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London, Sept. 17 - The United Nations has tapped Leonardo DiCaprio as its Messenger of Peace, a post he will use to raise awareness about climate change, it has been reported.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday while declaring his name stated that the Hollywood star was not just one of the world's leading actors, but also has a long-standing commitment to environmental causes, including through his foundation, the Mirror reported.

DiCaprio has been slated to speak on September 23, 2014 at the U. N. Climate Summit to address the topic of climate change, which would be attended by leaders from at least 193 member states.

London, Sep 17 - While delineating a larger role for the United States in fighting the Ebola outbreak, President Barack Obama has reportedly called the epidemic "a threat to global security."

Obama said on Tuesday that the world is looking to the U. S. but called for a "global response" to fight the disease, reported the BBC.

He also announced a slew of measures including, sending 3,000 U. S. troops to the region, building new healthcare facilities, training health care workers, developing air bridges to supply aids to affected countries faster and to provide health care kits to households.

Washington, Sep 17 - Researchers has recently hypothesized that, a 10-km diameter chunk of rock that hit the Yukatan peninsula 66 million years ago, which wiped out the dinosaurs also helped modern forests to bloom.

Researchers from the University of Arizona revealed that the meteorite impact that spelled doom for the dinosaurs also decimated the evergreen flowering plants to a much greater extent than their deciduous peers. They assumed that the properties of deciduous plants made them better able to respond rapidly to chaotically varying post-apocalyptic climate conditions.

New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India's marketing and sales head Mayank Pareek has quit the company after nearly 20 years of service at the country's largest carmaker.

While Pareek, who is designated Chief Operating Officer (marketing and sales), could not be reached for comments, however, according to people familiar with the development, he has put in papers to pursue 'better opportunities'.

The company spokesperson declined to comment.

It is speculated that he may join homegrown auto major Tata Motors, which has been seeking a revival in fortunes in the passenger cars segment.

Washington, Sept 17 - Scientists after analyzing the skeleton of King Richard III have found that it was blows to his head at the Battle of Bosworth Field on Aug 22, 1485 that caused his death.

The research led by the University of Leicester in the UK gave a blow-by-blow account of the injuries inflicted on the King's body, and reveal that three of his injuries had the potential to cause death quickly, two to the skull and one to the pelvis.

Wellington, Sep 17 - Rory McIlroy has been named winner of the PGA of America Player of the Year 2013-14 and has also won the Vardon Trophy for the stellar performance that he put up last year.

The 25-year-old Northern Irishman, who has claimed two major titles among his four wins worldwide this year, has claimed the two awards for the second time in three seasons, reported Stuff. co. nz.

The star golfer scored an adjusted average of 68.82 through 66 complete rounds, edging Sergio Garcia (68.95), who completed 61 rounds, for the Vardon Trophy.