European Commission launches antitrust probe into alleged Google abuses

The European Commission has launched an investigation into Google after other search engines complained that the firm had abused its dominant position. The EC will examine whether the world's largest search engine penalised competing services in its results. The probe follows complaints by firms including price comparison site Foundem and legal search engine ejustice.fr. Google denies the allegations but said it would work with the Commission to "address any concerns". Earlier this year the...

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Second Hand Knickers

Market traders in Ghana will be banned from selling second-hand underwear from next February, trade regulators say. According to the Ghana Standards Board, used pants - and other second-hand goods like handkerchiefs and mattresses - are unhygienic and could pose a health hazard. The importation of these items was banned in 1994 but never implemented. Some traders in a market in the capital, Accra, told the BBC they were unhappy the move might affect business. The BBC's David Amanor in the city...

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US households short of food

Almost 15% of US households experienced a food shortage at some point in 2009, a government report has found. US authorities say that figure is the highest they have seen since they began collecting data in the 1990s, and a slight increase over 2008 levels. Single mothers are among the hardest hit: About 3.5 million said they were at times unable to put sufficient food on the table. Hispanics and African Americans also suffer disproportionately. The food security report is the result of an annual...

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Facebook ready to launch Gmail rival

Facebook is expected to launch a new messaging system seen as a challenge to Google's Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail.The giant social network - which boasts more than 500 million users worldwide - will host a special event in San Francisco on Monday. Unconfirmed reports suggest Facebook could announce its own e-mail address - @facebook.com - or even a fully-fledged web-based e-mail system.Google-Facebook rivalry has increased recently amid a series of disputes.Google has banned Facebook from importing...

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