Seoul - Hanwha Group was chosen by South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) as the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the KDB announced on Friday.

"Hanwha was found to best fit our criteria of selection, including bid price, management ability and fund-raising plan," Chung In-Sung, deputy governor of the KDB, said at a press conference.

Hanwha, a conglomerate with roots in explosive maker Hanwha Corp, won out rival bidder Hyundai Heavy in the bid for a 50.5 per cent stake of the world's third-largest shipbuilder.

London - British theoretical physicist Professor Stephen Hawking will retire from teaching next year, the University of Cambridge has announced.

Hawking, who suffers from a motor neurone disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that has left him almost paralysed and only able to communicate through a computer, will hand over the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics to a successor in the new academic year, a statement said early Friday.

Hawking, who reaches the Lucasian chair's retirement age of 67 in January, will continue his research at the university.

The Lucasian Chair of Mathematics is renowned and was occupied by Isaac Newton in the 17th century.

Hawking has held the chair for almost 30 years.

Melbourne, Oct 24 : It''s not just the youngsters who are hooked on to the Internet for their daily dose of erotica, as an Australian researcher has found that older adults are a step ahead when it comes to cybersex.

Sociologist Sue Malta, at Swinburne University''s Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, claims that her study provides evidence that older adults have a voracious appetite for the Internet and sex.

For her study, Malta conducted in-depth interviews with 45 older Australians and five older Americans about their romantic Internet relationships. The participants were aged from 60 to 92 years, and included those involved in online relationships as well as a smaller group that had first met face to face.

Bangalore, Oct 24 : Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair has said that India''s manned mission would take atleast another three years.

India''s space programme took a leap on Wednesday when the ISRO undertook a flawless lift off of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) carrying Chandrayaan-I, a cuboid spacecraft which includes a Moon Impactor Probe gadget.

India hopes to send an astronaut into space by 2012 and a manned mission to the moon by 2020.

The Indian Government has approved the launch of Chandrayaan-2, which is expected to take off between 2010 and 2012, and will include a rover that will land on the moon. 

Washington, Oct 24 : Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered the first gene behind one of the most common birth defects in human - clubfoot.

In a study on a multi-generation family with clubfoot, the researchers closed in on a gene called PITX1, which is critical for early development of lower limbs.

The finding is the first step toward improved genetic counselling and the development of novel therapies, say the researchers.

Seoul - South Korea's benchmark Kospi index on Friday lost 10.57 per cent, dropping below the 1,000-point level, the lowest since May 2005, as foreign investors continued to sell stocks.

The Kospi fell 110.96 points, or 10.57 per cent to close at 938.75.

Kospi heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co dropped 5.2 per cent after quarterly profit reports were down to the lowest in three years.

On the currency markets, the won fell to 1,422 against the dollar, down from Thursday's close of 1.408, the lowest finish since June 17,
1998.