PARIS - The European Space Agency's first automated transfer vehicle, the Jules Verne, has been placed on top of an Ariane 5 rocket for launch from French Guiana.The Jules Verne -- encapsulated in a huge container on top of the launcher with a total mass of about 21,000 tons -- will become the largest payload ever launched by Ariane 5. The historic mission with the first European space supplier for the International Space Station is ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies said a key federal toxics law could be used to help warn the public of nanotechnology risks.The organization, a partnership between the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Pew Charitable Trusts, was formed in 2005 to address the social, political and public safety aspects of nanotechnology. In its first legal analysis, PEN found the federal Toxics Release Inventory law could be applied to production and commercialization of nanotechnology, ... [full story]

CHICAGO - U.S. anthropologists say they have solved the mystery of how the durable, vivid blue pigment found on ancient pottery in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula was made.Researchers at Wheaton College and the Field Museum said the pigment, known as Maya Blue, was integral to the performance of rituals at Chichen Itza, including painting human sacrifices from head to toe with it. The pigment, which is resistant to age, acid, weathering, biodegradation and even modern chemical solvents, ... [full story]

SEATTLE - E-mails suggest Microsoft executives struggled to make Windows Vista work on their own computers after it was released, a published report said.The e-mails, which were unsealed in a lawsuit against the company, show some of the early problems Microsoft had with hardware and software compatibility, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said Thursday. "We need to be clearer with industry, and we need to decide what we will do and do that well and 100 percent and ... [full story]

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee real estate firm, an agent and homeowner will pay $35,000 for discriminating against a black school principal, the U.S. Justice Department said.Justice officials Friday said RE/MAX Realty 100, real estate agent Phyllis Hasenstab and homeowner Edith Halvorsen were accused of violating the Fair Housing Act when they refused to negotiate the sale of Halvorsen's house with Tammi Doss, a Milwaukee school system principal. The department alleged Halvorsen told Hasenstab she didn't ... [full story]

DETROIT - A Detroit city councilman has called for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to resign after documents from a secret $8.4 million whistle-blower settlement were released.A resignation request by Councilman Kwame Kenyatta unanimously passed out of committee Thursday, The Detroit News reported. The resolution was expected to be taken up by the city council Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press said. Former Detroit Police Deputy Chief Gary Brown, who was one of the three whistle-blower police officers who ... [full story]

TORONTO - Toronto Animal Services officials confirmed Friday a dog authorities claim was a pit bull that bit a man was euthanized, the Toronto Star reported.The 4-year-old male dog, named Munchie, escaped from a downtown yard last September and allegedly attacked a neighbor. The animal was held in quarantine while his owners contested claims the dog was a pit bull. In August 2005, Ontario banned the sale and breeding of pit bulls and clamped restrictions on ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - Parish priests' offices have been flooded with requests from people wanting tickets to the mass Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate in Washington.Tickets for the April 17 celebration at the 45,000-seat Nationals Park stadium, have become a hot item across the country, The Washington Post reported Friday. The decision on who will get the prized tickets is difficult because of the heartrending nature of many requests, the Post said. "If I can get tickets to ... [full story]

UNITED NATIONS - Tens of thousands of villagers in the Central African Republic are hiding in the bush for fear of attacks by armed rebel groups, a U.N. official said Friday.Toby Lanzer, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in the African country, said international assistance is geared to reach villagers where they are hiding, rather than relocate them. It's estimated a significant portion of the 200,000 internally displaced citizens are near their homes but afraid to ... [full story]

TOKYO - A former sumo stable master and three wrestlers were indicted in the 2007 fatal hazing of a 17-year-old junior wrestler, Japanese prosecutors said Friday.Sumo coach Junichi Yamamoto, 58, and wrestlers Yuichiro Izuko, 25; Masakazu Kimura, 24; and Masanori Fujii, 22, are charged with causing injuries that resulted in the death of Takashi Saito, Kyodo news reported. Yamamoto was fired as master of the Tokitsukaze stable and the three other defendants are members of ... [full story]