NEAR MISS: Separately, three rockets were fired at an air force base in the town of Kamra, falling close to a residential area but causing no damage, the military said
Islamist insurgents have withdrawn from a Pakistani military fort they captured near the Afghan border, but 15 soldiers are still missing after the rebel attack, the army said yesterday.

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The waters of the Yangtze river have fallen to their lowest levels since 1866, disrupting drinking supplies, stranding ships and posing a threat to some of the world's most endangered species.

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DEATH TOLL RISES: The air raid came a day after seven rebels were killed in several clashes across the north of the country and rebels launched a deadly attack on a bus
Air force jets bombed and destroyed a hideout occupied by senior Tamil Tiger rebel leaders yesterday in northern Sri Lanka, while artillery fire and ground clashes killed seven insurgents, the military said.

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The Afghan army will take the lead in nearly all military operations in eastern Afghanistan this year, with US troops in a support role, a top US general said.

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Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stepped into a tense standoff between Japan and a militant anti-whaling group yesterday, calling for calm and the safe return of two activists held on a Japanese ship.

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IMPASSE: The UN Security Council was supposed to discuss a report on the body's mission in Kosovo, but never made it past debating independence versus autonomy
Russia warned Kosovo's leaders that if they declare independence the territory will never become a member of the UN or other international political institutions.

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The diplomatic stand-off between the UK and Russia entered a dangerous new phase on Wednesday as British officials denounced "a pattern of intimidation" by Russia's security services against British Council staff.

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South African President Thabo Mbeki was to visit Zimbabwe yesterday, to talk with leaders of the ruling ZANU-PF party as well as the opposition.

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TOUGH CROWD? : Four verses written for `The Royal March' managed to offend the left, Basques and Catalonians and were dropped within five days
When the proposed new lyrics for the Spanish national anthem were revealed at the end of last week, it looked like a centuries-old quirk of history had finally been resolved.

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Their presidents hugged on the tarmac but the talks were kept brief -- another sign, perhaps, that relations between Egypt and the US have rarely been cooler. The strains with a longtime ally are affecting everything from Middle East peace hopes to foreign aid.

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Scientists have launched an urgent investigation into the mauve stinger jellyfish that recently wiped out US$2 million worth of salmon at fish farms in Northern Ireland. They fear that mass invasions of the tiny purple creatures could return to British waters in the next few years with devastating consequences along coasts.

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DEADLY DIYALA: The bombing was the fourth female suicide attack in Iraq in three months, all of which have taken place in Diyala, a mix of Shiite and Sunni communities
A female suicide bomber struck black-clad worshippers preparing for Shiite Islam's holiest day, killing at least nine on Wednesday in an attack that highlighted insurgents' increasing use of unconventional tactics in a province that has defied the nationwide trend toward less violence.

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FIGHTING FIT? : With National Assembly elections to be held on Sunday and Castro's precise political role unclear, Cubans are keen for any word on his health and plans
Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared thin but lucid in his first video appearance in three months, which was broadcast on Cuba's state television on Wednesday.

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Ill workers at an Indiana slaughterhouse where compressed air was used to remove pig brains have symptoms similar to those involved in an earlier outbreak in Minnesota, federal health officials said.

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez shrugged off Colombia's criticism that he ignored crimes committed by that nation's guerrillas when he urged world leaders to stop classifying them as terrorists.

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PENNING PAIN: Sami al-Haj, a cameraman for the al-Jazeera TV network, criticized the public for a perceived lack of interest in the detainees' plight
Conditions are harsh for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, a hunger-striking prisoner said in a letter released on Wednesday, although he did not provide details.

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■ AUSTRALIA

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