US President Barack Obama fought hard to keep his BlackBerry when he became President, but with only 10 people authorised to e-mail the super-encrypted device, he admitted that it is "no fun".
Mr Obama also demonstrated a passing knowledge of popular culture, in the first-ever appearance by a sitting President on a daytime television talk show, as he increases campaign-style events ahead of November's congressional polls.
The President said that only 10 people have the address of the BlackBerry he was issued, and the conversation is a bit stilted because messages will likely be archived along with all other White House documents.
"I've got to admit, it's no fun because they think that it's probably going to be subject to the presidential records act, so nobody wants to send me the real juicy stuff," Mr Obama said on ABC's The View. (AFP)
Russia forest fires death toll rises
The death toll from forest fires sweeping across Russia amid a record-breaking heatwave grew to 25 yesterday, with three fire-fighters among the dead, officials said.
The bodies of six residents were discovered in the village of Mokhovoye in the Moscow region, news agencies reported, citing the emergency ministry.
The governor of the Ryazan region, one of those worst hit, said that three people had died in the region, in televised comments.
A fireman died in hospital from burns after fighting flames on Thursday in a village in the Lipetsk region, the chief doctor at the regional burns centre told the Itar-Tass news agency.
The bodies of nine people were found in the Nizhny Novgorod region, the emergency ministry said, updating a provisional toll announced earlier of two. (AFP)
False alarm!
Two Frenchmen working at the US embassy in Paris underwent medical check-ups after handling a suspect letter yesterday, but initial tests suggested the incident was a false alarm.
"The US Embassy to France confirms that a suspicious envelope was received today," an embassy statement said.
"Per embassy security procedures, the two employees who were exposed to it were evaluated by medical professionals and the envelope is being analysed by a laboratory. Preliminary results indicate that the envelope was not harmful."
Other members of staff were entering and leaving the premises as normal, and there was no sign of increased security at the already tightly guarded site in the heart of Paris near the Place de la Concorde. (AFP)
Russian maestro's sex charge extended
A Thai court yesterday extended bail granted to Russian conductor Mikhail Pletnev, who has been charged with raping a 14-year-old boy, his lawyer said.
Mr Pletnev, artistic director of the Russian National Orchestra, denies the accusation, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in jail. He was released in early July after posting 300,000 baht (€7,127.5) bail.
The award-winning maestro was granted permission to travel overseas, but is required to report back every 12 days to the court in the Thai resort city of Pattaya, where he has a house. His next hearing is on August 11.
Police said they hoped to finish their investigation next month.
"We are gathering more evidence and questioning witnesses," Lieutenant Colonel Omsin Sukkanka said. "I hope that within the next 24 days, the investigation and the case will be wrapped up."
Mr Pletnev is a member of President Dmitry Medvedev's advisory council on culture and art, and in 2005 won a Grammy award for best chamber music performance. (AFP)
Swedish former police chief jailed
A former Swedish police chief was yesterday sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail for sex crimes including three rapes, in a case that garnered intense media scrutiny in Sweden.
Goeran Lindberg, 64, retired in 2006 but had served as the police chief of Sweden's fourth largest city Uppsala and as the head of the country's police school.
Before his arrest in January, Mr Lindberg was known as a defender of gender equality and gruesome details of his alleged double life have made Swedish headlines.
Yesterday, the Soedertorn district court handed down a guilty verdict for "one count of aggravated rape, two counts of rape and abuse, three counts of pimping and 28 counts of purchasing sexual services," as well as facilitating the purchase of sex and attempting to facilitate the purchase of sex.
Mr Lindberg was also sentenced to pay a total of 300,000 kronor (€31,750) to his victims. (AFP)
Dead man sues
The estate of a man allegedly abused by a priest in the 1980s is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, alleging he committed suicide this year after the diocese stopped paying for his mental health treatments following two other suicide attempts. Michael Unglo, 39, formerly of suburban Pittsburgh, committed suicide in May.
He alleged he was molested in the early 1980s while an altar boy, by a priest who was convicted of molesting another boy and later resigned. (PA)