Hundreds wounded in protests outside interior ministry in Cairo demanding retribution for deaths in football violence. Egyptian police have fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators outside the interior ministry offices in the capital, Cairo, protesting against the security forces’ failure to prevent a football riot that killed more than 70 people. Nearly 10,000 protesters, including [...]

American Airlines told its unions Wednesday it plans to cut 13,000 jobs from the staff of 88,000 at the nation’s No. 3 airline. The cuts will fall most heavily on the airline’s maintenance operations, which will lose 4,600 jobs. More than 4,000 additional ground worker jobs will be eliminated, as will 2,300 flight attendant jobs. [...]

This afternoon, President Obama made the trip across town to the Washington Auto Show to look at some of the incredible new vehicles being built by Detroit. There, he told reporters: Let me just say, when you look at all these cars, it is testimony to the outstanding work that’s been done by workers — American [...]

 English is the most widely spoken language in the history of our planet, used in some way by at least one out of every seven human beings around the globe.  Half of the world’s books are written in English, and the majority of international telephone calls are made in English.  Sixty percent of the world’s [...]

Education officials in a northern China city have banned schools from offering palm-reading tests that were purported to predict kids’ intelligence and potential,state-run news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday. The ban in Taiyuan comes after a previous Xinhau report that privately run kindergartens in that city’s province, Shanxi, were charging parents about $190 (1,200 yuan) for [...]

January 2012: Photo of the Day                 This post was submitted by The White House / IM.

A man hopes to sell President Obama’s old car for $1 million. This post was submitted by Jeanne Moos / CNN.

Wherever you are in the world, you’ve probably used or coveted some Japanese product – a Honda four-wheeler; a Toyota Prius, a Sony, a Panasonic TV, a Nikon camera. Since the 1950s, Japan’s exports have flooded the world and fueled an economic miracle at home, making that country one of the wealthiest in the world. [...]

East Asian nation looks to stop sending maids abroad by 2017 amid reports many are being abused. After Saudi Arabia beheaded an Indonesian maid for murder last year, there was a national outcry in the East Asian nation. Now the Indonesian government is planning to stop sending maids abroad by 2017 amid reports that several [...]

Twenty-six new exoplanets have been discovered by NASA scientists seeking to locate planets outside our solar system.  The alien planets were found orbiting stars in 11 newly discovered solar systems by the Kepler telescope, which the U.S. space agency operates. The exoplanets range in size from slightly larger than Earth to larger than the gas [...]

Spirit Airlines isn’t happy with the new airline price advertising rule. The big “Warning!” sign popping up on the carrier’s website makes that pretty clear. The message: “New government regulations require us to HIDE taxes in your fares. This is not consumer friendly or in your best interest. It’s wrong and you shouldn’t stand for [...]

Scientists in the US manage to use invisibility cloak to make a three-dimensional object The idea of turning invisible could be closer to ‘science fact’ than ‘science fiction’. Researchers at the University of Texas have for the first time used an invisibility cloak to make a three-dimensional object. One cloaking technique uses so-called meta-materials to [...]

It is a phenomenon that rarely has the chance to see the world’s most famous desert. Snow in the Algerian province Besar fell in the mid-week, and are affected by it and some parts of Morocco. Reports speak of the almost surreal scenes, such as palm trees bending under a blizzard and large sand dunes [...]

An 18-story building partially collapsed after an explosion in the historic center of Rio de Janeiro Wednesday night, state media reported. At least two people were killed and 11 others were missing, CNN affiliate Band News reported, citing city Civil Defense officials. “I started to hear a crackling. I thought they were gunshots. When I [...]

2012 State of the Union Address               This post was submitted by The White House / IM.

We all know there are no free lunches, but what about free rides? Well, in Indonesia, thrill seekers and free loaders alike travel into Jakarta by riding on top of trains. And the authorities have been trying to curb the train-surfing scourge for decades. Now they seem to have come up with a concrete solution. [...]