World in brief: Islamists seen fleeing stronghold

Islamic fighters abandoned the last major town they held early today and were seen heading south toward the Kenyan border while government forces approached slowly because of land mines, residents and the government spokesman said.

The Islamic forces began to disintegrate after a night of artillery attacks at the front line and following a mutiny within its ranks, witnesses said. Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said he had information that Islamic forces were moving south toward the Kenyan border.

Fighting had erupted Sunday on the outskirts of Kismayo, where Somalia’s prime minister said three al-Qaida suspects wanted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies were hiding in the city.

MOSCOW

Russian gas firm, Belarus strike deal

Belarus and Russia’s natural gas monopoly signed a five-year contract for gas supplies early today, just hours before Russia had threatened to cut off supplies in a price dispute.

Under the agreement, Belarus will pay $100 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2007 – a reduction from the $105 that Gazprom had demanded, according to Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov.

The threatened Russian cutoff had raised concerns in Western Europe about a possible reduction in those countries’ supplies of Russian gas, much of which reaches Europe through pipelines that cross Belarus.

SEMARANG, Indonesia

At least 177 rescued after ferry sinking

Rescue boats scoured the sea on Sunday where an Indonesian ferry sank during a violent storm, picking up scores of exhausted survivors from choppy waters, but at least 400 more remained missing, officials and media reports said.

Almost two days after the ship went down in the Java Sea, helicopters dropped food and water to a group of around 30 survivors drifting in a life raft after heavy waves prevented rescuers from approaching them, Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said.

By late Sunday, authorities had found 177 survivors, The news agency Antara quoted transport department official Soeharto as saying. The ferry is believed to have had 638 people on board, Radjasa said earlier.

INDIANAPOLIS

Boy, 3, found playing by highway

Drivers swerved to avoid a 3-year-old boy wearing only a diaper and T-shirt who was playing along a busy highway after wandering away from home while his mother slept, police said.

Some motorists stopped along Interstate 465 on the city’s west side Saturday to take care of the boy until officers arrived, the Indiana State Police said.

Police said they traced the toddler, Damon Dyer, to an apartment at a nearby complex, where they found his mother, Nancy Dyer asleep in a filthy apartment and his 2-year-old sister eating spaghetti off the floor. Dyer, 33, was arrested on two counts of child neglect and remained in custody Sunday, officials said.

DENVER

Planes search for stranded drivers

A fleet of small planes canvassed snow-covered roads in Colorado on Sunday, searching for stranded travelers after a powerful winter storm piled drifts up to 10 feet high across much of the Plains.

National Guard troops have rescued 44 people from the storm, which buried the foothills west of Denver with more than 2 feet of snow. More than 650 people spent Saturday night in shelters, officials said.

At least eight deaths were blamed on the storm. Six people have been killed since Thursday in traffic accidents in Colorado and Texas.