Gay row at the opera

A performance of Verdi's Aida was disrupted last night by lesbian and gay activists who rushed on stage during the first act.

Almost 5,000 fans attended the Romanian National Opera Company's performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, when activists threw leaflets, in English and Romanian, from a balcony and rushed on stage with a placard which said: "Romania Stop Jailing Queens".

The 10-minute action was backed by the pressure group, Outrage, which said the protest was against legislation before the Romanian parliament, which threatens to maintain prison sentences of between one and five years for private, consensual homosexual acts.