Islamabad  - Pakistani security forces said on Friday they had killed 16 pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan's restive North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) that borders Afghanistan, officials said.

The fighting erupted when the government forces stopped a suspected vehicle carrying militants at Sour bridge checkpoint in Hangu district, some 90 kilometers south of NWFP capital Peshawar.

"One individual got down from the vehicle and started moving towards the checkpost," the army claimed in statement.

He was cautioned to stop and on refusal was fired upon and then exploded. It is believed he was rigged with explosives.

Madrid - A Spanish fishing boat has rescued 49 African migrants from their sinking inner-tube craft in the sea area between Libya and Malta, the Spanish Foreign Ministry has reported on Friday.

Following the rescue Spanish authorities had ordered the migrants to be brought to Libya, from where they had likely begun their journey.

However, Libyan authorities at the port of Tripoli initially refused to let them enter, and were admitted only after a telephone call from Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos to his Libyan counterpart.

According to Spanish media reports, the migrants initially refused to leave the fishing boat upon arrival in Libya, and barricaded themselves inside the vessel.

Hong Kong - A 7-year-old girl has become the third child to die of a mystery illness in Hong Kong, government officials said Friday.

The girl, who was admitted to hospital on August 8 with encephalitis or brain inflammation, died Friday.

Two other girls, aged 9 and 3, died last week with myocarditis, inflammation of the heart, and blood poisoning.

A fourth child, a 3-year-old boy, is also in a critical condition with sepsis and encephalopathy - blood poisoning and brain abnormalities.

Health officials are already conducting an investigation into the cause of the illnesses, however it is not yet known whether one single virus or different viruses are responsible.

Washington, Aug 22 : At an estimated worth of 35 billion dollars, Thailand''s King Bhumibol Adulyadej has emerged as the world’s richest royal in the list prepared by the Forbes magazine. He took the top spot from the only other Asian monarch on the list, the Sultan of Brunei with a worth 20 billion dollars, one of the two rulers whose total worth depleted compared to last year.

London, August 22 : Over 1,000 Germans joined forces to make the world’s longest beach towel during a event in the country’s St Peter-Ording resort recently.

Islamabad, Aug 22: In order to offset oil prices shocks, the Saudi Government has reportedly decided to give Pakistan a 500 million-dollar grant instead of an oil import facility on one-year deferred payment, sources in Pakistan Petroleum Ministry said.

They said that the grant would help improve Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves position and reduce its fiscal deficit. The hike in POL prices in recent months has strained country’s resources severely, the Daily Times quoted them as saying.