Vostochny Cosmodrome (Russia), April 12 (IANS/RIA Novosti) President Vladimir Putin Friday proposed naming a future town near the Russian Vostochny space port after the father of the Soviet space programme, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. 'I think it will be right if, after consulting it with the local residents, we will call the future town Tsiolkovsky,' Putin said Friday, as Russia celebrated Cosmonautics Day marking the first manned space flight on that date in 1961 by Yury Gagarin

A man with no internet connection secretly hooked up his computer into an unsecured Wi-Fi signal from elsewhere in his apartment block.

Hurdal (Norway), Oct 19 (IANS) The Colombian government and the leftist guerilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have held a new round of peace talks here. The FARC has been waging an armed rebellion in Colombia for nearly five decades, the longest in South America, which has displaced over five million people. Four negotiators from each side participated in the talks Thursday

Sevastopol (Ukraine), Oct 12 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Ukrainan Navy has restarted special training for dolphins and other animals for military duties, including attacking enemy combat swimmers and detecting mines, a military source in the Ukrainian naval port of Sevastopol has revealed. 'Ten dolphins are now being trained for special tasks in the Ukrainian state oceanarium, and the Ukrainian military are regularly training the animals for detecting things on the seabed,' the source said.

Linz (Austria), Oct 11 (IANS/RIA Novosti) World No.1 Victoria Azarenka thrashed Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands in their first-round match in the Generali Ladies Linz tournament here. Rus, ranked 69 in the world, managed to take only two games from Azarenka as she was defeated 6-0, 6-2 Wednesday. The Belarusian will face Romania's World No.46 Simona Halep in the second round of the $220,000 tournament

Wroclaw (Poland), Oct 9 (IANS) Brazil international striker Neymar admitted his excitement at the prospect of playing alongside Real Madrid playmaker Kaka for the first time.

Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Oct 6 (IANS/EFE) A 21-year-old man arrested with 140 kg of explosives has admitted to Spain's national police that he planned to set off bombs at the University of the Balearic Islands, authorities said Friday. Juan Manuel Morales Sierra also spoke of his 'complete admiration' for the two teenagers who killed 13 people April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in the US state of Colorado. Morales is a 'very intelligent, introverted, frustrated person' who has 'problems with society and sympathy with Nazi symbols', police told the central government's delegate in the Balearic Islands, Teresa Palma.

Vladivostok, Sep 9 (IANS) Chinese President Hu Jintao met Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in this Russian city Sunday to discuss the development of strategic partnership between their two countries. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which convened in the Russian far-eastern city Saturday and Sunday, reported Xinhua. Hu said he and Harper reached consensus on a number of major issues at the G20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. The Chinese president appreciated Harper's efforts to promote the Canada-China friendly cooperation in various fields. Harper said Canada and China have further cemented their trade and economic relations as well as mutual investment after forging the strategic partnership. The two countries are make an assessment of the complementarity between their two economies, Harper said, adding that a bilateral agreement on foreign investment protection will be inked Sunday. Following the meeting, the two sides are expected to sign the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, Chinese diplomats said. China and Canada announced the conclusion of negotiations on the deal in February, when Harper visited China. The China-Canada relations have made steady progress since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1970. They decided to upgrade their relations to the strategic partnership during Hu's visit to Canada in September 2005. The two countries have enlarged cooperation in the fields of trade and economy, energy and resources, education, culture, and law enforcement in recent years.

Volokolamsk (Russia), Sep 3 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The Hexis Racing-prepared McLaren of Frederic Makowiecki and Stef Dusseldorp took victory in a wet championship race at the first-ever Russian round of the FIA GT1 championship. The French-German duo took the win at the Moscow Raceway Sunday ahead of the second Hexis McLaren of Gregoire Demoustier and Alvaro Parente, with third place for Audi's Oliver Jarvis and Frank Stippler. The AF Corse Ferrari of Francesco Castellacci and Enzo Ide was third across the line, but stewards relegated the car to sixth for an earlier shunt. In the first race of the day, which offers fewer points and determines the grid for the championship race, the Audi of Stephane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor took first, ahead of Markus Winkelhock and Marc Basseng's Mercedes, with Stippler and Jarvis third. --IANS/RIA Novosti abr/dg

London, Aug 29 (IANS) Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are planning a vacation in the Lake District in the North West of the country with their six children. The couple, who had recently spend some time in northern France, now plan to take their six children to Lake District, which is also close to the shooting location of Jolie's upcoming movie 'Maleficent'. 'Angelina has to remain close to the UK because of her filming schedule for 'Maleficent'. Originally, the film was supposed to be shooting close to the Lakes, but relocated to a more convenient spot close to Pinewood studios,' mirror.co.uk quoted a source as saying. 'They'd already booked a few days off though, and they didn't want the kids to miss out on their trip up to the Lakes, so they decided to go anyway. Brad has rented out an entire boathouse, and the couple have been looking up some local restaurants to dine at whilst there,' the source added. Jolie and Pitt have six children -- Maddox, 11, Pax, 8, Zahara, 7, Shiloh, 6, and 4-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.