Ex-Beatle McCartney asks Putin to help free Greenpeace activists

Former Beatle Paul McCartney said on Thursday he had written to President Vladimir Putin to enlist his help in securing the release of a group of Greenpeace activists detained in Russia. Twenty-eight activists and two journalists face jail time over a protest against Arctic offshore drilling in which some members of the environmental group tried to scale a Russian oil rig.

McCartney wrote on his website that Putin had not replied to his October 14 letter, although he said Russia's ambassador to London responded by saying the group's plight was not properly represented by media. (Reuters)