■ Afghanistan
Forty killed in battle
Forty suspected Taliban rebels were killed in a battle with US and Afghan troops, the US military said yesterday, doubling the toll from the bloodiest firefights since the regime launched a spring offensive. Initial reports said only 20 militants died in the clash on Tuesday, while six US servicemen and five Afghan police were injured. The clash in the troubled district of Deh Chopan was sparked when militants kidnapped three local doctors and police tried to free them.
■ India
Cowcatchers miss deadline
Cow catchers in New Delhi missed a court deadline yesterday to clear the city's streets of stray cows and buffaloes. Hundreds of cows and bulls continued to wander aimlessly, park themselves in the middle of busy roads and feast at overflowing garbage dumps, despite a April 28 High Court order to remove all stray cattle from the city within a week. "From September 2003 we have rounded up about 30,000 cows. There are around 35,000 still on the roads," a veterinary officer said yesterday. Since the court order, Delhi officials managed to catch a mere 200 cows.
■ Australia
Teacher sentenced for sex
A teacher was sentenced yesterday to six months in prison for having sex with one of her pupils after prosecutors appealed that her original suspended sentence was too lenient. The Victorian Court of Appeal overturned the original 22-month suspended sentence imposed by a County Court judge on mother-of-three Karen Louise Ellis, 37. Under the ruling, Ellis would not have been jailed unless she committed a crime during the period. Yesterday, the appeal court sentenced her to two years and eight months, suspending all but six months. Ellis had pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual penetration with a boy under 16. Her lawyer said his client would consider an appeal. "She's taking it pretty hard at the moment," he said.
■ Afghanistan
Six confess to kidnappings
Six men in police custody have confessed to kidnapping three UN workers in Kabul last year. The men have "confessed to their crime and have told us how they designed this plan," Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said, adding that the six were also suspected of armed robbery. The three UN election workers -- one each from the Philippines, Northern Ireland and Kosovo -- were seized at gunpoint last October and were released unharmed a month later. Jalali declined to identify the six. Aid workers in Kabul earlier this week were warned that criminals might try to kidnap another foreigner in an attempt to force the release of those in custody.
■ Philippines
Former rebel leader dies
Luis Taruc, a legendary guerrilla leader who led Philippine resistance against the Japanese occupation during World War II and later a failed communist uprising, has died from a heart attack at age 92. Born to peasants on June 21, 1913, Taruc and his brothers Jose and Jesus Lava in 1942 formed the People's Army Against the Japanese, known as Hukbalahap, or Huks, one of the best organized anti-Japanese resistance movements in Asia. Many poor farmers were attracted to the Huks because of their emphasis on land reform. The government launched a vigorous US-backed military campaign against the guerrillas, and in 1954, following months of negotiation, Taruc surrendered. He spent 12 years in prison before being pardoned by dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
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