Kabul - In the most recent clashes in volatile southern Afghanistan at least 36 Taliban militants were killed, officials said Wednesday.

A group of Taliban militants attacked a convoy of Afghan and US-led coalition forces in Faizabad area of Nawbahar in southern Zabul province on Tuesday, sparking a three-hour gun battle in the area, Ghulom Jailani Farahi, provincial security chief, said.

The combined forces called in air support and as a result 21 Taliban militants were killed, he said, adding that no Afghan or coalition soldiers were killed or wounded in the firefight.

Peshawar, Sept 3: The Pakistan unit of the Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) claimed to have kidnapped two Chinese telecommunications engineers and two Pakistanis, as a mark of protest against federal government’s attacks on militants.

They said that such abductions would continue until the government stopped attacking militants.

Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said the two Chinese engineers, their guard and driver were in the custody of his colleagues. He said the four were in good health. “Our aim is to hit the government’s interests wherever they are. We kidnap everyone irrespective of whether he’s Pakistani or Chinese and we’ll continue to do this until they stop killing our people,” the Daily Times quoted Khan as saying.

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.