In a series of small ceremonies, the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday afternoon will shut down Loran-C, a navigation and timing system that has guided mariners and aviators since World War II.The death blow came last May when President Obama called the system obsolete, saying it is no longer needed in an age in which Global Positioning System devices are nearly ubiquitous in cars, planes and boats.

On a bright sunny day in Coimbatore in the southern Indian state of Tamilnadu, hundreds of motor sport enthusiasts have gathered for what they call a festival of speed.One of the few racing events around the country, this event has brought together bikers, saloon car drivers and karting fans.

The defeated candidate in Sri Lanka's presidential election, General Sarath Fonseka, has been arrested at his office in Colombo.Gen Fonseka was defeated by incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa last month by six million votes to four million.

A body was found inside a wheel well of a Delta Air Lines plane after it landed in Tokyo from New York, and Japanese authorities Monday were trying to identify the man.The body of the apparent stowaway was clad only in a long-sleeved, plaid shirt and jeans, police at Narita International Airport said

Global warming could quickly cut rain-fed north African crop production by up to 50 percent, claims the U.N.'s controversial climate report. But a leading U.N. scientist is questioning his own group's claim.The statement in question comes not only from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on climate change impacts -- called Assessment Report 4, or AR4 -- and is also repeated in its "Synthesis Report."

Iran moved closer to being able to produce nuclear warheads Monday with formal notification that it will enrich uranium to higher levels, even while insisting that the move was meant only to provide fuel for its research reactor.

Police in China shut down what officials think was the largest training Web site for computer hackers, local media said.
The Black Hawk Safety Net offered lessons on cyber attacks and sold Trojan software, which allows outside access to a computer when remotely installed, media reports said.Police arrested three people who ran the Web site and charged 100 to 200 yuan ($14 to $29) for lessons, the China Daily newspaper said.

An Australian performance artist has set a Guinness world record by swallowing 18 swords at the same time.Chayne Hultgren, also known as the Space Cowboy, beat his own 2008 record by swallowing the swords, each 72cm (28.35in) long, at an event in Sydney.

A Scottish pensioner has become one of only seven living people to hold judo's highest rank.Martial arts expert George Kerr, 72, was named a "10th Dan" black belt at a ceremony held by the International Judo Federation in Paris.

Romantic drama Dear John has knocked sci-fi epic Avatar off the top spot in the North American box office chart.The film, starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried as lovers whose romance is curtailed by the 11 September attacks, took $32.4m (£20.6m).

The US space agency (Nasa) has launched its shuttle Endeavour on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS).Endeavour soared up into the sky at 0914, making a small piece of history by becoming the last shuttle to launch in darkness. It will be delivering a connecting unit and a large bay window to the space station.Sunday's attempt at a lift-off was thwarted by thick, low cloud over the Kennedy Space Center.