* Housing Crisis: Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s ...

* Housing Crisis: Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s dacha may be doomed. The Soviet president could lose his summer house as a result of Ukraine’s independence vote. The region’s president, Leonid M. Kravchuk, says his government will own all property on its territory--including the Crimean hideaway in which Gorbachev and his family were held during the August coup. But Kravchuk held out a sliver of hope for Gorbachev: “We could also consider the possibility of selling it, but for standard world prices.”

* No Obligation: A man accused of raping his wife may face trial after losing his claim that it’s legal to demand sex from a spouse. Australia’s High Court in Canberra ruled Tuesday that family laws do not mandate any “services or rights” in a marriage--including an obligation to have sex. Said the court: “If it was ever the common law that by marriage a wife gave irrevocable consent to sexual intercourse by her husband, it is no longer the common law.”

* Housing Crisis, 2: Donald Trump’s 118-room Florida estate will not be transformed into a faceless subdivision if the Palm Beach zoning commission has its way. Trump’s application for permission to subdivide his 17-acre Mar-a-Lago estate was rejected Tuesday. One commissioner said of the National Historic Landmark: “I cannot see a subdivision without trying to market it first at a reasonable price.” What’s “reasonable” for the fancy manse? It is assessed at $17.5 million.

* Replate: A gang of thieves driving expensive cars on the chic Avenue George V in Paris pushed aside a security guard to steal porcelain plates worth $5,500 hanging from a Christmas display. The crooks swiped the goods from a street-level billboard set up by the famed porcelain maker Limoges. But the company says grinches will not steal this Christmas: They have beefed up security, and the sign will be taken down each night.