SANTIAGO - A group of 33 women locked themselves up 900 metres underground in a coal mine in the southern Chilean town of Lota to protest the end of a social programme.

SHIMLA - The Himachal Pradesh High Court Tuesday issued notice to the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamsala, the Government of India and the state government regarding permission granted to Tibetan refugees for purchase of land in the state.

BHUBANESWAR - The Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Group suffered another setback Tuesday with the Orissa High Court quashing the process of land acquisition for its proposed university in Puri. The judgment prompted opposition parties to demand Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's resignation.

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has presented the first Global Fairness Initiative Award to Ela Bhatt, founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) that has helped over a million women in India to move forward.

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Tuesday took exception to the 15-month "silence" of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on former MP Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking sanction to initiate proceedings against then telecom minister A. Raja over the 2G spectrum row.