■ Agriculture
More farms shut over dioxin
Belgian, Dutch and German authorities have closed almost 400 farms after traces of a carcinogenic chemical were found in animal feed, the European Commission said on Monday. EU spokesman Philip Tod said that tests were under way to check if the dioxins had made their way into the human food chain. The Belgian food safety agency said tainted hydrochloric acid used in the production of animal feed had caused the dioxin contamination. The fat is mixed with other feed for the livestock industry. The commission said Belgium and the Netherlands had acted quickly to shut down farms and determine where the contamination came from. Seven German farms had also been closed, it said. The Belgian food safety agency closed 300 more farms on Monday to add to the 96 pig and chicken farms it shut down last Friday.
■ Taxation
Tax forms confuse Britons
Some 3.8 million people in the UK are paying either too much tax or too little because they have trouble with the country's tax system, according to a study published on Monday. The Daily Telegraph newspaper said that the study revealed that taxpayers were confused about how to fill in complex forms in a system implemented by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. The study, compiled by financial experts for the Bow Group, a center-right think tank, also revealed that £9.6 billion (US$16.9 billion) owed in tax remained outstanding last April. Some 40 percent of it has been outstanding for more than 12 months, the report said.
■ Software
Gates unveils Turkey deal
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates on Monday announced details of a joint project to produce a Turkish-language version of Windows XP Starter Edition, an inexpensive, stripped-down version of the standard operating software aimed at schoolchildren. Speaking to journalists in Istanbul, Gates said that Microsoft would work with Turk Telecom and memory chip maker Intel to produce cheap computers under a program called "My First PC." Gates said the version would have safeguards to stop children from reaching "inappropriate sites." He did not detail the computers' retail price or say when they would be available.
■ Fraud
Shinwha settles US lawsuit
A South Korean company has agreed to pay US$1.2 million to resolve a lawsuit alleging that it falsified inspection records for fire alarms and safety equipment at US military installations throughout South Korea, officials said. Shinwha Electronics Inc of Seoul did not admit that any of the allegations were true under the terms of the settlement with the US government. As part of the settlement reached on Jan. 12, the company dismissed a US$407,564 claim against the US for nonpayment of a contract, US Attorney Edward Kubo Jr. said on Monday. The case was originally filed by a former Shinwha employee under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, according to Kubo, who said the unidentified former employee will receive US$240,000 of the settlement. The lawsuit accused Shinwha of not having trained fire-safety inspectors involved in carrying out the contract and falsifying that work was done on all US Army and Air Force bases in South Korea.
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