Srinagar, Kashmir - One person was killed and three injured as an Indian paramilitary force fired on protestors Thursday in the heart of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state, officials and witnesses said.

The gunfire broke a brief early morning calm after a night that saw thousands of people defying a curfew and rallying after local television reports said security forces had stormed houses and beat up residents, including women.

At least 23 people - all Muslims - have been killed in the region over the past three days and more than 400 injured as security forces attempted to break up demonstrations over a land row that took an anti-Indian turn.

Wagah Aug. 14 : Border guards of India and Pakistan today exchanged sweets and congratulated each other on the occasion of 61st anniversary of Pakistan’s Independence Day.

"We accept your greeting and with the grace of god will wish you on your Independence Day tomorrow," said Brigadier Qasir Khan Tareen, Deputy Director-General, Pakistan Rangers. 

Pakistanis in India also celebrated the 61st anniversary of their independence from the British colonial rule on Thursday.

New Delhi - At least seven children drowned and 19 others were missing Thursday after their school bus fell into a river in Mangalore, a coastal district of the southern Indian state Karnataka, news reports said.

More than 30 people, most of them children, were in the bus when it plunged into the Phalguni river about 270 kilometres west of the state capital Bangalore after the driver lost control, PTI and IANS news agencies reported.

Fourteen people had been rescued and admitted to hospitals in Mangalore town, the police said.

Mumbai, Aug 14 : Niketa Mehta, who had sought to abort her 25-week-old-foetus, which had a congenital heart problem, has suffered a miscarriage, her husband said.

Niketa was rushed to a hospital in suburban Mumbai after complaining of severe pain on Tuesday night, her husband Haresh Mehta confirmed.

He blamed the constant media pressure for his wife''s high blood pressure and increased stress level, and claimed that this had resulted in the miscarriage.

It may be recalled that the Bombay High Court had rejected Mehta’s plea to get her unborn baby aborted after medical reports stated that her child would be born with malpositioned arteries and would require a pacemaker soon after birth.

Hanoi - India's Tata Steel Ltd has inked a deal with two Vietnamese state corporations to build a 5-billion-dollar joint-venture steel complex in the communist country, an official said Thursday.

The new project is the fifth major steel plant in development in Vietnam, where steel consumption and imports have risen rapidly with its economic growth.

Tata Steel signed the agreement with Vietnam Steel Corp and Vietnam Cement Industries Corp in Hanoi Wednesday, said Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association.

New Delhi, Aug 14 : Following the financial crisis due to the rising fuel prices, the Cabinet Secretary will chair a maiden high-level committee meeting today to look into the problems faced by aviation industry.

Constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 9, the panel will recommend measures for sustained growth and healthy development of the industry.

Indian air carriers have jointly suffered an estimated loss of Rs 4000 crore last year, which is expected to double in this fiscal.

Some of the panel members are: Secretaries of the Ministries of Finance, Civil Aviation, Revenue, Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Planning Commission, IDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh and IIM Ahmedabad Professor, Dr Raghuram.