World briefs 12/20/07

Time names Putin 'Person of the Year'

NEW YORK -- Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" on Wednesday for imposing stability that restored Russia as a world power. The magazine recognized Putin's "extraordinary feat of leadership in taking a country that was in chaos and bringing it stability," said Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor. Putin, 55, is enormously popular in Russia, presiding over a resurgent economy flush with revenue from oil and natural gas. But critics say he has moved away from demo-cracy by tightening control of the courts, parliament and the media.

Santa Claus knocked out by unknown object

SPOKANE, Wash. -- A man dressed as Santa Claus was knocked unconscious by a thrown object that hit his face while he was riding on the back of a truck decorated as a sleigh. Kevin Smith says he never saw what hit him Saturday. Whatever it was, it broke his nose and gave him a concussion and two black eyes. "One second I was up there waving to people, and the next minute I wasn't," Smith said. He was taking part in Santa Run, sponsored by the firefighters union, which features off-duty firefighters who dress up as Santa and ride through residential areas handing out candy to children.

Ex-CEO wins S. Korean presidency in landslide

SEOUL, South Korea -- A former Hyundai CEO known as "The Bulldozer" for his determination to get things done rolled over all opposition and financial fraud allegations to win South Korea's presidency Wednesday, ending a decade of liberal rule. Lee Myung-bak, who turned 66 on election day and has also served as the mayor of Seoul, earned the landslide victory on a wave of discontent with incumbent President Roh Moo-hyun, whom many believe bungled the economy and dragged down the country's rapid growth. The rise to power of Lee's conservative Grand National Party was expected to herald closer ties with the U.S. and a more critical view of relations with communist North Korea, which has been lavished with aid by Roh's administration.

U.S. commander warns al-Qaida still a threat

BAGHDAD -- The top U.S. commander in northern Iraq warned Wednesday that al-Qaida in Iraq was still capable of staging spectacular attacks despite a 50 percent drop in bombings and other violence in his region. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said al-Qaida in Iraq was being pushed north by the increased numbers of U.S. troops that surged into Baghdad over the summer and fall. The insurgents are also being flushed out of Anbar province by "awakening councils" groups of Sunni Arab tribesmen the U.S. military has backed to help fight al-Qaida in Iraq and its allies.

Court rules against naming child Friday

ROME -- Friday's child is loving and giving but not if he lives in Italy. Italian judges forbade a couple from naming their son Friday, saying it would bring the child shame and ridicule to be named after the character in "Robinson Crusoe." Mara and Roberto Germano, whose son was born Sept. 3, 2006, had the boy named and baptized Venerdi, Italian for Friday. Even though the boy was not born on a Friday, his parents liked the name, the couple's lawyer, Paola Rossi Rossi said.

-- From wire reports