Leaders, superstars, fans mourn King of Pop LONDON - Michael Jackson was due to make his triumphant return to the stage in London next month -- but instead his sudden death has left millions of fans feeling they've lost a lifelong friend. World bids adieu to a rocky 2008; worries over '09 PARIS - When French shoppers start cutting back on buying champagne, oysters and foie gras for New Year's, it's been a rough year. Tainted Irish pork may have reached 25 nations DUBLIN/LONDON - Irish pig meat contaminated with toxic dioxins could have been exported to as many as 25 countries, including France and the Netherlands, Irish government officials said on Sunday.
Anne Enright's 'The Gathering' wins Booker Prize Irishwoman Anne Enright was awarded the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, one of the literary world's most prestigious awards, for her family epic "The Gathering" on Tuesday.