World in brief

Weakened Mindy heads out to sea

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Tropical Storm Mindy weakened Saturday as it spun away from the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas, turning into the open Atlantic away from inhabited islands.

The storm's maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph with higher gusts. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center.

At 5 p.m., Mindy was about 120 miles north-northwest of Grand Turk island, or 760 miles southwest of Bermuda, at latitude 23.2 north, longitude 71.5 west.

Mindy was moving north-northwest at about 12 mph. A turn toward the north-northeast is expected in the next 24 hours, but little change in strength is forecast over that time, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - More than 40 Taliban militants escaped from a southern Afghanistan prison by digging a 30-foot-long tunnel and with apparent help from officials, regional leaders said Saturday.

The 41 escaped convicts - including several Taliban commanders and the brother of former Taliban defense minister, Mullah Ubaidullah - disappeared late Friday from a high security prison in Kandahar, said Yousaf Pashtoon, governor of Kandahar province.

The prisoners were among 54 arrested in recent months during fighting between Afghan government forces and insurgents.

Pashtoon said officials were investigating what role five missing prison officials might have played in the escape.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A Lebanese woman gave birth Saturday to sextuplets - four girls and two boys, hospital officials said. All appeared to be in good health.

Doctors delivered the babies by Caesarean section 30 weeks into Soumaya Ghosson's pregnancy, officials at the suburban Al-Hayat Hospital said.

The babies weigh between 1.1 pounds and 2.4 pounds.

BUS CRASHES IN PERU: A passenger bus plunged off a 1,000-foot cliff in the Andes mountains Friday, killing at least 30 people and injuring 17, rescue workers said Saturday.

The accident happened on a mountain highway 150 miles northeast of Lima, Peru. The cause was unknown.

FERRY SINKS IN NIGERIA: A ferry hit a bridge in eastern Nigeria and capsized, and authorities said Saturday they believed dozens were dead.

Fifty of the up to 100 people aboard were rescued after the accident Tuesday, said Aminu Abah, a spokesman for the eastern state of Ademawa.

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