KOLKATA - When Maoists derailed a train in West Bengal in May killing 148 people, the guerrillas appeared to be on the offensive. As 2010 draws to a close, however, the rebels seem to be on the backfoot, due mainly to killings and arrests of rebels by security forces.

ROME - Italian police bomb experts were dispatched Wednesday to investigate a "suspicious package" found at the US Embassy to the Vatican in Rome, news reports said.

COPENHAGEN - Five people have been arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on the Danish newspaper that in 2005 published controversial caricatures of the Muslim prophet Mohammed, the Danish secret service PET said Wednesday.

KABUL - Two Afghan soldiers and four suspected Taliban fighters have been killed in Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.

RANCHI - A Maoist commander who was undergoing treatment at a hospital on the outskirts of Ranchi for the past few days was arrested Wednesday, police said.