over Ellis Park, he stood in line, his face broken with emotion, openly weeping. Then the whistle blew, and Jong ran as if his liberty depended upon it. He chased, he harried and he got in as many shots on goal as any man on either side. In the end, however, Jong wasn’t blessed with a goal.

Brazil’s Maicon was so blessed, however, scoring a magical one. Robinho created the second with a fabulous pass that played three opponents out of the game at a stroke. But the last word, the last goal, was also a fine one, and it came from the left foot of North Korea’s Ji Yun-nam.

So the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea put on a display far more competitive than most people expected. That proved how little the world knows of sports history. In 1966, in the only other World Cup in which North Korea played, its team sensationally knocked out Italy, winning by 1-0 in the English city of Middlesbrough.

The lesson then, as now, is that 11 men on any given day can shock 11 others who consider themselves superior.

According to Jong, his comrades are remarkably “pure,” they live to play the game, and no amount of money could make them happier in their goal.

This has been a remarkable opening, an opening perhaps of that shutter keeping out the world’s games. North and South Korea were drawn against each other in qualifying for this World Cup, and enmities arose over the playing of the anthems and raising of the flags, so much so that the second game between them, the designated home game for Pyongyang, was played in China.

Their paths are unlikely to cross at this World Cup, but similarities can be seen in their spirit, their bodies, their pride. They are clearly brothers in different national uniforms.

A version of this article appeared in print on June 17, 2010, on page B13 of the New York edition.

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Robert Green is confident he has the mental resolve to bounce back from the World Cup howler that helped the United States draw 1-1 with England.

"I'm sure there's 50-odd million people disappointed with me, but I'll come back, work hard and it won't affect me," said West Ham goalkeeper Green.

"At half time I walked in, apologised to the lads and moved on."

Coach Fabio Capello added: "Sometimes a forward misses, sometimes a keeper makes a mistake - that's football."

Green failed to get behind a Clint Dempsey strike from outside the penalty area, allowing the ball to squirm through his hands and over the line to gift the US an equaliser just before half-time in Rustenburg.

It cost England dear, with Capello's men unable to find a response despite a bright start that saw Steven Gerrard score a fine opener after just four minutes.

"It hit the outside of one of my thumbs, do that again 1000 times and I will save 999," said Green.

"It is something that has happened in life, you accept it, move on and keep working. I want to carry on playing and I want to stand up and represent my country.

"You don't prepare for making a great save, you don't prepare mentally for having a perfect game, you prepare for making mistakes and it is bouncing back from those mistakes which is the important part.

"Thankfully in the next 50 minutes of the game I did that."

Despite refusing to publicly blame the West Ham keeper, Capello refused to confirm Green would again start in goal in England's next Group C game against Algeria on Friday.

"The second half he (Green) played very well," said Capello. "But the mistake remains a mistake."

It is not the first time Green has made a high-profile error in an England shirt.

He ruptured his groin when mis-kicking a goal-kick that allowed Belarus to equalise in a 2-1 England B defeat at the Madejski Stadium in 2006.

According to Opta statistics, too, Green made more errors leading to goals than any other player in the Premier League last season.

But Green insisted he would not be too downbeat, saying: "Clint has hit one and it's one I should have saved.

"It's thoroughly disappointing, (but) it's something that has happened and I can't let it affect me.

"I had 50 minutes left in the game to represent my county and not let it happen again and I didn't let it affect my performance.

"But I'll come back to training on Sunday, work hard, work hard the next day, and prepare as if I'm playing in the next game.

"It's about mental strength. Worse things have happened to people. It's about carrying on and working for the team and focusing."

Ahead of the World there had been a lot of criticism of the "Jabulani" tournament ball, with players and coaches unhappy with its movement through the air.

But that appeared to have little to do with Green's error, with Dempsey's shot bouncing twice before it reached the England keeper.

Green's team-mates Steven Gerrard and John Terry rallied round the 30-year-old goalkeeper, while US keeper Tim Howard, named man-of-the-match, said: "Of course I feel for him.

"He has made a couple of really good saves and, as we have been saying all week, this ball is doing silly things.

"Unfortunately at this level, sometimes these things are going to happen. I feel terribly for him but when you are goalkeeping you have to have broad shoulders."

Howard's US team-mate Brad Friedel was also quick to defend Green. He told BBC Radio 5 live: "A mistake can happen to anybody at any time, the same goes for a striker missing a sitter.

"He will want to play again on Friday. As a goalkeeper I know exactly how Robert Green will feel as that mistake let us back in the game."

Gerrard added: "Conceding the goal shocked us a bit because when you go in front a team like us expects to go on and win.

"(But) we can't criticise the keeper - the ball is tricky and we'll get behind Rob. I'm sure he'll come back from this, learn from this, and go from strength to strength. He'll play his part further down the line.

Terry added: "It's one of those things. Mistakes happen and we're in this together. We need to get behind Rob - he's got good friends here."

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has been inducted into the Mojo Hall Of Fame at the magazine's award ceremony.

Singer Richard Hawley won the best album prize, while Kasabian's single Fire was named song of the year.

But Florence and the Machine, who led the field with four nominations before the London event, was overlooked.

Page, who last won a Mojo award for the 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion, revealed he was working on new material with a number of different projects.

He has been taken on by Robbie Williams' management company IE.

"I'm just looking forward to making some music and surprising people with it," he said.

"It won't be just teaming up with lots of people who are [big] names. I've got an idea of something which I've had for a long time and now's the time to do it."

But he declined to give further details about his collaborators or his new direction.

Mojo is now the best-selling music magazine in the UK, selling more than twice as many copies as NME.

Five winners were voted for by Mojo readers, including best album, best single and best live act. That category saw US act Midlake beat Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys and Florence and the Machine.

A further 16 honorary prizes were handed out. They included the classic album award, which went to The Stone Roses for their 1989 self-titled debut LP.

Bassist Mani, who picked up the trophy, said it was "gratefully received".

Asked why there were few new guitar bands making a splash in the way The Stone Roses did, Mani replied: "Bands of my era had a whacked out agenda. They walked it, they lived it, they breathed it.

"[They were] not necessarily the best musicians in the world. I think what's wrong with British music at the moment is people are too career-orientated. They're afraid, or record companies will not allow them to take risks, and that just makes everything so uniform."

A number of other acts from the 1980s were also honoured, including Marc Almond, Jean Michelle Jarre and Teardrop Explodes.

Teardrop Explodes were due to reunite for the first time in 28 years to accept the Mojo inspiration award, but singer Julian Cope did not turn up.

Keyboard player David Balfe said: "At seven o'clock I was told, 'He's going to be there - he likes to make an entrance.' At eight o'clock, 'He's going to be here.' Then we got a text - and he's not here."

Balfe went on to establish record label Food, which signed Blur.

Mojo editor Phil Alexander said: "The 80s are almost the new 60s. You can hear the influence of that decade everywhere.

"The aspects of the 80s we chose to celebrate at the Mojo Honours List reflect the genuine innovation of that period and I think you sense that the best music made at that time has had a massive impact on the musicians of today, in the same way that the 60s and 70s did previously.

"Somehow, there is a freedom in parts of 80s music that resonates among a new generation of musicians and fans."