Cops rescue kids from a religious cult that teaches physical punishment – South Korea for the first time arrests a sitting lawmaker for alleged treason – Cowardly militants assassinate a middle-aged woman for writing a book – And the British learn to drive as badly as Californians.

German police raided and rescued 40 children from communities affiliated with a US-founded radical Christian sect.  Officials say they acted after receiving evidence of ongoing child abuse at the two communities in Bavaria belonging to the “Twelve Tribes”, which apparently preaches corporal punishment of children as god’s direct word.  The group admits using a “small reed-like rod” to inflict “pain and not damage” and claims it is not abusive.  Police and child protective authorities disagree.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service spy agency arrested a Leftist lawmaker, accusing him of plotting a pro-North Korean rebellion.  Freshman lawmaker Lee Seok-ki denies the charges, says they are part of a politically motivated, anti-Communist “witchhunt”.  It’s the first time a South Korean lawmaker has been arrested on treason charges.

Egypt’s Egypt's Interior Minister survived an apparent suicide car bomb attack that targeted his convoy in Cairo.  More than 20 people were hurt.  Mohammed Ibrahim later appeared on TV to denounce a “cowardly assassination bid”. There was no claim of responsibility, and the Muslim Brotherhood was swift to denounce the attack.

The Indian woman who wrote a best-selling book detailing her escape from the Taliban has been found shot dead in Afghanistan, police say likely by Islamist militants.  49-year old Sushmita Banerjee had moved back there with her husband to open a health clinic in the eastern Paktika province.  Her bullet-ridden body was found near a religious school.  Police say her book, “Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife” which was made into the Bollywood film “Escape From the Taliban” in 2003, might be the motive for her murder.

Impoverished Haiti took a step towards reconstituting its military as it welcomed home 41 engineers and technicians from 10-months of military training in Ecuador.  The US has balked on providing that training, because of the Haitian Army’s abusive record before it was dissolved in 1995.  Officials say the new force will be utilized to monitor the country's coasts and border, fight drug trafficking, raise environmental awareness, and respond to disasters.

An errant hunter’s campfire was the cause of the massive wildfire that burned 27,000 hectares of California’s famed Yosemite National Park, and an even greater area outside the park; 370 square miles in all.  Rangers are dismissing earlier reports of the fire allegedly being started by marijuana growers.  The hunter has not been named and is not currently jailed.  5,100 firefighters from throughout the western US are pitching in to battle this fire.

Police say it’s a miracle no one was killed in a 130-vehicle crash on a bridge near Sittingbourne, Kent in England’s southeast.  Sixty people were hurt, some seriously, when 130 cars and trucks crashed into each other, one after the other for 10 minutes, in thick fog on the A249 Sheppey Island crossing. 

Near Liverpool, authorities are investigating how a 2-year old was able to free herself from a nursery in Runcorn, and walk for a half-mile all alone.  Precocious tot Louise Hilton arrived at her front door at 1:00 O’Clock on Wednesday afternoon, announcing, “Mummy, I’m home.”  Mummy and Dad are not pleased, because of the dangers along the route including traffic, strangers, and an open canal.