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BRATISLAVA (Reuters) –
Slovakia's president was evacuated from his official plane because of a telephone warning shortly before it was due to take off on Monday.

Ivan Gasparovic's aircraft was on the runway ahead of a trip to the Czech Republic when the head of Slovakia's state security service ordered an emergency check of the plane, Interior Ministry spokesman Erik Tomas said.

"The president's office received a phone call from a man who urged the president not to board the plane and leave for the Czech Republic because he was in serious danger," Tomas said.

Police searched the plane but found no security threat, the spokesman said. The caller has been located and detained.

(Reporting by Peter Laca; editing by Robert Woodward)

BEIJING (Reuters) –
What do Johnny Depp, Garfield, Paris Hilton and roast pork have in common? In China, the answer is that a new government-mandated Internet filter rates some pictures of all four of them as bad for your moral health.

Beijing has ordered all personal computers sold in China from July 1 to be preinstalled with the Green Dam software, which it says is designed to block pornographic and violent images, and which critics fear will be used to extend censorship.

But a trial of the programme, which is available online for free download (http://www.skycn.com/soft/46657.html), suggested

its filters may be of limited use to worried parents.

When the software is installed, and an image scanner activated, it blocks even harmless images of a film poster for cartoon cat Garfield, dishes of flesh-colour cooked pork and on one search engine a close-up of film star Johnny Depp's face.

With the image filter off, even though searches with words like "nude" are blocked, a hunt for adult websites throws up links to soft and hardcore pornography sites including one with a video of full penetrative sex playing on its front page.

Green Dam has not detailed how it scans images for obscene content, but computer experts have said it likely uses colour and form recognition to zoom in on potential expanses of naked flesh.

Programme settings allow users to chose how tightly they want images scanned. When too much skin is detected, Green Dam closes all Internet browsers with no warning, sometimes flashing up a notice that the viewer is looking at "harmful" content.

But the interpretation of obscene is apparently generous enough to include the orange hue of Garfield's fur and, on the highest security settings, prevent viewers clicking through to any illustrated story on one English language news website.

A programme to scan written content appears less sensitive, with a string of explicit words typed into a word document triggering no response, although some users have complained in online forums of shut-downs similar to those of Web browsers.

SEX OR POLITICS?

The software also allows users to choose what they want to filter for, and besides adult websites and violence, categories include "gay" and "illegal activities."

Gay and health activists fear the blanket ban on "gay content," in a country where homosexuality is not criminalised, could damage projects including sexual health and AIDS education.

And government critics worry the "illegal activities" section will cover political and social activities Beijing objects to, tightening access to non-approved information, already filtered by censors and a firewall.

Another setting allows Green Dam to take regular snapshots of a user's screen and store them for up to two weeks — ostensibly so parents can monitor computer use by minors.

But it could also potentially leave security officials a track of computer use by a suspected dissident, or be a gift to fraudsters hunting online bank details and private information.

Researchers in the U.S. have already said they are concerned Green Dam leaves users vulnerable to malicious sites that might steal personal data or install code on the personal computer.

Western governments and trade groups have also asked China to reconsider, based on concerns ranging from cyber-security and performance of the software to Internet freedoms.

"People say the software is not very stable and has many technological problems," said Joerg Wuttke, the president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, which has dubbed the introduction of Green Dam "hasty."

China's foreign ministry on Tuesday declined to respond to criticisms of the software.

(Additional reporting by Maxim Duncan, Kirby Chien and Alan Wheatley; Editing by Jerry Norton)

MADRID (Reuters) –
Spanish police have arrested a man whom they suspect hired a contract killer to murder his boss in a desperate bid to avoid being laid off, newspaper El Pais reported on Tuesday.

The head of audiovisual services at the Barcelona International Convention Centre contracted a Colombian man who shot and killed the director of the convention centre on Feb 9, according to police.

The director had planned to lay off the arrested man as part of a restructuring project, police said.

In fear of losing his job, the head of services, through his sister, contracted a team of six Colombians who planned and carried out the killing, El Pais reported.

Police have also detained the sister and six Colombians.

The shooting marks one of the most extreme actions by Spaniards who fear losing jobs, homes and businesses during a recession in which unemployment is rising faster than in any other developed country.

Other cases include an indebted Spanish builder who kidnapped his bank manager at gunpoint and the head of a construction firm who threatened to set himself on fire unless debts he was owed were paid.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Matthew Jones)

COLOMBO (Reuters) –
A Sri Lankan court threatened a mosquito repellent factory manager with six months in jail for failing to destroy mosquito breeding areas on company premises to stop the spread of dengue fever, an official said Tuesday.

The Indian Ocean island nation is battling an outbreak of the mosquito-borne viral infection that has killed more than 150 people this year and infected 13,479 people, according to Health Ministry figures.

"The court fined the superintendent of a mosquito coil company for failing to destroy mosquito breeding places after we found larvae in several empty cans inside the premises," said Rohana De Silva, Attagalla public health inspector.

The court Monday fined the superintendent 1,500 rupees (7.8 pounds) and imposed a suspended sentence of six months hard labour, which can be reinstated if the company does not keep its premises free of breeding grounds, De Silva said.

To fight the spread of dengue, police and health officials have started a campaign to destroy mosquito breeding grounds through insecticide spraying and the removal of standing fresh water from public and private property.

Those who do not comply face fines and punishments including imprisonment.

Sri Lanka's public health infrastructure and services suffered during a quarter-century war with Tamil Tiger separatists, when the health budget was cut to help bear the cost of fighting. The government declared victory on May 18.

(Editing by Bryson Hull)

LONDON (Reuters) –
Having sex every day improves the quality of men's sperm and is recommended for couples trying to conceive, according to new research.

Until now doctors have debated whether or not men should refrain from sex for a few days before attempting to conceive with their partner to improve the chance of pregnancy.

But a new study by Dr David Greening of Sydney IVF, an Australian centre for infertility and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, suggests abstinence is not the right approach.

He studied 118 men with above-average sperm DNA damage and found the quality of their sperm increased significantly after they were told to ejaculate daily for seven days.

On average, their DNA fragmentation index — a measure of sperm damage — fell to 26 percent from 34 percent, Greening told the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

Frequent sex does decrease semen volume but for most men this is not a problem.

"It seems safe to conclude that couples with relatively normal semen parameters should have sex daily for up to a week before the ovulation date," he said in a statement.

"In the context of assisted reproduction, this simple treatment may assist in improving sperm quality and ultimately achieving a pregnancy."

Greening said it was likely frequent ejaculation improved the quality of sperm by reducing the length of time they were exposed to potentially damaging molecules called reactive oxygen species in the testicular ducts.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by Paul Casciato)

NEW YORK (Reuters) –
A woman who inherited some Chinese carved jade from her father has scored the first $1 million (601,557 pounds) appraisal from experts on the U.S. television program "Antiques Roadshow," the producers said on Monday.

In a record for the show, four pieces of Chinese carved jade and celadon from the Chien Lung Dynasty (1736-1795), including a large bowl crafted for the Emperor, were given a conservative auction estimate of up to $1.07 million.

"For 13 years, we've been hoping to feature a million-dollar appraisal on 'Antiques Roadshow;' it's been our 'Great White Whale,'" executive producer Marsha Bemko said.

"We're thrilled that, despite this year's slow economy, 'Roadshow' finally captured this elusive trophy," she said in a statement released by Boston-based production company WGBH, which licensed the format from the British show of the same name produced by the BBC.

On both shows, members of the public bring in items to be appraised by professionals in the hope of discovering that junk from the attic is actually a valuable treasure.

A spokeswoman said the appraisal was a record for the U.S. show, which is not affiliated with the BBC original. According to British media, the BBC's version had its first million pound appraisal ($1.655 million) last November — a scale model of Anthony Gormley's artwork, "The Angel of the North."

The statement said the owner of the jade inherited the collection from her father, who bought the objects in the 1930s and 1940s, while stationed in China as a military liaison.

She brought them to an "Antiques Roadshow" event in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday.

Asian arts appraiser James Callahan said the fine quality of the pieces indicated they were not made for tourists.

"He was rewarded by finding a mark on the bottom of the jade bowl that translates as 'by Imperial order,'" the statement said.

The previous highest appraisal on the show was a 1937 painting by American Abstract Expressionist artist Clyfford Still, found in Palm Springs, California, in 2008. The painting had been given a retail estimate of $500,000.

The appraisal of the jade items will be shown in the next series of "Antiques Roadshow" starting January 4 on PBS, the producers said.

WESTBURY, N.Y. – Nassau County police said a congregant at a Long Island church disregarded at least one of its commandments: Thou shalt not steal. Police said the 46-year-old woman reached over a pew and took cash from a purse while its owner knelt Sunday at Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Church in Westbury. Police said an usher saw the theft, and officers stopped the woman as she left the church.

Police said they determined the same woman stole cash from another worshipper’s purse while that victim took communion May 10.

The woman has been released on an appearance ticket after being arrested on petit larceny charges. She faces up to a year in jail if convicted.

A telephone message left at the church wasn’t immediately returned. The woman’s phone rang unanswered.

CINCINNATI – Police said a man broke into a Cincinnati home and proceeded to stay there for a week, watching television and sleeping in the master bedroom while the family was on vacation. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department arrested 19-year-old Nicholas Truesdell on Friday and charged him with burglary and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

An affadavit said he broke into the four-bedroom home through a rear window on June 16. Authorities said he also used the computer and drove the family’s 2007 Nissan Altima around for more than 48 hours.

Truesdell was arraigned on Saturday. No contact information could be found for his attorney, Terrence McNamara.

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Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com

LONGMONT, Colo. – Some 19th century checks and old rusty tools were left months ago at a bus stop in Longmont, and police say no one has come forward to claim them. The Regional Transportation District turned over the unusual items to police in March after a rider said she found them at a bus stop in Longmont. The items include handwritten checks from 1884 mounted on mat boards, as if they’d been on display.

The rider also found two rusty handtools.

Longmont police said no one has claimed the antiques or reported them stolen. They said that unclaimed items are usually auctioned after 60 days, but that they’re publicizing the finds in hopes someone will claim them. If no one does, they’ll go to the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center.

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Information from: Daily Times-Call, http://timescall.com/

MOSCOW (Reuters) –
Russia's plan to close gaming halls, from gaudy casinos crowned by extravagant neon structures to dingy dwellings containing a handful of slot machines, could turf a third of a million people out of work this week.

"I've got 800 staff looking at me every day for inspiration and hope," said Clive Tilley, who runs the 70-tabled Casino de Paris, Moscow's largest gaming complex where gamblers play under vines in mock French courtyards.

"With the economy as it is now, it's not the time to pound the streets looking for work. It breaks my heart."

From July 1, the government plans to replace the casinos and gambling halls with Las Vegas-style gaming zones in four rarely visited regions considered in need of investment, including one near the North Korea border.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin came up with the idea in 2006 when he was president after the Interior Ministry linked several gaming operations in Moscow to a Georgian criminal organisation.

The development zones — in the southern Krasnodar region, the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, east Siberia's Altai region and the Far Eastern port of Primorye — require investment of $23 billion (13.8 billion pounds) and have not been built.

The Russian capital has around 550 places where you can gamble, including 30 casinos which have become synonymous with Moscow's love of excess and occupy prime spots across the city.

Critics of the government plan, which will cover Russia's 11 time zones, say it is doomed by a lack of investment.

"This is a dead unrealistic idea," said Samuel Binder, deputy executive director at the Russian Association for Gaming Business Development, an independent monitor.

"It's preposterous to think these replacements could be up and running soon… Even those who have investments for gaming have realised they'd rather take their money elsewhere in the ex-Soviet Union or to Latin America."

LAID-OFF WORKERS

Tilley, a 50-year-old Briton who has been in the casino business for 30 years, will take some staff with him to Montenegro where he will set up post-Moscow. His luxury hotel partnerships in Russia will also suffer, he said.

"Finding a job is all we think about. Especially with this crisis on," a security guard in his early 30s at a Moscow gaming hall said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Unemployment in Russia is already at an eight-year high and industry bodies estimate 300-350,000 jobs are at risk.

Deputy Moscow mayor Sergei Baidakov says only 11,500 workers will become unemployed across the country, half of them in the capital. Those laid-off will find work in the restaurants and shops that will fill the spaces left by the gambling establishments, he said.

"The damage to the health of people and society would be a far greater figure than the money lost in the budget (from gaming taxes)," Baidakov told Reuters. Russia's gaming industry brings in up to $7 billion a year and pays $1 billion in taxes.

A 42-year-old Muscovite gambler, stuffing a 500 rouble (9.70 pound) note into a slot machine in a smoky hall, said he will miss his passion: "I've played every day for five years."

SPECIAL GAMING ZONES

Kaliningrad, wedged between Poland and Lithuania and annexed from Germany after World War Two, is to have 10 casinos — the most in any of the zones.

"There has not been a single concrete proposal. Seventy percent of the Kaliningrad population is against it," said Solomon Ginzburg, a deputy in the regional Duma.

He said casinos will operate underground after the ban, as in the Soviet era when almost all gambling was illegal but took place in homes or cellars.

Moscow city police say they will raid any gaming halls in the early days of the ban.

"It (the ban) will create bandits and gangsters, of course it will. You think people will not do it anyway under a disguise?" said the Russian gaming association's Binder.

Baidakov said the government will be up to the challenge.

"There is not one metropolis in the world which has a regulated gaming business that has not managed to overcome attempts by gaming owners to go underground."

(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman; editing by Robert Woodward)