Sydney - A second Australian soldier has been killed this week fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, the Defence Force announced Thursday.

The soldier was trying to defuse a roadside bomb when it exploded.

"We are devastated another soldier has been killed so soon after the death of Corporal Mathew Hopkins," Defence Force chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said.

Hopkins was killed on Monday in an exchange of fire with the Taliban.

Cairo - The Egyptian ambassador to Israel has no plans to boycott celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, a spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Thursday, contradicting Israeli press reports.

"We don't have any information suggesting that the ambassador to Israel will boycott the celebrations. Why should he?" Hossam Zaki, a spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in Cairo, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Thursday.

Allahabad, Mar 19 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi on Thursday moved the Allahabad High Court challenging the criminal case lodged against him on the directives of the Election Commission for his alleged anti-Muslims remarks.

He claimed that the whole issue was created by his political rivals and was the result of a political conspiracy.

“It was a part of a political conspiracy to spoil my political career and tarnish my secular image,” Gandhi said.

Trondheim, Norway - Michael Greis enjoyed his second win of the biathlon World Cup season and the 11th of his career Thursday when the German claimed victory in a men's 10-kilometre sprint in Trondheim.

The three-time Olympic champion produced perfect shooting in the range to win in a time of 26 minutes 11.3 seconds.

Amritsar March 19, : The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC), on Thursday issued 541 Nanak Shahi Calendar despite objections raised by many Sikh organisations.

Avtar Singh Makkar, the President SGPC and Jathedar Akal Takhat Gurbachan Singh unwrapped the Sikh Calendar and the “Jantri” (Calendar with Sikh festivals and other religious important dates) at the information office of SGPC.

The calendar depicts the picture of smashed building of Akal Takht in 1984 during the “Operation Blue Star”.

Beijing - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday urged North Korea and other involved nations to resume the stalled dialogue aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme, state media said.

"How to overcome the current difficulties and realize the early resumption of the six-party talks is a subject that all parties are facing together," the semi-official China News Service quoted Hu as telling North Korean Premier Kim Yong Il.

"China is willing to make joint efforts with North Korea and other parties to push forward the six-party talks," Hu said.