The European Space Agency (ESA) said it signed a deal on Thursday with its Russian counterpart to launch two unmanned missions to Mars, a quest that was rocked by a US pullout last year.

Google said it was tossing its Reader service and seven other products under a house cleaning campaign that has closed 70 of the Internet giant's features in the past two years.

The indie music portion of the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival shifted into gear Wednesday with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds setting the tone for five days of cutting edge sounds.

Britain's Labour Party suspended Pakistan-born Muslim peer Nazir Ahmed on Thursday over reports that he blamed a Jewish conspiracy for his imprisonment over a fatal car crash, a spokesman said.

Britain's Labour Party suspended Pakistan-born Muslim peer Nazir Ahmed on Thursday over reports that he blamed a Jewish conspiracy for his imprisonment over a fatal car crash, a spokesman said.

Bangladesh announced plans Thursday to monitor social media networks such as Facebook in a bid to identify bloggers who have been accused of insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.

Chinese-made missiles have been used to shoot down two Syrian army helicopters, state media reported Thursday, adding their performance could boost the international sales appeal of Chinese weapons.

Beijing on Thursday repeated its offer of international talks on hacking, including with the United States, after President Barack Obama stepped up Washington's rhetoric on the issue.

China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile operator by subscribers, on Thursday said its 2012 net profit slowed to 2.7 percent, blaming intensified competition in the country.

Locked in a fierce battle in the smartphone market, South Korean giant Samsung unveils its latest device aimed at challenging Apple in its home market.

Guatemala made claims to 13 archeological pieces set to go under the hammer at a Sotheby's auction house sale in Paris next week.

Google said it was tossing its Reader service and seven other products under a house cleaning campaign that has closed 70 of the Internet giant's features in the past two years.

President Barack Obama entered the fray Wednesday on cyber attacks from China, saying some intrusions affecting US firms and infrastructure were "state sponsored."

With the ringing of a ceremonial bell in space to mark a crew change, astronaut Chris Hadfield became the first Canadian to assume command of the International Space Station on Wednesday.

Google said Wednesday that it has bought a Canadian startup specializing in getting machines to understand what people are trying to say.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new record closing for the seventh straight day Wednesday as US stocks registered small gains.

Facebook on Wednesday began rolling out new profile pages redesigned to clear away clutter from "Timelines" that chronicle member postings at the leading social network.

What is thought to be the world's largest ground-based observatory opened Wednesday in northern Chile, wielding unprecedented power to peer into the remotest regions of the universe.

Amazon.com on Wednesday ramped up its challenge to Apple's iPads by trimming the price of its large-screen Kindle Fire and making the tablets available in Japan and Europe.

Fossilised forms of a phallus-shaped invertebrate have shed light on a dramatic spurt in Earth's biodiversity that occurred half a billion years ago, Canadian scientists reported on Wednesday.