THE NETHERLANDS

Judges in The Hague postponed until January the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor as lawyers argued over whether victims of atrocities in Sierra Leone should testify.

Taylor, 59, is accused of instigating murder, rape and mutilation in a quest for diamonds during the civil war in Sierra Leone. He has pleaded not guilty.

His chief defense counsel, Courtenay Griffiths, said he saw no reason why victims need to testify unless the prosecution was trying to make an "emotional impact." Prosecutors said their testimony was required.

The defense team requested the delay to prepare, saying there were tens of thousands of pages of material to examine.

INDIA Actor in weapons case granted bail

India's Supreme Court released Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt on bail, citing a technicality weeks after he was convicted of illegally possessing guns linked to 1993 bombings in Mumbai, Dutt's lawyer said.

Dutt received bail because the Mumbai court that convicted him had not yet provided him with a copy of his sentence, said his lawyer, Surender Singh. Five other people convicted in the same case also were granted bail on the same technicality.

All will have to return to prison once they are given copies of the sentence, Singh said.

Dutt was sentenced July 31 to six years for illegally possessing three automatic rifles and a pistol. He was acquitted of more serious terrorism charges relating to the bombings, which killed 257 people. A dozen people have been sentenced to death, 20 face life sentences, and many more received shorter jail terms.

PAKISTAN 21 Iranians freed; a kidnapper slain

Pakistani security forces freed 21 Iranians after a shootout with kidnappers who had smuggled them across the border, a Pakistani general said.

One kidnapper was killed and 16 captured in the operation, Maj. Gen. Saleem Nawaz, a commander of Pakistan's Frontier Corps, said in Quetta.

He said officials were trying to determine the identity and motives of the kidnappers. Earlier reports had differed on the number of abductees.

CHINA Typhoon leaves 29 dead in southeast

Typhoon Sepat brought intense winds and rain and triggered landslides that have killed at least 29 people in southeastern China, the official New China News Agency said.

High winds and downpours slammed Jiangxi province, and a farmer was killed in Yongfeng County, which had received 15.71 inches of rain, the agency said.

Sepat struck Fujian province Sunday, bringing rain and causing landslides that killed 15 and left 11 missing, the news agency said. In Zhejiang province, Sepat had caused 13 deaths.

Earlier, the storm, named after a Malaysian fish, killed at least one person in Taiwan and three in the Philippines.

From Times Wire Reports