Washington, Nov 5: Archaeologists have unearthed what is believed to be the world''s oldest known grave of a shaman in northern Israel, which includes an elderly female of the mysterious Natufian culture, animal parts, and a human foot.

According to a report in National Geographic News, the grave dates back to 12,000 years, and is unique in its construction, contents and arrangement.

"From the standpoint of the status of the grave and its contents, no Natufian burial like this one has ever been found," lead archaeologist Leore Grosman said. "This indicates the woman had a distinct societal position," he added.

Washington, Nov 5: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has created history by defeating his Republican rival John McCain to become the first Black President of the United States.

The 47-year-old Democratic senator from Illinois swept to victory over his Republican opponent McCain by building an Electoral College majority of 367 votes to McCain’s 168 at the time of filing the story.

Meanwhile, McCain has conceded defeat to Obama, telling supporters “the failure is mine.”

Washington/Chicago  - Hundreds of US voters waited patiently in serpentine queues Tuesday to vote in the country's historic election. Many had started lining up before dawn, some braved pouring rain to cast their ballot.

Officials were prepared for an unprecedented turnout as voters delivered their verdict on Democrat Barack Obama, 47, and his Republican rival John McCain, 72, after the longest and most expensive campaign in US history.

Washington, Nov 4: Scientists have found a fungus that produces a new type of fuel, which they call ‘myco-diesel.’

Gary Strobel, Montana State University professor of plant sciences and plant pathology, said that the discovery might offer an alternative to fossil fuels.

Strobel found the diesel-producing fungus in a Patagonia rainforest. He visited the rainforest in 2002 and collected a variety of specimens, including the branches from an ancient family of trees known as "ulmo."

When Strobel and his research team examined the branches, they found fungus growing inside.

They continued to investigate and discovered that the fungus, called "Gliocladium roseum," was producing gases.

Washington, November 4: A University of Maryland researcher has come up with several recommendations that can enable voters to minimize the chance of election machine-related errors.

Paul S. Herrnson, the University of Maryland political scientist, has revealed that his team’s recommendations are based on a comprehensive study of the problems voters may face while using touch screen and paper-based machines.

"In our experiments, even with the simplest ballot design and the most user-friendly machines, we found voters still cast their ballots for the wrong candidate about three percent of the time," Herrnson says.

Washington, Nov 4 : Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood is set to give up his acting career for the director’s chair.

The 78-year-old star has hinted that his forthcoming starring role in Gran Torino will be his last.

He has cut back on his acting career in recent years to concentrate on directing.

"It''ll (Gran Torino) probably be my last. I''ll be drummed out of it after this one,” Contactmusic quoted Eastwood, as telling Ireland''s Sunday World newspaper.