Indian MLA arrested

PATNA: A state lawmaker and three supporters were arrested on Thursday on charges of badly assaulting three television journalists in eastern India, police said. The journalists had visited lawmaker Anant Singh’s home in Patna to question him about the reported rape and murder of a local woman, New Delhi Television and other news channels reported. The journalists worked for the NDTV and Asian News International television channels. Police arrested Singh and his supporters after the reporters filed a complaint, Senior Superintendent of Police Kundan Krishnan said. Singh made no immediate comment on the allegations. — AP

70 boys rescued

NEW DELHI: Activists said they rescued 70 boys embroidering garments in small, squalid factories in India’s capital on Thursday, days after the reported discovery of children as young as 10 sewing clothes for retailer Gap Inc. The boys, between the ages of

8 and 14, were mostly the children of poor farmers in Bihar, said Kailash Satyarthi of the group Bachpan Bachao Andolan. They had been brought to New Delhi to work in small embroidery factories, he said. — AP

14 killed in Lanka

COLOMBO: Two fierce battles erupted between government troops and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka on Thursday, leaving 14 rebels dead, while air force jets pounded a rebel base, the military said. — AP