Thaindian News

Moscow, Nov 25 (THAINDIAN NEWS) An award-winning Russian newsreader has been fired after apparently showing her middle finger at US President Barack Obama. During a report on the ongoing APEC summit, newsreader Tatyana Limanova was referencing President Obama in a live report when she allegedly stuck out her middle finger. The footage was then loaded on the Internet where it has since gone spiral.

Tatyana’s employers REN TV announced that the incident was unacceptable and has since fired her. The network issued a statement saying that, “On 14 November during the ‘News 24′ programme the presenter Limanova made an unacceptable gesture that was a synonym for an offensive expression… A decision has been taken that T Limanova cannot and will not continue to work on the REN TV channel as a presenter.”

The network which is partly owned by former President Vladimir Putin however denied suggestions that Tatyana’s gesture was towards the US President. The statement explained that Tatyana believed she was giving a voice-over when she made the gesture. The gesture was apparently at a technician who was trying to pull her legs.

REN TV is privately owned and it is one of the biggest networks in the former Soviet State. About 120 million viewers tune in to watch the channel around the world. The network reached the decision to fire Tatyana from the network on Thursday.