Today is crucial and could go very badly. The Egyptian gangster regime and its backers have clearly decided to use maximum force to end the popular challenge. At 12.34 this morning, Egypt’s entire internet service was closed down – the largest shutdown in history. Mobile phone services have also been suspended, and al-Jazeera has been taken off […]

Egypt’s anti-regime protests are unprecedented in size, frequency and ferocity. In Shubra, Dokki, Mohandaseen and Bulaq, Cairenes chanted ash-sha’ab yureed isqaat an-nizam, or The People Want the Fall of the Regime, and braved tear gas and baton-wielding thugs in the central Tahrir Square. Alexandria, Tanta, Suez, and the labour stronghold of Mahalla al-Kubra have also demonstrated. A […]

By Almira Al Hussaini Egypt has just upped its war on the Internet, and cut access to mobile phone communications, in areas where thousands of protesters are reportedly gathering in today’s Day of Revolution. The aim seems to be an attempt to control the flood of protesters and strangle the movement. Demonstrations have sprung across the […]

By Marian Wang in ProPublica. As we noted in the wake of the deadly shooting in Tucson, the FBI’s background-check database—intended to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill—didn’t prevent Jared Loughner from obtaining a weapon [1] because he hasn’t been declared mentally unfit by a court or been committed […]

The dictator, thief and Western client Zein al-Abdine Ben Ali, beloved until a few hours ago in Paris and Washington, has been driven from Tunisia. His reign was ended not by a military or palace coup but by an extraordinarily broad-based popular movement which has brought together trades unions and professional associations, students and schoolchildren, […]

By Marian Wang in ProPublica. The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and more than a dozen of her constituents in Tucson this weekend has sparked criticism of Arizona’s lax gun control laws and renewed calls from some to tighten those restrictions. Six individuals were confirmed dead. Here’s our attempt to briefly break down a few […]

Ted Williams, a former radio announcer from Columbus, Ohio has become a YouTube sensation after a video of the homeless man talking to a local reporter was uploaded onto the website. In the video, he can be seen standing on the exit ramp of Interstate 71 at Hudson Street, holding a sign claiming that he […]

By Maggie Fox Four previously abundant species of bumblebee are close to disappearing in the United States, researchers reported Monday in a study confirming that the agriculturally important bees are being affected worldwide. They documented a 96 per cent decline in the numbers of the four species, and said their range had shrunk by as […]

Rescue efforts are underway to free more than 200 skiers trapped Tuesday at Maine’s Sugarloaf ski resort, which is located 120 miles north of Portland. Several injuries were reported after a ski lift broke down; an employee at the resort said this caused several people to fall to the ground. The Spillway East lift reportedly came to a halt during […]

David A Gabel, Environmental News Network The plight of polar bears continues as the climate gradually becomes warmer in the Arctic. Warmer temperatures cause the melting of sea ice, which is essential for polar bears to reach their prey, primarily seals. However, according to a recent study published in the journal, Nature, polar bears have […]