■ IRAQ
US military frees detainees
The US military has begun releasing between 50 and 80 Iraqi prisoners a day as a gesture during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the military announced yesterday. The US military, working with the Iraqi government, yesterday launched a venture dubbed "Operation Lion's Paw" to expand detainee releases during Ramadan, the military said in a statement. An impartial board will review the cases of eligible prisoners to determine whether they can be released as part of the program, it said. The releases will continue through the end of Ramadan, on Oct. 13, the statement said.
■ UNITED STATES
Wildlife importer charged
A Houston US federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Virginia-based hunting outfitter accused of importing trophy parts from wildlife illegally shot from helicopters in Russia. In the case involving a prominent energy executive, the US Department of Justice said that Robert Kern, president of the Hunting Consortium, and the company were accused of violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits the importation into the US of wildlife taken in violation of a foreign law. Dan Duncan, chairman of Enterprise Products Partners LP, one of the US' largest oil and gas operators, hunted with Kern in Russia and testified before the grand jury, but his lawyer said he does not expect Duncan to be indicted.
■ UNITED STATES
`Car thief' shows up in court
A woman who went to court to pay a traffic ticket drove there in a stolen car and ended up behind bars, South Carolina authorities said. Clarendon County sheriff's deputies received a tip that Amber Renee Helton was going to be in a stolen car when she paid the ticket, chief deputy Joe Bradham said. They arrested her as she opened the door of the 2001 Dodge Intrepid on Tuesday morning, authorities said. Helton, 21, and her passenger, Terry Lynn Alvery, 35, were charged with possessing a stolen vehicle, Bradham said.
■ CANADA
NATO ready for France
NATO is ready to discuss bringing France back fully into the fold after signals from Paris that it may reverse its decision 41 years ago to quit the alliance's military structures, officials said yesterday. French President Nicolas Sarkozy set the tone with a foreign policy speech last month insisting NATO was no rival to France's ambition of a robust EU defense capability. "Any initiative by France to get more involved and to get back into the integrated military structure could only be welcomed by NATO," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said, stressing any move would have to come from France. "There will be no decision until ... France puts it on the table," another official said.
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