11 Taliban ultras killed

KANDAHAR: Taliban militants battled an Afghan army patrol in southern Afghanistan, leaving 11 insurgents dead and four soldiers wounded, an official said on Sunday. The Taliban ambushed and clashed with the patrol in Zabul province on Saturday night, said Qasem Khan, a provincial police official.— AP

ASEAN meet

Singapore: Southeast Asian leaders gathered on Sunday for their annual summit with the bloc’s credibility at stake as they grapple with Myanmar, which has earned global scorn for its bloody crackdown on dissent. The ASEAN’S 40th anniversary summit is under pressure to rein in their most troublesome member. — AFP

Nine LTTE men killed

COLOMBO: Soldiers overran three Tamil Tiger rebel bunkers in Sri Lanka’s volatile north and killed five rebels, while two other gunbattles in the area left four ultras dead on Saturday, the military said on Sunday. — AP

Dalai Lama’s visit

Tokyo: The Dalai Lama visited Japan’s most sacred Shinto shrine on Sunday and brushed off Chinese criticism of his recent international travels. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader prayed at Ise Jingu, the nation’s holiest Shinto shrine, before giving a lecture at nearby Kogakkan University, according to organizer Norihiro Kimura. — Agencies

Indian vote

New Delhi: India has voted against a moratorium on death penalty when a committee of the UN general assembly passed a resolution favouring it, according to the country office of the rights group Amnesty International. Friday’s resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions was described by AI as “historic and a major step towards the abolition of the death penalty worldwide”. It was adopted with 99 countries in favour, 52 against and 33 abstentions. — HNS