Pontiff baptizes on eve of Easter

Looking weak and speaking with effort, Pope John Paul II blessed the flame of a tall candle at the start of a long Easter vigil service last night in a packed St. Peter's Basilica. The pontiff baptized people from Europe, Africa, and Asia. "Very dear brothers and sons, in this most holy night, in which Jesus Christ our Lord, passed from death to life, the church, spread throughout the earth, calls her children to hold a vigil of prayer," John Paul said. He then blessed the flame and intoned a prayer in Latin. (AP)

AFGHANISTAN

Karzai forces' foe said to withdraw

KABUL -- Forces of a renegade adviser to President Hamid Karzai have withdrawn from the center of a provincial capital they had overrun, leaving it in the hands of the Afghan army, the Defense Ministry said yesterday. General Abdul Rashid Dostum's forces invaded the northern province of Faryab on Wednesday. (Reuters)

MEXICO

Propane explosion kills 6 near border

NUEVO PROGRESO -- A propane tank explosion ripped through a restaurant yesterday at the Mexican border with Texas, killing at least six people and injuring several more. The tank exploded at a restaurant two blocks from a bridge over the Rio Bravo connecting Mexico with the United States. The six killed were Mexican citizens, officials said. (AP)

PHILIPPINES

Extremists said to join jailbreak

ISABELA -- More than 50 inmates, including many suspected members of a Muslim extremist group, used a smuggled pistol to escape from a southern prison yesterday, officials said. At least nine were killed by police. A provincial spokesman said 53 of 137 inmates at the Basilan Provincial Jail escaped, including many members of the Abu Sayyaf group, which has been linked to Al Qaeda. At least eight were killed and eight were captured, authorities said. (Reuters)

ANTARCTICA

US plane rescues 3 sick researchers

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- A US Air Force plane carrying three sick workers from a research station on the Antarctic coast landed in New Zealand yesterday, officials said. Flights to Antarctica are suspended at the end of February and do not resume until October, after the Southern Hemisphere winter. Authorities made an exception to rescue three staff members at McMurdo station. (AP)

NEPAL

Rally against king brings 500 arrests

KATMANDU -- Police fired tear gas yesterday to break up several thousand demonstrators pressing King Gyanendra for democratic change yesterday, and held more than 500 people on charges of defying a ban on protests, witnesses said. Nepal has seen some of the biggest rallies in almost 15 years as politicians press Gyanendra to replace his Cabinet with an all-party government, and to call elections. (Reuters)