Finnish President Tarja Halonen received a phone call from space yesterday from Finnish-American astronaut Timothy Kopra on board the International Space Station.
Mr Kopra spoke with Ms Halonen during a 14-minute-long video conference call that was broadcast live on Nasa's website. During the call, Ms Halonen tested the authenticity asked of Mr Kopra's Finnish roots by asking him if he missed sweating it out in the sauna while in space.
"It would be a wonderful extension to have a sauna on board.... I miss sauna and I miss my family but it is a great experience," he told the Finnish President.
Two of Mr Kopra's grandparents emigrated from Finland to the US about a hundred years ago and Finnish media has been closely following his space mission as he is the first astronaut with ties to the Nordic country. (AFP)
Graft panel recovers €215m
The Anti-Corruption Commission in Sierra Leone yesterday said it has recovered over one billion leones (€215 million) for the first six months in 2009 as "settlements from corruption-related cases". The money had been collected from government workers and agencies operating in the west African state, as well as business people, the graft panel said in a statement.
One company, Ashtra Marine Agency, owned by a Lebanese tycoon, paid up over 914 million leones. Others included motoring firms, and individuals such as a former director-general of the state broadcaster and a paramount chief.
The acting director of the panel, Desmond Johnson, said "about 78 million leones (€16,500) are still outstanding, including 38 million owed by (recently convicted) ombudsman Francis Gabbidon", who was fined a total of 68 million leones and struck off the lawyers' register.
"Our objectives include recovering monies that have been misappropriated by corrupt officials after prosecutions and convictions through the courts," Mr Johnson said.
The ACC has also offered a reward to people giving information on corruption. In 2008, the commission recovered and paid into the government coffers some 700 million leones. (AFP)
Ear-cleaning salon attack
A customer banned from a Tokyo ear-cleaning salon was arrested in Tokyo on Monday on suspicion of stabbing a young woman working at the salon and killing her grandmother, Japanese media reported.
Japan has many salons where workers, often women, clean customers' ears with ear picks, sometimes as the customers lie on the workers' laps.
The 41-year-old male customer had been banned from the salon, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. He told the police that he was having trouble with the 21-year-old salon worker and had prepared knives to kill her, it said.
The worker was alive but unconscious after the attack at her home, the Yomiuri said. The grandmother was stabbed when she answered the front door. (Reuters)
Miss Japan's dress upsets tastes
Japan's finalist for the Miss Universe pageant has modified her costume after triggering a storm of protest with her outfit - a black leather kimono so short it exposed her hot-pink underwear.
The blog of Emiri Miyasaka, 25, who is set to represent her country at the contest in the Bahamas this month, was flooded with indignant comments over the daring creation which also featured lacy garter belts. Many said the outfit was crass and sleazy.
"We are just surprised by the harsh comments from many people," said a staff member at IBG Japan, the fashion and entertainment company which organises the Japanese part of the Miss Universe competition. IBG said the kimono was originally longer, but that its designer and Japan's director of the Miss Universe Organisation Ines Ligron decided to shorten it in a hasty decision taken before the press conference.
The company now says Ms Miyasaka will wear a less revealing design during Miss Universe events leading up to the August 23 finals. (AFP)
Russian fans urged to drink whisky
Russian soccer fans have been told to drink whisky on their trip to Wales for next month's World Cup qualifier to ward off the H1N1 swine flu virus, the head of the country's supporter association (VOB) said yesterday.
"We urge our fans to drink a lot of Welsh whisky as a form of disinfection," VOB head Alexander Shprygin told Reuters. "That should cure all symptoms of the disease."
Russia's Health Ministry has issued a public warning against travelling to Britain because of the spread of the H1N1 virus but Mr Shprygin said he expected at least several hundred fans would go to Wales for the September 9 qualifier in Cardiff.
"Health officials say this virus is very dangerous but being a fan myself I can tell you that for a real fan nothing is more important than the well-being of the team," said Mr Shprygin, who also sits on the executive board of the Russian FA. "Russian fans don't fear anything or anybody so this virus will not stand in our way of supporting our team." (Reuters)