■ RUSSIA
Putin reincarnated: sect
President Vladimir Putin is used to fawning supporters but a sect in a remote village has gone further by naming him a reincarnation of St. Paul. The Resurrecting Russia sect, in the village of Bolshaya Elnya in the southern Volga region, has given a new twist to the sometimes fanatical support for Putin. "The sect is using the name of the president, whom it presents as the reincarnation of St. Paul, to recruit more members and earn money," said Igor Pchelintsev, a spokesman for the local Orthodox diocese.
■ SWITZERLAND
Millions write to Santa
Text messages, e-mails and social networking are challenging traditional mail but Santa Claus at least is receiving more and more old-fashioned letters, the Universal Postal Union said on Tuesday. Letters to Santa Claus continue to grow at a clip that will top the 6 million notes sent last year. Spokesman Laurent Widmer said it was too soon to estimate a final tally because many letters are sent in the final week before Christmas or even after the holiday. But union members said the number of letters seemed to be increasing.
■ UNITED STATES
Magna Carta auctioned
A 710-year-old copy of the declaration of human rights known as the Magna Carta -- the version that became part of English law -- was auctioned on Tuesday for US$21.3 million, a Sotheby's spokeswoman said. The document, which had been expected to draw bids of US$30 million or higher, was bought by David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, the spokeswoman said. Sotheby's vice chairman David Redden called the ancient parchment "the most important document in the world, the birth certificate of freedom." It was owned by the Perot Foundation since the early 1980s. It had been on exhibit at the auction house for the past 11 days. Bearing the seal of King Edward I and dated 1297, it is one of 17 known copies of the historic tract that defined human rights as the foundation for liberty and democracy as it is known today. It is one of two that exist outside Britain; the other is in Australia.
■ UNITED STATES
Fire sparks evacuation
A fire broke out near Vice President Dick Cheney's ceremonial office in a building next to the White House yesterday, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate. Cheney was in the White House with US President George W. Bush when the blaze began, and everyone inside the executive office building was evacuated safely, White House officials said. Smoke billowed from a second-floor section of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building building facing the West Wing of the presidential mansion as firefighters arrived on the scene. The fire appeared to be contained to only a few offices. District of Columbia Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter said firefighters saw smoke coming out of telephone or electrical equipment and there was no indication of terrorism.
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