A newspaper that reported rumours of a marriage between Vladimir Putin and a 24-year-old gymnast has closed the day following the report, after the Russian president told journalists the reports were unacceptable, The Independent reported Monday.

Moskovsky Korrespondent first reported the affair, but Putin denied he and his wife Ludmilla divorced, and thathe is to wed Alina Kabaeva. Meanwhile, the newspaper's editorial team said the story had no factual basis.

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The Malaysian government has shut down a paper serving ethnic minority Indians, a punishment for its news editor criticising the government on social and political issues, the Associated Press reported.

The Tamil-language Makkal Osai, or People's Voice, received a letter from the Home Ministry on Wednesday, stating that its operating license would not be renewed, according to its news editor B. R. Rajan.

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