London [England], Oct.2 : Manchester United's Wayne Rooney will continue to remain captain despite losing his place in the first team at Old Trafford, manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed.

The England international was dropped from the starting XI during the side's 4-1 win over reigning Premier League champions Leicester City while he also started from the bench in the Europa League game against Zorya Luhansk.

In spite of that, Mourinho backed Rooney to continue to motivate the rest of the players in the team, while adding that the 30-year-old does not have to worry about potentially losing his role at United.

London [England], Sept 28 : Andre Schurrle came off the bench to score a late equaliser as Borussia Dortmund snatched a 2-2 draw against defending champions Real Madrid in a pulsating Champions League Group F match at the Signal Iduna Park, Germany.

The Germany international scored the crucial goal in the 87th minute after defender Raphael Varane restored Real's advantage in the 68th, the Guardian reported.

The engaging first half saw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cancel out Cristiano Ronaldo's 17th-minute opener two minutes before half time.

Dortmund and Real each have four points from two matches, with the Germans ahead on goal difference in Group F. (ANI)

Dubai [UAE], Sept.21 : International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Shashank Manohar has congratulated the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the country's 500th Test match, which will be the first of the three-match series against New Zealand to be played in Kanpur from Thursday.

"This is a huge milestone in the history of Indian cricket. India has been a very important member of the ICC with its rich heritage and great following for the game," Manohar said.

"India has produced world-class players who have entertained fans the world over. I congratulate the BCCI on this historic occasion and I'd like to thank the BCCI for their kind invitation to share in the celebration. The ICC wish its team all the best for this 500th Test and in the years to come," he added.

Wellington [New Zealand], Sept. 19 : New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson has been recalled to the ODI squad as a specialist batsman for the five-match series against India, starting in Dharamsala on October 16.

Anderson played his last international game during the World T20 in India before a back injury ruled him out of the tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Reflecting on his recall, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) selector Gavin Larsen said that Anderson had done a lot of hard work to make a return to the national squad, adding that his presence would surely strengthen the middle-order.

Madrid [Spain], Sept. 19 : Real Madrid produced yet another imperious performance by equalling a La Liga record set by rivals Barcelona with a scrappy 2-0 win over Espanyol here at RCDE Stadium on Monday.

It was the 16th straight league victory for Madrid, going back to last season, thus matching Pep Guardiola's Barcelona record in 2010-11 season.

Midfielder James Rodriguez, who was linked with a move away from Zinedine Zidane's side, smashed his maiden goal for Madrid in five months by converting a penalty kick in the first-half injury time.

It was in the 71st minute of the match when Karim Benzema sealed second goal for Madrid with a close-range finish.

New Delhi,[India] Sept.17 : In a major setback to New Zealand, bowling mainstay Tim Southee has been ruled of the upcoming three-Test series against India with an ankle injury.

The 27-year-old suffered a ligament strain in his left ankle and felt pain in his left foot during a training session, and will head back to New Zealand in order to be fit for the five-match ODI series beginning on October 16 in Dharamsala.

"Tim has been working hard in preparation for this tour, so he's understandably very disappointed to be ruled out of all three Tests," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "The focus now is for Tim to give his ankle 7-10 days rest, before slowly building his bowling loads back up ahead of the ODI series."

New Delhi [India], Sept. 17 - In what will be a historic occasion for Indian cricket, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to invite all former captains to celebrate the country's '500th Test match' to be played against New Zealand in Kanpur from September 22.

To make the occasion more memorable, a specially minted silver coin with 500th Test embossed on it is also being prepared for the toss.

Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) president Rajeev Shukla said, "The BCCI wants to felicitate all the former captains during the Test match. Green Park is one of the first four Test venues in India along with Chepauk, Wankhede and Eden Gardens. The BCCI is making all necessary arrangements for the same."

Astronomers have found the largest known solar system at a distance of one trillion kilometers. A report released from the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society has disclosed that a planet known as 2MASS J2126-8140, which is 12 to 15 times heavier as compared to the mass of Jupiter, is present in another solar system. It is three times bigger than the last star-planet pair discovered.

The gigantic planet completes its orbit around its star in nearly a million years. It is 140 times wider in comparison to Pluto's course around the sun.

While looking for Santa’s sleigh on Christmas, you must have noticed a dazzling full moon brightening the night sky. The rare event that occurred Friday night was first full moon on Christmas in last 38 years.

Although it was a rare lunar spectacle that is not going to occur until 2034, a major portion of the US could not witness it due to unexpected clouds. In these areas, the full moon was enveloped by clouds, but there were some locations in the country where clear skies allowed people see moon turning into a spectacular Christmas treat.

An international project, the Dark Energy Survey, was started in order to find out dark matter present across the universe. The project has come up with its first set of results in the form of an interesting map.

The map shows the concentrations of the dark matter present across the cosmos. The invisible web of dark matter can only be seen through its gravitational influence on visible stars and galaxies. The map has been presented at a conference of the American Physical Society.

Underlining part of the first map is that it has shown areas of dark matter densities in extraordinary detail. The map has also shown visible sky, whose percentage was just 0.4.

It has been reported that NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will for the first time host the International Space Apps Challenge, a global, mass collaboration that gathers volunteer participants to work on specific NASA challenges.

Sean Gallagher, Glenn's chief information officer, said in a press release that teams of tech-savvy citizens in Northeast Ohio are willing to present their innovative ideas on how NASA can be able to solve specific mission challenges.

NASA's Glenn Research Center has joined hands with OHTec, formerly NEOSA, in order to host the Space Apps Challenge.

The event will take place on April 10-12 in Glenn's new Mission Integration Center in Brook Park.

On Sunday, the Albany State Lady Rams won the SIAC Tournament title by beating Benedict 72-64. The Lady Rams showed no tiredness and end the first half with a 36-32 lead.

According to Head coach Robert Skinner, it is great honor to represent the SIAC and the city of Albany. Skinner said that the majority of their players were in bed by 9 o’clock. They all know that they had to get an early morning start, so they all woke up early and had breakfast according to their routine.

The selection committee is going to meet and will make an announcement about the official NCAA Division II tournament matchups. According to Skinner, this year they’re well prepared for the challenges playing on a grand stage.

The ninth annual Albany Marathon, divided into a full 26.2-mile marathon and a 13-mile half-marathon, drew 1,509 runners from around 40 different states and five different countries, on a brisk Saturday morning.

Christopher Zablocki of Essex, Conn., stood as the full marathon overall winner and faced no trouble taking the top slot among the 730 marathoners as he reached the finish line in a brisk 2 hours, 18 minutes and 57 seconds.

After crossing the finish line, Zablocki, 26, said that two years ago he came second in the same marathon but he wanted to come first so he came again. Zablocki, the marathon winner, is a student of medicine at St. Martin in the Netherland Antilles, located some 150 miles east of Puerto Rico.

The Federal government is coming up with a new project, Canada's National Conservation Plan. Under this project, the government will spend $6.4 million over five years.

With this project, the government aims to 'restore ecological integrity and connect Canadians with nature'. As part of the project, a small herd of plains bison will be reintroduced in Banff National Park.

Bison are missing from the park since the park's establishment. Plain bison is an important species, as it once played an important role in the park's monotone ecosystem. Under the project, Parks Canada will invite First Nations to share their knowledge about the animals and to take part in stewardship, management and celebrations.

Wellington, Mar 01 - Sri Lanka have almost ensured their place in the quarterfinals of the Cricket World Cup 2015 after they defeated England by nine wickets on Sunday at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

Opting to bat first, England got off to a sluggish start with their opener Muhammad Ali scoring just 15 runs before returning to the stands as Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews claimed his wicket.

Ali's opening partner Ian Bell fell one run short of his half-century as he fell prey to Suranga Lakmal's express delivery.

Gary Ballance also failed to impress with the bat as he was caught and bold for just six runs by Tillakaratne Dilshan.

London, Mar 01 : England captain Wayne Rooney scored twice to help Manchester United beat Sunderland 2-0 and reclaim the third spot in the Premier League table on Saturday at Old Trafford.

Following a goalless first-half, Rooney put United ahead in the 66th minute after a foul on teammate Radamel Falcao, for which Wes Brown was send off instead of John O'Shea, the BBC reported.

Referee Roger East 's decision to red-card Brown elicited protests from the visitors and subsequently, Rooney added a second goal through a header after Adnan Januzaj's shot deflected into his path.

London, Feb 28 : Manchester United football team manager Louis van Gaal believes that the club has not challenged for the Premier League title because they are short of a 20-goal-a-season striker.

United's top Premier League scorer this season is Robin van Persie with 10, while in contrast, Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero have scored 17 each for Chelsea and Manchester City respectively.

Van Gaal said that it is true, adding that Van Persie cannot deny it, Radamel Falcao cannot deny it and Wayne Rooney is not playing there much anymore, the BBC reported.

The Dutchman has come under criticised for playing striker Rooney in a deeper position, while Falcao has had limited opportunities, with Van Gaal questioning the Colombian's fitness.

Sydney, Feb 27 : Swashbuckling skipper AB de Villiers struck the fastest ever 150 runs in ODI history off 64 balls as he anchored South Africa to record a 257-run victory over the West Indies in their World Cup Pool B tie in Sydney.

Opting to bat first, South Africa piled up an imposing target of 408, thanks to De Villiers' unbeaten 162-run knock and constructive knocks from Hashim Amla (65), Faf du Plessis (62) and Rilee Rossouw (61).

In the process, De Villiers, who has been named as the Man-of-the-Match, also hit the second fastest World Cup ton off just 52 deliveries.

South Africa suffered an early blow in the form of Quinton de Kock after he was dismissed for 12 runs off a Jason Holder's delivery.

Sydney, Feb 26 : Sri Lanka recorded an impressive 92-run win against minnows Bangladesh in their World Cup tie at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, thanks to Tillakaratne Dilshan's unbeaten 161-run knock and Lasith Malinga 's exploits with the ball.

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka posted a mammoth 332-1 in their allotted 50 overs, courtesy of a half-century by opener Lahiru Thirimanne and Dilshan and former skipper Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten tons.

Dilshan fired away 161 runs off 146 delivers, as he ripped open Bangladesh's bowling line-up. His knock included 22 fours.

Wicketkeeper batsman Sangakkara also impressed with the bat and remained unbeaten on 105 runs, which came of 76 balls and included 13 fours and one six.

Sydney, Feb 24 - West Indies swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle has become the first cricketer ever to score a double-ton in a World Cup after smacking a staggering 215 runs in their group stage tie against Zimbabwe at Canberra on Tuesday.

The left-hander's blistering double-ton featured 16 sixes and thereby has equaled the record of hitting maximum sixes in an ODI innings with AB de Villiers and Rohit Sharma.

The match also witnessed Gayle and Marlon Samuels (133) registering a record partnership for any wicket as they piled up a massive 372-run partnership for the second wicket.

Chasing a revised target of 363, Zimbabwe are currently at 40/2 in the eighth over. (ANI)