AFP - All systems were go early Saturday ahead of a launch of the US space shuttle Discovery that will carry the main unit of Japan's ambitious Kibo science lab to the International Space Station.

AP - The remnants of Tropical Storm Alma dumped rain on Honduras on Friday and led to the death of a child who was swept away by a swollen stream.

AP - Brazil's government agreed to release stunning photos of Amazon Indians firing arrows at an airplane so that the world can better understand the threats facing one of the few tribes still living in near-total isolation from civilization, officials said Friday.

AP - Scientists for the Phoenix Mars Lander are wrestling with an intermittent short circuit on the spacecraft.

AFP - British oil and gas giant BG Group said Friday that it was "surprised" after Australia's Origin Energy rejected its bid worth 13.6 billion Australian dollars (13 billion US dollars, 8.4 billion euros).

AFP - The US space shuttle Discovery is set to blast into outer space carrying spare toilet parts, a tiny Disney doll and a huge Japanese experimental laboratory, NASA said on Friday.

AP - The remnants of Tropical Storm Alma swept across Honduras on Friday, dumping rain and leaving roofless homes and flooded streets in its wake.

AP - With good weather in the offing and no bumps in the countdown, NASA pushed ahead with Saturday's planned launch of space shuttle Discovery on a delivery trip to the international space station.

AP - Brazil's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that scientists can conduct embryonic stem cell research, which holds the promise of curing Parkinson's disease and diabetes but raises ethical concerns about the limits on human life.

AFP - China's world-famous Wolong Giant Panda Reserve has been so badly damaged by this month's earthquake that it will probably have to be relocated, state media reported Friday.

AFP - NASA's Phoenix Mars lander flexed its robotic arm Thursday in a successful test of the key element in the probe's mission to investigate the Red Planet's soil for conditions conducive to life, NASA said.

AFP - Flooding and mudslides left at least two people dead in northern Italy after heavy rains that also hit France and Belgium, reports said, with dangerous weather likely to continue on Friday.