Washington  - Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia violates Georgia's sovereignty, the top industrialized democracies said Wednesday.

"Russia's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia violates the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia," said the G7, which includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

The G7 called on Russia to pull its troops back into the disputed breakaway provinces, out of Georgian territory and adhere to an August 11 ceasefire agreement.

Washington  - The United States called on Russia Wednesday to allow an investigation into all possible atrocities committed during the conflict over Georgia's breakaway regions.

"We've seen reports that there are atrocities being committed against civilians," State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood said.

"And we want to call on the Russians to allow a credible investigation to take place, of reports that atrocities have been committed by both sides," Wood said.

Washington, August 27: NASA’s Mars Exploration rover Opportunity is heading back out to the Red Planet’s surrounding plains nearly a year after descending into a large Martian crater to examine exposed ancient rock layers.

Opportunity entered Victoria Crater on September 11, 2007, after a year of scouting from the rim.

Once a drivable inner slope was identified, the rover used contact instruments on its robotic arm to inspect the composition and textures of accessible layers.

Washington, August 27: Scientists are planning to place a grid of undulating strips made of a plastic like material on the bottom of a river in a town in the US, which is expected to generate between 20 to 40 per cent of the town’s electricity.

Vandergrift, the town in question, is located in Penn state, US.

Using a grid of electricity-generating smart materials on the bottom of the Kiskiminetas River, combined with a host of energy conservation efforts, Vandergrift hopes to generate between 20 and 40 percent of the city center’s electricity.

“Vandergrift is trying to be the model green town,” said Lisa Weiland, a scientist at the University of Pittsburgh who is involved in the project.

Washington, August 27: A new research has suggested that the cane toad would be unable to survive in Southern Australia because its march will grind to a halt once it is physically too cold for the animal to hop.

The research was carried out by Dr Michael Kearney, from the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne, and collaborators from Australia and the USA.

“The cane toads cannot survive in much of Southern Australia because they would be too cold to move about and forage or spawn,” said Dr Kearney.

Washington, Aug 27: Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama has been linked to William Ayers, a founding member of the 1960s and 1970s radical group the Weather Underground.

According to documents released on Tuesday by the University of Illinois at Chicago shed some light on Obama’s relationship with Ayers, who now teaches at the university, has become an issue in the Illinois senator’s presidential campaign.