Manila - The Philippines' agriculture department Saturday ordered a ban on the importation of pigs and pork products from Mexico and the United States amid an outbreak of swine flu virus in the two countries. The virus is suspected to have killed 68 people in Mexico over the past three weeks, while at least eight people have been infected in the US.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said he ordered the import ban as a "precautionary measure" despite no links so far between swine farms and the outbreak.

Mexico City/Geneva - The World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva said Saturday that the number of deaths from swine influenza in Mexico had reached 62. WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib gave the figure, while saying that the organisation's Strategic Health Operations Centre was now involved in the efforts in the region.

The WHO was in constant contact with health authorities in the United States, Mexico, and countries in the Latin American region in monitoring the situation, she said.

Washington, Apr 25 : Contrary to previous rumors, President Barack Obama hasn''t gotten his super-secure BlackBerry.

According to The Washington Times, the American leader will have to long for his souped-up smartphone for a little while, and has instead been forced to use an ungainly hybrid.

As for the reason why it is so: the National Security Agency still needs a few months to test out its replacement: a souped-up BlackBerry 8830 equipped with software called SecurVoice made by Washington, D. C.-based The Genesis Key, Inc, reports FOX News.

Washington, Apr. 25 : Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wasn''t the first to discover the book he gave to President Obama last week in an attempt to ease diplomatic tensions. College students in the U. S. have been turning its pages for years.

The 317-page "Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent" has been identified on the syllabi of at least 20 U. S. colleges and universities since 2003, and it''s been taught for decades on American campuses, Fox News reports.

Washington, Apr 25 : Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to help his then American counterpart Ronald Reagan in case the United States was attacked from outer space.

Gorbachoev was appearing on Tuesday's Charlie Rose show on PBS along with George Shultz, Reagan's Secretary of State during the Gorbachev era.

Washington, Apr 25 : Oprah Winfrey is at the centre of a legal battle with the bosses of an insurance company over the use of her signature catchphrase-the "Aha moment".

The talk show queen is known to use the popular phrase for a revelation on `The Oprah Winfrey Show' and in her O magazine, reports Contactmusic.

However, now the same catchphrase has landed the media mogul in a dispute with executives at Mutual of Omaha Bank.