clung to

the hope that the men may have reached one of the safety shelters

equipped with

food, oxygen and water, but their wait is far from over. Experts say it could take months to dig a tunnel big enough to rescue the men.

A survey published in a Venezuelan newspaper suggests kidnappings in the country rose to unprecedented levels last year. The figures

compile

d by the National Institute for Statistics show almost 1,700 people were kidnapped between July 2008 and July 2009.

Most of them were so-called “express kidnappings”, where the victim was released after less than a day once a ransom had been paid.

American researchers funded by the defence budget say they’ve made significant progress in devising a drug to treat the deadly virus Ebola, which is seen as a potential biological weapon.

Publishing their findings in the journal Nature Medicine, they say a new treatment, which was given to rhesus monkeys within an hour of being infected with Ebola, proved to be 60% effective. This report from Peter Nettleship.

Scientists never like to use the word “breakthrough”, but these American researchers do believe their approach is a significant step forward in finding ways to treat Ebola, a

spectacularly

unpleasant virus which has no current possible treatment and a 90% death rate. Their idea to target specific viral genes has had good results in mice, guinea pigs and monkeys, if administered quickly enough. The scientists have now been given permission for the first limited trials on humans.