Washington, Aug 23: The Voice of America’s (VoA) Hindi service which was launched in 1955 would be shut down with effect from Sept 30, thereby rendering six of its permanent staff in New Delhi jobless.

Besides, a large number of VoA listeners would be bereft of its news bulletins to which they were addicted for decades together.

In a message to the South Asian Journalists’ Association (SAJA), Ashok Sarin of the VoA Hindi Service said that the decision was being presented as the “will” of the US Congress, reported the Daily Times.

Washington, August 23: Archaeologists have discovered a labyrinth filled with stone temples and pyramids in 14 caves, some of which are underwater, in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, which is may be the legendary portal to the Maya underworld.

The discovery has experts wondering whether Maya legend inspired the construction of the underground complex—or vice versa, according to a report in National Geographic News.

According to Maya myth, the souls of the dead had to follow a dog with night vision on a horrific and watery path and endure myriad challenges before they could rest in the afterlife.

Washington, August 23: Astronomers have spotted a disk of dust and water ice ringing a young star 165 light years away that is similar to the Sun’s Kuiper belt, a disk of small icy bodies that extends beyond Neptune.

The icy signature of the disk and the collisions between bodies inferred to be taking place there suggest it is similar to the Sun’s Kuiper belt.

Washington, August 23: A new research has suggested that heavy rains that often accompany thunderstorms may trigger off destructive tornadoes.

Till now, just how the deadly twisters form is a mystery that has puzzled scientists for decades.

They know a range of atmospheric conditions must be in place, including strong, closely paired up- and downdrafts, windshear at high altitudes, and usually a foreboding supercell thunderstorm, spinning slowly in the sky.

Washington, Aug 23: William Shakespeare once stated that the elephant’s legs are inflexible, but now a group of researchers has poured cold water on his claims, stating that the pachyderms' legs are ‘much bendier’.

New research shows an elephant's legs are capable of the same level of flexibility as those belonging to a horse.

The large land mammal has long received a bad press about its legs, UK scientists claim.

New Delhi/Washington, Aug 23: Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon will visit the US early next week to hold discussions with Americans officials in the wake of 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) deciding to meet next month to consider a waiver for India to carry out nuclear commerce.

Menon is also expected to discuss current developments in Pakistan following President Pervez Musharraf's resignation as also the escalating violence in Kashmir during his meeting with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns.