The Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended the 2-year prison sentences handed down to the members of the Punk band Pussy Riot. Mr. Putin spoke during a TV documentary screen on his 60th birthday. From Moscow, Daniel Sandrial reports.

The documentary was shown on NTV, the pro-Putin television channel owned by the state gas company Gazprom. It was mostly made up of a rare behind the scenes footage of president in his swimming pool, eating breakfast and riding in his official limousine. One of the interviews was conducted in mid-air on the gleaming wood paneled presidential jet. Vladimir Putin was asked about the jailing for 2 years of 3 women from the Punk group Pussy Riot. He said they wanted it and they got it and said the court had made the right decision.

A famous painting by the artist Mark Rothco has been defaced in an incident at … modern art gallery in London. A spokeswoman said a visitor applied a small amount of black pate to one of Rothco’s seagram murals. Rothco, a modernist born in Russia, is one of America’s most important post-war painters.

Football fans in Gaza have defied an order by the militant group Hamas not to watch the latest clash between 2 of the world’s finest football team, the Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. Hamas was angry that the match would be attended by Gilad Shalit, a former Israeli soldier held hostage by Hamas for five years before his release in a prisoner swap last year. But Spanish football is hugely popular in Gaza, and many thousands of fans watched the game as usual live on TV.