There are 73 prisons in Kazakhstan, including 17 colony-settlements. Most of the places of detention are overcrowded. The total number of the convinced in the Republic of Kazakhstan exceeds 56.000. In 2007 only the number of sentenced increased for 4.300 (Regnum, March 19, 2008).

A German woman was convicted in 2006 of killing 8 of her newborn babies. She buried them in flower pots and a fish tank in the garden of her parents, home near the German-Polish border.

A gunman stormed City Hall during a council meeting in Missouri, killing two police officers and three city officials before he was shot by law-enforcement officers. The mayor was severely injured in the shootout too.

Israeli troops have killed at least six Palestinian militants and a schoolteacher in the northern Gaza Strip. VOA's Jim Teeple has details from our Jerusalem bureau.

Abu Laith al-Libi, a top al-Qaida commander believed to have been killed in a missile strike earlier this week, had a long history of militancy.

A leading al-Qaida operative apparently was among those killed in Pakistan recently by a missile reportedly launched from a U.S. military drone. However, the Pakistani government says it does not know the source of the explosion or who was killed. The tribal region where Abu Laith al-Libi was reportedly killed, has seen frequent militant attacks on security forces. As Ayaz Gul reports, another one took place on Friday killing at least four soldiers.

Indonesia's Supreme Court has sentenced a former pilot of the state-owned airline to 20 years in prison for killing a prominent human rights activist in 2004. Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta.

No one was yet suspected in the killing of Sean Taylor. Police are looking for clues in hopes of determining who broke into the home of the Washington Redskins star safety.

Admitting a petition seeking CBI inquiry into the fake encounter killing in Gujarat, the Supreme Court has said a prima-facie case existed and fixed 15th May for giving its final order on the issue.