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Today, the English version of Wikipedia is taking part in a 24-hour 'blackout' to protest two proposed U.S. anti-piracy laws, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act. The protest mirrors similar actions from other websites including Reddit and Boing Boing. The White House stated on Saturday that they "will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global internet". In the midst of the Wikipedia blackout, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundatio

A powerful bomb blast on a Shia procession in Khanpur, Punjab killed 20 people and injured 30 yesterday. Those responsible for the blast are unknown, although Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has been mentioned. According to a police statement to Reuters, the bomb was detonated by remote control near an electric pole as the procession advanced towards the hussainia. Eye witnesses told that the loud explosion caused people to run away haphazardly. One of the witnesses, Imran Iqbal, apprised, "Debris was everywhere, and a cloud of dust eng

The Russian spacecraft Phobos-Grunt fell into the Pacific Ocean some 1,250 kilometers west of Wellington, Chile yesterday after circling in Earth orbit for two months. The spacecraft was designed to retrieve soil samples from the largest moon of Mars, Phobos, but its engines failed and it had remained in Earth orbit ever since. According to the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), the spacecraft was in a near-Earth orbit with perigee 113.8 km and apogee 133.2 km at 8.15 p.m. UTC yesterday. It fell into the Pacific ocean around 9.45 p.m.

This week US citizens observed National Human Trafficking Awareness Day through acts of education, legislation, and enforcement; whilst, around the world, other people highlighted or tackled this global problem in their own countries. According to an annual report on human trafficking released by the US State Department in June last year, 27 million men, women and children are exploited through human trafficking. Worldwide, at least two million children are estimated to be trafficked victims of the sex trade; and, in military conflicts, it is

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won the first-in-the-US New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday with 97,600 votes (39.3%). This follows his narrow victory in the Iowa Caucus last week. Congressman Ron Paul, who finished third in the Iowa Caucus, came in second with 56,872 votes (22.9%). Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., who spent a great amount of resources on the primary, came in third place with 41,783 votes (16.8%). The New Hampshire primary, the first primary of the election, is the second in a series of state electio

Japan Airlines (JAL) is planning on relisting its shares in an IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. By September, JAL shareholders intend to sell between 500 billion and ¥1 trillion (6.4b - US$12.8b, 5b - €10b). If the sale goes into high-end estimates, it will make JAL the largest airline in the world by market value. It will also be the largest IPO in Japan since the 2010 listing of Dai-Ichi Life. However, Senri Sasahara, chief executive officer of Innovative Advisor Corp, said “The amount sought may be a bit too ambitious.” JAL entered bankrup

On Friday, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) expanded its long-standing definition of rape to include men, and the rape of any gender by lack of consent — as opposed to physical coercion. The revised definition should ensure all rapes are recorded in crime statistics. Valerie Jarrett, a White House adviser, said it was a "very, very important step." The new definition defines rape as: "The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another p

According to authorities in Mexico, 31 prisoners have died as the result of a fight which broke out in a prison, involving alleged members of drug businesses. Thirteen prisoners were also wounded in the brawl, which occurred in the Altamira municipality on Wednesday. Temporary weapons, such as knives, were reportedly used by inmates to attack each other; a signifcant number of deaths occurred as a result of the use of weapons like these, authorities stated. One anonymous state official spoke of deaths occurring due to clubs and stones being us

A man accused of 5 arsons in New York State, United States was arraigned at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan yesterday. 40 year-old Ray Lazier Lengend is facing eighteen charges relating to four fires in Queens and one attempted fire in Nassau County. The alleged motive behind the attacks was to kill "as many Muslims and Arabs as possible". He is currently being held at Bellevue for psychiatric evaluation. On January 1, officials said, Lengend used Molotov cocktails made with pre-made Starbucks Frappuccino bottles. He used a stolen Buick

In the Los Angeles, US arson spree, where more than 50 attacks occurred in four days, local police arrested a German national Monday. The suspect, reportedly 24-year-old Harry Burkhart, was stopped in the vicinity of West Hollywood due to the appearance of his van, matching a description law enforcement authorities issued earlier. The city saw numerous arson attacks start on December 30, with 17 vehicles and structures set alight. Many of the incidents took place in driveways and carports. In one case, a former home of The Doors late lead sing

The following is the second in a monthly series chronicling the U.S. 2012 presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after a brief mention of some of the month's biggest stories. In this month's edition on the campaign trail: the campaign manager for a candidate already seeking two presidential nominations discusses the likelihood his candidate will run for the Reform Party's nomination; a lesser known candidates forum reveals an alternative fuel possibility and concludes in a dramatic fashion;

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson ended his campaign for the Republican Party (GOP) presidential nomination to seek the backing of the Libertarian Party (LP). Johnson made the announcement yesterday during a press conference in Santa Fe. He remarked that it "was both a difficult decision - and an easy one...I have a lot of Republican history, and a lot of Republican supporters. But in the final analysis...I am a Libertarian - that is someone who is fiscally very conservative but holds freedom-based positions on the issues that govern our