East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta has forgiven the rebel leader who nearly killed him last month, in an attack at his home. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins reports from Jakarta.

The United States and Britain made a joint call late Monday for Iraq to take immediate steps to halt cross-border attacks by Iraqi-based Kurdish PKK militants into Turkey. The issue dominated a Washington meeting between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

Turkey's Cabinet meets Monday to discuss its response to a Kurdish rebel attack that killed 13 soldiers in southeastern Turkey, near the border with Iraq.

Turkish security officials say a Kurdish rebel killed seven soldiers in an attack on an army outpost in eastern Turkey Monday.

Suspected Kurdish guerrillas set off a remote controlled bomb on Friday as a convoy of the police chief of an eastern city was passing, local media reported.

Fears are growing that Turkey may take unilateral military action in northern Iraq against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, whose fighters have been staging cross-border attacks.

Sri Lanka's authorities say at least seven people were killed Saturday when a roadside bomb hit a civilian bus in the island's north. A military spokesman says the attack occurred outside the town of Vanvuniya. He said six civilians and one soldier were killed and at least 26 other people were wounded in the blast.

Authorities in Sri Lanka say a bus has exploded in the eastern part of the country, killing at least 14 people and wounding 20 others.

Sri Lanka's Defense Ministry says a roadside bomb killed five soldiers and wounded another Friday, as they traveled in the country's north. In a separate incident, officials say mortar fire from Tamil rebels late Thursday killed eight civilians in the east.

Sri Lanka's military says troops have captured a key Tamil rebel stronghold in the eastern part of the country. Officials say troops took control of Kokkadichcholai in the district of Batticaloa, seizing a large haul of arms and ammunition. Tamil Tiger rebels have not commented on the raid.

Sri Lanka's military says Tamil Tiger rebels have bombed an air force base next to the country's international airport, killing two airmen and wounding 17 others.

U.S. forces have released a senior aide to Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on the orders of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Sheikh Ahmad al-Shibani is a senior aide to al-Sadr, the leader of the Imam Al-Mahdi Army militia, which Washington recently called the greatest threat to security in Iraq.