COPIAPO, Chile: Chilean miners who survived 18 days after a cave-in received hydration gel and medication through a narrow drill hole on Monday, but officials said it could be months before the men are freed.In what relatives called a miracle, the miners on Sunday tied a note to a

SUKKUR, Pakistan: Pakistan braced for more flooding in the south as officials began talks in Washington on Monday with the International Monetary Fund on how to shore up the battered economy to maintain stability.The IMF said it would review Pakistan`s budget and economic prospects due to

MONTREAL: Organizers delayed until later Monday a high-tech expedition that aims to create a detailed map of the wreckage of the Titanic, nearly a hundred years after the fabled ship sank in the Atlantic.Postponed by one day, the mission is now readying to leave at 2230 GMT Monday "after

MIRANSHAH: A US drone strike on Monday killed 12 people including five militants in Pakistan`s northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border, security officials said.The strike hit the Dandey Darpa Khel area, about five kilometres (three miles) from Miranshah, the main town in North

WASHINGTON: The United States said Monday it is "mindful" of the Palestinian call for Israel to halt settlements, but stopped short of saying it will back such a demand at new peace talks here next month.In the West Bank town of Ramallah, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat warned

WASHINGTON: Vice President Joe Biden on Monday insisted the US-led war effort in Afghanistan showed promise and that it was too soon to judge it a failure.Biden, speaking to military veterans, also said a July 2011 deadline for the start of a troop withdrawal would not signal a US

MANILA : Philippine security forces stormed a bus packed with Hong Kong tourists on Monday to end a dramatic hostage crisis that unfolded live on global television, leaving eight people and the gunman dead.The day-long ordeal began when a disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an M-16

SRINAGAR: Suspected militants have shot dead three people in Indian-administered Kashmir, including a mother and her teenage daughter, a police statement said Monday.It said four masked militants barged into a house in southern Kulgam district late Sunday evening and shot dead a 40-year

SUKKUR: At least 20 people were killed Monday when a bus overturned in strong water currents in flood-hit Pakistan, officials said.The accident took place near Khad Buzdar village in the centre of the country. The bus, which had 50 people on board, was bound for the northwestern city of

KATHMANDU: Nepal`s parliament was due to hold its fifth vote Monday to try to elect a new prime minister for the troubled nation amid little hope of an end to the long leadership vacuum.Nepal has been without a government since June, when former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal stood

DUSHANBE: Twenty-five Islamic militants serving long jail terms have escaped from a prison in the Central Asian state of Tajikistan that borders Afghanistan, killing five guards, authorities said on Monday.The inmates broke free late Sunday from a detention centre of Tajikistan`s State

KABUL: Two NATO soldiers, one of them American, were killed in attacks on Monday in volatile regions of Afghanistan, the alliance said, a day after four US troops died in violence.NATO`s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement that two of its soldiers had died

MANILA: An ex-policeman armed with a high-powered assault rifle took hostage a tourist bus carrying adults and children including 22 South Koreans in the Philippine capital on Monday, police said.The circumstances or the motive behind the hostage-taking remained unclear, but negotiations

KABUL: With the withdrawal of the final American combat brigade from Iraq, US commanders in Afghanistan are hoping to emulate a strategy used there as they step up the war against insurgents.The number of US and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan is set to peak at 150,000 in coming weeks

STOCKHOLM: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said in an interview published Sunday he believed the Pentagon could be behind a rape allegation against him that was swiftly dropped by Swedish authorities.His comments came as prosecutors justified their treatment of the 39-year-old

PARIS: The Solar System could be nearly two million years older than thought, according to a study published on Sunday by the journal Nature Geoscience.The evidence comes from a 1.49-kilo (3.2-pound) meteorite, found in the Moroccan desert in 2004, that contains a "relict" mineral, which

ADEN: Seven Al-Qaeda members were killed in clashes on Sunday with the Yemeni army in the south of the country after an ultimatum for the militants to surrender expired, the defence ministry said."Seven members of Al-Qaeda were killed during clashes with the security forces," in the city

WASHINGTON: The top US commander in Iraq admitted Sunday that a "complete failure" of Iraqi security forces could oblige the United States to resume combat operations there, but he called this an unlikely scenario.The last US combat brigade withdrew from Iraq on Thursday. On August 31

WASHINGTON: Afghanistan`s President Hamid Karzai said Sunday there are no formal peace talks between his government and the Taliban, although he admitted to "individual contacts" with the hardline Islamic group."Of course, there are individual contacts with some Taliban elements -- that`s

DUBAI: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ruled out an Israeli or US attack against the Islamic republic, in an interview broadcast on Sunday by the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television channel."I reject the possibility of an attack by Israel. Israel is too weak to face up to