China blast toll 83

BEIJING: Chinese rescuers on Wednesday recovered the bodies of the last two coal miners missing in a gas explosion in China’s far west, bringing the death toll from the accident to 83, the government said. Only four workers survived the blast, which tore through the Shenlong Coal Mine in the Xinjiang region early Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency said. — AP

Ultras killed in J&K

SRINAGAR: Soldiers on Wednesday killed two suspected Islamic militants in a gunbattle after the alleged guerrillas crossed the cease-fire line of Kashmir, a military spokesman said. Another suspected rebel was killed in a separate gunbattle in the same area, he said. — AP