Manila - The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said Tuesday it has received a donation of 500,000 dollars worth of materials that would boost research for cheaper and high-yielding rice varieties.

The Philippines-based institute said the donation pack from 5 PRIME, a Germany-based biotechnology company, includes technologies and reagents for DNA isolation, amplification and molecular analysis.

Peshawar, Aug 29: Three fighter aircraft were used to kill more than 20 insurgents, including two commanders.

“Three fighter aircraft took part in the operation and heavily bombed the positions of combatants in their stronghold Peuchar, where Maulana Fazlullah is believed to be hiding and destroyed their hideouts and munitions dumps,” The News quoted Mingora-based ISPR spokesman, Maj Nasir Ali, as saying.

Two leading commanders, who were killed, were identified as Qari Shehinshah and Mufti Saeedur Rehman.

Meanwhile, the Taliban sources conceded only the killing of Mufti Saeedur Rehman.

Hangzhou (China), Aug. 30: A British architect has completed the Liangzhu Culture Museum in east China's Zhejiang Province and it will open to the public from October 1.

The museum will contain relics of ancient villages, nobles' tombs with exquisite jade burial artifacts, imperial graveyards, sacrificial altars and large-scale mountain structures in Liangzhu Town marks essential evidence of China's 5,000 years of history," China News quoted Zhang Zhongpei, the ex-curator of the Forbidden City Museum in Beijing, as saying.

Dhaka, Aug 30: The ninth Home Secretary level talks between India and Bangladesh will begin here today.

The Indian delegation will be headed by the Union Home Secretary, Madhukar Gupta and the Bangladesh delegation by their Secretary, Ministry of Home Affair, Mohammad Abdul Karim.

The meeting is expected to discuss various security related issues, border management issues as well as ways of enhancing cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of both sides.

Manila - The Asian Development Bank said Friday that it returned to the US dollar bond market with a 1.25-billion-dollar five-year global benchmark bond issue.

The Manila-based bank said the proceeds of the issue would be used to finance its non-concessional operations.

It added that it plans to raise about 9 billion dollars in 2008.

Thursday's issue was lead-managed by BNP Paribas, JP Morgan and Nomura. The bonds are to mature on September 5, 2013, and were priced at 99.552 per cent to yield 67.25 basis points over the 3.375 per cent US Treasury note.

"We are very satisfied with the transaction and the robust demand from investors, which resulted in an oversubscribed book," bank treasurer Mikio Kashiwagi said.

New Delhi, Aug 29: Nepal's Foreign Affairs Upendra Yadav has said that India has offered to help his country in tackling floods.

Yadav, the chief of the debutant Terai party, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, discussed issues of mutual importance to both countries with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday and was happy to receive help from India.

"We talked about solving the problem of floods and related problems faced by Nepal. Pranab Mukherjee said the Indian Government will help us in that," Yadav said.