World Briefs

KABUL, Afghanistan – A roadside bomb killed three U.S. coalition members in western Afghanistan, while 18 Taliban fighters died in clashes elsewhere in the country, officials said Thursday.

In the southern Kandahar province, meanwhile, a bomb placed on a donkey hit a police vehicle patrolling west of the provincial capital, killing an officer and wounding two other people.

The bomb that struck the U.S. coalition vehicle Wednesday also wounded another coalition member, the U.S. military said in a statement. It did not provide the exact location of the attack or the nationalities of the victims. Most coalition members are American.

Taliban militants regularly target Afghan, U.S. and other foreign soldiers in their campaign to weaken the government of President Karzai and its Western backers.

AUSTRIA - Stefan Petzner told Austrian radio that Mr Haider, whom he met five years ago, was his "life partner".

Mr Haider died in a high-speed car crash earlier this month. The 58-year-old had a high blood alcohol level.

He had led the Alliance for Austria's Future, a party best known for its anti-immigration and anti-EU policies.

Mr Petzner took over as party leader following Mr Haider's sudden death. The father-of-two had said frequently that he would like his young protege to take his place one day.

"We had a special relationship that went far beyond friendship," Mr Petzner said in an interview.

"Joerg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life," he added.

And he insisted that Mr Haider's widow did not object to their relationship.

LONDON - Lessons about personal, social and health matters including sex and relationships will be compulsory in all England's schools from ages five to 16.

But the government is setting up a review of how best to achieve this. Schools Minister Jim Knight said this would factor in the ethos of schools, pupils' needs and parents' values.

A BBC poll of more than 1,000 people found two thirds would support sex lessons from age 11.

They have not yet given is the detail of what compulsory personal, social and health education (PSHE) will involve.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families said the review of sex lessons had identified "a need to challenge the perception that sex and relationships education happened in a 'moral vacuum' in schools and says that parents and schools can and should work together to decide how best topics should be taught."