Four more leave cult compound

Four women, including a Briton, left the barricaded compound of the Branch Davidian cult, raising hopes for a break in the three-week siege, Reuter reports from Waco, Texas.

The women were identified as Victorine Hollingsworth, 59, a British citizen, Annetta Richards, 64, a Canadian, Gladys Ottman, 67, also Canadian and an American, Rita Riddle, 35. There are 99 others, including 17 children and many Australians and Britons, still inside. The compound has been ringed by police since a gun battle erupted on 28 February when they went to arrest the cult leader, David Koresh, for alleged firearms violations.