MOSCOW, May. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia's spacecraft Soyuz TMA-04M with a crew of three blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, according to Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos.

MOSCOW, May. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia's spacecraft Soyuz TMA-04M with a crew of three blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, according to Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos.

A one-fourth scale model of the Synergy aircraft underwent flight tests to try out the aircraft's fuel-efficient design.

Most people think of flying as faster but more expensive than driving. But an unusual aircraft project that competed in NASA's 2011 Green Flight Challenge is promising something new — a personal airplane with better fuel economy than many family cars.

A California museum says it has raised nearly half of the $200 million needed to build a permanent exhibit for the space shuttle Endeavour.

The California Science Museum recently received a donation from the Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Oschin Family Foundation that will allow it to start the design phase of the project. The museum didn't disclose the amount of the gift, citing an agreement it made with the foundation.

A California museum says it has raised nearly half of the $200 million needed to build a permanent exhibit for the space shuttle Endeavour.

The California Science Museum recently received a donation from the Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Oschin Family Foundation that will allow it to start the design phase of the project. The museum didn't disclose the amount of the gift, citing an agreement it made with the foundation.

Investors are bracing for Facebook's Wall Street debut on Friday after the world's No.1 online social network raised about $16 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history.

Valued at $104 billion, Facebook is larger than Starbucks Corp and Hewlett-Packard combined, sparking intense speculation on how much higher its valuation will rise once shares start trading.

Investors are bracing for Facebook's Wall Street debut on Friday after the world's No.1 online social network raised about $16 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history.

Valued at $104 billion, Facebook is larger than Starbucks Corp and Hewlett-Packard combined, sparking intense speculation on how much higher its valuation will rise once shares start trading.

A turtle the size of a small car once roamed what is now South America 60 million years ago, suggests its fossilized remains.

Discovered in a coal mine in Colombia in 2005, the turtle was given the name Carbonemys cofrinii, which means "coal turtle." It wasn't until now that the turtle was examined and described in a scientific journal; the findings are detailed online today (May 17) in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.

A turtle the size of a small car once roamed what is now South America 60 million years ago, suggests its fossilized remains.

Discovered in a coal mine in Colombia in 2005, the turtle was given the name Carbonemys cofrinii, which means "coal turtle." It wasn't until now that the turtle was examined and described in a scientific journal; the findings are detailed online today (May 17) in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.

By Al Campbell

The Chinese national women's basketball team picked up their first win of its North American tour on Thursday, beating Canada 67-51 in a pre-Olympic friendly.

Playing at the Olympic Oval in the Vancouver suburb city of Richmond, guard Li Shanshan paced China to the win with 15 points, while veteran forward Ma Zengyu added 14 to be named player of the game for China.

Wei Wei, the team's 2.08-meter center, hit for 12 points and was dominant defensively with three key blocks in the second half to thwart the host Canadians.

BEIJING - China's 3G users reached 152 million by the end of March, almost a 10-fold increase from two years ago, according to figures released Thursday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Meanwhile, the nation's mobile online users exceed 370 million, more than 70 percent of the country's total Internet users, the MIIT vice minister Shang Bing said.

BEIJING - China's 3G users reached 152 million by the end of March, almost a 10-fold increase from two years ago, according to figures released Thursday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Meanwhile, the nation's mobile online users exceed 370 million, more than 70 percent of the country's total Internet users, the MIIT vice minister Shang Bing said.

MOSCOW, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Russia has put a Canadian communications satellite into space, the Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said Friday.

Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket oakley scalpel sunglasses, with a Nimiq 6 telesat on board, blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan at 11:12 p.m. Moscow time (1912 GMT) on Thursday, the space agency said.