Four years after undergoing surgery, Etienne Verhees coughs up one of four screws used to hold a metal plate in his neck to help heal two vertebrae he broke after falling off a ladder. Verhees tells daily Gazet Van Antwerpen

Santa Claus must now abide by a strict code of conduct in order to preserve the holiday ideal. "We are trying to eradicate shoddy Santas," James Lovell of the Ministry of Fun agency tells Reuters. "Santa is a magical and cuddly man, not a fat, smelly slob," says Lovell, whose agency fills 500 Santa positions a year. "I even saw a Santa last year wearing trainers (sneakers). "

Santa Claus must now abide by a strict code of conduct in order to preserve the holiday ideal. "We are trying to eradicate shoddy Santas," James Lovell of the Ministry of Fun agency tells Reuters. "Santa is a magical and cuddly man, not a fat, smelly slob," says Lovell, whose agency fills 500 Santa positions a year. "I even saw a Santa last year wearing trainers (sneakers). "

A Brazilian court will hear a psychic's claim that the U. S. government owes him a $25 million reward for information he claims to have provided on the hiding place of dethroned Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, reports Reuters. Brazil's second-highest court, the Superior Court of Justice, has decided on Thursday that the Brazilian justice system can deliver a verdict on this issue. The court has directed a court in the psychic's home state of Minas Gerais to judge the case.

Croatian soccer fans donate blood this week to get tickets for the national team's decisive World Cup qualifying game against Sweden, reports Reuters quoting Vecernji List daily. The game's organizers have reserved 300 tickets for the donors. But the number of volunteer blood donors in Zagreb is beyond their expectation. According to Reuters, students skip classes to queue in the hospital. Employees throng at the hospital during lunch breaks.