SYDNEY (AFP) - Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and China's state-owned Chinalco have signed a non-binding agreement to jointly develop Guinea's massive Simandou iron ore project, Rio said on Friday.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli aircraft hit three targets in the Gaza Strip early Friday but there were no reports of injuries, Palestinian security officials and eyewitnesses said.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday called US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton amid a dispute over Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem, her spokesman said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon on Thursday said it might extend a deadline for bids for a new aerial refueling tanker after Airbus parent EADS signalled it could return to the competition.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The World Bank on Thursday said it was providing India with 1.05 billion dollars to improve education, the development lender's largest investment in education to date.