In Briefs

12 Afghans die in insurgent ambush
* KABUL – A Taliban ambush on a highway left six truckers dead, and a roadside bomb killed another six Afghans in a crowded van, the government said yesterday – the latest sign that insurgent violence is spreading across the countryside.

Somali group executes 2 men for spying * MOGADISHU – An extremist Islamic group has executed two Somali men in the country’s capital, accusing them of being spies for foreign organisations.Honduras restricts liberties* TEGUCIGALPA – Interim government leaders have suspended constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties in a pre-emptive strike against widespread rebellion yesterday, three months to the day since they ousted President Manuel Zelaya in a military-backed coup.EU to set volume limits on MP3 players* BRUSSELS – Now hear this, if you still can: The European Union said yesterday it wants makers of popular digital music players to recommend users turn the volume down to preserve their hearing.Al Qaeda No 2 calls Obama a ‘fraud’* CAIRO – A -Qaeda’s deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, yesterday seized upon President Barack Obama’s failure to bring about a freeze in Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and called him a ‘fraud’ in a new audio message.Polanski’s lawyers vow to fight US extraditionZURICH – Roman Polanski’s lawyers vowed to fight his extradition to the United States on Monday after he was arrested in Switzerland over a 1977 childsex case in Los Angeles.