Coup put down in Ivory Coast as top cop killed

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Loyalist forces put down an attempted coup Thursday in which the minister in charge of police was killed along with a former junta leader who the government said was involved in the revolt that was staged while the president was out of the country.

President Laurent Gbagbo's government has been struggling to calm lingering ethnic and political tension and a restive military since the once-tranquil country's first-ever coup, in 1999.

"According to our information, we can say it is an attempted coup d'etat," Defense Minister Lida Moise Kouassi said on state television which had been off the air during 12 hours of gunfire and explosions in Abidjan, the commercial capital.

Interior Minister Emile Boga Doudou, who controlled the police, and deposed military ruler Gen. Robert Guei both were killed in the uprising, said presidential aide Alain Toussaint from Rome.

Pakistani police make more terrorist arrests

KARACHI, Pakistan -- Pakistani police, working with FBI investigators, arrested five men and accused them of links to an al-Qaida-backed group that has targeted foreigners, churches and American fast food chains, a senior police official said Thursday.

Among those arrested was the owner of a soft drinks and ice cream shop in Karachi, identified only as Masood, who allegedly stored weapons and sheltered members of the militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Al-Almi, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Four suspected associates of Masood were taken into custody in the overnight raids on their homes in three Karachi neighborhoods.

Colombian troops kill 21 rebels, free two hostages

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Army troops battled rebels on two fronts Thursday, killing 21 guerrillas and freeing two civilians who had been kidnapped by the insurgents. A third hostage died in the fighting.

A clash near the village of Carmen de Carupa, 43 miles north of Bogota, left 13 guerrillas dead, the heaviest reported rebel casualties in ground combat since President Alvaro Uribe was inaugurated on Aug. 7. Uribe has pledged a crackdown on the leftist insurgents.

Two soldiers were wounded in the fight, army officials said. Troops were pursuing the surviving rebels in the mountainous region.

In the second battle, troops backed by helicopter gunships fought rebels in northwest Colombia in their efforts to free Antioquia state Gov. Guillermo Gaviria, who was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, four months ago.

Political leader places ad urging military rebellion

CARACAS, Venezuela -- A Venezuelan opposition leader who ran a newspaper ad urging the military to rebel against the government was arrested by the country's secret police Thursday.

Alejandro Pena Esclusa was arrested after holding a news conference to promote a demonstration in front of the Caracas Francisco de Miranda military air base, President Hugo Chavez confirmed.

Chavez said the arrest showed his government was determined to prevent another uprising like the April 12-14 coup that temporarily ousted him from power and left dozens dead in protests.

Animal lovers protest plans for horse diapers

VIENNA, Austria -- A plan by city fathers to diaper carriage-drawing horses in order to keep streets clean has animal lovers and horsemen up in arms.

Donning diapers, animal rights activists lined up at Heroes' Square in front of the former imperial Hofburg Palace Thursday to protest the plan they say would inflict unnecessary suffering on the animals.

"The diapers would restrict the horses' movement and would rub, causing wounds," said Attila Cerman, a spokesman for Four Paws, the group that organized the protest.

Opponents also say that the diapers would prevent the horses from being able to flick away flies with their tails.

--From wire reports