19 Kurdish rebels killed in airstrikes

ANKARA - The Turkish military said it has killed 19 Kurdish rebels in airstrikes in southeast Turkey. A statement posted on the military website said the airstrikes were launched in response to a rebel attack late yesterday on a military outpost in Hakkari province, which killed two soldiers. Rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, have fought for self-rule in Turkey's southeast since 1984. (AP)

PANMUNJOM - A US diplomat left North Korea today with boxes of documents detailing activities at the nuclear reactor that is at the heart of the communist country's nuclear weapons program. Washington plans to scrutinize the technical logs from the Yongbyon reactor to see if the North is telling the truth about a bomb program that it has agreed to trade away for economic and political rewards. (AP)

BATTICALOA - A bomb blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels ripped through a cafe in eastern Sri Lanka yesterday, killing 11 people and casting a cloud over pivotal provincial elections scheduled for today. The government hailed the elections as a key step in restoring normality to the Eastern Province, which it freed from 13 years of Tamil Tiger rule last July. (AP)

TORONTO - Authorities quarantined a train in Ontario yesterday after a woman died and several others reported being ill with flu-like symptoms. Health officials ruled out a serious infection and said the trip was expected to resume last night. They said the illnesses of six passengers were unrelated to the death of an elderly woman on the train. (AP)