Washington, Dec 17 : A new study has suggested that rock varnish could provide a niche habitat for microbial life on Mars and in other extraterrestrial environments devoid of liquid water.

The study was undertaken by a research team led by Kimberly R. Kuhlman, of the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute.

The team found bacteria associated with rock varnish in an area where the surrounding soils were essentially devoid of life.

Rock varnish is an extremely slow-growing coating that forms on the surfaces of rocks in arid and semiarid climates.

In Southwestern deserts, it often appears as a tough, dark stain on light-colored canyon walls. Ancient petroglyphs are often found etched into rock varnishes.

Perth, Dec. 17 : In an explosive claim leading into the first South Africa-Australia Test at the WACA Ground in Perth, South African captain Graeme Smith says Warne has told him how he should go about bringing down Australia''s batting champions Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden.

Writing an exclusive column in The Daily Telegraph, Smith reveals he used his stint at the Rajasthan Royals under Warne''s captaincy to gain inside information on Australia''s batsmen.

Tel Aviv/Ramallah - The Middle East peace process is hanging by a thread as 2009 is nearing - just one year after negotiations were revived following seven years of violence.

Kabul - Seven years down the line fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, the US government wants to shift its focus from the Iraq war to the Afghan conflict.

Analysts believe, however, that the US decision has come too late, as the Taliban have regained control of a large swathe of the country and defeating them appears virtually impossible.

Following their ouster in late 2001 in a US-led invasion, the Taliban movement was regarded as a tiny force of remnants of a defeated ultra-Islamic regime. The Taliban's strength was estimated at less than 2,000 fighters, and Afghan and NATO officials predicted they would be completely eliminated in a few years.

London, Dec.

Baghdad - On December 11 a lone male parked his car outside the Abdullah Restaurant, on the outskirts of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Inside, among dozens of families celebrating the Eid al-Adha feast, local Arab and Kurdish politicians were reportedly meeting to discuss how the city might acceptably divide up its massive oil wealth.

The man entered the building and blew himself up.

At least 45 people died in the blast, and more than 100 were injured. Local politicians quickly blamed al-Qaeda for the attack.