Russia's award-winning newsreader, Tatyana Limanova, has been taken off air after a video of her lifting the middle finger following a Barack Obama report went viral on the Web.
The clip shows Limanova lifting the finger after she reads the live news item on REN TV - a private news channel with links to some of Vladimir Putin's associates.
Limanova was promptly taken off air with channel bosses calling her actions, 'unacceptable' and 'unprofessional', Britain's The Telegraph newspaper reported.
The channel has, however, also released a clarification which said Limanova's gesture was aimed at colleagues in the newsroom.