Militants killed four soldiers Friday in an ambush outside Srinagar, the main city of Indian Kashmir, sparking a gun battle in which one rebel also died, local officials said.

The soldiers were searching for militants during a patrol when they were ambushed in the village of Hardu Buchoo, 30 kilometers (19 miles) southeast of Srinagar near the forested area of Tral, an army spokesman said.

Spain's oldest flamenco festival will visit India in 2014, retracing the origins of the classic Spanish musical form, organizers said Wednesday.

The Cante de las Minas festival plans its first overseas event in March in Jodhpur, in Rajasthan state -- considered the home of the migrant gypsies from whom southern Spain's flamenco culture sprang.

India said Wednesday it will do all within its means to promote stability in Afghanistan after visiting President Hamid Karzai said he had given a military "wishlist" to the Indian government.

"We have a wishlist that we have put before the government of India," Karzai told reporters in New Delhi, adding it was up to the Indian leadership to decide how much help it was willing to extend to Kabul.

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged on Tuesday to open up domestic markets to Indian businesses and narrow a gaping trade deficit between the two countries.

"As for Indian concerns over the trade deficit, the Chinese side is willing to provide facilitations for more Indian products to access the Chinese market," Li said during a speech to Indian business leaders in New Delhi.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek greater Indian military aid from India during a visit this week to New Delhi, officials of both countries said Monday.

India has provided billions of dollars of aid to Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, and is keen to ensure that no radical Islamist regime takes power in Kabul after international troops pull out in 2014.

India's Just Dial search engine launched Monday an initial public offer to raise up to $174 million, marking the biggest share offering so far in 2013 and one of the largest by an Indian Internet firm.

The Mumbai-based local business search firm, which began operations in the mid-1990s as a telephone-based directory and moved later to the Internet, is offloading one-quarter of its equity in the initial public offer (IPO).

The Indian and Chinese premiers pledged on Monday to finally resolve a border dispute that has soured ties for decades, saying good relations between the two Asian giants were key to world peace.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, making his first foreign visit since taking office, said that Beijing was determined to build up trust with New Delhi as he and a team of ministers signed a series of joint agreements with India.

Indian police reported Monday that eight villagers, including three children, died in crossfire between security forces and Maoist rebels, but opposition politicians said the victims were "massacred".

A policeman also died in the incident on Saturday in the Edasmeta area of Bijapur district, 550 kilometers (341 miles) south of capital Raipur, the chief of anti-Maoist operations in central Chhattisgarh state said.

India says all issues will be "on the table", including a recent border spat and a festering trade imbalance, during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to the South Asian giant which starts on Sunday.

At the same time New Delhi thinks "very highly" of Li's decision to make India his first overseas stop since taking charge as premier, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said on Saturday.

India faces at least "a one-in-three" chance of losing its prized sovereign grade rating, global ratings agency Standard and Poor's has warned, in another blow to the scandal-tainted Congress government.

The announcement late Friday comes after finance ministry officials have been arguing for a ratings upgrade, saying the government has been taking strong steps to curb India's financial deficit and promote investment.