Staff Reporter
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/ 17 July 2006

Here comes the judge, with a gun

They have the flowing black robes to lend them dignity and gravitas. They have gavels to command attention from the wise guys in court. Now judges in New York have been given permission to carry guns while carrying out their duties. The ruling was prompted by a query from one of New York state’s 3 400 judges, who asked whether it was ”ethically permissible” to carry a firearm in court.

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/ 17 July 2006

Villagers hacked to death by Maoist rebels in India

At least 25 villagers were hacked to death and 21 others injured in a major attack by Maoist rebels in India’s central Chhattisgarh state on Monday. ”Between 500 to 800 rebels surrounded a village in Dantewada district shortly after midnight and killed 25 people using axes and knives,” OP Pal, the district’s superintendent of police told Deutsche Presse Agentur.

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/ 17 July 2006

Toll from Tropical Storm Bilis rises to 154 in China

The death toll from severe rainstorms and flooding across China in the aftermath of severe Tropical Storm Bilis has risen to 154, state media said on Monday. Torrential rain hit several provinces including Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang in the aftermath of the storm, forcing millions of residents to be evacuated and wreaking havoc on transport and communications.

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/ 17 July 2006

Cyprus haven hosts ‘foes’ from Lebanon-Israel mayhem

In the charming if somewhat rundown marina of Larnaca, the cedar-emblazoned flag of Lebanon flies proudly from a yacht as nearby Israelis clad in <i>kippa</i> and prayer shawl prepare for the Sabbath. The holiday island of Cyprus and its coastal resorts, which have long played host to sworn foes in the Middle East, is once again gearing up to serve as safe haven for a troubled region.

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/ 17 July 2006

Genocides can never be repeated

The Fourth of July was celebrated with all the usual pomp and swagger in the United States, but less attention across the news media was given to another Fourth of July celebration right here on the African continent. This has become a day of national commemoration of the arrival of liberation forces in the wake of the unspeakable genocide in Rwanda in 1994.

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/ 17 July 2006

Online betting boss faces conspiracy charges in US

The boss of the online betting group BetonSports was detained at an airport early on Monday morning by the FBI after he touched down in the United States on his way from Britain to the company’s main operational base in Costa Rica. Investors feared that the move marked the start of a broader crackdown on internet gambling, which is judged to be illegal by the US justice department.