Washington - The United States on Friday condemned violence against Christians in India that has escalated in recent weeks, leaving about 20 dead and thousands homeless.

"We urge all parties to refrain from violence and urge government officials to protect religious freedom throughout India and thus preserve India's longstanding tradition of religious tolerance," Thomas Hanford, ambassador at large for international religious freedom, said in Washington at the annual release of the State Department's International Religious Freedom Report.

New Delhi, Sep 19 : India and China today failed to reach any specific agreements on their disputed boundary issue in the latest round of negotiations, but decided to pursue their goal for a fair and reasonable solution acceptable to both sides.

“Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo and Indian National Security Adviser M K Narayanan headed their delegations for the talks, which were pragmatic, candid and friendly,” a statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said here.

Beijing - China and India on Friday ended their latest two-day round of talks on border disputes with an agreement to continue dialogue but no sign of progress.

"Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo and Indian National Security Adviser MK Narayanan headed their delegations for the talks, which were pragmatic, candid and friendly," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement released through the government-run Xinhua news agency.

The talks were the 12th round since China and India appointed special representatives in 2003 to explore solutions to their long-standing border disputes.

The ministry statement said the two sides "exchanged in-depth views on a framework to solve the issue," the agency said.

Melbourne, Sep 19 : Australia’s relationship with China could be affected by the US election results and the Australian influence is limited to reacting to US actions, a former American diplomat has said.

Former Clinton government official Derek Shearer said Republican candidate John McCain would be more forceful with China, while a Barack Obama Democrat Administration is likely to be less confrontational.

Now visiting Australia on a US state department tour, the former US Ambassador to Finland, said he expected tough foreign diplomacy from Senator McCain.

New Delhi, Sep 19: Liquid milk sold by three leading Chinese companies is contaminated with melamine, leading to four infant deaths caused by the chemical.

The fourth death was reported from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Thursday. Two kids in Gansu and one in Zhejiang had fallen victim to contaminated milk earlier.

A total of 6,244 infants who were fed contaminated milk food produced by Sanlu Group have been diagnosed with various urinary tract problems, including kidney stones.

Police in Shijiazhuang, where Sanlu is based, said 12 people were arrested yesterday for their alleged involvement in the milk food scandal, taking the total number of arrests to 18, the China Daily reported.

Beijing - China's main stock market jumped by 9 per cent on Friday, following the announcement of government measures to bolster share prices and earlier gains on Wall Street.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in local and foreign currencies, shot up by 9.46 per cent, or 179.25 points, to end the day at 2,075.09.

The Shanghai index gained 9 per cent immediately after opening, while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index had also soared by 9 per cent at the close of trading on Friday.