■ United States
David Letterman a dad
Late-night talk-show host David Letterman told his studio audience on Tuesday that he has become a father at the age of 56. Letterman said during taping of The Late Show with David Letterman that his longtime girlfriend, Regina Lasko, had given birth to a boy, Harry Joseph Letterman, just before midnight on Monday. "First thing I took him home and dangled him over the balcony," Letterman said, in joking reference to a stunt last year by Michael Jackson, who horrified German fans by holding his baby son out of a hotel window in Berlin. The Emmy-award winning talk-show host said his 9-pound, 11-ounce baby boy had been named after his own father, who died at the age of 57, adding: "God bless dad and God bless Harry."
■ United States
US tops internet survey
The US and UK governments are best at harnessing the Internet for citizens to learn how government works and take part in policy discussions, a UN study said on Tuesday. The US and Sweden had also invested the most to prepare citizens to use the Internet in dealings with government or in signing up for officially-supplied services, according to the study. While many developing countries did little on either front, Chile, the Philippines, Mexico and Argentina were ahead of many richer powers in providing information and seeking public views on government performance and programs over the Internet.
■ United States
Timberlake the hot tip
With up to one billion pop fans tuning in, Justin Timberlake looks set to cap a memorable year by landing a fistful of MTV awards. The American star, heart-throb to millions of teenage fans, has won both critical and pop chart acclaim for his album Justified and is now in line for four top prizes at Thursday night's MTV Europe Awards. "What Justin has managed to do is have the Holy Grail of maintaining credibility and cool but also have a massive crossover album," said Conor McNicholas, editor of NME.
■ Belgium
Man resuscitates fish
A former Belgian ambulance driver put his first aid skills to good use by reviving one of his pond fish with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a newspaper said. Leo Van Aert, 57, was hosting a party at his home near the Belgian port of Antwerp when his wife noticed the koi floating on the surface of the garden pond. Van Aert said the 60cm-long fish was "acting funny," swimming and jumping frantically before stopping dead in the water. He figured the koi had had a heart attack and took it out of the water to try to resuscitate it, giving it heart massages before joining lips with the fish.
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