Thursday, June 26, 2008

A grocer in Bristol has been told that, under regulations brought in by the European Union, he is not allowed to sell a recently imported batch of kiwi fruit because they are too small. A spokesperson for the UK’s Rural Payments Agency said that they failed the EU standards for fruit.

Tim Down, the grocer involved, responded angrily to the action taken by government. “I was given 24 hours to think about it and my outrage grew.” He continued “They are perfectly fit to eat. These regulations come at a time when rising food prices are highlighted and we’re being forced to throw away perfectly good food.”

Down then claimed that there was no problem with the food. “There is nothing wrong with its palatability, it’s purely because it is slightly less than the prescribed minimum size.”

The government officials found that some of the Kiwis weighed only 58 grams, four grams below the required level. The EU has said that it plans to lessen the restrictions imposed by the regulation, potentially stopping an incident like this occurring in the future.

“The inspector’s decision is consistent with RPA’s commitment to protect consumers, who must feel confident that the produce they are buying is of the right quality,” said a spokesperson of the Rural Payments Agency, explaining the move.

Under the Agriculture and Horticulture Act 1964, selling undersized fruit, or providing them at no cost, is an offence which can carry a penalty of £5,000. The Food Standards Agency has said that the act “provides for the application and enforcement in Great Britain of European Community Regulations specifying the grading, marketing and labelling requirements for certain fresh fruit and vegetables and makes certain acts or omissions that contravene those rules punishable offences. “

Friday, March 12, 2010

According to police, at least 45 people in Lahore, Pakistan were killed earlier on Friday after multiple suicide bombings. Over a hundred others were injured.

In the first incident, a double bombing apparently targeting military vehicles in RA Bazaar, a commercial and residential neighbourhood of Lahore, killed 45 people, among them ten troops. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah reported that the bombers arrived at the area by a motorbike and approached the vehicles, then detonated jackets containing 26 pounds of explosives, according to The Telegraph.

Chief of Punjab police Tariq Saleem Dogar said that “[t]wo suicide bombers attacked within the span of 15 to 20 seconds and they were on foot.”

A second attack, reportedly targeting a police station, is said to have killed at least four other people.

Senior Lahore police official Chaudhary Shaffiq Ahmed commented that “[t]he explosions occurred at a bus stop in RA Bazaar market. Two suicide attackers approached two patrolling army vehicles fifteen seconds apart causing the explosions.”

Some witnesses said they heard gunfire shortly before the explosions. “I saw smoke rising everywhere. A lot of people were crying,” recalled Afzal Awan, an eyewitness.

Local government blamed the Taleban for the bombings, although no group has, as of yet, claimed responsibility.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

While hybrid vehicles have found considerable popularity in the United States since their introduction, one difficulty associated with the rollout of a fully electric car has been the comparably high price and poor performance, compared to an internal combustion engine-driven car of similar size. Tesla Motors claims that their Model S, a sedan which runs solely on electricity, will be more affordable.

Tesla first entered the automobile market in 2006, with a prototype of an electric vehicle designed on the roadster style. While the car, whose exterior design was based on the Lotus Elise, accelerated well and had considerable range, its cost of US$109,000 was prohibitive for many and to date only 300 have been sold, with a thousand more ordered.

Tesla says, however, that the Model S could sell for around $56,400, with the actual price some $7,500 lower after a Federal Government tax credit on electric vehicles.

Tesla claims the Model S has a range of up to 450 kilometers (280 miles) without recharging and can reach a top speed of 200 km/h (125 mph). It is powered by a 454 kg (1001 lb) battery pack.

Initial plans were to build the car in New Mexico, but instead the Model S will be built near the company’s headquarters in San Jose, California.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Pakistani officials have stated that three US drone strikes have killed fifteen people in the country Saturday. The attacks occurred to the north of Miranshah town in the North Waziristan region.

Security officials in the town informed AFP that in the first strike, US drones fired four missiles on a car, killing seven suspected militants. A nearby “militant compound” was also destroyed by the missiles. “Three militants were killed in the car while four were killed in the house,” the official said. The second attack occurred within minutes of the first, and four militants, who were carrying on rescue work were killed by the two missiles that had been fired.

Intelligence officials believe that the militants were associated with Hafiz Gul Bahadur. “We are trying to establish identity of the militants but most of them are believed to be fighters of Hafiz Gul Bahadur,” an official told the media. However, the death toll and the identity of those killed was not officially confirmed. A local official stated that they had heard reports stating “that four foreigners were also killed in these fresh attacks”. However, he added that their identity is “still not known” and mentioned that they “are collecting more information.”