Facts & Trends

A new University of Washington study has found that 2.1 billion people worldwide are overweight or obese. Here's a snapshot of the percentage of people who fall in those categories around the world: Saudi Arabia - 69.4% U.S. - 67.4% ...

Young Muslims are still flocking to radical jihadist groups in record numbers. A United Nations study found that at least 25,000 people from more than 100 nations have left home to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and ...

A magnetic levitation passenger train set a world speed record of 375 m.p.h. (603 km/h) on a test track in Japan on April 21. Here are top operating speeds, in miles per hour, of some of the world’s other fastest ...

One in six roofers suffers an injury each year. The least risky profession: Legal services ...

British teams of scientists, using satellite tracking, have found that 10.7% of glaciers in Antarctica are starting to retreat at an alarming rate of speed.  Much faster than had been expected for average melts.  The warm water from the oceans ...

Russia, the world’s second biggest cigarette consumer after China, has banned smoking in most public places as well as all tobacco advertising.  Even popular Soviet-era cartoons featuring pipe smokers are to be censored. It’s unclear, though, how the ban will be ...

Turkish leaders reacted with outrage this week after Pope Francis referred to the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as “the first genocide of the 20th century.” Turkey recalled its Vatican envoy, and President Recep ...

Percentage of millionaires who said in a recent survey that they are concerned about global unrest: 94 ...

Drivers are doing more than just texting behind the wheel.  In a new study by Braun Research, 33 percent admitted they regularly send and read emails while driving, while 28 percent said they browse the internet and 27 percent said ...

Special deliveries, after a Florida postal worker exposed potentially lethal security flaws in Washington by flying his gyrocopter over the city and landing on the Capitol lawn.  “At no point did I feel it was not a good idea,” said ...