USA - Walmart is going after the tween (ages 8-12) market (and their parents' wallets) with the new GeoGirl beauty line. That 8-year-olds need lipstick is another debate, but this line will offer colorful cosmetics and "mother approved" makeup products.
EGYPT/USA - Authorities in Egypt are bracing for the possibility of further protests, following two days of unrest that have left at least four people dead. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Egypt to "respond to the legitimate needs" of the people.
UK - Fraud costs the UK economy 38 billion pounds a year, with more than half of that suffered by the public sector, according to official estimates. The National Fraud Authority (NFA) said that if the total cost was broken down, every UK adult would be 765 pounds worse off. The NFA said "a stronger counter-fraud culture" was needed.
EGYPT - Police have clashed with anti-government protesters in two major Egyptian cities following Tuesday's unprecedented protests, witnesses say. Security officials said at least 500 people had been arrested in a crackdown against the protests.
UK - Families will see their disposable income eaten up as they "pay the inevitable price" for the financial crisis, Mervyn King warned. With wages failing to keep pace with rising inflation, workers' take-home pay will end the year worth the same as in 2005 - the most prolonged fall in living standards for more than 80 years, he claimed.
UK - The financial services industry is practically "lawless" and needs better regulation of individuals entering the sector, a partner at Toscafund, one of the UK's most high-profile hedge fund firms, said on Monday.
UK - Britain's "awful" gross domestic product figure for the fourth quarter is pushing the country closer to a double-dip and limits the central bank's ability to fight rising inflation, analysts and business leaders said Tuesday.
USA - Statistics compiled over the past decade show that the number of abortions in the United States has dropped precipitously since the early 1980s, but the procedure still remains a prevalent form of birth control in this country and around the world.
TRIPOLI, LEBANON - The billionaire businessman chosen by Hezbollah and its allies as Lebanon's prime minister called for a unity government Tuesday, a sign that the Iranian-backed militant group does not want to push its growing power too far and risk isolation abroad and an escalation of sectarian tensions at home.
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev will go ahead with his trip to the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos, despite the bomb attack in Moscow. Business leaders meanwhile will tackle topics like "Globalisation 3.0" and the economic rise of India and China.
EGYPT - At least three people are reported to have been killed during a day of rare anti-government protests in Egypt. In Cairo, where the biggest rallies were held, state TV said a policeman had died in clashes. Two protesters died in Suez, doctors there said. Thousands joined the protests after an internet campaign inspired by the uprising in Tunisia.
USA - The super-volcano beneath Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming has been rising at a record rate since 2004. It would explode with a force a thousand times more powerful than the Mount St Helens eruption in 1980. Spewing lava far into the sky, a cloud of plant-killing ash would fan out and dump a layer 10ft deep up to 1,000 miles away.
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - World leaders and top executives have plenty of crises to discuss this year. Ballooning European government debt, rising inflation, fears of trade and currency wars, spiraling food prices and lingering problems in the world financial system provide a sobering array of threats for people attending the World Economic Forum (WEF).
USA - Authorities are worried a recent wave of police officer shootings may not be a coincidence. In just 24 hours, at least 11 cops were shot around the country. The most recent incident at a fugitive's house in St Petersburg, Florida, left two officers dead and a US marshal wounded Monday. Hours earlier, an Oregon officer was critically wounded after being shot multiple times during a traffic stop.
ALBANIA - A wave of protests apparently inspired by Tunisia's 'Jasmine' revolution, which has already spread to Algeria and Yemen, has now hit EU hopeful and NATO member Albania. The country's prime minister, Sali Berisha, on 22 January slammed the opposition for what he called a "Tunisia-style" revolt.