Release of aid ordered

　　PARIS: A French appeals court ordered the release yesterday of Maurice Papon, a former police chief imprisoned for his role in deporting Jews to Nazi death camps during World War II, his lawyer said.

　　Papon, 92, has been serving a 10-year prison sentence since 1999 for complicity in crimes against humanity.

　　Papon, who went on to become budget minister after the war, was the highest ranking former French official sentenced for collaboration with the Nazis.

　　Kashmir rebels battled

　　INDIA: Indian soldiers battled suspected Islamic militants in a dense Himalayan forest near the border with Pakistan yesterday as security forces tried to prevent separatists disrupting elections in Indian-ruled Kashmir.

　　Indian and Pakistani forces also fired artillery and small arms across the cease-fire line dividing Kashmir.

　　At least one Indian solder was killed and two hurt in the clash in the Kater forest.

　　Rwanda begins exit

　　CONGO: Rwanda began withdrawing troops from eastern Congo Tuesday as part of an agreement signed with the Congolese Government to end the four-year civil war in Africa’s third-largest nation.

　　With U.N. observers filling out verification forms, the first of an estimated 1,600 troops in this town flied to Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

　　All the troops were expected to be withdrawn by yesterday.