18 killed in accident

New Delhi: A passenger train crashed into an auto-rickshaw at an unmanned railway crossing in southern India on Tuesday, killing all 18 people in the rickshaw. The auto-rickshaw passengers were on their way to a village near Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. — AP

Beckett to visit India

NEW DELHI: British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett is to visit India on Thursday to continue talks on joint anti-terrorism measures, officials said on Tuesday. Beckett will meet her Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee and PM Manmohan Singh before flying to the cities of Mumbai and Bangalore during a week-long trip, foreign ministry officials said. The focus of her visit will be a follow-up of talks earlier this month between Singh and British PM Tony Blair in London to enhance cooperation between the two countries in counter-terrorism steps. — AFP

20 coal miners killed

BEIJING: Rescuers estimate about 20 miners were killed in a coal mine gas explosion in northwest China’s Gansu province, state media reported on Tuesday, in the latest mining disaster to hit the country. Xinhua news agency quoted Jingyuan Coal Industry Corp general manager Wang Jun as saying 71 miners were working underground and 36 had escaped. — AP

Commander killed

SRINAGAR: An Indian army soldier shot and killed his company commander in Kashmir on Tuesday, the army said. The soldier fired three bullets at Lt Col Sakat Saxena inside the Harwan camp in Srinagar. — AP

Five killed in Lanka

Colombo: At least five people were reported killed and six injured in separate clashes between Tamil rebels and government troops in north and east Sri Lanka on Tuesday. — AFP