WORLD BRIEFS

PAKISTAN: 3 soldiers killed in mistake attack

Pakistan closed the Khyber Pass supply route for U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan after a coalition helicopter attack mistakenly killed three Pakistani soldiers at a border post Thursday, raising tensions in a vital relationship for Islamabad and Washington. NATO said its helicopters entered Pakistani airspace and hit a target only after receiving ground fire. The alliance expressed condolences to the families of the soldiers and said both nations would investigate the incident. The blockade left 150 trucks lined up along the Khyber Pass carrying fuel, military vehicles, spare parts, clothing and other nonlethal supplies for foreign troops. Pakistan's other main route into landlocked Afghanistan, in Chaman in the southeast, stayed open. While NATO and the United States have alternative supply routes into Afghanistan, the Pakistani ones are the cheapest and most convenient. It was the third time in less than a week that NATO choppers in pursuit of militants have crossed over the Pakistani border and fired on targets. Pakistani officials had warned after the earlier strikes that they would stop allowing NATO convoys if it happened again.

INDIA: Court orders religious compromise

For 150 years, Hindus and Muslims both claimed a site sacred to their religions, triggering some of the worst rioting in India's history. On Thursday, a court came up with a compromise: Split it. Both sides said they would appeal, but the muted reaction to the potentially explosive verdict generated hope that increasingly confident India, with its growing regional clout and skyrocketing economy, has moved beyond its divisive history. The dispute is over the sacred site in Ayodhya, 350 miles east of New Delhi.

CHINA AND JAPAN: 3 Japanese detainees released

China on Thursday released three of the four Japanese citizens who had been detained since last week, accused of illegally videotaping a military site. The three were released, according to Xinhua News Agency, after admitting their violation and showing "regret for their mistake." The decision follows Japan's move last week to release the captain of a Chinese fishing trawler that rammed two coast guard patrol boats near disputed islands in the East China Sea. That Sept. 7 incident spawned weeks of acrimony between the Asian neighbors, with China imposing trade restrictions on exports and high-level leaders cutting off contacts. One man, identified as Sada Takahashi, remains under "house arrest," according to Xinhua.

MIDDLE EAST: Struggle to keep talks going

White House emissary George Mitchell, racing against the clock to salvage peace negotiations, scheduled another quick round of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders after talks Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ended inconclusively. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to extend a 10-month-old moratorium on new housing construction in West Bank settlements. Abbas has warned he'll quit the U.S.-sponsored peace talks unless the moratorium is extended.