BOGOTA. Bodies of 105 militia victims found in Colombia. Remains of 105 victims of right-wing paramilitaries were found in the southern jungles of Colombia, the biggest such discovery in the country?s four-decade-old guerrilla war, officials said . More remains are expected to be found near the 65 graves uncovered late Friday in Putumayo province on the Ecuadorean border. A total of 211 bodies have been recovered from the province since last year, but Friday?s find by agents from Colombia's attorney general?s office marked the most number of bodies found in a single area. More than 31,000 paramilitaries have disarmed since 2003 under a deal promising reduced jail terms to those who cooperate with investigations into crimes they committed in the name of fighting Marxist rebels.

HEALTH . Brazil to break Aids drug patent. Brazil?s president has authorised the country to bypass the patent on an Aids drug manufactured by Merck, a US pharmaceutical giant. The country will import a cheaper, generic Indian-made version of the patented Efavirenz drug. The decision came after talks between Brazil and the US company broke down. Merck had offered Brazil a 30% discount on the cost of the drugs but the country wanted to pay the same price as Thailand, which gets a larger discount. Merck offered Brazil almost a third off the cost - pricing the pills at $1.10 (£0.55) instead of $1.59.

But Brazil wanted its discount pegged at same level as Thailand, which pays just $0.65 per pill. Now, though, it will source Indian-made versions of Efavirenz for just $0.45 each. He said that the compulsory licensing of Efavirenz was a legitimate and necessary measure to guarantee that all patients had access to the drug. Brazil?s decision means that Merck, which holds the patent for the drugs, will only get a small royalty for the generic versions of the drugs purchased. Under Brazilian law and rules established by the World Health Organisation, such a licence can be granted in a health emergency or if the pharmaceutical industry abuses its pricing.

LONDON. Britain?s Reid to back Brown, leave cabinet. British Home Secretary John Reid ended months of speculation yesterday as he declared his support for Finance Minister Gordon Brown as the next prime minister and said he would be leaving his job at the end of June. Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected next week to announce the timetable for his departure after 10 years in power, triggering a leadership contest that Brown is widely expected to easily win. Reid, a seasoned and heavyweight politician, had until yesterday left open the possibility of also going for the top job. ?I have decided I will not put myself forward as a candidate for the leadership,? he told ?BBC? television?s ?The Politics Show?.

ISMAILIA. Plane crashes in Egypt?s Sinai, three dead. A plane belonging to the multinational observer force that monitors the Egyptian-Israeli border crashed yesterday in the Sinai peninsula, killing at least three people, security sources said. The sources said the aircraft crashed on a road and hit a truck, which exploded. Three burned bodies thought to be from the plane were found in the wreckage. The source said the driver of the truck had jumped from his vehicle and was believed to have survived. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. One security source said there were at least eight people on board, all French nationals. Three were confirmed dead, the fate of the others was unknown at this time.

BAGHDAD. Car bomb kills 30, wounds 80. A car bomb killed 30 people and wounded 80 others near a crowded market in a Shi'ite neighbourhood of Baghdad yesterday, Iraqi police said. The attack took place in Bayaa, a district in southern Baghdad that has been targeted several times by car bombs blamed on Sunni Islamist al Qaeda. Bystanders used blankets to carry both dead bodies and those wounded onto the back of pick-up trucks. The bomb tore off the fronts of several shops and destroyed or damaged many cars.

MORONI. Anjouan locals prepare to repel national troops. Soldiers sent by the central government of the Comoros Islands massed on Saturday after a failed attempt to compel the president of the second-largest of the archipelago's islands to step down. Witnesses said the central government troops moved into nearby Moheli island after they were repelled by forces loyal to Anjouan island President Mohamned Bacar.