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The Irish government has ordered the recall of all pig products processed in the Republic since 1st September, following the discovery of extremely high levels of dioxins in slaughtered pigs which are thought to have eaten contaminated feed. The Food Standards Agency of Ireland revealed that tests have shown that pork products from several farms contained over two hundred times more dioxin than the accepted safe limit. Food safety officials are investigating an animal-feeds factory in south-eastern Ireland which is thought to be the source of

Around five thousand people from all walks of life jammed Nathan Phillips Square on Saturday in Toronto to demand that Canadian Parliament work for the real needs of Canadians. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and NDP Leader Jack Layton addressed the crowd, pointing out that the 62% majority of the voters voted against Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's right-wing politics. Harper campaigned on the premise of bringing in policies to stimulate the economy during the current economic downturn. Harper shut down Parliament last week until Ja

The Panamanian-flagged cruise ship MV Ushuaia, operated by Antarpply Expeditions of Argentina, ran aground near Cape Anna at the entrance to Wilhelmina Bay. Having been stuck on rocks in the Antarctic Peninsula, it suffered a puncture in two diesel fuel tanks, and was leaking fuel and taking on a "minimal amount of water." It had two cracks, but is not in danger of sinking. The passengers were rescued by Achiles, a Chilean Navy ship, which took them to Chile's Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva in Antarctica. The station has a 1300 metre-l

Former United States football player O.J. Simpson was sentenced to prison for 15 years yesterday morning, on charges of kidnapping and armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers at a hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Simpson's accomplice in the crime, one Clarence Stewart, was also given a thirty-three year sentence. Both will be eligible for parole in five years. Simpson, aged 61, was arrested on twelve charges of kidnapping and armed robbery in which he and his accomplices used firearms to force two sports memorabilia dealers to give him seve

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Southern California in the United States has been struck by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake. The quake struck at 8:18 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Friday night. The epicenter was located 56 kilometers (35 miles) East of Barstow and 188 k.m. (116 miles) East, Northeast of Los Angeles. So far there are no reports of damage or injuries. Over 21,000 people live in Barstow. "[The quake was] relatively shallow and if it were located in a more populated area it could be very damaging, but it's out in the

Takeo Fukui, the President and CEO of Honda made a statement on Friday that the company will leave Formula One before the 2009 season. Among the causes of this decision were the problems in the global auto industry, and the general economic crisis. It is estimated that Honda had an annual budget of US$500m for the team in 2008. The team Honda Racing led by Nick Fry (CEO) and Ross Brawn (Team principal) will have three months to find a new owner. It may still be using Honda's engines, as, previously, the BAR-Honda team. Nick Fry said three pot

It has been revealed that the final report into a midair collision that killed 154 people in 2006 will blame a string of human error for the disaster. Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, a Boeing 737, crashed into the ground after an Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet's wing clipped it. The Legacy, owned by ExcelAire, performed an emergency landing at a nearby airbase. The report says the Legacy's transponder was "inadvertently turned off by the hand of one of the pilots," and says this was the "central point in a chain of errors" leading to th

The Non-Disclosure agreement for companies working with the UK Government on the National identity card has been leaked on WikiLeaks. The document states, among other things, what rights the Government has to search the properties of companies involved and the obligations on the companies to keep information secret. Section five of the document states that if a company fails to comply with the agreement, or in other cases at the "sole discretion" of the Home Office, the government may search the property, records and computers of the company.

On December 4, 2008, a solar car, developed by scientists at Swiss universities, ended its journey of traveling around the world at the United Nations climate talks in Poznań, Poland. Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, rode into Poznań in the vehicle, along with schoolteacher Louis Palmer. The two-seat car began its journey 17 months ago in Lucerne, Switzerland. Carrying solar cells on a trailer, the car sent the message that global warming can be stopped and there are better alternatives. "

The Parliament of Canada has been suspended until January 26, 2009, by Prime Minster Stephen Harper. On Thursday, Harper obtained the consent of the Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, to prorogue Parliament, a procedure which suspends the legislature without dissolving it. This prevents the Parliament from overthrowing the government and avoids calling a new election. A coalition of the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party had looked ready to overthrow the Conservative Party of Canada's minority government led by Harper. "The f

The United States Labor Department reported that U.S. employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the largest such monthly cut in 34 years. In another indication of the worsening economic situation in the U.S., the unemployment rate reached a 15-year high of 6.7 percent, from 6.5 percent in October. It was the largest job loss in a single month since December 1974, when 604,000 jobs were cut. More job cuts have been announced since these figures were compiled, with 12,000 job cuts expected at telecommunications company AT&T. The economy has now l

The wife and children of Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, a Libyan man convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, were amongst other relatives and friends of prisoners protesting against alleged miscarriages of justice in Edinburgh yesterday. The airliner came down over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988, killing 270 people. Megrahi is due an appeal against his conviction next year. Also present at the unprecedented "Silent Walk For Justice" was the family of Jason MacIntyre, a champion cyclist killed when Robert McTaggart ran him down in a v