Kick off: 7.45pm.

CORRECTION: FOUR SPURIOUS OMENS BECOME THREE! I've just realised (2) happened in 2006, and Henry only left Arsenal in 2007. My. How time flies when your brain is slowly dying.

After much dull speculation - sorry - Cesc Fabregas is passed fit! Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Fabregas, Song, Diaby, Nasri, Bendtner, Arshavin.
Subs: Fabianski, Rosicky, Eduardo, Walcott, Denilson, Eboue, Campbell.

No Andres Iniesta for Barca, and Henry's only on the bench. Valdes, Dani Alves, Pique, Puyol, Maxwell, Messi, Keita, Busquets, Xavi, Pedro, Ibrahimovic.
Subs: Pinto, Marquez, Bojan, Henry, Milito, Toure Yaya, Jeffren.

Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland).

Missing the next match if they're booked: Fabregas and Gael Clichy are treading a fine line for Arsenal, while needing to watch out in Barcelona shirts are Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. Hmm, Fabregas and Puyol aren't setting much in the way of captain's examples, are they? But if the top players really must get themselves idiotically suspended for the next leg, then let's see some proper old-school haymaker throwing, please, no half measures.

Ersatz sub-Ronaldo teamsheet drama: Fabregas may yet not start! He's got special dispensation to drop to the bench, and loll on it, if his warm-up doesn't go well. CHRIST ALMIGHTY. Either he's fit or he's not. Does everything have to be such a drama these days?

Poor man's pre 1998 World Cup final carry-on: After all that, Fabregas starts. BLASPHEME BLASPHEME BLASPHEME. Now, can we just get on with it, please?

Click, clack, click, clack, click, clack, click, clack, clickity, clackity, click, clack, clack. The teams walk out onto the pitch. It won't be long, it won't be long.

Tippy, tappy, passy, passy. So, any chance you're running an illicit book on (a) possession percentages or (b) how long before the ITV commentator sees football so beautiful he starts humping his monitor?" asks Niall Caldwell. "A fiver on 57% for Barça and 14 minutes respectively." I'd go for 87% Barcelona and 0.0000000043234 seconds, were I running such a book, which I'm not. You've also forgotten to ask how long it'll take before said ITV mouthpiece starts banging on about Brazil 70-style football despite only witnessing a few simple passes being strung together.

And we're off! Arshavin immediately attempts to make things happen down the left, but his cross is too deep. Barcelona romp upfield and win a corner, just because they can. From it, sent in from the right, Busquets is found free in the centre, eight yards out. His sidefoot towards the bottom-left corner looks like creeping in, but is fingertipped away brilliantly by Almunia. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a start.

3 min: Barcelona are on the front foot. A lot of ball enjoyed by Keita, Busquets and Alves. Eventually Arsenal try to pass their way out of bother - only for Arshavin to immediately give it away to Xavi. Luckily for Arsenal the pass forward towards Ibrahimovic is heavy and bounces out of play. "All of this talk about Fabregas would lead me to make the dangerous assumption that Arsenal are just a one-man team," writes Peter Anthony Corway. "So it's not just Manchester United who have that problem then."

5 min: This is rather embarrassing for Arsenal at the moment. They have hardly touched the ball. Messi picks the ball up while racing down the inside-right channel, drops a shoulder to drift inside, and forces Almunia into saving with his feet with a low, hard shot.

6 min: This is extremely embarrassing for Arsenal at the moment. Alves swans down the right in acres, zipping a low cross into the centre for Ibrahimovic, who is free, six yards out. The big galoot balloons the ball miles over the bar, then has the brass neck not to look sheepish simply because the offside flag was up and it wouldn't have counted anyway. Dear God. Is he ever going to score in a big Champions League game?

9 min: It feels like the Emirates is tipped up onto one side at the moment, so often does the ball come back at Arsenal. Ibrahimovic zips down the right, cuts inside, and wallops a low shot into the right-hand side netting. Messi was clear in the middle; an early low cross would have caused Arsenal some severe discomfort there.

12 min: Just nothing whatsover from Arsenal at the moment. "Is it just me who expects Little Cesc to swap shirts with Yaya Toure?" wonders Gary Naylor. "I don't mean at the end of the match - I mean in August." He's here all week, ladies and gentlemen. He's here all year. Hell, he'll be here all decade.

13 min: This is preposterous. Three saves from Almunia, and blocks from Song and Vermaelen have just denied Messi (twice), Xavi, Ibrahimovic and Alves - in the space of one minute. The ball's just flying at the goal from all angles.

16 min: Vermalelen upends Ibrahimovic down the right. From the free kick, Pedro takes the ball down, just to the left of goal, ten yards out. His effort is deflected high and wide by a desperate parry by Almunia. "Some people have suggested that Wenger can't really lose from this tie: if Arsenal lose then, 'well, it was against Barcelona'; if they win then, 'what justification for Arsene!'; but is that really true?" asks David Wall. "If Arsenal are really thumped over the two-legs then they'll look like the European equivalent of West Brom in the Premier League last year. Mowbray's reputation suffered pretty badly from that (even before he reinforced the impression with Celtic this year). Could Wenger's pride take the same kind of humiliation?" We could as him now. This is the most one-sided start to a game I've ever seen.

18 min: Almunia - the only Arsenal player to turn up so far, and thank God for them that he has, else it'd be 7-0 - holds onto a Pique header from a right-wing cross. There were three yellow Barca shirts queueing up to stick the nut on that.

20 min: Arshavin is booked for a studs-up challenge on Busquets. It may have been frustration at seeing Puyol clear a deep Fabregas right-wing cross with a spectacular - and totally needless - diving header.

23 min: "This has nil-nil written all over it," writes Anthony O Connell. "For the next five minutes." And so, right on cue, just to ruin the gag, Arsenal finally do something. Nasri cuts inside from the left and, on the edge of the area, unleashes a purler of a curler towards the bottom-right corner. The ball flies just wide of the post. A superb effort - and one that gets a previously stunned crowd going.

26 min: Arshavin is limping, having injured himself making that daft tackle on Busquets. After waiting for Barcelona to pass it around for what seems like three halves of football, the ball finally goes out of play so Eboue can replace him. Incidentally, the ball went out for a goal kick, Messi running it out of play on the right - but only after Clichy had clattered into him. I reckon that should have been a penalty. Arsenal got away with one there.

29 min: Ibrahimovic wins a towering header at the left-hand post from a deep Alves cross. Almunia is sharp and first to the ball, though Galoot was offside anyway. How this is still goalless I'll never know.

32 min: Barcelona are passing it around. A lot. But that's not exactly news. "It's like watching Ajax 1972 after they have bathed in amphetamine," writes Ben Dunn. Maybe they should have taken it in pill form rather than taking a dip in it, because it's more like watching Holland 1974; a lot of fancy passing and forgetting to put the ball in the net. Luckily for Barcelona, Nicklas Bendtner is no Gerd Muller.

33 min: Messi twists and twirls just to the left of goal, outside the area, laying the ball inside to Galoot, who turns and sends a low, hard shot well wide left of target.

35 min: Bendtner diddles down the right and loops the ball into the six-yard area. Diaby gets the very top of his head to the ball, but can only divert it miles wide left. That's better from Arsenal, in as much as it's something, anything. "Is it interesting to note Ibra has never scored nor beaten an 'English' club?" wonders Stephen Alexander. "Note, this fact may be only half way interesting if you actually consider Arsenal an English club."

37 min: This is one of the most ridiculous games I've ever seen. After all that Barcelona pressure, Arsenal nearly go one up. Nasri crosses deep from the left. Alves misjudges the flight, leaving Bendtner alone in the centre with the ball at his feet. His first effort is saved by Valdes, the second is Ibrahimoviched against the right-hand post from a mere six yards. The ball then pinballs around before being hacked clear by Pique. None of it matters, as Bendtner was offside. How on earth is this still goalless?

40 min: Song is booked for not retreating from a free kick. On the halfway line. There really was no need to pick up that. Adding injury to insult, Gallas is down on the floor rubbing his leg.

43 min: Gallas has departed on a stretcher. Arsenal may leave this one until half time, the option after all being Campbell v Messi. "Ibrahimovic can hardly be expected to have scored against an English club since before this season he played for perennial European losers Inter," writes Simon Frank, who presumably doesn't support Chelsea. "Plus, big game bottlers don't score the winning goal against Real Madrid in the superclásico... having said that, he's horribly out of form, eh?"

44 min: Fabregas will miss the next match, booked for a late lunge on Busquets. The former Nou Camp youth player looks utterly distraught, not least because he got a big old piece of the ball.

44 min and a bit: From distance, Ibrahimovic skies a shot which can't have stayed in the stadium. It simply can't have. Apologies to Simon Frank, but that is possibly the worst shot ever taken in the history of professional football, and we all remember Jaap Stam's penalty at Euro 2000. Denilson, and not Campbell, is on for the crocked Gallas.

45 min: For the second time in two minutes - the Fabregas booking got in the way earlier - Nasri scoots free(ish) down the left and nearly finds Bendtner in the centre, only for Puyol to slide the ball clear.

HALF TIME: There's no point me telling you the score, you simply wouldn't believe it. How on earth aren't Barcelona ahead? They could easily have been five up after a quarter of an hour. Oh for a goalscorer in the mould of, I dunno, Samuel Eto'o. For Arsenal, it's been pretty dismal viewing, although Almunia and Nasri have both been excellent. And for a team often accused of lacking bottle, you can't accuse them of not digging in and putting in a shift.

Ibrahimovic: Galoot. "I have to object to you referring to Ibrahimovic as Galoot," blasts Ted Storer. "He is Swedish and plays for Barcelona. Shouldn't there be an umlaut or other diacritic over a vowel?" Fair point, but I'm not sure I've got a fancy enough character set. Matty Nesbitt may be able to assist. "Is Ibrahimovic the new Serginho? The moustache on the Mona Lisa? The Catalan Nicklas Bendtner?" OK, Serginhovic it is. Until I forget all about this when he shins one over the bar from a yard out on 47 minutes.

And we're off again... and... ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC: FOOTBALL GENIUS!!! Arsenal 0-1 Barcelona. Forget anything I ever said, like you were ever going to remember it anyway. Chasing a long ball down the inside-right channel, Ibrahimovic outpaces Song and from the right-hand corner of the area, lifts the most delicious sidefooted effort over the advancing Almunia and into the empty net. That was outstanding. OK, why doesn't he do this all the time?

47 min: Ibrahimovic signally does not shin one over the bar from a yard out. He's too busy running around celebrating, accepting plaudits, etc. That really was a fantastic goal. It took a whole 23 seconds of the second half to score.

49 min: Pique and Fabregas run into each other just to the left of the Barcelona box. The stunned crowd begin to shout, shout a bit more upon the referee giving not even a foul, and then fall silent again. "I take Serginhovic back," mumbles Matty Nesbitt, who can take succour from the fact that he's not in my shoes.

51 min: Ibrahimovic, on the edge of the D, heads a long ball down for Pedro, who should get an effort on target but drags a shot wide right.

53 min: Ibrahimovic sets Barca going forward with a neat backheel in the centre circle. A couple of passes later, he's dragged down 20 yards from goal by Song. The resulting free kick is wasted, Busquets sending a soft shot straight down Almunia's throat.

54 min: Both teams nearly score with a header. First Bendtner hammers a really poorly directed close-range effort straight at Valdes, wasting Clichy's perfect cross from the left, then Xavi skims a dreadful one wide left from a right-wing Alves ball.

56 min: Bendtner chases after a Fabregas flick down the inside-right channel, but the ball skids off the turf and into the hands of Valdes. Speaking of wasted effort, Loz Kaye just spent the last few minutes typing "Gålööt, gålööt".

58 min: Maxwell tears down the right, nearly finding both Xavi and Pedro in the centre with a low cross. Song does brilliantly to clear.

59 min: GOAL!!! Arsenal 0-2 Ibrahimovic. Zlatan, the slayer of the English, zips clear of Vermaelen down the inside-right channel and into the area - and wastes no time in hammering the ball into the top-right corner. We always knew this was going to happen - but by two simple balls hoofed practically up the centre?

62 min: Eboue skates down the middle of the park. He's bundled over, winning a free kick, but instead of pumping the ball towards the area Barca-style - remember how those two goals were scored - attempt to triangle-pass it down the pitch. Soon enough the ball's lost. "Does the big man need renaming for this half GOAL-OOT?" asks Matt the Hat, salvaging a little something from the wreckage of this MBM.

65 min: Arsenal can't get the ball again. Nasri, who was their star player in the first half, is to be replaced by Walcott - but just before he runs off the field, he's told to stay on, Sagna departing instead. "Tippy tappy?" repeates Damien Neva, a callback from pre-Goaloot days. "No, just a ball to the big bloke is enough to undo Arsenal. Invariably it has worked for Chelsea."

68 min: Walcott doesn't take long to get involved, ripping down the right wing and sending in a low cross. Sadly for Arsenal, there's nobody there, allowing Valdes to dip down and collect the ball.

69 min: GOAL!!! Arsenal 1-2 Barcelona. Bendtner, in the centre of the Barca half, passes down the inside-right channel towards Walcott, who strides past Maxwell, opens his body, and sidefoots powerfully goalwards. It's a decent effort, albeit one Valdes should smother. The keeper doesn't, though, the ball going through his body and into the net. This tie felt all over - but not now.

72 min: Pique is booked for cynically dragging down Fabregas as he looks for a one-two, 25 yards out, just to the right of the D. He'll miss the second leg. Is this tie turning dramatically? It will if Fabregas can score from this free kick.

73 min: Fabregas can't keep his shot down, though. "Can we still say Ibrahimovic hasn't scored against English opposition?" wonders Etienne Michelet, reading aloud from a copy of 101 Classic Arsenal Putdowns.

75 min: Eboue is booked for an artless scythe on Puyol.

76 min: Messi skitters down the left and cuts into the box, but can't get his shot away. Goaloot - aka The John Fashanu of Barca, according to Ian Copestake - is replaced by Thierry Henry. Now then.

79 min: Diaby is booked for a hilariously blatant hack on Keita. "I was about to muse about the guaranteed ineffectuality of speed merchant Walcott," writes Francis Lee. "Luckily I was delayed by perusing Hadley Freeman's piece on Uma Thurman. I might now actually start watching the match for more than eight seconds at a time." You and me both, Francis. You and me both.

82 min: Walcott and Maxwell challenge for a ball down the right. The former bundles the latter over, for which the referee calls a foul. The Emirates explodes in fury at the decision - or is it frustration? "I think the fact that Arsenal have suffered injuries against a friendly passing team like Barca shows what a bunch of senistive flowers they really are," notes Silver Fox.m

84 min: PENALTY TO ARSENAL - AND A RED CARD FOR PUYOL! From a cleverly judged right-wing cross, Bendtner, standing on the spot, cushions a header down to Fabregas. Puyol and Fabregas come together, the latter going down fairly easily to win a penalty - though you can't blame him for that. A generous award, and adding insult to injury, the big defender is sent packing - and will miss the next leg. Fabregas will take the penalty.

85 min: WHAT A COMEBACK! Arsenal 2-2 Barcelona. Fabregas hammers it down the middle, the ball sailing slightly to the left before bulging the net. The only downside: he's kicked the ball so hard, he's injured himself and limps off. With no subs left, Arsenal will play the rest of the match with ten men.

87 min: Nope, Fabregas has limped back on. But he's not moving around much. Milito comes on for Messi; Barcelona will be more than happy with a draw now.

89 min: The Emirates, so quiet for most of the half, is bouncing now. "This is a farce," suggests Barrie Stevens, balancing out the noise. "Barca should be home and dry by at least four goals by now."

90 min: There will be three more minutes of this.

90 min +1: Xavi is this close to setting Henry free, alone in the Arsenal half. Song gets something in the way; that was such a crucial interception.

FULL TIME: There's no point me telling you the score, you simply wouldn't believe it. Well, how on earth have Arsenal got away with a draw there? They were thoroughly outplayed for approximately 88 of those minutes - and allowed Zlatigol to break his duck against English clubs - but showed immense grit to fight back for a draw. Chances are that Arsenal will need to win in the Nou Camp - but Barcelona will have something to worry about now, especially as Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique will both miss the second leg. The final word goes to Alex Richman: "Well, all Wolves have to do is follow Barcelona's long-ball blueprint at the weekend, eh?"

Thierry Henry

So Thierry Henry is back at Arsenal for the first time since leaving for Barcelona. It's not the first time he's popped back to Blighty, though, is it. Some positive omens for the Gunners, then...

1. He missed a penalty on his Barcelona debut at Dundee United. In the last minute.

2. He was the creative hub of a France team beaten in the Euro 2008 qualifiers at Hampden by a Scottish side featuring Garry O'Connor, Gary Teale and Christian Dailly, 83. "Wait until we get them back to Paris," he threatened after the match. Oh!

3. He couldn't score against Rangers at Ibrox in Europe. You don't need anyone to explain the inherent problem with this.

4. He missed a glorious chance to put Barcelona into the 2008 Champions League final at Old Trafford. A missed header, from six yards with 13 minutes to go, described as "feeble" by our very own Barry Glendenning.

It doesn't look too clever, does it? Hooray for Arsenal! Hooray for Britain, what a glorious nation! Though on the other hand... (1) He put away the rebound at Tannadice, (2) took France to Euro 2008, (3) reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, and (4) won it the year after. So he'll be unlikely to be worrying too much.

Also: (5) Arsenal have been thrashed in their two other big matches at the Emirates this season, a 3-0 pasting by Chelsea and a 3-1 walloping by Manchester United, (6) Barcelona are better than Chelsea, (7) Barcelona are better than Manchester United, and (8) Henry might not get a sniff of action this evening anyway, rendering those four spurious omens totally worthless. Oh!

Pet shop owner fined £1,000 and told to wear an electronic tag... for selling a GOLDFISH to a boy aged 14

Her offence was to unwittingly sell a goldfish to a 14-year-old boy taking part in a trading standards 'sting'.

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At most, pet shop owner Joan Higgins, 66, expected a slap on the wrist for breaking new animal welfare laws which ban the sale of pets to under-16s.

Instead, the great-grandmother was taken to court, fined £1,000, placed under curfew - and ordered to wear an electronic tag for two months.

The punishment is normally handed out to violent thugs and repeat offenders.

The prosecution of Mrs Higgins and her son Mark is estimated to have cost taxpayers £20,000 and has left her with a criminal record.

Mark, 47, was also fined and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Last night, as an MP criticised the magistrates, Mrs Higgins - who has run the pet shop for 28 years - said the family's eight-month ordeal had left them traumatised.

She added: 'It's ridiculous. I mean, what danger am I that I have to wear an electronic tag? These last few months have been a very stressful time.'

The seven-week curfew imposed by the court means she is unable to babysit her great-grandson at his home or go to bingo sessions with her sister, and will be unable to attend a Rod Stewart concert after tickets were bought for her by her nephew, actor Will Mellor.

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Her son said: 'I think it's a farce. What gets me so cross is that they put my Mum on a tag - she's nearly 70, for goodness' sake.

'She's a great-grandma so she won't be able to babysit a newborn baby. You would think they have better things to do with their time and money.'

Mr Higgins claimed the undercover operation was a clear case of entrapment - when a person is encouraged by someone in some official capacity to commit a crime - and said the case should never have gone to court.

He said: 'The council sent the 14-year-old in to us. It is hard to tell how old a lad is these days. He looked much older than 14.'

He added that his mother almost fainted in the dock when magistrates told her she could go to prison for the offence.

'I told her they wouldn't send her to prison but she was still worried,' he said. 'The only other time she has been in court is when she did jury service.'

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Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 it is illegal to sell pets - including goldfish - to children under the age of 16 unless they are accompanied by an adult. Pet shops must also provide advice on animal welfare to buyers.

The maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to 12 months, or a fine of up to £20,000, or both.

The Higgins family's ordeal began when council officials heard that Majors Pet Shop in Sale, Greater Manchester, was selling animals to children.

They sent the 14-year-old schoolboy into the shop to carry out a test purchase and Mr Higgins sold him the goldfish without questioning his age or providing any information about the care of the fish.

A council officer in the shop at the time also noticed a cockatiel in a cage that appeared to be in a poor state of .health. A vet found the bird had a broken leg and eye problems. It was later put down.

Mrs Higgins and her son were charged with selling the fish to a person aged under 16 and with causing unnecessary suffering to a cockatiel by failing to provide appropriate care and treatment.

Pleading guilty, Mrs Higgins told Trafford magistrates the cockatiel had not been for sale and she had been bathing its eye daily.

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She had intended to take it to the vet but had been distracted and worried because her other son was in hospital.

The court heard that Mrs Higgins had possessed a licence to sell animals for many years and had never had any problems before.

She was fined £1,000 and given a community order with a curfew requiring her to stay home between 6pm and 7am for seven weeks.

Mrs Higgins did not have her licence to sell animals removed, but both she and her son were told that if they ever appeared in court for a similar offence they could face a jail sentence.

David Davies, Tory MP for Monmouth, said: 'You simply couldn't make it up. It is absolutely ludicrous that old ladies should be hounded through the courts and electronically tagged for something like this.

'At a time when courts are being told not to lock up career burglars we have them issuing severe punishments like this on little old ladies.' Mr Davies, who has served as a special constable for three years, said: 'Not only is it traumatic for her but it is a complete waste of time and taxpayers' money. It is ridiculous.

'Instead of getting 14-year-old boys to act in this type of sting they should have them trying to nail people who sell drugs outside our schools.'

Trafford Council said it launched an investigation after an unsubstantiated complaint that the shop had sold a gerbil to a 14-year-old girl with learning disabilities. The council claimed the animal later died after the child placed it in a disposable coffee cup with a plastic lid on top.

But the complaint did not form part of the legal action in court and its truth cannot be verified.

Mrs Higgins said the shop had not stocked gerbils for months before the complaint anyway.

Defending the goldfish case, Iain Veitch, head of public protection at Trafford Council, said: 'The evidence presented for this conviction clearly demonstrates that it is irresponsible to sell animals to those who are not old enough to look after them.

'Let this conviction send out a message that we will not tolerate those who cause unnecessary suffering to animals. The council will always try to support pet and business owners so that they are able to care for their animals properly, but where they continually ignore the advice they are given, we will not hesitate to use our statutory powers.'

The goldfish was later adopted by an animal welfare officer and is in good health.

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Pop singer Ricky Martin declared publicly this week what he avoided discussing for years: He isgay.

"I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," Martin wrote on his official Web site. "I am very blessed to be who Iam."

A decade ago, when ABC's Barbara Walters pressed Martin to address rumors about his sexuality, he declined to confirm or deny them."I just don't feel like it," Martin said.

Now, Martin wrote, "these years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded methat acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truthgives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed."

The 39-year-old Puerto Rican native started off with the Latin boy bandMenudo before launching his solo career in 1991.

His song "Livin' La Vida Loca" rose to the top of the music charts in 1999 and propelledMartin to stardom.

Martin said he decided years ago to not share "my entire truth" with the world because people he loved warned himthat "everything you've built will collapse."

"Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy ofsabotage," he wrote. "Today I take full responsibility for my decisionsand my actions."

The decision to come out was initiated a few months ago, when he began writing hismemoirs, he said. "I got very close to my truth," he wrote.

"From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the toolthat was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying withinme for a long time," he wrote. "Things that were too heavy for me tokeep inside."

Martin said that disclosing his secret is important because of his two sons,born via surrogate.

"To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids were born with," hewrote.

"Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen five or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now.Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment.".

Writing the seven paragraphs, he said, "is a solid step towards my inner peaceand vital part of my evolution."

"What will happen from now on? It doesn't matter. I can only focus on what'shappening to me in this moment."

The students, who invented a solar-powered electric car automated module, represented Nigeria at the exhibition which was attended by young scientists from 120 countries between March 23 and March 27.

The Vice-President, Nigeria Society for the Promotion of Science and Technology, Dr Yusuf Sara, disclosed on Monday in Bauchi that the students won a trophy at the exhibition.

Sara, while presenting the trophy to Alhaji Abdullahi Kashuri, the acting chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), said the students had, in 2009, won similar international scientific innovation competition in Germany.

Sara described the performance as "noble," adding that such competition would enhance the quality of education and encourage the growth of science and technology research and development in the country.

He said the association, in collaboration with private firms, would showcase its talents to enable other students to benefit from the experience.

Sara urged SUBEB and the Bauchi State government to provide scholarship to students to enable them to further their education.

Kashuri commended the students for promoting Nigeria among the science and technology developing countries, adding that the board would ensure improved funding of schools to ensure sustainable development of science and technology in the state.

Little did the duo of Erhauyi Ogbeide a.k.a Ukeke and Eghosa Idehen, arguably the two most talented actors in Edo State movie industry knowthat on Wednesday, March 10, 2010, they would fall to the bullets ofassassins. Prophet Ukeke, in company of his colleague, was reported tohave gone to see his in-laws, when he was murdered by unidentifiedgunmen in the presence of his in-laws. Our Edo State correspondent,PATRICK OCHOGA, writes on how it all happened..

(CNN) -- Justin Gawel says there's nothing too incriminating on his Facebook page.

"There are a lot of pictures of drinking [but] nothing naked or anything -- at least I don't think so," he said jokingly.

Even so, the Michigan State University junior recently changed his Facebook display name to "Dustin Jawel" to keep his personal life from potential employers while applying for summer internships.

Although Gawel ditched his rhyming alias after two weeks when he realized Facebook users also can be searched by e-mail address, school and network, he is not alone in his efforts to scrub his online résumé. Many students and recent graduates say they are changing their names on Facebook or tightening privacy settings to hide photos and wall posts from potential employers.

And with good reason.

A recent survey commissioned by Microsoft found that 70 percent of recruiters and hiring managers in the United States have rejected an applicant based on information they found online.

What kind of information? "Inappropriate" comments by the candidate; "unsuitable" photos and videos; criticisms of previous employers, co-workers, or clients; and even inappropriate comments by friends and relatives, according to the survey report, titled "Online Reputation in a Connected World."

Such prying into his online life makes Gawel uncomfortable.

"I understand that when [employers look] at someone's Facebook page, they're just trying to paint a bigger picture of the people they're hiring -- so they're not just a name on a résumé," he said. "But that doesn't demonstrate whether they can do the job. It shouldn't matter what someone does when they're not in the office."

Gawel said he's not sure that employers would object to the information on his Facebook page. For him, it's more about personal privacy.

"Too many people take pictures of you. I didn't want to go through and 'untag' all of them," he said. "There's nothing illegal or too ridiculous in the photos ... but people don't take pictures of people studying or doing school work. They take pictures of people at parties and doing silly things."

For better or worse, online screenings may be a permanent part of the 21st-century hiring process. The Microsoft survey found that 79 percent of U.S. hiring managers have used the Internet to better assess applicants.

Dan Eggers of Partners Marketing Group in Marietta, Georgia, is among that 79 percent.

"We review and certainly do research on anyone we're looking at hiring or using as a contract employee," Eggers said. "We would Google their name, look at LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter."

He said his firm usually only consults an applicant's online reputation to make sure he or she hasn't misrepresented their work experience.

"We try not to pay a lot of attention to wall posts from others. It would take quite a bit for us to be reacting to that," Eggers said.

But racist or homophobic comments will land your résumé and cover letter in the garbage, he said.

"People have a false sense of security about their personal information out there on the Web ... they think only their friends will see it," said Jack Rayman, senior director of career services at Pennsylvania State University.

Elana Borchers, an Indiana University senior, said she exchanged her last name for her middle name on Facebook in November when she started applying for jobs. Borchers even decided to keep her alias after landing a full-time position a month later.

"Not everything is certain," she said. "If my employers saw something on my profile now that they didn't like, they could take my job away."

Not that she's worried about the content on her Facebook page.

"There's nothing bad [on my profile]. I'd rather they learn about me in person," Borchers said.

"Big Ten schools have the reputation of excessive partying. That's something that's here with me in college, I don't plan to take that partying with me in the future and I didn't want someone to see that and judge me."

Borchers said she thought about removing pictures of her partying, but "they're my memories and I want to keep them for now."

Many of Borchers' friends are playing the Facebook name game, too -- dropping their last names or using a nickname to hide from potential employers and grad-school admissions officers.

"A lot of my guy friends changed [their user names] to a nickname that their friends call them, so everyone still knows who it is," she said.

Facebook spokesperson Kathleen Loughlin said she could not comment on the number of users who change their name on Facebook, but students who spoke to CNN said that among their peers, the trend is rampant.

Another Indiana University senior, Jeffrey Lefcort, changed his Facebook user name to Jeffrey David -- his middle name -- when he began applying for jobs, even though he doesn't think his page has anything inappropriate.

"I just didn't want to be found by someone who was looking for me that I'm not friends with," Lefcort said. "My Facebook profile is not intended for employers. I didn't want them looking at my personal life."

Like Gawel, Lefcort eventually ditched his pseudonym and opted instead to tighten his Facebook privacy settings -- something Facebook's Loughlin said is encouraged.

With the Internet playing such a large role in business today, few recruiters don't assess applicants' online reputations in some capacity before hiring, said George Matlock, director of operations at Matlock Advertising and Public Relations in Atlanta, Georgia.

And while Matlock said he almost always Googles a person's name before hiring them, he steers clear of Facebook.

"I haven't looked at [an applicant's] Facebook page," he said. "I try to stay away from it, myself. I think it's too personal ... maybe I'm just scared to see what's out there. Facebook tends to be something pretty private."

Emily Mitnick, a Michigan State University senior who also changed her name on Facebook, said she has nothing to hide but wants to keep a low profile and avoid being searched by potential employers.

Mitnick uses LinkedIn to communicate with the "professional world." She describes Facebook as a place "where I can be social with my friends and I don't have to be professional.

"I don't have any of my [tagged pictures] available to the public -- just for precautionary measures, not because they're inappropriate," she added. "I would just like to remain somewhat private."

Rayman, the Penn State career counselor, said he recommends that students with potentially incriminating photos or posts change their name on social networking sites. But it's not always that easy to escape your online reputation, he said.

"Web sites are almost impossible to eliminate," Rayman said. "They get cached somewhere and they'll keep coming up. It used to be if you had a poor reputation in one school, you'd move to another and your record didn't necessarily follow you. It's getting harder and harder to do that as everyone is on the Internet and everyone knows everyone's business."

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Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Erykah Badu shed her clothes as she walked along a Dallas, Texas, sidewalk until she was nude andthen fell near where President Kennedy was assassinated.

The result was a controversial video, released Saturday, for her song"Window Seat," which Badu said was "shot guerrilla style" with no crewand in one take March 17.

Children could be seen nearby as Badu stripped in Dealey Plaza, a popular tourist spot since Kennedy's 1963 assassination.

The singer's management did not immediately respond to request for comment,but Badu responded to the controversy via Twitter.

She tweeted that "there were children there. i prayed they wouldnt b traumatized."

The R&B singer said she was making a statement against "groupthink," which she tweeted was an "unwritten rule" that "iwill not express my true opinion if it opposes those i love and fear."

Some fans sent tweets praising Badu's artistic vision.

One fan tweeted to Badu on Sunday: "thank you, because yourbeing brave, i no longer feel afraid to say what i really feel."

The video opens with a November 22, 1963, radio broadcast describingKennedy's motorcade turning onto Elm Street seconds before fatal shotswere fired.

In the video, Badu is behind the wheel of a 1965 Lincoln Continental, parked along Kennedy's route. A single camerafocuses on her as she walks toward Elm Street and the book depositorywhere Kennedy's assassin fired his rifle.

Badu tweeted that "i was petrified while shooting this video ... but liberation began to setin. i conquered many fears in that few moments."

She said she was "too busy lookin for cops" to be embarrassed by her nudity. "i beennaked all along in my words actions and deeds. thats the real vulnerableplace," she tweeted.

The video does not include shouts from people off camera, she said. "they were yelling, 'THIS IS A PUBLIC PLACE: YOU OUGHTA BE ASHAMED : PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON : DAMN GIRL! etc," Badutweeted.

More than a dozen people stood along the plaza's "grassy knoll" when Badu took off the last piece of clothing.

"the people caught in the shot were trying hard to ignore me," she tweeted.

As she reached the spot where Kennedy was first struck by a bullet, the crackle of a gunshot is heard and Badu's head snaps back and shefalls to the ground as if dead.

Badu said when the camera stopped "we ran."

The singer was born in Dallas, where she is raising her three children -- ages 1, 5 and 12

She tweeted to fans about her 5-year-old daughter's response when told of her plans for the video:"she looked at me with a blank face and replied ok mama can i haveanother pudding?"

The video was released days before the singer's next album, "New Amerykah Part Two: Return of theAnkh," hits record stores. The single "Window Seat" is at No. 28 onBillboard's R&B/hip-hop chart.