At least 60 people have been killed in a suspected US air raid in northern Afghanistan, government sources say.

Two petrol lorries were hit by the air attack in Kunduz province, Al Jazeera learnt on Friday.

James Bays, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Kabul, said members of the Taliban reportedly hijacked the lorries, travelling from Tajikistan and took them to the village of Aliabad.

“The Taliban there said ‘Help yourself’ to the village. A large crowd appeared and shortly [afterwards] there was an air strike,” Bays said.

“Afghan government and intelligence sources said that a large number of people had been killed,” he said.

An Al Jazeera cameraman in Kunduz province said that he had seen at least 15 injured people in a local hospital, some with extreme burns.

“If these reports are confirmed, this will be a definite blow to General [Stanley] McChrystal, the US army commander in Afghanistan, who has urged US forces to avoid civilian causalities where at all possible,” Bays said.

Source: Aljazeera

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MEAD GRUVER, Associated Press Writer

As for the other half, no one knows.

District-by-district and school-by-school results from this year’s Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students, or PAWS test, have been out for nearly a month. But state and local officials have yet to compile a complete set of scores for the Wyoming Virtual School.

Wyoming Virtual School students essentially are home-schooled with some guidance from public school teachers. The partly online curriculum is provided by a private company, Herndon, Va.-based K12 Inc.

Campbell County School District 1 in Gillette launched the K-6 school in 2006 and enrolled 76 students last year.

This was the first year more than a handful of students in the virtual school took the assessment test, an annual, statewide exam for students in grades 3-8 and 11. The virtual school students took the test in classrooms, not at home.

The available results — the combined scores of about 30 students in Campbell County — show less-than-stellar performance:

— Fifty percent of Wyoming Virtual School students in grades 3-6 scored in either the “proficient” range or “advanced” range in math. The statewide average for grades 3-6 was 76 percent.

— In reading, 41 percent of Wyoming Virtual School students tested in the proficient range or above. The statewide average was 64 percent.

— In writing, 22 percent of Wyoming Virtual School students scored in the proficient range or higher. The statewide average in writing was 53 percent.

“We’re not where we want to be. We’ll continue to work to improve and to raise those numbers in the future,” said Alex Ayers, the district’s assistant superintendent of curriculum and assessment.

K12 Inc. said it didn’t have enough information about the test scores to comment.

While the Campbell County School District compiled test scores for virtual school students who live in Campbell County, the district has yet to obtain scores from students elsewhere in the state.

About half of the virtual school’s students last school year lived in 10 other counties. The reason the Campbell County district doesn’t have those scores is the state Department of Education combined them with scores at brick-and-mortar elementary schools — the schools those students would be attending if they weren’t enrolled at the virtual school.

The principal of the virtual school, Roger Larsen, said he’s been trying to collect the rest of his students’ scores from other districts. He called the situation frustrating.

“The scores get scattered around the state, and just trying to gather them up we’ve found much more difficult than anticipated,” Larsen said.

The department eventually should be able to compile a complete set of scores for the Wyoming Virtual School, said Mary Kay Hill, the department’s director of administration.

“As we move along, you bet. We will be building a system that will allow us to pull up that data and be able to report, statewide, how those kids are doing,” she said.

(© 2009 The Associated Press.

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The Israeli authorities have charged Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister, with corruption.

The indictments include illegal acceptance of funds from an American supporter and double-billing for foreign trips, the attorney-general’s office said on Sunday.

“The attorney-general … has decided to press charges against former prime minister Ehud Olmert,” a statement from the office of Menahem Mazuz said.

“The charge sheet was presented today in Jerusalem district court.”

Olmert is the first former Israeli prime minister to be indicted. Shula Zaken, Olmert’s personal secretary, was also charged.

Allegations denied

The allegations, which Olmert denies, initially occurred during his premiership, and forced him to step down as leader of the Kadima party and prime minister.

Sherine Tadros, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Jerusalem, said: “Olmert’s media advisor has been lashing out against both the state prosecutor and the attorney general saying that, however weak the evidence was against Olmert, there was no other choice but to indict him because they had forced him to quit the prime ministership earlier on this year.

“On the other hand they say when they go to court they will be free from this bias considerations and that’s why they are sure that Olmert will be cleared.”

He is said to have charged the government and charities for expenses previously paid for by different organisations, in turn building up credit at a travel agency which he then used for personal trips.

Morris Talansky, a US businessman, is also said to have given Olmert different amounts of cash adding up to as much as $150,000.

Olmert, 63, has said he did take the money, but said they were donations for his re-election campaigns for the post of mayor of Jerusalem and the party leadership.

Prosecutors also allege Olmert, while industry minister, established investment opportunities for a friend, Uri Messner.

The allegations relate to when Olmert was serving as the mayor of Jerusalem and afterwards when working as a cabinet minister before he became prime minister in 2006.

Legacy

Gil Hoffman, the chief political correspondent for The Jerusalem Post newspaper, told Al Jazeera: “On the one hand, it is embarrassing that our politicians do such things, but on the other hand, it shows that this is a country where you can’t get away with such things any more and I think that’s something Israelis can be proud of.”

Hoffman added that the charges would overshadow any other legacy Olmert might have had.

Olmert was forced to resign his post as prime minister because of the allegations [AFP]

“[Olmert] made an effort to push the peace process [with the Palestinians] forward … but … his legacy will be this corruption.”

It is the first time that Olmert has been officially charged despite several corruption investigations conducted into his affairs.

Mazuz is leaving office in four months’ time and analysts have said that he wanted to begin proceedings before he vacates his post.

Olmert could spend up to 10 years in jail if found guilty.

He was replaced by Binyamin Netanyahu, the Likud leader, as prime minister after elections were held following Olmert’s resignation.

Source: Aljazeera and agencies