The newspaper coverage was troubling: London's huge international showcase was beset by planning problems, local opposition and labor woes — and the transport was a mess.

It sounds like the 2012 Olympics, but this was the Great Exhibition of 1851 generating stories of late trains, unscrupulous landlords and dangerous overcrowding.

Mexican mariachi music, Chinese shadow puppetry and poetic dueling from Cyprus were among the cultural traditions identified by the United Nations on Tuesday as in need of protection.

Also added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list — now in its second year and nearly 250 strong — were French-style horseback riding, which celebrates harmony between beast and man, the doleful fado songs of Portugal and Jultagi tightrope walking from Korea.

Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen is returning to Formula One with Lotus Renault GP next year.

Raikkonen, who left F1 at the end of 2009 to try rallying, signed a two-year agreement, the team said on its website Tuesday.

Toyota's president unveiled a futuristic concept car resembling a giant smartphone to demonstrate how Japan's top automaker is trying to take the lead in technology at the upcoming Tokyo auto show.

Toyota Motor Corp. will also be showing an electric vehicle, set for launch next year, and a tiny version of the hit Prius gas-electric hybrid at the Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the public this weekend.

Who says "Frosty the Snowman" has to be jolly?

A man in a "Frosty the Snowman" costume was arrested Saturday during the annual Christmas parade in Chestertown, on Maryland's Eastern Shore. He's accused of scuffling with police and kicking at a police dog.

An original, autographed drawing by Walt Disney, believed to have been made about 1920 before he hit it big in the entertainment world, will go up for auction in Reno this week.

The whimsical drawing of a cigar-chomping man wearing a derby hat will be among 1,400 items up for sale at the two-day auction set to begin Tuesday at the Atlantis Casino Resort.

Australia's football chief isn't convinced the 2022 World Cup will go ahead as planned in Qatar.

Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy on Monday said the "last word hasn't been heard yet" on the FIFA vote which awarded the event to Qatar in preference to bids from countries including the United States and Australia.

Suspected Islamic militants detonated a powerful bomb that killed at least three people and wounded 27 others in a budget hotel packed with wedding guests in the southern Philippines, officials said Monday.

Investigators believe the blast and ensuing fire that gutted the two-story Atilano Pension House in downtown Zamboanga City late Sunday was a terrorist strike and that it was not linked to the wedding, city police director Edwin de Ocampo said.

Police say rescuers are searching for about 40 missing people after a bridge collapsed in central Indonesia, sending two buses, cars and motorcycles crashing into a river below.

At least four people are confirmed dead.

Egypt's military ruler warned on Sunday of "extremely grave" consequences if the turbulent nation does not pull through its current crisis.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, in comments carried by the nation's official news agency, also urged voters to turn out for the parliamentary elections starting on Monday.