Other stories from around the world in brief
US forces say they killed 25 Afghan rebels
KANDAHAR - Twenty-five militants were killed by US- led forces in Afghanistan, officials said yesterday, as the US military prepares to hand over security responsibilities in the violent south.
British military spokesman Capt Drew Gibson said coalition forces had dropped three bombs on militant targets in Musa Qala district of Helmand province, where thousands of British soldiers are based as part of a Nato-led mission.
Helmand's police chief Nabi Mullahkhail said 15 Taliban insurgents were killed and 20 others wounded in Tuesday night's operation in the southern drug-producing province.
Several people who said they were from Musa Qala phoned journalists to say that most of those killed in the attack were civilians. A Taliban spokesman said only one militant was killed and the rest were civilians.- (Reuters)
Mother who killed children insane
HOUSTON - A jury has found Texas mother Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in the drownings of her five children, aged six months to seven years, in the bathtub of their Houston home five years ago.
The decision means Ms Yates (42) will go to a state mental hospital for treatment until a judge decides she is sane enough to be released.
She was found guilty in a 2002 trial and sentenced to life in prison but had to retried because the conviction was overturned due to flawed testimony. - (Reuters)
Medical workers freed in Colombia
BOGOTA - Marxist rebels have freed 12 of 13 medical workers kidnapped late last week while bringing care to Indians in remote areas of southern Colombia, the army said yesterday.
A pharmacy worker who had been part of the medical mission remained a hostage of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
The rest of the team turned up in two boats late on Tuesday at an army checkpoint in Putumayo province along the San Miguel River. - (Reuters)
Belarus opposition leader arrested
MINSK - Belarus's main opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich has been detained by police, according to his spokesman.
Mr Milinkevich, who was the main liberal rival to president Alexander Lukashenko in presidential elections this year, was driving outside the capital Minsk yesterday when his car was stopped and searched.
He was then detained. - (Reuters)
Body parts found in stripper's home
NEW YORK - A stripper from New Jersey faced criminal charges yesterday after police found a severed hand and six human skulls in her home.
Linda Kay (31) was due to be arraigned yesterday for improper disposition of human remains.
Police Capt Paul Brembt said Kay, who works for Hott 22, a juice bar with topless waitresses in Union, NJ, refused to tell authorities where she got the body parts.
Two people who knew Kay told the Star-Ledger in Newark that the hand, which Kay nicknamed "Freddy", was given to her by a medical student who frequented Hott 22. - (Reuters)