theSun | TUESDAY JUNE 30 2009 9

news without borders

Taliban kill 12
soldiers in ambush
WANA (Pakistan): Taliban militants am-
bushed a Pakistani military convoy near the
Afghan border on Sunday killing 12 soldiers,
the army said, as it prepared an assault on
Pakistan’s Taliban chief.
The military, near the end of an offensive
in the northwestern Swat Valley after two
months of fighting, is set to launch a new
drive in South Waziristan, where Pakistani
Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud is based.
Pakistan’s campaign against the Taliban
has won the praise of close ally the United
States, which needs Pakistan to go after the
militants as it pursues its own strategy to
defeat Al Qaeda and stabilise Afghanistan.
The top US commander for the region, Gen
David Petraeus, arrived for talks with Paki-
stani leaders, the US embassy said. Media said
he met army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani.
The Taliban have responded to the offen-
sive with bombings in towns and cities and
attacks on the military across the north.
Militants firing rocket-propelled grenades
EPAPIX
ambushed the military convoy in North
Waziristan, another militant stronghold on
the Afghan border, intelligence agency of-
ficials said.
Several vehicles were hit and the military
said 12 soldiers were killed and 10 wounded.
It was the heaviest military toll in an attack
for months.
“An exchange of fire between security
forces and terrorists continued for some time.
Ten terrorists were killed,” the military said
in a statement.
The fragile civilian government has the
support of most political parties and mem-
bers of the public for the offensive, but heavy
army casualties will raise criticism.
As Petraeus arrived unannounced for
talks with a Pakistani leadership he said last
month had been “galvanised” by the Taliban
threat, about 10,000 Islamist party support-
ers rallied in the city of Karachi calling on
America to stop interfering in the country.
– Reuters

Search and rescue ...

Chinese rescuers search for victims following a train collision at the railway station in
Chenzhou city, in central China’s Hunan province on Monday. At least three people were
killed and 60 injured when the two passenger trains collided.

news report said. Applications Great Train Robber

briefs
Europe’s oldest
person dies at 113
ROME: The oldest person in
Europe, Italian Lucia Lauria, died
on Sunday at the age of 113 in
the village where she was born,
news agency Ansa reported.
Lauria passed away in Pietrap-
ertosa, aged 113, three months
and 24 days. Lauria is survived
by two children, both aged over
80, one who used to spend
part of the year with her and a
second who has emigrated to
the United States. She was con-
sidered the oldest living person
in continental Europe. – AFP
China students
shun Hongkong
HONGKONG: The number of
students from China applying
to study in Hongkong has
dropped steeply as a result of
the global economic slump, a
from China for universities in the
city, which has one of the world’s
highest costs of living, have
fallen by up to half compared to
2008, the South China Morning
Post said. The private Shue Yan
University has seen a 50% drop
in applications from Chinese
students while the University of
Hongkong reported a 30% fall,
the newspaper said. – dpa
Wheelchair
gunman shot dead
WELLINGTON: A paraplegic gun-
man who terrorised a suburban
street by firing about 100 shots
at random from his wheelchair
was shot dead by police after a
three-hour stand-off, police said
yesterday. They said the drama in
the Christchurch suburb of Burn-
side began on Sunday night after
Shayne Richard Sime, 42, called
his family, saying he was suicidal.
News reports said that Sime had
a head injury and was drunk. A
police officer and a 39-year-old
neighbour were shot during the
stand-off. Sime was shot dead
after refusing demands to put
down the shotgun and rifle he
used – dpa
hospitalised
LONDON: Ronnie Biggs, the
legendary Great Train Robber
who surrendered to police in
2001 after 36 years on the
run, was hospitalised on
Sunday, days before family
members hoped he would
be released from prison. The
79-year-old has broken his
hip and is suffering from a
chest infection, said his son
Michael on Sunday. Biggs
was discovered on the floor
of his cell in the hospital wing
of Norwich prison on Sunday
morning. – dpa
Activists save
cats from the pot
SHANGHAI: Animal activists
in Shanghai rescued 300 cats
from a dealer who had bought
the allegedly stolen pets for
sale to restaurants in southern
China, state media reported
yesterday. The activists, acting
on a tip from, found 22 bamboo
cages full of cats in a freight
yard, from where they were to
be shipped to Guangdong, the
Shanghai Daily reported. – AFP