China: Editor out

BEIJING — The editor-in-chief of a hard-driving Chinese magazine that tackled tough subjects such as corruption, pollution and worker's rights resigned Monday, casting doubt over prospects for greater media independence.

Many say founder Hu Shuli's departure could spell the downfall of Caijing, an 11-year-old financial news magazine that under her guidance pushed boundaries with the country's censors and chased stories that embarrassed the government. Its aggressive reporting on SARS in 2003 forced the government to acknowledge the scope of the crisis — which it had tried to keep secret — and to change the way it handles public health scares.

Afghanistan: 130 killed

KABUL — Afghan and international troops killed more than 130 insurgents in six days of fighting in a once-stable area of northern Afghanistan that has seen a recent spike in Taliban attacks, NATO said Monday. It was some of the heaviest fighting in the north this year.

The operation, which took place last week, was in the Chahar Dara district of Kunduz province against Taliban fighters who had been threatening NATO supply lines from Russia. An estimated 700 Afghan troops and 50 international soldiers, mostly Americans, took part in the operation.

Brazil: Not expelled

SAO PAULO — A Brazilian woman whose short, pink dress caused a near riot at a private college, led to her expulsion and transformed her into an Internet sensation now has permission to return to class.

Bandeirante University backed down Monday on its decision to expel 20-year-old Geisy Arruda following a flood of negative reaction in a nation where skimpy attire is common. Videos of students ridiculing her and making catcalls Oct. 22 turned up on the Web.

Kenya: Pirates

NAIROBI — Somali pirates attacked an oil tanker and fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades Monday farther out at sea than any previous assault, suggesting that pirate capabilities are growing as they increase activity off East Africa.

Pirates in two skiffs fired at the Hong Kong-flagged BW Lion about 1,000 miles east of the Somali coast, the European Union Naval Force said. The tanker's captain took evasive maneuvers, avoiding the attack.

Lebanon: Cabinet

BEIRUT — Lebanon's prime minister formed a Cabinet Monday that includes the militant group Hezbollah and its allies, ending a political deadlock that left the deeply divided nation without a government for months and threatened to ignite violence.

Saad Hariri unveiled the 30-member Cabinet after more than four months of tough bargaining with his rivals in the Hezbollah-led political coalition over who would get which portfolios.

Hariri's Western-backed bloc narrowly defeated the Hezbollah-led group in June's parliamentary election, enabling it to retain a slim majority in the 128-member legislature. But Hariri's need to include his powerful rivals in a national unity government set the stage for the months of wrangling.