ATLANTA, Georgia - January 31, 2011 - A Republican in Georgia's House of Representatives has introduced a bill to eliminate driver's licenses, arguing that the documents are an unnecessary infringement on personal freedom.

Rep. Bobby Franklin, who represents the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, defended the bill to skeptical reporters on Monday, who questioned whether it would be a good idea to eliminate oversight of Georgia's drivers.

Companies all too willing to comply with FBI requests for personal information.

WASHINGTON - January 30, 2011 - As the United States Congress prepares once again to extend the USA PATRIOT Act, a new report from a privacy watchdog indicates that the FBI's use of the law and other surveillance powers may have led to as many as 40,000 violations of the law by the bureau in the years since the events of September 11, 2001.

TIRANA, Albania - January 29, 2011 - Tens of thousands of demonstrators have started a silent protest in the Albanian capital Tirana, a week to the day after clashes during an opposition rally killed three.

AMMAN, Jordan - January 28, 2011 - Thousands of people in Jordan have taken to the streets in protests, demanding the country's prime minister step down, and the government curb rising prices, inflation and unemployment.

In the third consecutive Friday of protests, about 3,500 opposition activists from Jordan's main Islamist opposition group, trade unions and leftist organisations gathered in the capital, waving colourful banners reading: "Send the corrupt guys to court".

BAGHDAD, Iraq - January 28, 2011 - Violent protests erupted in a Shiite neighborhood here Thursday after a powerful car bomb ripped through a funeral ceremony, killing 48 people and wounding 121 in the latest in a string of attacks across the country that is destabilizing Iraq's new government even before it has completely formed.

GATWICK, England - January 26, 2011 - It may be three inches long and made of plastic, but that didn’t stop a toy soldier’s gun being branded a “firearm” by zealous airport officials.

Ken Lloyd and his wife bought the “signaller crouching” figurine during a recent visit to the Royal Signals Museum at Blandford Garrison.

WASHINGTON - January 26, 2011 - During his third State of the Union address Tuesday night, illegitimate President Barack Obama cracked a joke about TSA pat downs - and earned an immediate rebuke from the American Civil Liberties Union.